[ { "id": "ableton-live", "name": "Ableton Live", "aka": [ "Live", "Live 12" ], "vendor": "Ableton AG", "category": "audio-playback", "summary": "Clip and timeline based playback software, widely used to run backing tracks, click and guide vocals on tour. Strong on network tempo sync through Ableton Link and extensible via Max for Live, but it neither chases nor generates SMPTE timecode natively.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ableton-link", "direction": "bidirectional", "since_version": "9.6", "note": "Peer-to-peer tempo, beat and phase sync over the local network. There is no master: any peer can change the session tempo. Tempo Follower and External Sync are mutually exclusive.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI in and out for control surfaces and instruments. MIDI Clock can be sent to an external sequencer or received to slave Live, set per port with the Sync switch in Link/Tempo/MIDI preferences.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "note": "Live slaves to MTC and reads it as an Arrangement position, with MIDI Timecode Frame Rate and Offset settings. Ableton state Live can only act as a MIDI sync device, not a host; MTC carries no tempo and tempo changes cannot be tracked.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "requires_licence": true, "note": "No native OSC. Reached through Max for Live, included in Suite and sold as an add-on for Standard; Ableton cite OSC as a Max for Live use case.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.ableton.com/en/live/", "label": "ableton.com" }, "docs": { "url": "https://www.ableton.com/en/live-manual/12/", "label": "Live 12 Reference Manual" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Backing tracks, click and guide/cue feeds for touring musicians", "Keeping several laptops, tablets and instruments on one tempo with Link", "Triggering lighting and video by printing an LTC audio file onto a track", "Max for Live devices bridging Live to OSC-controlled show systems", "Session view playback where set order and tempo change nightly" ], "gotchas": [ "Ableton state plainly that Live does not sync to incoming SMPTE timecode, and does not generate SMPTE natively. A rig that must live on house LTC needs a workaround, not a preference change.", "The standard workaround is an LTC audio file printed onto a track with Warp off and routed to a spare output. Solid, but frozen: change the arrangement, tempo or start time and the timecode file has to be regenerated.", "Live chases MTC but cannot host it, and MTC carries no tempo information, so tempo must be set by hand and tempo changes are not tracked. Slaving Live to MTC does not make its grid follow the master.", "Ableton's recommended timecode-generating Max for Live device requires Suite or the Max for Live add-on, and Ableton list that workaround as macOS only. A Windows playback rig cannot take that route.", "Max for Live is not in Intro or Standard by default, so any show-control patch you build assumes a Suite or add-on machine. Check what the depping player actually has installed before handing over a set.", "Link is tempo, beat and phase only, with no master and no absolute position. It will keep a band together and will not lock them to a video server timeline." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "backing-tracks", "touring", "playback", "tempo-sync", "timecode" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Live 12 Reference Manual - Synchronizing with Link, Tempo Follower and MIDI", "url": "https://www.ableton.com/en/live-manual/12/synchronizing-with-link-tempo-follower-and-midi/", "publisher": "Ableton AG", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "SMPTE Timecode FAQ - Live does not sync to incoming SMPTE timecode", "url": "https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/360010120320-SMPTE-Timecode-FAQ", "publisher": "Ableton AG", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Ableton Link: now available in Live 9 - Link shipped in Live 9.6", "url": "https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/link-now-available-in-live/", "publisher": "Ableton AG", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Live Minimum System Requirements - supported Windows and macOS versions", "url": "https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001663530-Live-Minimum-System-Requirements", "publisher": "Ableton AG", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Ableton shop - Live editions and licence structure", "url": "https://www.ableton.com/en/shop/live/", "publisher": "Ableton AG", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Max for Live - controlling external things including OSC", "url": "https://www.ableton.com/en/live/max-for-live/", "publisher": "Ableton AG", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "ClipSMPTE introduction - Max for Live device that outputs an LTC audio signal", "url": "https://support.showsync.com/sync-tools/clipsmpte/introduction", "publisher": "Showsync", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "after-effects", "name": "Adobe After Effects", "vendor": "Adobe", "category": "content-creation", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Motion graphics and compositing application, and the tool most show content for LED walls and projection is actually finished in before it reaches a media server.", "typical_use": [ "Producing looping content for LED screens", "Titles and lower thirds for event screens", "Compositing camera plates for stage content" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects.html", "label": "Adobe After Effects" }, "gotchas": [ "Export codec matters more than the source project. A media server wants a codec it can decode in real time at the required resolution, which is rarely the export default.", "Colour management between After Effects, the media server and the LED processor is where content stops matching the approval render. Agree the pipeline before the content is made.", "Content pixel dimensions must match the screen map, not a convenient 4K frame. Scaling on the server costs quality and sometimes performance." ], "tags": [ "content", "motion-graphics", "adobe", "led", "codec" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Adobe After Effects", "url": "https://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects.html", "publisher": "Adobe", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "ardour", "name": "Ardour", "vendor": "Ardour Community", "category": "audio-playback", "license": "GPL-2.0-or-later", "price_model": "open-source", "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/Ardour/ardour", "label": "Ardour source (official mirror)" }, "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "summary": "Free and open-source digital audio workstation with full multitrack recording, editing and timecode sync. The credible open-source option for virtual soundcheck recording and playback.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "LTC generate and chase, built in.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI timecode in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI control and machine control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC control surface support.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "word-clock", "direction": "in", "note": "Clocks to the audio interface.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "dante", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via Dante Virtual Soundcard or a Dante interface.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Multitrack recording of a live show", "Virtual soundcheck playback", "Timecode-locked playback on Linux" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://ardour.org/", "label": "Ardour" }, "gotchas": [ "Built-in LTC generate and chase is unusually good for a free DAW, which makes it viable for timecode playback rigs where Pro Tools licensing is not.", "Plug-in format support differs by platform. A session built on Linux with LV2 plug-ins will not open the same way on a Windows show machine." ], "tags": [ "audio", "daw", "open-source", "ltc", "virtual-soundcheck" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Ardour", "url": "https://ardour.org/", "publisher": "Ardour Community", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "arkaos-mediamaster", "name": "ArKaos MediaMaster", "vendor": "ArKaos", "category": "media-server", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Long-established DMX-controlled media server software aimed at lighting operators: clips are triggered and manipulated as if they were fixture parameters from the lighting console.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Art-Net control from a lighting console.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "in", "note": "sACN control from a lighting console.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "in", "note": "Direct DMX in via an interface.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "citp", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "CITP/MSEX thumbnails to the console.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "LTC sync.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "LED screen content driven entirely from the lighting desk", "Small-format projection with console control", "Club and corporate video walls" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.arkaos.com/", "label": "ArKaos" }, "gotchas": [ "The DMX personality is the interface. Changing the personality mid-programming shifts every parameter address and invalidates the console patch.", "CITP thumbnails need the console and server on the same network segment with multicast working, which is the usual reason a lighting operator sees black tiles." ], "tags": [ "media-server", "arkaos", "dmx", "citp", "led" ], "sources": [ { "title": "ArKaos", "url": "https://www.arkaos.com/", "publisher": "ArKaos", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "artnet-monitor-pixilab", "name": "ArtNet Monitor (PixiLab)", "vendor": "PixiLab", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Small open-source Java application that displays live Art-Net DMX-512 channel values in a single window, for single-universe or 'omni' (all-universe) monitoring on Mac, Linux, or Windows.", "license": "GPL-3.0", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Simple Art-Net DMX-512 monitor with single-universe or omni (multi-universe) modes." }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "in", "confidence": "reported", "note": "Displays per-channel DMX values received via Art-Net." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://github.com/pixilab/artnet-monitor" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/pixilab/artnet-monitor" }, "status": "historical", "typical_use": [ "Quick, no-install visual check of DMX values arriving over Art-Net on a workstation", "Cross-platform sanity check when Windows-only monitors aren't an option" ], "gotchas": [ "Binds to the machine's default network interface only; on multi-NIC systems you may need to adjust routing/interface priority to receive the intended Art-Net traffic.", "Distributed as a runnable JAR requiring a Java 8+ runtime; small commit history (~10 commits) suggests it's a minimal, infrequently updated utility." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "art-net", "dmx", "java", "open-source" ], "sources": [ { "title": "pixilab/artnet-monitor GitHub repository", "url": "https://github.com/pixilab/artnet-monitor", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "artnetominator", "name": "The ArtNetominator", "vendor": "Lightjams Inc.", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Free Windows utility that gives a real-time view of Art-Net network activity, showing nets, subnets, universes, nodes, and live DMX channel values for troubleshooting Art-Net rigs.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Primary function: real-time monitor of Art-Net nets/subnets/universes/nodes." }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "in", "confidence": "reported", "note": "Displays current DMX channel values and channel history as carried inside Art-Net packets." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.lightjams.com/artnetominator/" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Spot-check which Art-Net nodes and universes are actually broadcasting on a network", "Watch live DMX channel values coming from a specific universe during rig troubleshooting" ], "gotchas": [ "Windows only (Vista through 11); no macOS or Linux build.", "Does not monitor sACN/E1.31 — the same developer's separate 'sACNominator' tool is needed for that protocol." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "art-net", "dmx", "windows-utility" ], "sources": [ { "title": "The ArtNetominator - official product page", "url": "https://www.lightjams.com/artnetominator/", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "artnetview-haute-technique", "name": "ArtNetView", "vendor": "Haute Technique", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Free standalone macOS/Windows app to view and monitor Art-Net traffic on a network, showing active universes, source IPs, per-channel history graphs, and hex-formatted DMX values.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "platforms": [ "macos", "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Standalone Art-Net monitor showing universes, source IPs, and per-channel value history." }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "in", "confidence": "reported", "note": "Displays DMX universe values (including in hex) as carried inside Art-Net." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://artnetview.com/" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Confirm a lighting console (e.g. grandMA) is actually outputting Art-Net onto the network", "Graph a channel's value history over time to catch intermittent/flickering levels" ], "gotchas": [ "Shares its exact name with an unrelated, older Art-Net diagnostic utility historically bundled by Artistic Licence/Singularity alongside DMX-Workshop — check the publisher before downloading." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "art-net", "dmx", "macos", "windows" ], "sources": [ { "title": "ArtNetView - official product page", "url": "https://artnetview.com/", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "ArtNetView on the Mac App Store", "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/artnetview/id1439166791?mt=12", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "autocad", "name": "AutoCAD", "vendor": "Autodesk", "category": "cad-drafting", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "web" ], "summary": "General-purpose CAD, and the format most venue drawings, ground plans and structural drawings arrive in. Often the common denominator between a venue, a scenic shop and a production office.", "typical_use": [ "Reading venue-supplied ground plans and sections", "Producing drawings for a scenic shop", "Exchanging drawings with architects and structural engineers" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/", "label": "AutoCAD" }, "gotchas": [ "DWG version compatibility is a real workflow tax. Ask which version a venue or shop needs before sending a file.", "A venue drawing is not a survey. Structural steel, rigging points and sightlines on an old DWG are a starting point to be verified, not a fact.", "Vectorworks and AutoCAD exchange via DWG with loss. Symbols, classes and layer structure rarely survive intact in either direction." ], "tags": [ "cad", "drafting", "autodesk", "dwg", "drawings" ], "sources": [ { "title": "AutoCAD", "url": "https://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/", "publisher": "Autodesk", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "autodesk-revit", "name": "Revit", "vendor": "Autodesk", "category": "cad-drafting", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Building information modelling: the venue's own world, where every element carries data about what it is and what it can take, and clashes are found by query rather than by eye. For touring work you mostly consume the output; for installed and new-build work you contribute to it.", "speaks": [], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.autodesk.com/products/revit/", "label": "Autodesk Revit" }, "typical_use": [ "New-build and refurbishment venue coordination", "Finding where the steel is and what it takes", "Clash detection between production systems and building services" ], "gotchas": [ "IFC round trips lose things. Agree what has to survive an exchange before relying on it.", "A model can be beautifully detailed and out of date. Ask when it was last updated against the building as built." ], "tags": [ "bim", "cad", "venue", "ifc" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Autodesk Revit", "url": "https://www.autodesk.com/products/revit/", "publisher": "Autodesk", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "avolites-titan", "name": "Avolites Titan", "aka": [ "Titan", "Titan Mobile", "Titan Go", "Titan Simulator", "Titan PC Suite" ], "vendor": "Avolites", "category": "lighting-control", "summary": "Avolites' lighting control software: the operating software on Sapphire, Diamond, Tiger Touch and Arena consoles, and the same code on Windows as Titan Mobile, Titan Go and Titan Simulator. Standard kit for rock and roll touring and festivals.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "dongle-locked", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "One of the two network DMX protocols Titan uses to reach nodes and dimmers.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "sACN out to nodes, and Streaming ACN In is also available as an external trigger source on supported consoles.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "Physical DMX512 on console XLR outputs; on a PC, via a T1/T2/T3 interface. DMX In is a separate trigger source on supported consoles.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "citp", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Patch syncs both ways with stand-alone Capture (fixture, position, orientation, legend, user number) and fixture selection follows across. Levels still need Art-Net or sACN enabled on those universes.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "rdm", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Patching by RDM requires an RDM-enabled Art-Net node. The console's own XLR connectors do not support RDM.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "SMPTE/LTC listed on T2, T3, D3, D3 Core, D7, D9, Arena, Tiger Touch 2 and Sapphire. A T2 plugged into another console adds an audio/LTC input.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "in", "note": "MIDI is one of the external trigger types and is not available on every console; USB MIDI devices are supported for triggering and control.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "note": "A cue list can read timecode from the system clock, an internal timecode source, MIDI, SMPTE or the Winamp player. Up to 4 separate timecode sources per console.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.avolites.com/", "label": "Avolites" }, "docs": { "url": "https://manual.avolites.com/", "label": "Avolites Titan manual (v19.0)" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Busking and timecoded playback for touring bands and festivals", "Pre-programming a show on a laptop with Titan Simulator or Titan Mobile", "Small rigs run from Titan Go on a T1/T2 interface", "Previsualisation against the integrated Capture visualiser" ], "gotchas": [ "Everything is keyed to an AvoKey. Titan Mobile only runs while its panel is connected, Titan Go licenses the AvoKey built into a T1/T2/T3, and Titan Simulator needs an Editor AvoKey.", "Titan Simulator does output full Art-Net/sACN on all universes, but deliberately inserts periodic random DMX values as a spoiler. It is not a show controller.", "64 lines/universes is the system ceiling. Line numbers can be anything from 1 to 9999 but there cannot be more than 64 of them. T3 needs an optional licence pack to reach 64, and its onboard processing stays at 16 lines.", "RDM discovery only works through an RDM-enabled Art-Net node. The console XLRs will not do it, and a non-RDM buffer or splitter anywhere in the chain blocks the reply.", "Windows only. Windows 11 is supported from v16.0 onwards, and Avolites explicitly does not support Bootcamp, VMware or Parallels.", "Titan Mobile and Titan Go will not launch at all without their hardware connected, so a dead panel also means no offline editing on that machine." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "lighting", "titan", "touring", "avolites" ], "sources": [ { "title": "DMX Settings (DMX output mapping) - Avolites Titan manual", "url": "https://manual.avolites.com/docs/system-settings/dmx-output-mapping/", "publisher": "Avolites", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Titan Simulator - Avolites Titan manual", "url": "https://manual.avolites.com/docs/titan-basics/titan-simulator/", "publisher": "Avolites", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "External triggering - Avolites Titan manual", "url": "https://manual.avolites.com/docs/running-the-show/midi-dmx-or-audio-triggering/", "publisher": "Avolites", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Cue List Timing - Avolites Titan manual", "url": "https://manual.avolites.com/docs/cue-lists/cue-list-timing/", "publisher": "Avolites", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Patching New Fixtures or Dimmers (Patching by RDM) - Avolites Titan manual", "url": "https://manual.avolites.com/docs/patching/patching-new-fixtures-or-dimmers/", "publisher": "Avolites", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Linking the Console to Stand-Alone Capture - Avolites Titan manual", "url": "https://manual.avolites.com/docs/capture-visualiser/linking-the-console-to-stand-alone-capture/", "publisher": "Avolites", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Titan PC Suite: System Requirements & Installation Notes", "url": "https://www.avolites.com/support/titan-pc-system-requirements/", "publisher": "Avolites", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "blender", "name": "Blender", "vendor": "Blender Foundation", "category": "content-creation", "license": "GPL-3.0-or-later", "price_model": "open-source", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "summary": "Free and open-source 3D creation suite covering modelling, animation, rendering, compositing and video editing. Increasingly used in live events for content, previs and set visualisation.", "typical_use": [ "Rendering content for LED and projection", "Modelling a set for previs", "Camera-matched visualisation of a stage design" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.blender.org/", "label": "Blender" }, "repo": { "url": "https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender", "label": "Blender source" }, "gotchas": [ "Render output has to match the screen geometry exactly. Content rendered at the wrong aspect or pixel pitch is the single most common reason a wall looks wrong on site.", "Version changes can alter render results. Pin the Blender version for a project the way you would pin a media server version." ], "tags": [ "3d", "content", "open-source", "rendering", "previs" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Blender", "url": "https://www.blender.org/", "publisher": "Blender Foundation", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "bome-midi-translator", "name": "Bome MIDI Translator Pro", "vendor": "Bome Software", "category": "show-control", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Turns any MIDI, keystroke, serial or timer event into any other. Unglamorous and enormously useful: the tool that makes an arbitrary controller drive software that was never expecting it.