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OmnaDMX Docs

    sACN / E1.31 setup

    sACN (ANSI E1.31) is the streaming-DMX standard most modern consoles and media servers speak. OmnaDMX sends and receives it over multicast (UDP, port 5568), both directions, with input and output independent.

    Receiving sACN

    Section titled “Receiving sACN”

    Get the controller on the network (wired Ethernet for shows), set the input source to sACN in the DMX tab, and set the device’s universe number(s) to match your sender. sACN universes are a flat number from 1 to 63999, with no Net/Subnet split like Art-Net. The device joins the right multicast groups on its own; senders can also unicast to the device IP.

    Priority arbitration

    Section titled “Priority arbitration”

    sACN allows several sources on one universe, and the device tracks up to 4 per universe. Standard arbitration applies: highest priority (0–200) wins, and equal priorities tie-break by first-seen source. A source that goes quiet times out after about 2.5 s, so a lower-priority backup takes over cleanly. That’s how console failover works in practice. The DMX tab shows the current winning source by name, so you can confirm which desk is actually in control.

    Sync

    Section titled “Sync”

    If your sender uses E1.31 sync packets, OmnaDMX buffers incoming universes and releases them together on the sync, so a multi-universe frame doesn’t tear mid-update. If sync stops, buffered data is released after a short timeout rather than freezing — a sync source dropping out degrades to slightly-less-coherent output, not a hang.

    Sending sACN out

    Section titled “Sending sACN out”

    Set the output type to sACN (System tab) to stream the rendered pixels out. The device sends periodic Universe Discovery so receivers can find its streams, keeps a stable source identifier (CID) across reboots so receivers treat it as the same source after a power cycle, and sends proper stream-termination when output stops or changes, so receivers release it instead of holding the last frame. Output priority is configurable on the System tab; set it against other sources if this device shares universes.

    Next: Multi-universe addressing.

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    Docs · 0.9.1-beta