Multi-universe addressing

In DMX Pixels mode the console owns every pixel. This is where people get tripped up, so here it is in concrete terms.

One anchor, then a fixed order

Addressing starts from a single anchor, not per element. For DMX512 (single universe) the anchor is the start address, 1-based in the 512-channel frame. For Art-Net or sACN (multi-universe) it’s channel 0 of the flat pixel buffer, beginning at your configured base universe.

There is no per-element DMX address. Elements, slices, and chains affect ordering only. From the anchor, pixels stream in this order:

element, then its slot order, then chain, then position in chain, then strip, slice, pixel

An explicit chain is the addressable unit and lands on a contiguous channel range. That’s the reason to chain segments that should sit on one tidy block of channels on the desk.

The channel math

Each pixel takes 3 channels for RGB or 4 for RGBW. A universe is 512 channels, so that’s 170 RGB pixels (510 ch) or 128 RGBW pixels (512 ch) per universe; the next pixel rolls into the next universe.

Worked example, 300 RGB pixels at base universe 1:

• pixels 1–170 land in universe 1, channels 1–510
• pixels 171–300 land in universe 2, channels 1–390

The desk patches this device as two universes. Reorder elements or slices in the Elements area and the whole patch re-derives; the app shows the resulting per-element channel ranges so you can re-patch the desk to match. Reordering after the desk is patched will shift channels, so treat the layout as fixed once a show is patched.

Limits

Board	Max pixel universes
Sparkle Motion	8
ESP32-S3-ETH	38

Single-universe overflow

In single-universe DMX512 mode the device checks that your pixel footprint fits in 512 channels and flags an overflow in its health status. The symptom is pixels past the 512-channel point staying dark or truncated. Fix it by dropping the pixel count, switching from RGBW to RGB, or moving to multi-universe Art-Net or sACN.

Next: Fixture profiles.