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Core.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MSC messages can be constructed and parsed.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.bome.com/", "label": "Bome Software" }, "typical_use": [ "Mapping a cheap controller onto software with no learn function", "Translating between MIDI dialects", "Turning a keystroke into a cue and back" ], "gotchas": [ "Rule order matters and a large ruleset becomes hard to reason about. Comment it.", "It sits in the middle of the chain, so it is also a place latency and confusion accumulate." ], "tags": [ "midi", "translation", "glue" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bome MIDI Translator", "url": "https://www.bome.com/", "publisher": "Bome Software", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "capture", "name": "Capture", "vendor": "Capture Visualisation AB", "category": "previsualisation", "summary": "Lighting design, documentation and visualisation software that renders a rig in real time from live DMX. It covers lighting, video, laser, moving scenery and water effects in one model.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "One of the two recommended network DMX inputs.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "citp", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Adds DMX talkback, selection sync and patch exchange with consoles that implement MSEX.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Documented as supporting DMX talkback with ETC Eos consoles.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.capture.se/Products/Capture", "label": "capture.se" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Offline programming against a rendered rig before the fixtures arrive", "Producing plots and reports that update with the design", "Selling a look to a designer or client before load-in", "Checking beam angles, focus and coverage in a modelled venue" ], "gotchas": [ "Editions are capped by universe count. Solo is one universe, Duet two, Quartet four and Symphony unlimited, and the cap applies to documentation as well as visualisation, so a small licence limits the paperwork too.", "CITP/MSEX gives selection sync and patch exchange, but only with consoles that implement it. On everything else you are back to plain Art-Net or sACN and manual patch matching.", "Wi-Fi is explicitly advised against for the console link. Run a cable, or expect visualisation that lags the desk under load." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "previsualisation", "lighting", "visualiser", "documentation" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Capture — Overview", "url": "https://www.capture.se/Products/Capture", "publisher": "Capture Visualisation AB", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Capture — Console Connectivity", "url": "https://www.capture.se/Support/Connectivity", "publisher": "Capture Visualisation AB", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Capture — Pricing and editions", "url": "https://www.capture.se/Products/Capture/Pricing", "publisher": "Capture Visualisation AB", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Capture 2026 Reference Manual — Universes Tab", "url": "https://www.capture.se/Manual/en-UK/2026/UniversesTab.html", "publisher": "Capture Visualisation AB", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "casparcg", "name": "CasparCG Server", "aka": [ "CasparCG" ], "vendor": "CasparCG project", "category": "media-server", "summary": "Open-source playout server for video, audio and HTML graphics, controlled over a text protocol called AMCP on TCP. Built at SVT for broadcast and used widely as a free graphics and playback engine in live production.", "license": "GPL-3.0-or-later", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "out", "note": "Sends per-layer status and playback position. Default port 6250 in casparcg.config.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI consumer and producer are both present in the shipped configuration.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "An ArtNet consumer is documented in the shipped casparcg.config.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://casparcg.com/", "label": "casparcg.com" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/CasparCG/server", "label": "CasparCG/server" }, "docs": { "url": "https://github.com/CasparCG/help/wiki", "label": "CasparCG help wiki" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Lower-third and full-screen graphics playout driven from an automation system", "Free video playback engine behind a show control layer", "Blackmagic DeckLink SDI output in a broadcast or streaming rack" ], "gotchas": [ "AMCP commands must be terminated with both carriage return and linefeed. A client that sends only a newline will appear to connect and then do nothing.", "The server needs an OpenGL 4.5 capable GPU. Integrated graphics on an old laptop will start the process and then fail at the first composite.", "Configuration lives entirely in casparcg.config next to the binary. There is no UI, so a channel that is missing from that file does not exist as far as AMCP is concerned." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "video", "playout", "broadcast", "open-source" ], "sources": [ { "title": "CasparCG/server source repository", "url": "https://github.com/CasparCG/server", "publisher": "CasparCG project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "casparcg.config default configuration", "url": "https://github.com/CasparCG/server/blob/master/src/shell/casparcg.config", "publisher": "CasparCG project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "CasparCG help wiki — Protocols", "url": "https://github.com/CasparCG/help/wiki/Protocols", "publisher": "CasparCG project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "CasparCG help wiki — AMCP Protocol", "url": "https://github.com/CasparCG/help/wiki/AMCP-Protocol", "publisher": "CasparCG project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "chamsys-magicq", "name": "ChamSys MagicQ", "aka": [ "MagicQ", "MagicQ PC", "MQ" ], "vendor": "ChamSys", "category": "lighting-control", "summary": "ChamSys's lighting control software: free to download for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the operating software on MagicQ consoles. Demo mode outputs 64 universes of Art-Net/sACN with no dongle at all, which makes it the default free real-world lighting controller.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Art-Net 1, 2, 3 and 4 in broadcast or unicast mode for output; Art-Net is also received for capture into the console or for merging. 64 universes of output are enabled in the free demo mode.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "sACN out in multicast or unicast, and received for capture or merging.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "pathport", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Pathport output, and received for capture or merging. Unusual for a non-Pathway console.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "Direct DMX via a MagicDMX interface, a MagicQ wing/interface, or console XLR outputs. MagicDMX is one universe, out or in.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "rdm", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "RDM is listed among the features available in demo mode, so it does not need a wing or dongle.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "citp", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "CITP with the Capture visualiser carries both lighting control and transfer of the show patch between MagicQ and Capture in either direction.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "requires_licence": true, "note": "OSC requires Unlocked mode, activated by a MagicQ wing, Connect interface or rack-mount dongle. The manual documents both receiving and sending messages.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "Timecode receive (Art-Net, MIDI, LTC) is an Unlocked-mode feature; demo and Core mode will not chase timecode.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "MIDI timecode receive is part of the same Unlocked-mode timecode feature set.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "MIDI notes and CC from third-party USB or virtual interfaces require Unlocked mode.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "Listed as Show control alongside MIDI notes and CC in the Unlocked-mode feature list.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://chamsyslighting.com/", "label": "ChamSys" }, "docs": { "url": "https://docs.chamsys.co.uk/magicq/manual/", "label": "MagicQ manual" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Free full-function lighting control for schools, churches and small venues", "Touring and festival control on MagicQ consoles", "Offline programming and previs against Capture over CITP", "Merging or capturing incoming Art-Net/sACN/Pathport from another desk" ], "gotchas": [ "MagicDMX Basic and Full do not unlock anything. With only a MagicDMX attached the software stays in demo mode, and MagicDMX Basic is additionally limited to 5-hour sessions.", "Timecode, MIDI and OSC are all Unlocked-mode features. Free MagicQ will run 64 universes of Art-Net all day but will not chase LTC.", "There are three tiers, not two: Demo, Core and Unlocked. Core (GeNetix GN2, SnakeSys, audio interface) buys scheduled events, the remote app and the web server, but not timecode or OSC.", "The tier follows the connected device, so losing the wing or dongle mid-run silently drops the rig to demo-mode features.", "Linux builds are limited to current Ubuntu LTS releases on 64-bit x86. There is no ARM build.", "The tier structure was reworked from v1.9.5.0 onwards, so older forum advice about what a given dongle unlocks may no longer match." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "lighting", "magicq", "chamsys", "free-tier" ], "sources": [ { "title": "MagicQ Software Licensing", "url": "https://chamsyslighting.com/software/magicq-software-licensing/", "publisher": "ChamSys", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Installing MagicQ Software & Drivers", "url": "https://docs.chamsys.co.uk/magicq/installing-software/installing_drivers.html", "publisher": "ChamSys", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Networking - ChamSys", "url": "https://uk.chamsyslighting.com/software/networking/", "publisher": "ChamSys", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "MagicDMX Basic", "url": "https://chamsyslighting.com/product/magicdmx-basic/", "publisher": "ChamSys", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "MagicQ Manual (complete PDF export)", "url": "https://secure.chamsys.co.uk/docs/magicq/_exports/magicq.pdf", "publisher": "ChamSys", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Using MagicQ with the Capture visualiser", "url": "https://www.capture.se/Portals/0/DemoPacks/ChamSys_Instructions.pdf", "publisher": "Capture Visualisation", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "chataigne", "name": "Chataigne", "vendor": "Ben Kuper", "category": "show-control", "summary": "Modular hub that connects protocols, software and sensors and maps any of them to any other with state machines and sequences. It is the free tool people reach for when two systems have no common language.", "license": "GPL-3.0-only", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Also supports OSCQuery for discovery.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "in", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ableton-link", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Listed among the built-in protocol modules.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://benjamin.kuperberg.fr/chataigne/en", "label": "Chataigne home" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/benkuper/Chataigne", "label": "benkuper/Chataigne" }, "docs": { "url": "https://benjamin.kuperberg.fr/chataigne/docs", "label": "Chataigne documentation" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Translating between OSC, MIDI, DMX and serial for an installation", "Sensor input driving lighting, video or audio playback", "Prototyping interaction before it is committed to a show controller", "Bridging a piece of software that has no direct integration with another" ], "gotchas": [ "Modules for third-party software are community maintained. A module built against an older version of the target application can break on the first update and there is no vendor to call.", "Chataigne is an interaction engine, not a redundant show controller. For a twenty-year installation that has to boot unattended, treat it as one piece of the plan rather than the whole of it.", "Builds exist for Raspberry Pi as well as desktop, but they are separate downloads. Verify the show file on the exact target before install day." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "show-control", "interaction", "open-source", "protocol-bridge" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Chataigne — official site", "url": "https://benjamin.kuperberg.fr/chataigne/en", "publisher": "Ben Kuper", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "benkuper/Chataigne source repository", "url": "https://github.com/benkuper/Chataigne", "publisher": "Ben Kuper", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "cinema-4d", "name": "Cinema 4D", "vendor": "Maxon", "category": "content-creation", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "3D modelling, animation and rendering application widely used for concert and event screen content, largely because of its motion graphics tooling and its long-standing After Effects workflow.", "typical_use": [ "Animated 3D content for LED walls", "Stage and set visualisation", "Renders for client approval" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d", "label": "Cinema 4D" }, "gotchas": [ "Render time is a schedule risk on event timelines. A change requested at rehearsal may not be renderable before the show.", "The same aspect, pitch and colour pipeline caveats apply as with any content tool: match the actual screen map, not a nominal resolution." ], "tags": [ "3d", "content", "maxon", "motion-graphics" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Cinema 4D", "url": "https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d", "publisher": "Maxon", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "codesys", "name": "CODESYS", "vendor": "CODESYS Group", "category": "show-control", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "status": "current", "summary": "A vendor-independent IEC 61131-3 development environment used as the programming front end for a very large number of PLCs and drives. Knowing CODESYS transfers across a lot of hardware, which is exactly why it exists.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "opc-ua", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Standard integration for exposing controller state.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "modbus-tcp", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Standard.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "canopen", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Standard.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ethercat", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Supported as a fieldbus.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.codesys.com/", "label": "CODESYS" }, "typical_use": [ "Programming machinery controllers from many different manufacturers", "Automation work where the hardware choice is not fixed" ], "gotchas": [ "A shared environment does not mean portable projects. Hardware configuration, libraries and safety functions remain vendor-specific." ], "tags": [ "plc", "automation", "iec-61131", "machinery" ], "sources": [ { "title": "CODESYS", "url": "https://www.codesys.com/", "publisher": "CODESYS Group", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "companion", "name": "Bitfocus Companion", "aka": [ "Companion" ], "vendor": "Bitfocus AS", "category": "show-control", "summary": "Turns a Stream Deck or similar button surface into a control panel for switchers, playback software and broadcast gear, using community-written modules. It is the standard way to give an operator physical buttons.", "license": "MIT", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Companion can be controlled over OSC on a configurable listen port, and modules send OSC out.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Companion can be controlled over Art-Net by setting a universe and start channel in settings.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://bitfocus.io/companion", "label": "bitfocus.io/companion" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/bitfocus/companion", "label": "bitfocus/companion" }, "docs": { "url": "https://companion.free/user-guide/v4.1/config/settings/", "label": "Companion user guide — settings" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Button surface for a video switcher or playback machine at front of house", "Bridging one control protocol to another without writing code", "Remote surfaces over a network using Companion Satellite" ], "gotchas": [ "Modules are community maintained and versioned separately from Companion itself. A module that worked on the last tour can lag behind a major Companion release, so freeze versions before a run rather than updating on site.", "Remote control listeners are all off by default and each has its own listen port set in settings. Nothing accepts TCP, UDP, OSC, RossTalk, Ember+ or Art-Net until you enable it.", "A surface plugged into the show machine is claimed exclusively. Elgato's own Stream Deck application must not be running at the same time." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "show-control", "stream-deck", "open-source", "broadcast" ], "sources": [ { "title": "bitfocus/companion source repository", "url": "https://github.com/bitfocus/companion", "publisher": "Bitfocus AS", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Companion licence (MIT)", "url": "https://github.com/bitfocus/companion/blob/main/LICENSE.md", "publisher": "Bitfocus AS", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Companion user guide — Settings", "url": "https://companion.free/user-guide/v4.1/config/settings/", "publisher": "Bitfocus AS", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "dante-controller", "name": "Dante Controller", "vendor": "Audinate", "category": "networking-utility", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "The routing and configuration tool for every Dante network: subscribe channels between devices, set sample rate and latency, name devices, and read the clock status that tells you why audio is ticking.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dante", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Discovers, routes and configures Dante devices. Does not itself carry audio.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "aes67", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Configures AES67 mode on capable devices.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ptp-1588", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Displays PTP clock status, master election and offsets.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "mdns-dns-sd", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Dante discovery is mDNS, which is why devices vanish across a routed boundary.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "typical_use": [ "Patching a Dante network", "Diagnosing clock and latency problems", "Naming devices before a show file references them" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-controller", "label": "Dante Controller" }, "gotchas": [ "Device names are the patch. Renaming a device breaks every subscription that referenced the old name, which is why naming happens before programming, not after.", "The clock status tab is the first place to look for ticks and dropouts, not the audio path. One device set as preferred master while another insists on being master is the classic cause.", "Latency is set per device and the network must accommodate the highest. A single device left at 0.15 ms on a multi-switch network will drop audio while everything else looks fine." ], "tags": [ "audio", "dante", "networking", "diagnostics", "free" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Dante Controller", "url": "https://www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-controller", "publisher": "Audinate", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "dante-domain-manager", "name": "Dante Domain Manager", "vendor": "Audinate", "category": "networking-utility", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "linux", "web" ], "summary": "Management layer for large Dante deployments: user roles, audit logging, and the ability to run several Dante domains across subnets rather than one flat network.