Light-O-Rama VS.  DMX - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: DINKIN
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 03, 2017, 10:46:03 am
content: I have kind of a silly? question.What is the difference between a Light-O-Rama system and a regular DMX controller?Is there really anything that different between them other than the protocol.Are they essentially doing the same exact thing, but both using different protocol and control voltages and serial languages?Or are they completely different in design and function?If so how are they different and can the Light-O-Rama system be approximated by a DMX controller to accomplish similar work??thanks so much

author: NivagSwerdna
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 03, 2017, 11:59:30 am
content: http://blog.holidaycoro.com/2013/03/dmx-lor-protocols-and-rs-485.htmlhas some info.I really need to progress my light controller project... only 144 days until Christmas.

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 04, 2017, 07:20:21 pm
content: At only 19.2kbaud the Light-O-Rama protocol is pretty darn slow. Even DMX at 250kbaud only permits a maximum refresh rate of only 44Hz, which can be marginal for LED applications (DMX was created to control dimmers for incandescent fixtures, so the low refresh rate wasn't an issue then). You can cheat by sending shorter packets, but of course this means you're not able to send as much channel data.The bigger question though is what sort of equipment you want to use. Using Light-O-Rama means only using compatible equipment. Using DMX means you have access to a wide array of gear ranging from cheap DJ shit from eBay through to high end (and other brands*) professional equipment, and everything in between. It also means you have more options on the control side of things, from open-source control software to professional PC based software all the way through professional lighting desks. So it really depends on whether or not you're happy with what the LOR ecosystem provides.* Probably an obscure joke for this crowd, High End Systems is a manufacturer of automated lighting and the popular Hog series of lighting consoles. Formerly owned by Barco, recently acquired by ETC.

author: dmills
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 04, 2017, 08:17:31 pm
content: Light-O-Rama is really a show control system that happens to talk to lights, it puts most of the intelligence in its access points so the wire protocol can be all kinds of slow, but it does need those intelligent end points if doing a reasonable number of channels.It is propitiatory and single source which would be making me very nervous right there if installing (It is not unknown for lighting gear to have a 40 year working life, standards are good!).I get the feeling that it is possibly aiming more at the architectural/theme park usage rather then live events in the conventional sense.DMX is a control protocol used by nearly everyone (with wildly varying qualities of implementation), it is showing its age a little, but is so simple that it is pretty much a 'read the spec in the morning, noodle out a PCB over lunch, working by that evening' affair, its putative replacement (sACN) is about the worst case of 'second system effect' I have ever seen, nearly nobody uses it.A single DMX line is 512 channels, which sounds like a lot until you start pixel mapping RGB star cloths, or using moving lights with 20 odd channels each, the standard solution for this is another simple minded protocol (Art-Net) originally from Artistic-License in the UK, which packs DMX frames into UDP packets, it is not unheard of to see a Gb/s of art net flying around on a big show.Regards, Dan.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 04, 2017, 10:00:51 pm
content: Don't forget that all but the oldest LOR boards will happily accept a DMX stream instead of the LOR protocol. From memory the status light on the board will stop blinking when receiving DMX.