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dante", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Manages Dante devices, domains and routing policy.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ptp-1588", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Clock management across domains.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "A campus or stadium with several independent Dante systems", "Restricting who can re-route audio", "Auditing what changed and when after an incident" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-domain-manager", "label": "Dante Domain Manager" }, "gotchas": [ "Enrolling a device into a domain changes how it behaves outside that domain. A device borrowed from a DDM-managed system into a touring rack may not simply work.", "It solves an organisational problem more than a technical one. If nobody is going to administer the roles, it adds a dependency without adding safety." ], "tags": [ "audio", "dante", "management", "enterprise", "install" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Dante Domain Manager", "url": "https://www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-domain-manager", "publisher": "Audinate", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "dante-virtual-soundcard", "name": "Dante Virtual Soundcard", "vendor": "Audinate", "category": "networking-utility", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Turns a computer's Ethernet port into a Dante audio interface, giving a DAW or playback machine up to 64 channels in and out with no hardware beyond the network card.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dante", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Presents Dante channels as an ASIO / Core Audio device.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "aes67", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "AES67 mode where the network supports it.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Multitrack recording of a live show from the console", "Playback into a Dante system without an interface", "Virtual soundcheck" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-virtual-soundcard", "label": "Dante Virtual Soundcard" }, "gotchas": [ "A general-purpose laptop is a poor real-time audio device. Wi-Fi, power management and background updates all cause dropouts that look like network faults.", "The licence is tied to the machine. A spare laptop is not a spare unless it is licensed and configured in advance.", "Virtual soundcheck is only as good as the channel naming. Record with the device and channel names the show file expects, or playback lands on the wrong inputs." ], "tags": [ "audio", "dante", "virtual-soundcheck", "recording" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Dante Virtual Soundcard", "url": "https://www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-virtual-soundcard", "publisher": "Audinate", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "daslight", "name": "Daslight", "vendor": "Daslight (Nicolaudie)", "category": "lighting-control", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "DMX control software from the Nicolaudie family, sold with USB-DMX interfaces and aimed at clubs, bars, small venues and architectural installations that need stand-alone playback.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "DMX via the bundled interface.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Art-Net output.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "out", "note": "sACN output.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "in", "note": "MIDI triggering.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "in", "note": "OSC control.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Club and bar lighting", "Architectural installations with stand-alone playback", "Small mobile rigs" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.daslight.com/", "label": "Daslight" }, "gotchas": [ "The licence is tied to the interface hardware, so the dongle is the licence. A lost interface is a lost licence, not just lost output.", "Stand-alone mode uploads a limited version of the show to the interface. Not everything programmed on the computer survives the upload." ], "tags": [ "lighting", "club", "architectural", "nicolaudie", "dongle" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Daslight", "url": "https://www.daslight.com/", "publisher": "Nicolaudie", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "db-arraycalc", "name": "d&b ArrayCalc", "vendor": "d&b audiotechnik", "category": "previsualisation", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "System design and simulation software for d&b loudspeaker systems: array geometry, splay angles, predicted coverage, rigging load and the amplifier setup that follows from it.", "typical_use": [ "Designing a d&b array before it is hung", "Producing rigging load figures for the venue", "Exporting amplifier configuration to R1" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.dbaudio.com/", "label": "d&b audiotechnik" }, "gotchas": [ "The prediction assumes the array is hung where the drawing says. Real trim heights and real venue geometry are what actually determines coverage, so remeasure rather than trusting the plot.", "The rigging load numbers it produces are for the loudspeaker array only. They are an input to a rigging plan, not a rigging plan.", "ArrayCalc designs the system; R1 controls it. Both are needed, and the handoff between them is where configurations get lost." ], "tags": [ "audio", "system-design", "simulation", "db-audiotechnik", "rigging" ], "sources": [ { "title": "d&b audiotechnik", "url": "https://www.dbaudio.com/", "publisher": "d&b audiotechnik", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "depence", "name": "Depence", "aka": [ "Depence²", "Depence2" ], "vendor": "Syncronorm GmbH", "category": "previsualisation", "summary": "Windows show-design and visualisation platform covering stage lighting, laser, video, fountains and special effects in one real-time 3D model. A separate Control module can drive the actual show output as well as previsualise it.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "dongle-locked", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Listed on Syncronorm's system-integration page; used to receive console output for previz, and the separate Control module is marketed as able to drive the real show over the same DMX network protocols.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "in", "note": "Listed alongside Art-Net on Syncronorm's own system-integration page as a supported DMX-over-network input.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "in", "note": "Listed among Depence's documented show-control integration protocols.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "in", "note": "NewTek/Vizrt NDI listed as a supported input on Syncronorm's system-integration page.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "in", "note": "PosiStageNet listed as a supported tracked-object input on the same page.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Listed as \"SMPTE\" among Depence's supported protocols; matched here to SMPTE/LTC timecode by name.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.syncronorm.com/products/depence2/overview", "label": "Syncronorm — Depence" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Previsualising a combined lighting, video, laser and fountain design in one 3D scene before load-in", "Rehearsing a multimedia show against a photorealistic model of the venue", "Driving the real show over DMX/RDM and analog/digital I/O from the same show file via the Control module", "Selling a fountain, laser or architectural lighting concept to a client before installation" ], "gotchas": [ "Windows only, and integrated Intel graphics are explicitly called out as not fully supported. Syncronorm's own spec recommends a dedicated gaming GPU with at least 6 GB VRAM.", "Licensing is modular and dongle-locked: Stage, Fountain, Special-FX, Laser, Animate and Control are separate paid modules, and none of them run without the USB licence dongle attached, even though the software itself installs on unlimited machines.", "Perpetual module licences are valid for the current major release only (R4 at time of writing). Minor updates within a release are free; moving to the next major release is a separate paid upgrade." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "previsualisation", "lighting", "visualiser", "show-control" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Depence — Overview", "url": "https://www.syncronorm.com/products/depence2/overview", "publisher": "Syncronorm GmbH", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "Depence — System Integration", "url": "https://www.syncronorm.com/products/depence2/show-control/system-integration", "publisher": "Syncronorm GmbH", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "Depence — System Requirements", "url": "https://www.syncronorm.com/products/depence2/system-requirements/page", "publisher": "Syncronorm GmbH", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "Depence — Licensing", "url": "https://www.syncronorm.com/products/depence2/licensing", "publisher": "Syncronorm GmbH", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-22" }, { "id": "disguise-designer", "name": "disguise Designer", "aka": [ "d3", "Designer" ], "vendor": "disguise", "category": "media-server", "summary": "The software that drives disguise media servers, combining a 3D stage model, timeline and mapped video output in one project. The same application is used for previs, programming and running the show.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "One of the documented timecode sources alongside MTC, MIDI beat clock and system time.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "in", "note": "Listed among Designer's position drivers.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "rttrpm", "direction": "in", "note": "Used for BlackTrax tracking data.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "kinet", "direction": "out", "note": "KiNET v1 and v2 are listed as DMX device drivers.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.disguise.one/en/products/designer", "label": "disguise Designer" }, "docs": { "url": "https://help.disguise.one/designer/getting-started/designer", "label": "disguise Designer user guide" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Programming and playing back mapped video on LED and projection", "Previsualisation of a stage design before load-in", "Driving disguise hardware in a multi-server session with understudy backup", "Extended reality and virtual production stages" ], "gotchas": [ "Projects saved in the free Starter tier are permanently locked to Starter. Pro can open anything except a Starter project, so evaluating on Starter and then upgrading means rebuilding the file.", "Starter cannot join a session with disguise servers or Pro instances, and its output carries an intermittent blue flash. It is a learning tier, not a small-show tier.", "Licensing is either a cloud licence tied to a disguise Cloud account or a CodeMeter USB dongle. Only dongles with serial numbers starting \"3-\" are supported, and cloud licences need internet to activate and check in or out." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "media-server", "projection-mapping", "previs", "xr" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Designer Starter vs Pro", "url": "https://www.disguise.one/en/products/designer-starter-vs-pro", "publisher": "disguise", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Designer Licensing FAQs", "url": "https://www.disguise.one/en/designer-licensing-faqs", "publisher": "disguise", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "disguise User Guide — Devices Index", "url": "https://help.disguise.one/designer/devices/devices-index", "publisher": "disguise", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "dmx-workshop", "name": "DMX-Workshop", "vendor": "Singularity (UK) Ltd", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Free Windows software suite for lighting network management, analysis, configuration and diagnostics, supporting Art-Net 4, DMX512, RDM over Art-Net, sACN, and KiNet — a long-standing reference tool for Art-Net devices.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Described as the reference standard tool for Art-Net implementations; sends and receives." }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "rdm", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified", "note": "RDM over Art-Net discovery/control." }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "kinet", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://singularity-uk.com/product/dmx-workshop/" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Discover and diagnose Art-Net nodes and their configuration on a network", "Send test DMX/RDM/sACN data to isolate whether a fault is upstream or downstream of a device", "Analyze network bandwidth/traffic patterns via the bundled Bandwidth-Tester and Multicaster tools" ], "gotchas": [ "Windows only; requires completing a registration form before the download link is provided.", "New users frequently get tripped up by Windows NIC (network adapter) configuration before Art-Net traffic appears — the vendor publishes a dedicated setup tutorial for this exact step." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "art-net", "sacn", "rdm", "kinet", "windows" ], "sources": [ { "title": "DMX-Workshop - Singularity (UK) product page", "url": "https://singularity-uk.com/product/dmx-workshop/", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Open Lighting wiki: DMX Workshop", "url": "https://wiki.openlighting.org/index.php/DMX_Workshop", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "ACT Lighting: Test Art-Net Signal Using DMX Workshop", "url": "https://support.actlighting.com/knowledgeBase/4366047", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "dmxcat", "name": "DMXcat", "vendor": "City Theatrical, Inc.", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Bluetooth LE hardware dongle plus a suite of free iOS/Android apps (DMX Controller, RDM Controller, DMX Tester, Fixture Controller) for controlling, analyzing, and testing DMX512 and RDM fixtures in the field.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "dongle-locked", "platforms": [ "ios", "android" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Measures break time, mark-after-break, inter-slot timing, refresh rate, and real-time channel levels." }, { "protocol": "rdm", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified", "note": "RDM Controller app performs RDM discovery, listing devices/addresses/attributes, via the DMXcat hardware." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.citytheatrical.com/products/electronics/other-electronic/dmxcat-multi-function-test-tool" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Walk a DMX/RDM line to physically locate a bad connector, cable, or termination via the 'Flicker-Finder' feature", "Run RDM discovery in the field to confirm addressing and identify unresponsive fixtures", "Manually drive individual DMX channels from a phone to bench-test a fixture without a full console" ], "gotchas": [ "All app functionality requires the separate DMXcat Bluetooth LE hardware dongle (sold separately); the free apps alone cannot monitor or control anything.", "Some analyzer features (e.g. RF Spectrum Analyzer, Light Meter) are Android-only and unavailable on iOS." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "dmx", "rdm", "hardware", "field-tool", "ios", "android" ], "sources": [ { "title": "DMXcat Multi Function Test Tool - City Theatrical", "url": "https://www.citytheatrical.com/products/electronics/other-electronic/dmxcat-multi-function-test-tool", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "DMXcat on the Apple App Store", "url": "https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dmxcat/id1163856486", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "DMXcat product brochure (PDF)", "url": "https://media.musson.com/mti/docs/d/m/dmxcat_brochure.pdf", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "dmxcontrol-3", "name": "DMXControl 3", "vendor": "DMXControl Projects e.V.", "category": "lighting-control", "license": "GPL-3.0-or-later", "price_model": "open-source", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Free and open-source Windows lighting control software with a full fixture library, effects engine and multi-universe output. A genuine no-cost option for schools and small venues.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "DMX out via supported USB interfaces.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Art-Net output and input.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "out", "note": "sACN output.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "in", "note": "MIDI triggering.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC control.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "School and youth theatre lighting", "Small venue rigs with no console budget", "Learning lighting control without a licence cost" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.dmxcontrol.org/", "label": "DMXControl" }, "gotchas": [ "Community-maintained, so hardware interface support is uneven. Check that the specific USB-DMX widget is supported before buying it.", "Documentation is strongest in German. English material exists but is less complete." ], "tags": [ "lighting", "open-source", "free", "windows", "education" ], "sources": [ { "title": "DMXControl", "url": "https://www.dmxcontrol.org/", "publisher": "DMXControl Projects e.V.", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "dot2-onpc", "name": "dot2 onPC", "aka": [ "dot2 on PC", "dot2 PC" ], "vendor": "MA Lighting", "category": "lighting-control", "summary": "The free Windows version of MA Lighting's dot2 console software, widely used for teaching and small rigs. One universe of Art-Net or sACN output is free; more universes require a dot2 Node4.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Output broadcast, Art-Net 1, universes 0:0 to 0:7. On onPC the first universe is free (introduced in software v1.2.2.8); beyond that a dot2 Node4 is required.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "out", "note": "Output multicast, universes 1 to 8, sACN priority fixed at 100. On onPC the first universe is free; beyond that a dot2 Node4 is required.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI note remote input, and MIDI note output from cues or the command line. On onPC you must choose the MIDI in and out devices yourself in Tools > MIDI Configuration.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MSC input to control executors, and MSC output to control other devices.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "note": "MIDI timecode can run cues automatically. Receiving timecode does not require a network session.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.malighting.com/product-archive/product/dot2-onpc-dot2_onPC/", "label": "dot2 onPC (MA Lighting product archive)" }, "status": "deprecated", "typical_use": [ "Teaching moving-light programming in schools and colleges", "One-universe control of a small rig from a laptop with no hardware at all", "Offline programming for a dot2 console show file", "Small installs driving up to 8 universes through a dot2 Node4" ], "gotchas": [ "Art-Net and sACN only work inside a session. You have to start a session, even standalone, or nothing leaves the machine.", "Only the first Art-Net/sACN universe is free on onPC. Universes 2-8 need a dot2 Node4 (1K), which itself tops out at 1,024 channels spread across the 8 universes.", "Art-Net output is broadcast Art-Net 1 on universes 0:0-0:7 and sACN is multicast on 1-8, and the same address must not be assigned to two universes.", "MA has discontinued dot2 and moved it to the product archive. It still runs, but there are no new features, and there was never a macOS build.", "On onPC the MIDI in and out devices are not selected for you. Nothing MIDI or MSC works until you set them in Tools > MIDI Configuration." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "lighting", "dot2", "ma-lighting", "education", "free" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Network Protocols Configuration - dot2 User Manual", "url": "https://help2.malighting.com/dot2/en/help/key_window_networkprotocols.html", "publisher": "MA Lighting", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "dot2 onPC - product archive", "url": "https://www.malighting.com/product-archive/product/dot2-onpc-dot2_onPC/", "publisher": "MA Lighting", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Use MIDI and MIDI Show Control (MSC) - dot2 User Manual", "url": "https://help.malighting.com/dot2/en/help/key_ht_usemidiandmsc.html", "publisher": "MA Lighting", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Timecode Configuration Window - dot2 User Manual", "url": "https://help2.malighting.com/Page/MA_dot2/window_timecode/en/1.9", "publisher": "MA Lighting", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "ease-focus", "name": "EASE Focus", "vendor": "AFMG", "category": "previsualisation", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Vendor-neutral loudspeaker array simulation using manufacturer GLL data, so systems from different brands can be modelled and compared in the same room.", "typical_use": [ "Comparing array proposals from different manufacturers", "Modelling a system when the vendor tool is not available", "Teaching array behaviour" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.afmg.eu/", "label": "AFMG" }, "gotchas": [ "GLL data quality varies by manufacturer. A vendor-neutral tool inherits whatever the vendor chose to publish.", "It models acoustics, not rigging. Mechanical safety still has to come from the manufacturer's own tool and a rigger." ], "tags": [ "audio", "system-design", "simulation", "gll", "vendor-neutral" ], "sources": [ { "title": "AFMG", "url": "https://www.afmg.eu/", "publisher": "AFMG", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "eos-family", "name": "Eos", "aka": [ "Eos family", "ETCnomad", "Nomad", "Eos Apex", "Ion Xe", "Gio", "Element" ], "vendor": "Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC)", "category": "lighting-control", "summary": "ETC's lighting control software for the Eos family: the same code runs on Apex, Gio, Ion Xe and Element consoles and on a Windows or Mac laptop as ETCnomad. The dominant console platform in English-language theatre.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "dongle-locked", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Enabled by default in Patch, universes 1-63,999. Incoming sACN levels can also be used as a show control trigger.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Disabled by default in Patch. Art-Net universes 0-255.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "Local DMX ports on consoles, or an ETC Gadget/Gadget II USB to DMX-RDM converter on a PC or Mac. Up to four Gadgets per computer.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "rdm", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Device discovery from the Patch display. Network RDM requires an ETC Net3 or Response Mk2 gateway with RDM enabled on the DMX ports, running gateway software 5.1 or newer.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "since_version": "2.3", "note": "ETC states all Eos family devices can send and receive OSC when running software v2.3 or higher.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Local MIDI connections on Eos Ti and Gio; Gio @5 and Ion Xe use USB; other consoles need a Net3 Show Control Gateway.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Raw MIDI can be sent and received. MIDI notes are output only, and cannot be received by a Net3 Show Control Gateway.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "note": "MIDI timecode is receive only, locally or via a Show Control Gateway.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "SMPTE/LTC timecode is receive only and arrives via a Net3 Show Control Gateway.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "0-10v", "direction": "in", "note": "0-10 VDC analogue inputs and contact closures. Four local closures on Ti/Gio/Ion, more via a Net3 I/O Gateway.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.etcconnect.com/ETCnomad/", "label": "ETCnomad - Eos software for PC and Mac" }, "docs": { "url": "https://support.etcconnect.com/ETC/Consoles/Eos_Family", "label": "ETC Eos Family support hub" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Main lighting control for plays, musicals and opera", "Offline programming and paperwork on a laptop before the fit-up", "Backup, mirror or remote programming station inside an Eos network", "Small rigs run from Nomad plus a Gadget II or a Net3 gateway" ], "gotchas": [ "The free Eos download outputs nothing. Without an ETCnomad USB key it runs only as an offline editor or in mirror mode.", "ETC counts outputs (addresses), not universes. A base ETCnomad key is 1,024 outputs, which is two universes of 512; the unlocked key is 6,144.", "From v2.6.0/v8.0.0 a dongle has only two possible counts, base and unlocked. The old ladder of 256/512/1536/2560 and so on is gone.", "Eos v3.2.0 and later, Apex consoles, Windows 10 consoles and all ETCnomad devices dropped Net2 (EDMX) and AVAB UDP output. A house with legacy ETCNet2 nodes has to move to sACN or Art-Net.", "Element's output count is fixed at 1,024 and cannot be upgraded. Element 2 goes from 1,024 base to 6,144 unlocked.", "RDM Device Discovery is disabled by default, and switches itself off again as soon as you leave the Patch display.", "Art-Net is disabled by default in Patch, so a visualiser or node expecting Art-Net sees nothing until the protocol is enabled." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "lighting", "theatre", "eos", "offline-programming" ], "sources": [ { "title": "ETCnomad - Eos Family Online Help", "url": "https://www.etcconnect.com/WebDocs/Controls/EosFamilyOnlineHelp/en/Content/02_Eos_Family_Product_Overview_and_Setup/Other_Eos_Family_Products/ETCnomad.htm", "publisher": "Electronic Theatre Controls", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "ETCnomad Dongle Counts", "url": "https://support.etcconnect.com/ETC/Consoles/Eos_Family/Software_and_Programming/ETCnomad_Dongle_Counts", "publisher": "Electronic Theatre Controls", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Eos Family Console Output Counts", "url": "https://support.etcconnect.com/ETC/Consoles/Eos_Family/Eos_Family_General_Topics/Eos_Family_Console_Output_Counts", "publisher": "Electronic Theatre Controls", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Eos Family Show Control Capabilities", "url": "https://support.etcconnect.com/ETC/Consoles/Eos_Family/Software_and_Programming/Eos_Family_Show_Control_Capabilities", "publisher": "Electronic Theatre Controls", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Patch > Protocols - Eos Family Online Help", "url": "https://www.etcconnect.com/WebDocs/Controls/EosFamilyOnlineHelp/en/Content/06_Patch/Patch_Protocols.htm", "publisher": "Electronic Theatre Controls", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "RDM Device List - Eos Family Online Help", "url": "https://www.etcconnect.com/WebDocs/Controls/EosFamilyOnlineHelp/en/Content/06_Patch/05_Patch_Device_List/RDM_Device_List.htm", "publisher": "Electronic Theatre Controls", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "ETCnomad does not output AVAB UDP or ETCNet2 EDMX Protocols", "url": "https://support.etcconnect.com/ETC/Consoles/Eos_Family/ETCnomad_and_ETCnomad_Puck/ETCnomad_does_not_output_AVAB_UDP_or_ETCNet2_EDMX_Protocols", "publisher": "Electronic Theatre Controls", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "esp-vision", "name": "ESP Vision", "aka": [ "Vision Pro" ], "vendor": "ESP Studios / Zzyzx, Inc. (acquired by Vectorworks, Inc., 2015)", "category": "previsualisation", "summary": "Realtime DMX-driven lighting visualiser sold independently from the mid-2000s until Vectorworks acquired the product and its team in 2015. Its technology became the basis for what Vectorworks now sells as Vectorworks Vision.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Documented DMX input protocol in the ESP Vision 2.0 era (2006); not necessarily reflective of every release across the product's life.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "status": "superseded", "superseded_by": "vectorworks-vision", "typical_use": [ "Realtime lighting simulation for touring, broadcast, corporate and theatrical shows, circa 2004-2015", "Offline programming against consoles including Wholehog 3, HogPC and grandMA (via MA-Net)" ], "gotchas": [ "Acquired by Vectorworks, Inc. in October 2015. ESP Vision's technical team joined Vectorworks' development group and its previsualisation technology became the basis for Vectorworks Vision; \"ESP Vision\" has not been sold as an independent product since.", "Contemporary sources (2004-2006) describe a per-DMX-universe purchase price plus a separate per-universe annual subscription covering upgrades and support. These figures predate the 2015 acquisition by roughly a decade and should not be assumed current." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "previsualisation", "lighting", "visualiser", "vectorworks" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Vectorworks, Inc. Acquires ESP Vision to Enhance Design and Visualization Workflow Synergies", "url": "https://www.prweb.com/releases/vectorworks_inc_acquires_esp_vision_to_enhance_design_and_visualization_workflow_synergies/prweb13035318.htm", "publisher": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "Vectorworks, Inc. acquires ESP Vision to enhance Design and Visualization workflows", "url": "https://architosh.com/2015/10/vectorworks-inc-acquires-esp-vision-to-enhance-design-and-visualization-workflows/", "publisher": "Architosh", "accessed": "2026-08-22" }, { "title": "ESP Vision 2.0 (road test)", "url": "https://plsn.com/articles/road-tests/esp-vision-20/", "publisher": "PLSN", "accessed": "2026-08-22" }, { "title": "ESP Vision Lighting Simulation Software Now Available For Purchase", "url": "https://www.livedesignonline.com/esp-vision-lighting-simulation-software-now-available-for-purchase", "publisher": "Live Design", "accessed": "2026-08-22" } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-22" }, { "id": "etcdmxtool", "name": "ETCDmxTool", "vendor": "ETC Labs", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Free open-source Windows/Linux DMX/RDM controller and sniffer for ETC's Gadget-family USB hardware, able to capture DMX/RDM data, control DMX levels, and act as an RDM controller.", "license": "Apache-2.0", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Captures DMX data and can output/control DMX levels via ETC Whip/Gadget hardware." }, { "protocol": "rdm", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Acts as an RDM controller and can capture RDM traffic; full feature set requires ETC Gadget II hardware." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://github.com/ETCLabs/ETCDmxTool" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/ETCLabs/ETCDmxTool" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Sniff raw DMX/RDM traffic on a line using an ETC USB Whip or Gadget interface", "Run RDM discovery and send GET/SET commands to responders for fixture diagnostics", "Bench-test a fixture's DMX response by manually setting channel levels" ], "gotchas": [ "Explicitly labeled 'UNOFFICIAL' in the repo — a community project, not an ETC-supported product.", "Requires specific ETC USB hardware (USB Whip, Gadget I, or Gadget II); feature availability (e.g. RDM controller mode) varies by which device and firmware version you have." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "dmx", "rdm", "sniffer", "open-source" ], "sources": [ { "title": "ETCLabs/ETCDmxTool GitHub repository", "url": "https://github.com/ETCLabs/ETCDmxTool", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "finale-3d", "name": "Finale 3D", "vendor": "Finale 3D", "category": "previsualisation", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Fireworks design and simulation software. A designer programs to the moment an effect is seen, and the software works backwards through each item's lift and delay to produce the fire times the controller actually executes — which is why a shell that bursts on the beat was fired seconds earlier.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "out", "note": "Scripts are executed against timecode by the firing system.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://finale3d.com/", "label": "Finale 3D" }, "typical_use": [ "Pyromusical design and simulation", "Producing the script a firing system executes", "Showing a client the show before anything is bought" ], "gotchas": [ "The simulation is only as honest as the effect data behind it. Times, heights and durations come from the product library and from the manufacturer.", "Design software does not arm anything. Permission to fire stays in the physical chain, outside every computer." ], "tags": [ "pyro", "fireworks", "design", "timecode" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Finale 3D", "url": "https://finale3d.com/", "publisher": "Finale 3D", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "go-button", "name": "Go Button", "vendor": "Figure 53", "category": "cue-playback", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "ios" ], "summary": "iOS sound cue playback app from the makers of QLab: a simple, dependable cue list of audio files with fades and hotkeys, for shows that do not need a full QLab rig.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI triggering over a network or interface.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC control.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Sound cues for a small production from an iPad", "Backup playback device", "Rehearsal playback" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://figure53.com/go-button/", "label": "Go Button" }, "gotchas": [ "An iPad is a phone-adjacent device. Notifications, auto-lock and incoming calls are show risks unless the device is properly locked down.", "Not a QLab replacement. There is no video, no complex cue logic and no networked device control." ], "tags": [ "cue-playback", "ios", "sound", "figure53" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Go Button", "url": "https://figure53.com/go-button/", "publisher": "Figure 53", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "godot", "name": "Godot Engine", "vendor": "Godot Foundation", "category": "content-creation", "license": "MIT", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Small, fast-opening, genuinely free real-time engine under a permissive licence with no royalty and no company able to change the terms later. Smaller ecosystem and fewer industry integrations than Unreal or Unity — the right pick for learning, for tools a venue owns, and for anything that must still run in ten years.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through community add-ons.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://godotengine.org/", "label": "Godot Engine" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/godotengine/godot", "label": "GitHub" }, "typical_use": [ "Bespoke interactive tools an organisation needs to own outright", "Learning how a real-time engine works", "Small installations and exhibits" ], "gotchas": [ "You will build more of the show-specific integration yourself than in the commercial engines. That is the trade for owning the result." ], "tags": [ "engine", "open-source", "real-time", "godot" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Godot Engine", "url": "https://godotengine.org/", "publisher": "Godot Foundation", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "grandma3-onpc", "name": "grandMA3 onPC", "aka": [ "MA3 onPC" ], "vendor": "MA Lighting", "category": "lighting-control", "summary": "The grandMA3 console software running on a Windows or macOS computer, free to download. It is the standard way to pre-program a grandMA3 show without tying up a console.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "One of the two Ethernet DMX protocols grandMA3 supports for sending and receiving.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Documented at Art-Net revision 1.4db. Unicast is used until more than five receivers subscribe to a universe.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "in", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.malighting.com/special/grandma3-software/", "label": "grandMA3 software" }, "docs": { "url": "https://help.malighting.com/grandMA3/", "label": "grandMA3 online manuals" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Offline programming and plotting before a show goes into the room", "Small rigs run from a laptop with an onPC node for DMX output", "Backup and understudy station in a grandMA3 session", "Training and rehearsal without a console" ], "gotchas": [ "DMX output from onPC needs grandMA3 onPC solutions hardware connected to the computer. The free download on its own is a programming tool, not an output device.", "Joining a session with grandMA3 consoles raises the memory requirement to at least 16 GB, or 24 GB unified memory on Apple silicon. A minimum-spec laptop will run onPC standalone and then fall over in session.", "grandMA3 supports only sACN and Art-Net for network DMX. There is no Pathport or ShowNet path, so a house running another protocol needs a gateway." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "lighting", "offline-programming", "grandma3" ], "sources": [ { "title": "The free-of-cost grandMA3 software", "url": "https://www.malighting.com/special/grandma3-software/", "publisher": "MA Lighting", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "grandMA3 User Manual — System Requirements grandMA3 onPC", "url": "https://help.malighting.com/grandMA3/2.0/HTML/onpc_system_requirements.html", "publisher": "MA Lighting", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "grandMA3 User Manual — Ethernet DMX", "url": "https://help.malighting.com/grandMA3/2.0/HTML/dmx_ethernet.html", "publisher": "MA Lighting", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "grandMA3 User Manual — Protocol Details", "url": "https://help.malighting.com/grandMA3/2.2/HTML/network_design_protocols.html", "publisher": "MA Lighting", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "heavym", "name": "HeavyM", "vendor": "HeavyM", "category": "media-server", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Projection mapping aimed at getting a surface mapped quickly, with a built-in library of effects. Where a full media server is more machine than a job needs, this is often the honest answer.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "External control.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "in", "note": "External control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Depending on version.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Timecode-driven playback, depending on version.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://heavym.net/", "label": "HeavyM" }, "typical_use": [ "Architectural and scenic projection mapping", "Events where setup time is the constraint" ], "gotchas": [ "Fast to map and less flexible than a full media server. Check the control surface it exposes before designing a show around it." ], "tags": [ "projection", "mapping", "video" ], "sources": [ { "title": "HeavyM", "url": "https://heavym.net/", "publisher": "HeavyM", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "hippotizer", "name": "Hippotizer", "aka": [ "Hippotizer V4", "Green Hippo Hippotizer" ], "vendor": "Green Hippo (an ACT Entertainment brand)", "category": "media-server", "summary": "Windows media server software built from swappable components (DMX, Timeline, PixelMapper, Notch, CITP) around Green Hippo's FlexRes playback engine. Standard kit for large-format video, blending and LED pixel-mapping on tours and corporate shows.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "dongle-locked", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "In: the DMX component takes Art-Net from a lighting desk to control layers, mixes and viewports, with auto-patch tooling. Out: PixelMapper sends Art-Net to LED fixtures.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Accepted by the DMX component for desk control and available as a PixelMapper output protocol.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ma-net", "direction": "in", "note": "The DMX component accepts MA-Net alongside Art-Net and sACN, and there is a dedicated MA-Net3 component; 4.9.0 release notes add MA-Net3 networking support.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "kinet", "direction": "out", "note": "KiNET is one of the PixelMapper output protocols, alongside Art-Net and sACN.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "citp", "direction": "out", "note": "CITP component pushes media thumbnails, media names and low-resolution streaming previews to lighting consoles and visualisers; requires the DMX component to be running. Documented as Hippotizer-to-console only.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "in", "note": "PosiStageNet controller receives position, velocity and acceleration for multiple tracked objects, with axis interpolation smoothing. Docs say new projects should use the Automation Reader.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "rttrpm", "direction": "in", "note": "BlackTrax is listed among MultiController automation readers; the manual names the product rather than the RTTrPM protocol version, so the exact wire format is not confirmed in vendor docs.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI can be received on a layer, and each Mix can send an NDI feed at a configurable resolution and framerate, optionally with alpha. Docs warn NDI sending costs real GPU/CPU load above HD.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "in", "note": "MultiController maps MIDI controllers (and Stream Deck) to Hippotizer pins. Feedback capability is referenced but not documented in detail, so outbound MIDI is unconfirmed.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "in", "note": "MultiController maps OSC (and raw TCP) to pins. As with MIDI, outbound OSC feedback is referenced but not documented in detail.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Sync Manager receives LTC from an audio input (left channel), a factory-fitted Alpermann+Velte card, or USB interfaces (Rosendahl Mif4, CB Electronics TC-5, Adrienne Electronics USB-LTC).", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "note": "Sync Manager receives MTC via the Rosendahl Mif4 or CB Electronics TC-5 USB interfaces.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.green-hippo.com/", "label": "Green Hippo" }, "docs": { "url": "https://support.green-hippo.com/hc/en-gb", "label": "Green Hippo technical support and Hippotizer manuals" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Large-format video playback, blending and mapping for touring concerts and corporate shows", "Media-server layers patched to and cued from a lighting console over Art-Net, sACN or MA-Net", "Pixel-mapping LED and fixture arrays from video content over Art-Net, sACN or KiNET", "Playing Notch blocks for real-time generative and IMAG effects", "Timecode-chased playback distributed across multiple servers via Sync Manager" ], "gotchas": [ "Media encoded in 4.9 uses FlexRes V2, which the release notes state is not compatible with earlier versions. Encode a show on a 4.9 machine and any server in the rig still on 4.8 cannot read it.", "CITP is listed in the 4.9.0 known issues as not yet functional, and even when working the manual warns it loads the network enough to hurt playback and recommends it for programming only, not live.", "Notch playback is licensed separately from Hippotizer. V4+ systems can play the bundled stock Notch effects; any third-party Notch block needs a Notch Playback dongle.", "Licensing splits by tier: V4, compatibility mode and Play are software-licensed, while V4+ and Prep are dongle-licensed. Software licences are non-transferable and drastic hardware changes stop the software running.", "Hippotizer Play is genuinely free but crippled on purpose: two mixes of 16 layers, one watermarked output, no MPEG encode or playback, and PixelMapper output flashes green periodically. Fine for pre-programming, not for a show.", "Ownership has changed hands: Green Hippo was acquired by Spitfire Creative Technologies on 1 October 2018, and Green Hippo now describes itself as an ACT Entertainment brand." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "media-server", "pixel-mapping", "notch-host", "touring", "windows" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Hippotizer V4 manual 4.9.0 - Components", "url": "https://www.manula.com/manuals/green-hippo/hippotizer-v4/4.9.0/en/topic/components", "publisher": "Green Hippo", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Hippotizer V4 manual 4.9.0 - Release Notes (FlexRes V2, MA-Net3, CITP known issue)", "url": "https://www.manula.com/manuals/green-hippo/hippotizer-v4/4.9.0/en/topic/release-notes", "publisher": "Green Hippo", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Hippotizer V4 manual 4.9.0 - Sync Manager (LTC / MTC sources)", "url": "https://www.manula.com/manuals/green-hippo/hippotizer-v4/4.9.0/en/topic/sync-manager", "publisher": "Green Hippo", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Hippotizer V4 manual 4.8.3 - CITP", "url": "https://www.manula.com/manuals/green-hippo/hippotizer-v4/4.8.3/en/topic/citp", "publisher": "Green Hippo", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Hippotizer V4 manual 4.8.3 - Notch Licensing", "url": "https://www.manula.com/manuals/green-hippo/hippotizer-v4/4.8.3/en/topic/notch-licensing", "publisher": "Green Hippo", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Hippotizer V4 manual 4.7.1 - Licensing Tab", "url": "https://www.manula.com/manuals/green-hippo/hippotizer-v4/4.7.1/en/topic/licensing-tab", "publisher": "Green Hippo", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Hippotizer Play Quick Start Guide - Welcome to Play", "url": "https://www.manula.com/manuals/green-hippo/play-quick-start-guide/play/en/topic/welcome-to-play", "publisher": "Green Hippo", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Spitfire Creative Technologies Announces Acquisition of Green Hippo Ltd and Green Hippo Media Technology Inc.", "url": "https://www.green-hippo.com/spitfire-creative-technologies-announces-acquisition/", "publisher": "Green Hippo", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "home-assistant", "name": "Home Assistant", "vendor": "Open Home Foundation", "category": "show-control", "license": "Apache-2.0", "price_model": "open-source", "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/home-assistant/core", "label": "Home Assistant Core" }, "status": "current", "platforms": [ "linux", "embedded" ], "summary": "Open-source local control for connected devices, with an unusually large set of integrations. Relevant here because it is the most practical way to bring consumer and building devices into a venue system without handing control to a vendor cloud.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "mqtt", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "First-class.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "matter", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Supported.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "thread", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via a border router.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "zigbee", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via a coordinator.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "knx", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Integration available.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "Through integrations, and not a substitute for a lighting control system.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.home-assistant.io/", "label": "Home Assistant" }, "typical_use": [ "Local control of building and consumer devices in an installation", "Keeping a venue working when a vendor cloud is not", "Scheduling and automation around a space" ], "gotchas": [ "It is building automation, not show control. Nothing a cue depends on belongs here.", "Updates are frequent and occasionally breaking. Pin a version on anything installed." ], "tags": [ "iot", "automation", "local-control", "open-source" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Home Assistant", "url": "https://www.home-assistant.io/", "publisher": "Open Home Foundation", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "iperf3", "name": "iperf3", "vendor": "ESnet / Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory", "category": "networking-utility", "license": "BSD-3-Clause", "price_model": "open-source", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "summary": "Command-line network throughput measurement tool. Run between two machines it establishes what a link actually delivers, which is the fastest way to settle whether a network can carry a media load.", "typical_use": [ "Proving a fibre run before the show rack depends on it", "Testing a venue link before committing to media over IP", "Finding the switch or cable that is negotiating at 100 Mbit" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://software.es.net/iperf/", "label": "iperf3" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/esnet/iperf", "label": "esnet/iperf" }, "gotchas": [ "Throughput is not the same as suitability for media. A link can pass a gigabit of TCP and still be useless for PTP-locked audio if it is queueing badly.", "Test in both directions and with UDP as well as TCP. Asymmetric faults and multicast problems do not show up in a single default TCP run.", "A default test saturates the link. Do not run it on a live show network." ], "tags": [ "networking", "diagnostics", "throughput", "open-source", "free" ], "sources": [ { "title": "iperf3", "url": "https://software.es.net/iperf/", "publisher": "ESnet", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true }, { "title": "esnet/iperf on GitHub", "url": "https://github.com/esnet/iperf", "publisher": "GitHub", "accessed": "2026-08-26" } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "isadora", "name": "Isadora", "aka": [ "Izzy", "TroikaTronix Isadora" ], "vendor": "TroikaTronix (Mark Coniglio)", "category": "media-server", "summary": "Node-based real-time media environment where video, audio, sensors and control protocols are patched together as actors inside scenes. Long-standing tool for interactive video in dance and experimental theatre, also used as a straight scene-cued playback system.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "platforms": [ "macos", "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Specifications page lists input and output of OSC; Isadora 4 adds an OSC Address Listener actor. Commonly used to take cues from lighting consoles and other cue software.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI input and output listed on the specifications page.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "in", "note": "MSC listed on the specifications page; the show-control page describes triggering cues from external software or hardware over MSC.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "note": "Specifications page states MIDI Timecode support and the show-control page lists MTC for synchronisation; the docs do not state that Isadora also generates MTC.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "since_version": "4", "note": "Integrated Art-Net send and receive from Isadora 4. In Isadora 2 and 3 Art-Net was a separately downloaded plugin (32-bit for 2, 64-bit for 3).", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "Video can be pixel-mapped to RGB DMX values and sent out via USB-DMX devices. The lighting page says DMX input and output but only output is described in any detail.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "since_version": "3.2", "note": "Input via the NDI Watcher actor (integrated from Isadora 4, a downloaded add-on actor before that); output is configured in Stage Setup. Syphon (macOS) and Spout (Windows) cover local texture sharing.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://troikatronix.com/", "label": "TroikaTronix" }, "docs": { "url": "https://support.troikatronix.com/support/solutions", "label": "TroikaTronix support and documentation" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Interactive video for dance and experimental performance, driven by camera or sensor input", "Live camera processing and GPU effects chains built as actor patches", "Scene-based cue playback with crossfades, triggered from a console over OSC or MSC", "Pixel-mapping video content out to LED via Art-Net or USB-DMX", "Multi-projector setups with blending and routing, up to 16 stage outputs" ], "gotchas": [ "A perpetual buy-to-own licence includes two years of updates, not updates forever. After that the installed version keeps running but newer releases need a paid update, which extends the window by another year.", "Release notes explicitly exclude Surface Pro-class tablets, Linux, and macOS running on non-Apple hardware. A rented Windows laptop that turns out to be a Surface is not a supported playback machine.", "Art-Net was a downloadable plugin in Isadora 2 (32-bit) and Isadora 3 (64-bit) and only became integrated in Isadora 4, so version-specific plugin builds matter when opening older patches.", "IzzyCast, the remote video/audio/data streaming feature, is a separate product with its own credit-based charging rather than something the Isadora licence covers.", "Perpetual licences come in digital and USB-key variants; the USB-key version is the one that needs no internet connection, which matters for air-gapped show machines." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "interactive", "node-based", "dance", "theatre", "projection-mapping" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Isadora Specifications", "url": "https://troikatronix.com/isadora-features/specifications", "publisher": "TroikaTronix", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Isadora 4 Release Notes", "url": "https://support.troikatronix.com/support/solutions/articles/13000106556-isadora-4-release-notes", "publisher": "TroikaTronix", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Isadora 4 License Types Overview", "url": "https://support.troikatronix.com/support/solutions/articles/13000072198-isadora-4-license-types-overview", "publisher": "TroikaTronix", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Isadora - Lighting Control", "url": "https://troikatronix.com/isadora-features/lighting-control/", "publisher": "TroikaTronix", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Isadora - Cueing (Show Control)", "url": "https://troikatronix.com/isadora/cueing-show-control/", "publisher": "TroikaTronix", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Basics of NDI Input and Output", "url": "https://troikatronix.com/add-ons/basics-of-ndi-input-and-output/", "publisher": "TroikaTronix", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "l-acoustics-soundvision", "name": "L-Acoustics Soundvision", "vendor": "L-Acoustics", "category": "previsualisation", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "3D acoustical and mechanical simulation for L-Acoustics systems, predicting SPL coverage and array mechanics in a modelled venue before anything is rigged.", "typical_use": [ "Designing an L-Acoustics system for a specific room", "Checking mechanical safety of an array configuration", "Producing coverage maps for a client or promoter" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.l-acoustics.com/", "label": "L-Acoustics" }, "gotchas": [ "Predictions are only as good as the venue model. A rough box model gives rough answers, especially for balcony coverage.", "Soundvision designs; LA Network Manager deploys. The gains, delays and presets have to be transferred deliberately." ], "tags": [ "audio", "system-design", "simulation", "l-acoustics" ], "sources": [ { "title": "L-Acoustics", "url": "https://www.l-acoustics.com/", "publisher": "L-Acoustics", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "l-isa-controller", "name": "L-ISA Controller", "vendor": "L-Acoustics", "category": "audio-mixing", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "quote-only", "platforms": [ "macos", "windows" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Object-based audio control for L-Acoustics immersive systems: sources are positioned in the room rather than panned between speakers, and the processing works out what each output has to do. The point where a tracking system's coordinates become where a voice appears to come from.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Object positions and control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "in", "note": "Performer position from tracking systems.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "rttrpm", "direction": "in", "note": "Performer position from tracking systems.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.l-acoustics.com/", "label": "L-Acoustics" }, "typical_use": [ "Immersive and object-based mixes", "Following a tracked performer with a sound object", "Theatre and residency work where localisation matters" ], "gotchas": [ "It consumes a coordinate system. Agree the origin with lighting and video before anybody surveys, or the sound will be exactly as wrong as the light." ], "tags": [ "immersive", "object-audio", "tracking", "l-acoustics" ], "sources": [ { "title": "L-Acoustics", "url": "https://www.l-acoustics.com/", "publisher": "L-Acoustics", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "l8", "name": "L8", "vendor": "L8 LLC", "category": "previsualisation", "summary": "Windows real-time visualiser for lighting, video, laser and moving-object shows, sold in tiered editions from a 64-fixture Community Edition up to a 4000-fixture Unlimited tier with bidirectional Hog and MA-Net console links.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "DMX input on every edition; the Trace and Unlimited edition pages separately document \"DMX output with Art-Net.\"", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "in", "note": "DMX input protocol on every edition, e.g. 2 universes on the entry CE edition.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ma-net", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "MA-Net 2/3 DMX input, documented on the Trace and Unlimited editions only.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "hognet", "direction": "bidirectional", "requires_licence": true, "note": "Documented literally as \"Hog 3/4 (bidirectional)\" DMX input/output on the Trace and Unlimited editions.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "NDI texture input documented on the Unlimited edition.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://l8.ltd/", "label": "L8" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Previsualising lighting, video and laser design against live console DMX before load-in", "Simulating moving scenery and tracked objects, with collision detection on the higher tiers", "Low-cost offline programming check on the Community Edition before committing to a full licence", "Rendering a combined lighting, video and laser look to sell a concept to a client" ], "gotchas": [ "Editions are capped by fixture and universe count, similar to Capture: the CE edition tops out at 64 fixtures and 2 DMX-input universes, while Unlimited reaches 4000 fixtures.", "MA-Net and Hog console links are reserved for the Trace and Unlimited tiers. The entry CE edition only receives Art-Net or sACN.", "Every edition's system requirements explicitly exclude Intel graphics; a dedicated Nvidia or AMD GPU is required.", "L8 LLC and the separately operated LightConverse Ltd. both trace back to the same original LightConverse development team, who split into two independent companies in 2018. They are not the same product today." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "previsualisation", "lighting", "visualiser", "laser" ], "sources": [ { "title": "L8 CE edition", "url": "https://l8.ltd/m/l8-ce.html", "publisher": "L8 LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "L8 Trace edition", "url": "https://l8.ltd/m/l8-trace.html", "publisher": "L8 LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "L8 Unlimited edition", "url": "https://l8.ltd/m/l8-unlimited.html", "publisher": "L8 LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "L8 Shop — home", "url": "https://l8.ltd/", "publisher": "L8 LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "From LightConverse to L8", "url": "https://plsn.com/archives/january-2019/from-lightconverse-to-l8/", "publisher": "PLSN", "accessed": "2026-08-22" } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-22" }, { "id": "lightconverse", "name": "LightConverse", "vendor": "LightConverse", "category": "previsualisation", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Real-time 3D lighting and stage visualiser used for previsualisation and design presentation, with a large fixture library and live console input over the usual lighting protocols.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Art-Net input from a console.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "in", "note": "sACN input from a console.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "citp", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "CITP for media server and console integration.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Pre-programming and rehearsing a show off site", "Presenting a lighting design to a client", "Checking beam coverage and sightlines before load-in" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://lightconverse.net/", "label": "LightConverse" }, "gotchas": [ "Visualiser output is a rendering, not a photometric prediction. Use it for looks and positions, not to prove illuminance on a subject.", "Fixture library accuracy varies. A fixture that renders with the wrong zoom range will make a pre-programmed show wrong in a way nobody catches until the rig is up." ], "tags": [ "previs", "visualiser", "lighting", "3d" ], "sources": [ { "title": "LightConverse", "url": "https://lightconverse.net/", "publisher": "LightConverse", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "lightkey", "name": "Lightkey", "vendor": "Lightkey", "category": "lighting-control", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "macos" ], "summary": "macOS lighting control application aimed at small venues, bands and installations, with a free tier limited by fixture count and a straightforward live-oriented interface.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "DMX out via USB interfaces.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Art-Net output.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "out", "note": "sACN output.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "in", "note": "MIDI triggering from surfaces.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "in", "note": "OSC control.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Small venue and club lighting from a Mac", "Band-operated lighting without a dedicated operator", "Small installations" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://lightkeyapp.com/", "label": "Lightkey" }, "gotchas": [ "The free tier caps fixture count rather than time. A rig that grows past the cap stops being free mid-project.", "macOS only, and lighting laptops in small venues are often whatever is available. Confirm the platform before promising this to a venue." ], "tags": [ "lighting", "macos", "small-venue", "budget" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Lightkey", "url": "https://lightkeyapp.com/", "publisher": "Lightkey", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "lightwright", "name": "Lightwright", "aka": [ "LW", "Lightwright 6" ], "vendor": "Lightwright LLC (John McKernon Software)", "category": "production-management", "summary": "The lighting paperwork database: channel hookups, instrument schedules, colour and equipment counts, focus charts and work notes. Stays in sync with a Vectorworks plot over an .xml link and talks to Eos over OSC during focus and work calls.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Eos Console Link uses OSC over the lighting network, or 127.0.0.1 on a single machine, to trigger cues, turn lights on and off during focus and work calls, and import, label and document cues and groups.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.lightwright.com/", "label": "Lightwright" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Building and maintaining the hookup and instrument schedule for a plot", "Work notes and focus tracking through tech", "Two-way sync with a Vectorworks Spotlight drawing via the .xml link", "Channel checks and cue/group labelling straight from Lightwright to an Eos console", "Colour, gobo and equipment counts for the shop order" ], "gotchas": [ "The Vectorworks link is an .xml file named after the .vwx and living beside it. Rename or move the .vwx and Lightwright keeps reading the old .xml, so the two files silently drift apart.", "Vectorworks UIDs are not guaranteed to be unique. A new light whose UID matches an old deleted one makes Lightwright restore the deleted light, which can cause all kinds of chaos.", "One undefined or corrupted character in a data field can invalidate the whole exchange .xml. When the two files disagree, do a Complete Export on Exit from Vectorworks.", "Backslashes in folder names, particularly on Mac, stop Vectorworks and Lightwright communicating at all.", "Eos Console Link needs OSC RX and TX enabled in Eos Setup with TCP mode set to Slip (v1.1), OSC enabled on the active network port, and Lightwright on a complementary IP and subnet.", "Importing into Eos from a file is a different path from the live link: tab-separated .txt with Windows line endings, and only rows whose Device Type is Light will import.", "Lightwright moved from a perpetual licence to subscription with the January 2026 platform release. Lightwright 6 keeps working, but legacy bug-fix support was stated to end 1 July 2026.", "The Lightwright 6 student licence was a hard stop: after three years the software will cease to function." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "lighting", "paperwork", "theatre", "hookup" ], "sources": [ { "title": "About Lightwright 6", "url": "https://www.mckernon.com/lightwrightmenu/lwabout6.html", "publisher": "John McKernon Software", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Vectorworks / Lightwright Data Exchange", "url": "https://www.mckernon.com/supportmenu/vwdataexchange.html", "publisher": "John McKernon Software", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Eos Console Link - Lightwright user guide", "url": "https://www.lightwright.com/docs/user-guide/14-external-integration/02-eos-console-link.html", "publisher": "Lightwright LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Lightwright licence types", "url": "https://www.mckernon.com/lightwrightmenu/lwlicensingmain.html", "publisher": "John McKernon Software", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Lightwright Unveils Historic Platform Overhaul: Introducing Real-Time Collaboration", "url": "https://www.livedesignonline.com/b2b-experience/lightwright-unveils-historic-platform-overhaul-introducing-real-time-collaboration", "publisher": "Live Design", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "Importing Lightwright Data Into Eos Family Consoles", "url": "https://support.etcconnect.com/ETC/Consoles/Eos_Family/Software_and_Programming/Importing_Lightwright_Data_Into_Eos_Family_Consoles", "publisher": "Electronic Theatre Controls", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "ma3d", "name": "MA 3D", "vendor": "MA Lighting", "category": "previsualisation", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "MA Lighting's visualiser, bundled with the grandMA software line, showing the rig in 3D driven live by the console for pre-programming and rehearsal without the physical fixtures.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ma-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Driven directly over MA-Net from a grandMA session.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Art-Net input where MA-Net is not used.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Pre-programming a grandMA show off site", "Rehearsing cues without the rig", "Checking fixture positions against the plot" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.malighting.com/", "label": "MA Lighting" }, "gotchas": [ "Version-locked to the console software generation. MA 3D for grandMA2 and the grandMA3 visualiser are not the same product and do not share files.", "The visualiser knows the rig you built in it. Time spent making the model match the real plot is what determines whether the pre-programming is usable on site." ], "tags": [ "previs", "visualiser", "grandma", "ma-lighting" ], "sources": [ { "title": "MA Lighting", "url": "https://www.malighting.com/", "publisher": "MA Lighting", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "madmapper", "name": "MadMapper", "vendor": "garageCube", "category": "media-server", "summary": "Projection mapping and LED pixel mapping application that treats surfaces and fixtures as one output canvas. Common on installations and mid-size shows where a full media server is overkill.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Documented as Art-Net 4 compliant, up to 4096 DMX universes.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Includes OSC Query support.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://madmapper.com/", "label": "madmapper.com" }, "docs": { "url": "https://docs.madmapper.com/", "label": "MadMapper documentation" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Mapping video onto scenic objects and irregular surfaces", "Pixel mapping LED strips, battens and custom fixtures from video content", "Permanent installations driven by the MiniMad hardware player", "Laser content when paired with MadLaser" ], "gotchas": [ "Perpetual licences are sold with a two-seat minimum. A single machine can only be licensed on the rental plan, which matters when budgeting one show laptop.", "The free demo watermarks input, output and preview and disables saving and loading projects, so it cannot be used to build a show in advance.", "Laser output is MadLaser, a separate product, not a MadMapper feature. Do not quote laser control on the strength of a MadMapper licence." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "projection-mapping", "pixel-mapping", "video", "installation" ], "sources": [ { "title": "MadMapper Features", "url": "https://madmapper.com/madmapper/features", "publisher": "garageCube", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "MadMapper FAQ — licensing and system requirements", "url": "https://madmapper.com/madmapper/faq", "publisher": "garageCube", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "max-msp", "name": "Max", "aka": [ "Max/MSP", "Max/MSP/Jitter", "Cycling 74 Max" ], "vendor": "Cycling '74", "category": "content-creation", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Dataflow programming environment where a patch is built from objects joined by cables. Max is the message layer, MSP the sample-rate audio layer, Jitter the video and matrix layer — and being able to move between an event and a continuous signal in one patch is the whole reason it stayed the standard in music technology and interactive installation.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Core to Max since the beginning.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via widely used objects rather than as a built-in.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ableton-link", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through Max for Live and Link-aware objects.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://cycling74.com/", "label": "Cycling '74" }, "typical_use": [ "Interactive installations and generative content", "Custom show tooling where an audio signal and a control message need to meet", "Max for Live devices inside Ableton Live" ], "gotchas": [ "Patches do not diff. Version them by hand and write down what each version changed, because the usual \"what changed?\" safety net does not exist.", "The tilde matters: objects ending in ~ run at audio rate, the rest run on messages. Mixing the two mental models is the classic beginner fault.", "A show machine needs its licence sorted before the tour, not after — check what an unattended install is allowed to do." ], "tags": [ "dataflow", "patching", "interactive", "audio", "max" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Cycling '74 Max", "url": "https://cycling74.com/products/max", "publisher": "Cycling '74", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "medialon-control-system", "name": "Medialon Control System", "vendor": "Medialon (Barco)", "category": "show-control", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "quote-only", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Show control platform for themed entertainment, museums and permanent installations: device drivers, a scripting language and a timeline, running unattended for years at a time.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MSC in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Art-Net for lighting integration.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "sACN for lighting integration.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "DMX via interfaces.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "LTC generation and chase.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "modbus-tcp", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Modbus for building and ride systems.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "opc-ua", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OPC UA for industrial integration.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Unattended daily operation of an attraction", "Integrating lighting, audio, video and ride control", "Museum and visitor-centre show sequences" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.medialon.com/", "label": "Medialon" }, "gotchas": [ "Installations outlive the people who programmed them. Documentation and commented code are the deliverable as much as the running show.", "Device drivers are the whole integration story. A device with no driver is a scripting project, not a checkbox.", "Unattended operation means failure handling has to be designed, not discovered: what happens when a projector does not respond at 09:00 is a specification question." ], "tags": [ "show-control", "installation", "themed-entertainment", "medialon" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Medialon", "url": "https://www.medialon.com/", "publisher": "Medialon", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "midi-monitor-snoize", "name": "MIDI Monitor", "vendor": "Snoize", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Free open-source macOS app that displays MIDI signals going in and out of the computer in real time, including the ability to spy on MIDI sent to any destination by any other app via a virtual CoreMIDI driver.", "license": "BSD-3-Clause", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "confidence": "unverified", "note": "Generic real-time MIDI monitor; captures MIDI Time Code quarter-frame/real-time messages along with all other MIDI data, but has no dedicated MTC decoder view." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.snoize.com/MIDIMonitor/" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/krevis/MIDIApps" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Confirm whether MIDI Show Control or MTC bytes are actually arriving at a Mac's MIDI input", "Spy on MIDI traffic another application is sending/receiving without needing a hardware MIDI monitor", "Log MIDI streams to hex for offline inspection of malformed or unexpected messages" ], "gotchas": [ "macOS only, requires macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later, so it can't run on older show-control machines still on legacy OS versions." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "midi", "macos", "open-source" ], "sources": [ { "title": "MIDI Monitor - Snoize official site", "url": "https://www.snoize.com/MIDIMonitor/", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "krevis/MIDIApps GitHub repository (MIDI Monitor + SysEx Librarian source)", "url": "https://github.com/krevis/MIDIApps", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "midi-ox", "name": "MIDI-OX", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Long-running Windows MIDI diagnostic utility and real-time stream monitor with a SysEx librarian, used by show-control technicians to inspect raw MIDI traffic including MIDI Time Code and Show Control messages.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "confidence": "reported", "note": "Recommended on ControlBooth (theatre-tech forum) by author John Huntington for displaying MIDI Time Code readouts." }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "in", "confidence": "unverified", "note": "Generic real-time MIDI monitor; will show raw MSC SysEx bytes on the wire but has no dedicated MSC command decoder." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://midiox.org/" }, "status": "historical", "typical_use": [ "Watch raw MIDI messages (notes, SysEx, real-time) flowing between a console and a show-control cue system", "Read a large-format MIDI Time Code display for backstage cueing reference", "Back up (dump/restore) a device's SysEx patch data via the built-in librarian" ], "gotchas": [ "The original midiox.com site was compromised and now redirects to an unsafe page; get it from the midiox.org mirror instead.", "Development effectively stopped around 2017 at v7.0.2 — it is a preserved legacy tool, not actively updated." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "midi", "mtc", "windows", "legacy" ], "sources": [ { "title": "MIDI-OX & MIDI Yoke Legacy Resource Center", "url": "https://midiox.org/", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "ControlBooth forum: View MIDI Time Code (MIDI-Ox recommendation)", "url": "https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/view-midi-time-code.24707/", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "controlgeek.net: Show Control Protocols - Connecting QLab and ETC Eos", "url": "https://www.controlgeek.net/blog/2026-2-28-show-control-connecting-figure-53-qlab-and-etc-eos", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "millumin", "name": "Millumin", "aka": [ "Millumin V5" ], "vendor": "Anomes (Philippe Chaurand)", "category": "media-server", "summary": "macOS media server for live video: layers, timeline and column-based cueing with soft-edge blending and projection mapping. Widely used for projection in theatre and dance, where one Mac drives the whole video rig.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "platforms": [ "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Configurable OSC listeners and senders; an OSC API covers almost every feature. Docs also state Millumin supports OSCQuery, without specifying its server/client role.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI sources and destinations are enabled individually in the Devices tab; inputs can send feedback back to the controller (e.g. motorised faders).", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "in", "note": "MSC GO with no Q-number advances to the next column or plays the timeline; GO with a Q-number launches the Nth column; GO with Q-number plus Q-list selects the board; STOP stops or pauses.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Art-Net output for Light Plot and LED Mapping; docs cite Artnet V1/V2 with V3/V4 said to be retro-compatible. Art-Net input is not documented.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "out", "note": "sACN output alongside Art-Net; the manual warns sACN universe numbering starts at 1 whereas Art-Net starts at 0.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "Direct USB-DMX output; docs list Enttec DMX USB Pro and Pro Mk2, DMXking ultraDMX Micro and ShowJockey interfaces.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI streams can be used as a layer source, and outputs can be sent as NDI with or without alpha, plus audio.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sdi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via Blackmagic (Intensity, UltraStudio, DeckLink) and AJA cards, used both for capture and as outputs; Epiphan, Magewell, Inogeni and GigE cameras are also listed for capture.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "LTC over an audio input; supported framerates are 24, 25, 29.97 DF and 30. Millumin also ships a free TimecodeClock app that generates LTC, MTC or its own network timecode.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "note": "MTC over MIDI, same framerate list as LTC.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.millumin.com/", "label": "Millumin" }, "docs": { "url": "https://help.millumin.com/docs/", "label": "Millumin Help" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Video and projection playback for theatre and dance, cued column by column", "Projection mapping and soft-edge blending across multiple projectors from one Mac", "Taking GO from a lighting console or QLab over MSC or OSC", "Driving DMX fixtures from the same show file as the video, via Light Plot", "Live camera or NDI input processed and re-projected in the same document" ], "gotchas": [ "Art-Net universes are numbered from 0 but sACN universes from 1 in Millumin's own docs. Repatch the same rig between the two protocols and everything lands one universe out.", "When the 30-day trial lapses Millumin still opens, saves, plays and exposes every feature. The only change is a watermark on the outputs. Nothing else tells you the licence has run out.", "Vendor docs quote 60-120 ms latency on Blackmagic capture cards. Live camera composited against audio or a moving performer will need that budgeted for, not discovered in the tech.", "Output count is a chip choice, not a GPU-speed choice: docs note base M1/M2/M3 Macs drive one external display, while M-series Max parts go to five. Buy the machine by display count.", "Licences are sold as lifetime (with paid upgrades between major versions) or as 7-day, 30-day and 1-year rentals; each licence has a seat count and machines must be deactivated before being moved." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "media-server", "projection-mapping", "theatre", "dance", "macos" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Millumin Help - Devices (MIDI, OSC, DMX, Art-Net, sACN, timecode)", "url": "https://help.millumin.com/docs/connect/devices/", "publisher": "Anomes", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Millumin Help - Timecodes", "url": "https://help.millumin.com/docs/connect/timecodes/", "publisher": "Anomes", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Millumin Help - Capture", "url": "https://help.millumin.com/docs/connect/capture/", "publisher": "Anomes", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Millumin Help - Outputs", "url": "https://help.millumin.com/docs/display/outputs/", "publisher": "Anomes", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Millumin Help - License", "url": "https://help.millumin.com/docs/general/license/", "publisher": "Anomes", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Millumin Help - Recommendations (macOS versions, Apple Silicon display limits, codecs)", "url": "https://help.millumin.com/docs/general/recommendations/", "publisher": "Anomes", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Millumin Help - Light Plot", "url": "https://help.millumin.com/docs/lighting/light-plot/", "publisher": "Anomes", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "mitti", "name": "Mitti", "vendor": "Imimot", "category": "video-playback", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "macos" ], "summary": "Single-screen video cue player for macOS, built to be dependable and simple: a cue list of clips with go, fade and loop, and OSC control from a show controller.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC control in and out, commonly driven from QLab or a console.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI triggering.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI output and input.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Timecode sync on supported versions.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "note": "MIDI timecode chase.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "A reliable single-screen video playback machine", "Video cues triggered from QLab over OSC", "Corporate and conference video playback" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://imimot.com/mitti/", "label": "Mitti" }, "gotchas": [ "Deliberately single-screen. Multi-output work needs a different tool, and trying to force it is how a show ends up fragile.", "macOS version and codec support move together. A clip that plays on the programming Mac may not on an older show machine." ], "tags": [ "video", "playback", "macos", "osc", "cue-player" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Mitti", "url": "https://imimot.com/mitti/", "publisher": "Imimot", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "mixing-station", "name": "Mixing Station", "vendor": "David Giga", "category": "audio-mixing", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux", "ios", "android" ], "summary": "Third-party remote control app for a wide range of digital consoles - X32/M32, dLive, SQ, Yamaha and others - widely used because it often outruns the manufacturer app for stage-side mixing.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Uses each console's own network control protocol, OSC where the console offers it.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI control where the console supports it.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Mixing monitors from the stage on a tablet", "Ringing out wedges while standing at the microphone", "Giving a musician control of their own monitor mix" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://mixingstation.app/", "label": "Mixing Station" }, "gotchas": [ "Any tablet mixing app depends on Wi-Fi. A single access point on a stage full of bodies and RF is the weak link, not the app.", "Third-party, so console firmware updates can break it before an update lands. Do not update console firmware the week of a show that depends on it." ], "tags": [ "audio", "remote-control", "tablet", "monitors", "third-party" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Mixing Station", "url": "https://mixingstation.app/", "publisher": "Mixing Station", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "modul8", "name": "Modul8", "vendor": "GarageCUBE", "category": "video-playback", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "macos" ], "summary": "Real-time video mixing software for VJs and live visuals, layer-based with strong live manipulation, often paired with MadMapper for projection mapping output.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI control from surfaces.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "DMX/Art-Net control on supported versions.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI in and out.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Timecode sync via third-party bridges.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Live VJ performance", "Club and festival visuals", "Feeding MadMapper for mapped output" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.modul8.ch/", "label": "Modul8" }, "gotchas": [ "Built for live improvisation rather than repeatable cue playback. A show that must run identically every night is better served by a cue-based player.", "The Modul8 to MadMapper pairing is a Syphon handoff on macOS, which means both applications and the OS version have to agree." ], "tags": [ "video", "vj", "live-visuals", "macos" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Modul8", "url": "https://www.modul8.ch/", "publisher": "GarageCUBE", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "multiplay", "name": "Multiplay", "vendor": "Da-Share", "category": "cue-playback", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Free Windows theatre sound cue playback application, long used in amateur and educational theatre for straightforward cue lists of audio files with fades and hotkeys.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI triggering.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Amateur and school theatre sound cues", "A no-budget playback machine", "Teaching cue-based sound operation" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.da-share.com/software/multiplay/", "label": "Multiplay" }, "gotchas": [ "Development has been quiet for a long time. It still works for simple cue lists but should not be specified for a production that needs support.", "Windows audio device handling is the usual failure. Lock the output device and disable Windows sound enhancements before the show." ], "tags": [ "cue-playback", "theatre", "windows", "free", "amateur" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Multiplay", "url": "https://www.da-share.com/software/multiplay/", "publisher": "Da-Share", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "node-red", "name": "Node-RED", "vendor": "OpenJS Foundation", "category": "show-control", "license": "Apache-2.0", "price_model": "open-source", "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/node-red/node-red", "label": "Node-RED source" }, "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux", "embedded" ], "summary": "Browser-based flow programming: drag nodes onto a canvas, wire them together, and a message travels the wires. Built for exactly the glue problem — something arrives on one protocol and has to leave on another — and it runs happily on a small machine in a rack for years.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "mqtt", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "First-class, and the reason many people install it.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via community nodes.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via community nodes.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via community nodes.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://nodered.org/", "label": "Node-RED" }, "typical_use": [ "Translating between two systems that will never support each other", "Installed automation and scheduling", "Prototyping an integration before writing it properly" ], "gotchas": [ "A flow is easy to build and hard to review — the same problem as any patching environment. Export and version it.", "Community nodes vary in maintenance. Freeze the set a production depends on." ], "tags": [ "integration", "flow", "glue", "mqtt", "open-source" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Node-RED", "url": "https://nodered.org/", "publisher": "OpenJS Foundation", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "notch", "name": "Notch", "aka": [ "Notch Builder", "Notch Blocks" ], "vendor": "Notch (10bit FX Limited)", "category": "content-creation", "summary": "Windows GPU-native tool for authoring real-time generative and VFX content in Notch Builder, then exporting a self-contained Notch Block. The unusual part is that the block plays back inside someone else's media server, not inside Notch.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Vendor features page states OSC input and output; the node reference lists both an OSC Modifier (receive) and an OSC Output node (send).", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Vendor features page states MIDI input and output.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Vendor features page states Art-Net input and output; the Art-Net docs describe exposing any numerical parameter plus basic transport controls so a lighting desk can drive them.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "rttrpm", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "BlackTrax is listed among supported tracking systems, but the docs name the product rather than the RTTrPM protocol version. Tracking support is an RFX-tier feature: Indie and VFX tiers have no tracking systems.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.notch.one/", "label": "Notch" }, "docs": { "url": "https://manual.notch.one/", "label": "Notch Manual" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Authoring real-time generative looks and IMAG effects for touring concert video", "Exporting Notch Blocks for playback inside disguise, Hippotizer, Pixera, Ai or Resolume", "Camera, depth-camera and tracking-driven interactive content for installations", "VFX Block export into host applications such as After Effects for offline work", "Standalone executables and network editing of a live show's content from another machine" ], "gotchas": [ "Notch content is authored in Builder but played back inside a host media server: disguise, Hippotizer, Ai, Resolume, Pixera, 7thSense Delta, Smode, LightAct, Ventuz and others. Nobody runs Notch itself on the show machine.", "Exporting media-server Notch Blocks needs the top RFX Builder tier, and RFX is USB dongle-based with no software-only option. Indie and VFX tiers cannot export media-server blocks at all.", "Playback is a second, separate licence from Builder. Playback licences ship on a CodeMeter USB dongle, sold either as short-term leases or as a perpetual one-project, one-location licence for fixed installs.", "The free watermarked playback licence still requires a CodeMeter dongle. You cannot test a block on a bare machine and accept a watermark instead. No dongle, no playback.", "Features that lean on third-party SDKs (NVIDIA effects, Kinect, and similar) need the matching third-party DLLs copied into the host media server's install directory. Builder and standalone exports ship them; media servers do not.", "Every Builder tier is subscription-only, monthly or yearly. There is no perpetual Builder licence, so re-editing an archived project depends on keeping a subscription alive.", "Hosts gate which Notch versions they will load: disguise publishes a per-Designer-version Notch compatibility table. Check the host build's supported Notch version before you export.", "The stated GPU floor is high for a content tool: minimum NVIDIA RTX 2080 or AMD Radeon VII, recommended RTX 4080+ or RTX A5000+, with 4 GB VRAM at 4K rising to 12 GB at 8K." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "generative", "real-time", "notch-block", "gpu", "vfx" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Notch - Pricing (Indie / VFX / RFX tiers, dongle requirements)", "url": "https://www.notch.one/pricing", "publisher": "Notch", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Notch - Playback licensing", "url": "https://www.notch.one/products/notch-playback/", "publisher": "Notch", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Notch - Features & Specs (protocols, tracking systems, media server list, system requirements)", "url": "https://www.notch.one/features", "publisher": "Notch", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Notch Manual - Notch Blocks", "url": "https://manual.notch.one/2026.1/en/docs/workflows/working-with-media-servers/blocks/", "publisher": "Notch", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Notch Manual - SDK Dependencies when using Media Servers", "url": "https://manual.notch.one/0.9.23/en/docs/blocks/dependencies/", "publisher": "Notch", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Notch v1.0+ Compatibility Table", "url": "https://help.disguise.one/designer/layers/layer-types/generative/notch-1-compatibility-table", "publisher": "disguise", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "obs-studio", "name": "OBS Studio", "aka": [ "OBS", "Open Broadcaster Software" ], "vendor": "OBS Project", "category": "video-playback", "summary": "Free video capture, compositing, recording and streaming application built around scenes and sources. It has become the default streaming encoder in venues that added a webcast to an existing show.", "license": "GPL-2.0-or-later", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://obsproject.com/", "label": "obsproject.com" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio", "label": "obsproject/obs-studio" }, "docs": { "url": "https://obsproject.com/kb", "label": "OBS Knowledge Base" }, "status": "current", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "rtmp", "direction": "out", "note": "RTMP output is the default path to almost every streaming platform.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "srt", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "SRT output and input, for contribution over an unmanaged network.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI send and receive via the NDI plugin, not in the base install.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "typical_use": [ "Streaming a live event to RTMP, SRT or a platform endpoint", "Multi-camera switching and recording as an ISO backup", "Screen and presentation capture into a programme feed", "Remote-controlled scene changes driven from a show control layer" ], "gotchas": [ "OBS speaks no entertainment control protocol on its own. Everything external talks to it through obs-websocket, which is bundled from OBS Studio 28.0.0 onward and listens on port 4455 by default.", "Encoding is the load, not the compositing. A machine that previews fine will drop frames the moment you add a second high-bitrate output, so test with the real encoder settings.", "Plugins are compiled against a specific OBS version. A major OBS upgrade the week of a show will silently disable the plugin the show depends on." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "video", "streaming", "open-source", "capture" ], "sources": [ { "title": "obsproject/obs-studio source repository", "url": "https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio", "publisher": "OBS Project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "obs-websocket — bundled with OBS Studio 28.0.0 and above", "url": "https://github.com/obsproject/obs-websocket", "publisher": "OBS Project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "ola", "name": "OLA (Open Lighting Architecture)", "aka": [ "Open Lighting Architecture", "olad" ], "vendor": "Open Lighting Project", "category": "networking-utility", "summary": "A daemon and library that translates between lighting transports, so an application can output DMX without knowing whether it lands on Art-Net, sACN or a USB widget. The usual glue layer on Linux and macOS.", "license": "LGPL-2.1-or-later", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "linux", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Art-Net 1, 2 and 3 are listed in the plugin documentation.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Documented as the Streaming ACN (E1.31) plugin.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through more than twenty supported USB DMX widgets.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "pathport", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Listed as the Pathway Pathport plugin.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "kinet", "direction": "out", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "rdm", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OLA carries a full RDM responder and controller stack.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/OpenLightingProject/ola", "label": "OpenLightingProject/ola" }, "docs": { "url": "https://docs.openlighting.org/ola/doc/latest/index.html", "label": "OLA developer documentation" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Protocol bridge between a USB DMX widget and an Art-Net or sACN network", "Scripted and automated fixture control from Python or C++", "RDM discovery and troubleshooting from a laptop", "Test rigs and CI for lighting software" ], "gotchas": [ "Windows support is partial. The documentation targets Linux, macOS and FreeBSD, so a Windows-only crew should plan on different tooling rather than a port.", "A plugin has to be enabled and its universes patched in olad before anything moves. Installing the package is only the first half of the job.", "Licensing is mixed across the tree, with the library under LGPL and other components under GPL. Check the specific file before you embed it in a product." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "lighting", "open-source", "dmx", "bridge" ], "sources": [ { "title": "OLA developer documentation", "url": "https://docs.openlighting.org/ola/doc/latest/index.html", "publisher": "Open Lighting Project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "OpenLightingProject/ola source repository", "url": "https://github.com/OpenLightingProject/ola", "publisher": "Open Lighting Project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "onyx", "name": "ONYX", "aka": [ "Obsidian ONYX", "Onyx" ], "vendor": "Obsidian Control Systems", "category": "lighting-control", "summary": "Obsidian Control Systems' Windows lighting control software, running on NX consoles and on any PC, carrying forward the Martin M-Series/M-PC licence lineage. The free tier outputs one universe; everything above that unlocks by plugging in Obsidian hardware.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Each Art-Net universe can be set to output, input or both. Detected nodes are unicast their assigned universes, with an optional broadcast mode. Art-Net timecode can also be received.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Can be set to output, input or both, with a settable sACN priority in the 0-200 range.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "requires_licence": true, "note": "Direct DMX needs Obsidian USB hardware (NX-DMX, NX-Touch, NX-K, NX-P) or an NX console. Onyx USB output appears from the NOVA tier upwards, not in ONYX FREE.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "citp", "direction": "in", "note": "Media server thumbnails are pushed across the network into ONYX's parameter belts, and patch can be imported from compatible visualisers. Servers on the network are auto-detected.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "Full control of main playbacks, playback buttons, F-keys and command keys. OSC is locked in FREE and NOVA mode; a free trial can be started from the licensing options.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "MIDI notes and commands trigger Go, Pause, Release, Flash and similar. ONYX does not generate MIDI messages, it only passes them along. Fully enabled from the NOVA+ tier.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "MSC format and device ID are set in I/O settings. Gated behind the same tier as MIDI and timecode.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "LTC via the SMPTE IN 3-pin connector on M6+ consoles, or audio LTC via an audio interface. Timecode is only fully enabled from the NOVA+ tier.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "MIDI timecode via MIDI ports or the SMPTE IN connector. Only fully enabled from the NOVA+ tier.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://obsidiancontrol.com/onyx", "label": "ONYX" }, "docs": { "url": "https://support.obsidiancontrol.com/", "label": "ONYX manual (v4.32)" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Club, corporate and touring lighting control on NX consoles", "Free single-universe PC control for small rigs and learning", "Pixel mapping and media control with DyLOS", "Offline programming for an NX console show file" ], "gotchas": [ "The tier is set by whichever Obsidian device is plugged in, not by a software key file. FREE is universe 1 only; NOVA and NOVA+ give universes 1-4; the 8/16/32/64/128 tiers need the matching ONYX key or NX wing.", "OSC, MIDI and all timecode protocols are locked in FREE and NOVA mode. NOVA+ (NX-Touch, NX-K, NX-P) is the first tier where they are fully enabled; below that you only get time-limited trials.", "DyLOS is limited to 2 zones below the Onyx 16 tier, and extra zones render with a watermark.", "ONYX never sends MIDI out. It does not generate MIDI messages, only passes them along, so anything downstream needing MIDI cues needs another device.", "Legacy M-Series USB products stopped working under Windows 11 24H2 because of driver security changes, and legacy Martin keys (Maxxyz, M1, Ether2DMX8) are no longer recognised to unlock ONYX.", "Windows only, Windows 10/11 64-bit. There is no macOS build.", "255 universe slots are patchable but DMX processing is capped at up to 128 universes depending on licence, so patching a universe is not the same as outputting it." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "lighting", "onyx", "obsidian", "touring" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Onyx PC Modes", "url": "https://support.obsidiancontrol.com/Content/License_Information/Onyx_PC_Modes.htm", "publisher": "Obsidian Control Systems", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "EtherDMX Settings (Art-Net and sACN)", "url": "https://support.obsidiancontrol.com/Content/Onyx_Manual/Networking/EtherDMX_Settings.htm", "publisher": "Obsidian Control Systems", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "CITP - ONYX manual", "url": "https://support.obsidiancontrol.com/Content/Onyx_Manual/Networking/CITP.htm", "publisher": "Obsidian Control Systems", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "OSC - ONYX manual", "url": "https://support.obsidiancontrol.com/Content/Onyx_Manual/Networking/OSC.htm", "publisher": "Obsidian Control Systems", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Timecode Settings - ONYX manual", "url": "https://support.obsidiancontrol.com/Content/Onyx_Manual/Menus/System_Settings/IO_Settings/Timecode_Settings.htm", "publisher": "Obsidian Control Systems", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "ONYX supported hardware and license changes", "url": "https://obsidiancontrol.com/blog/post/onyx-supported-hardware-and-license-changes", "publisher": "Obsidian Control Systems", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "open-sound-meter", "name": "Open Sound Meter", "vendor": "Pavel Smokotnin", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "license": "GPL-3.0-or-later", "price_model": "open-source", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux", "ios", "android" ], "summary": "Free, open-source dual-channel FFT measurement application covering transfer function, impulse response and RTA. The credible zero-cost route into system measurement.", "typical_use": [ "Learning system alignment without a Smaart licence", "Quick checks when the measurement rig is not on the truck", "Teaching measurement in a training context" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://opensoundmeter.com/", "label": "Open Sound Meter" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/psmokotnin/osm", "label": "psmokotnin/osm" }, "gotchas": [ "Interface and driver quality set the noise floor and the latency stability. A cheap USB interface limits what any measurement software can tell you.", "The same measurement discipline applies as with any FFT tool: reference feed, microphone position and coherence still decide whether the trace means anything." ], "tags": [ "audio", "measurement", "open-source", "fft", "free" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Open Sound Meter", "url": "https://opensoundmeter.com/", "publisher": "Open Sound Meter", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true }, { "title": "psmokotnin/osm on GitHub", "url": "https://github.com/psmokotnin/osm", "publisher": "GitHub", "accessed": "2026-08-26" } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "open-stage-control", "name": "Open Stage Control", "vendor": "Jean-Emmanuel Doucet", "category": "show-control", "license": "GPL-3.0", "price_model": "open-source", "repo": { "url": "https://framagit.org/jean-emmanuel/open-stage-control", "label": "Open Stage Control source (moved from GitHub)" }, "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux", "web" ], "summary": "Build a custom control surface in a browser and drive anything that speaks OSC or MIDI with it. Free, scriptable, and the standard answer when a show needs a bespoke tablet panel that no vendor sells.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Core.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Core.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://openstagecontrol.ammd.net/", "label": "Open Stage Control" }, "typical_use": [ "Custom tablet and phone control surfaces", "Simplified panels for non-technical operators", "A remote for software that has an OSC interface and a bad one of its own" ], "gotchas": [ "It is a server plus a browser client. The browser is the surface, so the network between them is show-critical.", "A panel that only its author understands is a handover risk. Document the layout with the show file." ], "tags": [ "osc", "control-surface", "open-source", "remote" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Open Stage Control", "url": "https://openstagecontrol.ammd.net/", "publisher": "Jean-Emmanuel Doucet", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "openframeworks", "name": "openFrameworks", "vendor": "openFrameworks community", "category": "content-creation", "license": "MIT", "price_model": "open-source", "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/openframeworks/openFrameworks", "label": "openFrameworks source" }, "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "summary": "A C++ toolkit for interactive and generative work, for when a patch or a sketch has run out of performance and you need the machine itself. Steeper than everything around it and the thing people reach for when an installation has to run at full rate on modest hardware.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Core addon.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Core addon.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Through addons.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through addons.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://openframeworks.cc/", "label": "openFrameworks" }, "typical_use": [ "Permanent installations that must run at full rate for years", "Custom real-time graphics where an engine is too heavy", "Hardware-tied interactive work" ], "gotchas": [ "C++ with no garbage collector — see the code explainer for what that buys and what it costs.", "Addon quality varies enormously. Vendor the exact versions a project depends on." ], "tags": [ "creative-coding", "cpp", "installation", "open-source" ], "sources": [ { "title": "openFrameworks", "url": "https://openframeworks.cc/", "publisher": "openFrameworks community", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "pixera", "name": "PIXERA", "vendor": "AV Stumpfl", "category": "media-server", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "quote-only", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Media server software with a strong 3D scene model: content, projectors, surfaces and cameras live in one space rather than being mapped separately, which is what makes complex geometry manageable.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Control and output.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Control and output.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Timecode.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Video over IP.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ptp-1588", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "For synchronised multi-machine playback.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.pixera.one/", "label": "AV Stumpfl PIXERA" }, "typical_use": [ "Complex projection and LED geometry", "Multi-machine synchronised playback", "Permanent installations" ], "gotchas": [ "The 3D model is the point and it is also the work. Budget the scene build, not just the content." ], "tags": [ "media-server", "projection", "3d", "video" ], "sources": [ { "title": "PIXERA", "url": "https://www.pixera.one/", "publisher": "AV Stumpfl", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "pro-tools", "name": "Pro Tools", "vendor": "Avid", "category": "audio-playback", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "The dominant professional DAW, and in a live context the machine behind playback tracks, virtual soundcheck recording and show-tape delivery. Timecode-locked playback is its most common live role.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Chases LTC via a synchroniser or interface.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI timecode in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dante", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via Dante Virtual Soundcard or a Dante interface.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "madi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via MADI interface hardware.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "word-clock", "direction": "in", "note": "Clocks to an external word clock via the interface.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "typical_use": [ "Timecode-locked playback tracks", "Multitrack recording of a live show", "Virtual soundcheck" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.avid.com/pro-tools", "label": "Pro Tools" }, "gotchas": [ "Playback rigs are almost always redundant, two machines locked to the same timecode. A single-machine playback rig is a single point of failure for the whole show.", "Plug-in licences live on iLok. A session that opens on the programming machine can open with empty inserts on the show machine.", "Chasing timecode and generating it are different jobs. Decide once whether the DAW is the clock master or a follower and label the rack accordingly." ], "tags": [ "audio", "daw", "playback", "timecode", "recording" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Pro Tools", "url": "https://www.avid.com/pro-tools", "publisher": "Avid", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "processing", "name": "Processing", "vendor": "Processing Foundation", "category": "content-creation", "license": "LGPL / GPL", "price_model": "open-source", "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/processing/processing4", "label": "Processing 4 source" }, "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "summary": "A sketching environment for visual programming, and the tool a very large number of people in this industry first wrote code in. Java underneath, deliberately small surface area, and still an excellent way to get from an idea to something on a screen in an evening.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through the widely used oscP5 library.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through libraries.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Through community libraries.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://processing.org/", "label": "Processing" }, "typical_use": [ "Prototyping generative content", "Teaching", "Small bespoke tools and visualisers" ], "gotchas": [ "Excellent for a sketch and not built to be a show-critical playback machine. Move a piece that survives into something designed to run unattended." ], "tags": [ "creative-coding", "generative", "open-source", "teaching" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Processing", "url": "https://processing.org/", "publisher": "Processing Foundation", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "propresenter", "name": "ProPresenter", "vendor": "Renewed Vision", "category": "cue-playback", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Presentation and lyric playback software dominant in worship and widely used for conferences: slides, lyrics, video, lower thirds and multi-screen output with a live operator workflow.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI triggering.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Network API control.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "DMX control of ProPresenter on supported versions.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Timecode sync on supported versions.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Lyrics and slides in a worship service", "Conference presentation playback with lower thirds", "Multi-screen text and video for an event" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://renewedvision.com/propresenter/", "label": "ProPresenter" }, "gotchas": [ "Stage display and audience display are separate outputs with separate content. A confidence monitor showing the audience feed is the most common operator complaint and is a configuration issue.", "Presentation files reference media by path. Moving a show to another machine without the media folder produces a deck full of missing content." ], "tags": [ "presentation", "worship", "lyrics", "multi-screen" ], "sources": [ { "title": "ProPresenter", "url": "https://renewedvision.com/propresenter/", "publisher": "Renewed Vision", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "protokol", "name": "Protokol", "vendor": "Hexler", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Lightweight, cross-platform console app from the makers of TouchOSC for monitoring and logging MIDI, OSC, Art-Net, and game-controller traffic in real time, used to troubleshoot control-protocol communication.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux", "ios", "android" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Core supported protocol for monitoring/logging." }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Listed alongside MIDI and OSC as a monitored protocol." }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "in", "confidence": "unverified", "note": "Generic MIDI monitor; would display raw MSC SysEx bytes but is not a dedicated MSC decoder." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://hexler.net/protokol" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Watch live OSC messages between a media server, lighting console, or app during integration testing", "Confirm Art-Net traffic is reaching a given machine/interface before debugging further upstream", "Log control-protocol traffic on iOS/Android for field troubleshooting without a laptop" ], "gotchas": [ "Monitors Art-Net but not sACN (E1.31) or plain DMX512 directly — a dedicated tool like sACNView is needed for sACN." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "osc", "midi", "art-net", "cross-platform" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Protokol - Hexler official product page", "url": "https://hexler.net/protokol", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Protokol release notes / changelog", "url": "https://hexler.net/protokol/releases", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "provideoplayer", "name": "ProVideoPlayer (PVP)", "vendor": "Renewed Vision", "category": "video-playback", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "macos" ], "summary": "Multi-screen video playback and blending software aimed at worship, corporate and touring, with playlist-based operation and edge blending across several outputs.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC control.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "in", "note": "MIDI triggering.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "DMX/Art-Net control on supported versions.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Multi-screen video in a worship or corporate context", "Blended wide-screen playback", "IMAG with playback in one machine" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://renewedvision.com/", "label": "Renewed Vision" }, "gotchas": [ "Output configuration is tied to the machine's display arrangement. Moving a show file to a machine with different screens is not a clean transfer.", "Frequently deployed alongside ProPresenter in the same rack, doing different jobs. Confirm which one owns which output." ], "tags": [ "video", "playback", "multi-screen", "blending", "worship" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Renewed Vision", "url": "https://renewedvision.com/", "publisher": "Renewed Vision", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "pure-data", "name": "Pure Data", "aka": [ "Pd", "Pd-vanilla", "Pd extended" ], "vendor": "Miller Puckette and contributors", "category": "content-creation", "license": "BSD-style", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux", "embedded" ], "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/pure-data/pure-data", "label": "Pure Data source" }, "status": "current", "summary": "The open-source ancestor of the same dataflow idea, by the author of Max. Smaller, plainer and free, which makes it the pragmatic choice for an installation that has to keep running for years with no licence server in the way, and for embedded work on small Linux boards.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Built in.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through standard external objects.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://puredata.info/", "label": "Pure Data" }, "typical_use": [ "Long-running installations where licensing must not be a failure mode", "Embedded audio and control on small computers", "Teaching dataflow without a purchase" ], "gotchas": [ "The interface is spare and the documentation assumes you already know the model. Worth learning alongside Max rather than instead of it.", "Externals vary in maintenance. Freeze the exact set a piece depends on and archive them with the patch." ], "tags": [ "dataflow", "patching", "open-source", "audio" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Pure Data", "url": "https://puredata.info/", "publisher": "Pure Data community", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "qlab", "name": "QLab", "vendor": "Figure 53", "category": "cue-playback", "summary": "macOS cue playback for theatre: audio, video, lighting and network cues in a single ordered cue list driven by one GO button. The de facto standard for sound and video playback in English-language theatre.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "platforms": [ "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "QLab exposes a full OSC API for control and feedback, and can send OSC as a cue type.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Can both generate and chase MIDI timecode.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Lighting cues output over Art-Net; requires a licence tier that includes lighting.", "requires_licence": true, "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "out", "requires_licence": true, "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://qlab.app/", "label": "qlab.app" }, "docs": { "url": "https://qlab.app/docs/", "label": "QLab documentation" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Sound and video playback for plays and musicals", "Triggering lighting and automation from the stage manager's GO", "Timecode-locked playback in fixed installations" ], "gotchas": [ "Cue numbers and cue IDs are different things. OSC control by cue number breaks when someone renumbers; control by unique ID does not.", "macOS only. A show that depends on QLab has a hardware platform decision baked into it, which matters for touring spares." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "theatre", "playback", "macos" ], "sources": [ { "title": "QLab documentation", "url": "https://qlab.app/docs/", "publisher": "Figure 53", "primary": true }, { "title": "QLab OSC dictionary", "url": "https://qlab.app/docs/v5/scripting/osc-dictionary-v5/", "publisher": "Figure 53", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "qlc-plus", "name": "QLC+", "aka": [ "Q Light Controller Plus", "QLCplus" ], "vendor": "QLC+ project", "category": "lighting-control", "summary": "Open-source lighting control software with a fixture library, cue engine and a drag-built virtual console. Runs on desktop and on a Raspberry Pi, which makes it the usual answer for a small rig with no budget for a console.", "license": "Apache-2.0", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Art-Net plugin, listed in the project's plugin set.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Shipped as the E1.31 plugin.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via the DMX USB plugin and supported USB widgets.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.qlcplus.org/", "label": "qlcplus.org" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/mcallegari/qlcplus", "label": "mcallegari/qlcplus" }, "docs": { "url": "https://docs.qlcplus.org/", "label": "QLC+ documentation" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Club and small venue lighting where a console is not justified", "Fixed installs running headless on a Raspberry Pi with the web interface", "Teaching DMX patching and cue building", "Bench testing fixtures and checking channel layouts" ], "gotchas": [ "A protocol plugin being installed is not the same as it being patched. Nothing leaves the machine until you map each universe to an output in the Input/Output panel.", "Fixtures use QLC+'s own definition format. Anything not already in the library has to be built in the Fixture Definition Editor before you can patch it, which is a job to do before the truck arrives, not on site.", "The Raspberry Pi build is packaged separately from the desktop builds. Do not assume a project tested on a laptop behaves identically on the Pi." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "lighting", "open-source", "dmx", "raspberry-pi" ], "sources": [ { "title": "QLC+ — home", "url": "https://www.qlcplus.org/", "publisher": "QLC+ project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "mcallegari/qlcplus source repository", "url": "https://github.com/mcallegari/qlcplus", "publisher": "QLC+ project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "QLC+ documentation", "url": "https://docs.qlcplus.org/", "publisher": "QLC+ project", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "qsys-designer", "name": "Q-SYS Designer", "aka": [ "Q-SYS Designer Software", "QDS" ], "vendor": "QSC, LLC", "category": "audio-mixing", "summary": "Windows design and deployment software for the Q-SYS platform: you draw the DSP, control logic and touchscreen UIs as a schematic, then push the whole design to a Core. Widely specified as the audio and control brain of venues, theme parks and installed AV.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "aes67", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Cores stream AES67 as multicast alongside the native Q-LAN transport. QSC's capacity tables count Q-LAN and AES67 network channels together and list no separate AES67 feature licence.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "dante", "direction": "bidirectional", "requires_licence": true, "note": "Dante on a Core is the Software Dante feature licence, sold in channel-count tiers from 8x8 up to 512x512 depending on Core model and QDS version.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Stock schematic components: the SMPTE LTC Reader decodes LTC from an audio input per SMPTE 12M and exposes timecode fields as control pins for Lua; the SMPTE LTC Generator is the encoder counterpart.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "ptp-1588", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "PTPv2 (IEEE 1588-2008) on multicast 224.0.1.129, UDP 319-320. It is the clock for Q-LAN and AES67 and is documented as time-sensitive traffic the network must prioritise.", "confidence": "verified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.qsys.com/products-solutions/q-sys/software/q-sys-designer-software/", "label": "Q-SYS Designer Software" }, "docs": { "url": "https://help.qsys.com/", "label": "Q-SYS Help" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Building the audio DSP, routing, paging and BGM for a venue or attraction", "Lua, Control Script and Block Controller logic tying AV and building systems together", "Timecode-triggered show events driven from the SMPTE LTC Reader", "Custom touchscreen UCIs for operators and front-of-house staff", "Offline design and emulation before the hardware exists on site", "Exposing Named Controls so a third-party controller drives the system over QRC or ECP" ], "gotchas": [ "Third-party control needs Named Controls. A control that has not been selected and named in Designer is simply not visible to QRC (TCP 1710) or ECP (TCP 1702), which is where integrators lose hours to the API cannot see my fader.", "QRC and ECP connections drop if the client goes quiet: QSC require traffic at least every 60 seconds. A keepalive or polling loop is not optional in a long-running integration.", "Designs are not backward compatible. Anything using hardware, features or properties introduced in a newer QDS release may not open in an older one, so the Designer version on the commissioning laptop is part of the system documentation.", "Control licensing moved. Scripting Engine and UCI Deployment were paid feature licences; QSC state licences are no longer required for Q-SYS Control capabilities on v10 and above. Quotes written against older documents will be wrong in both directions.", "Dante is a licensed, channel-limited software feature on a Core, not a given. Match the tier to the actual channel count and Core model before promising anyone a Dante path.", "The Timeline component that plays audio files against an external LTC input is still marked BETA in v10.4: functional, but not feature complete and subject to change. Do not hang a twenty-year attraction on it without a fallback.", "OSC does not appear in QSC's documented network services. Field OSC integrations are third-party plugins or sockets opened from Lua, so treat OSC as something you build rather than something you enable.", "Designer is Windows only. QSC's requirements list Windows 11 x64 and note testing inside a Windows 11 VM under Parallels on Apple silicon, but a Mac-only crew has no native option." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "installed-av", "dsp", "show-control", "lua", "theme-park" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Q-SYS Help - Network Interfaces, Services & Protocols", "url": "https://help.qsys.com/content/Networking/Interfaces_Services.htm", "publisher": "QSC, LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Q-SYS Help - Licensing (Software Dante channel tiers)", "url": "https://help.qsys.com/Content/Core_Manager/Core_Management/Licensing.htm", "publisher": "QSC, LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Q-SYS Help - SMPTE Linear Timecode Decoder", "url": "https://help.qsys.com/Content/Schematic_Library/linear_timecode_decoder.htm", "publisher": "QSC, LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Q-SYS Help - Timeline [BETA] component with External LTC Input", "url": "https://help.qsys.com/Content/Schematic_Library/timeline.htm", "publisher": "QSC, LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Q-SYS Help - Q-SYS Remote Control Protocol (QRC)", "url": "https://help.qsys.com/Content/External_Control_APIs/QRC/QRC_Overview.htm", "publisher": "QSC, LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Q-SYS Help - External Control Protocol (ECP)", "url": "https://help.qsys.com/Content/External_Control_APIs/ECP/ECP_Overview.htm", "publisher": "QSC, LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Q-SYS Help - Software Requirements", "url": "https://help.qsys.com/Content/Q-SYS_Compatibility/Software_Requirements.htm", "publisher": "QSC, LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Q-SYS Scaling & Feature Licenses", "url": "https://www.qsys.com/products-solutions/q-sys/scaling-feature-licenses/", "publisher": "QSC, LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Q-SYS Designer Software - free download, Lua control of external devices, emulation mode", "url": "https://www.qsys.com/products-solutions/q-sys/software/q-sys-designer-software/", "publisher": "QSC, LLC", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "rdm-controller-jese", "name": "RDM Controller", "vendor": "JESE", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "RDM discovery and configuration tool for DMX networks: find every responder on a line, read and set addresses and personalities, and check sensor data without touching the fixture.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "rdm", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Full RDM discovery, GET and SET.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "DMX output and monitoring alongside RDM.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "RDM over Art-Net where supported.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Addressing a rig from the floor without a ladder", "Finding the fixture that is not responding", "Auditing what is actually on a DMX line" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.jese.co.uk/", "label": "JESE" }, "gotchas": [ "RDM only reaches devices where every splitter and node in the path passes it. One non-RDM splitter makes everything downstream invisible, which reads as \"the fixtures are broken\".", "RDM traffic shares the DMX line with control data. Discovery during a show can visibly disturb output on some older fixtures." ], "tags": [ "rdm", "dmx", "diagnostics", "addressing" ], "sources": [ { "title": "JESE", "url": "https://www.jese.co.uk/", "publisher": "JESE", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "realizzer-3d", "name": "Realizzer 3D", "vendor": "Realizzer", "category": "previsualisation", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Real-time lighting visualiser and rendering tool, used to previsualise a rig, produce photorealistic renders for client approval, and rehearse a show off-site.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Art-Net input from a console.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "in", "note": "sACN input from a console.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "citp", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "CITP for media server integration.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Selling a lighting design with a photoreal render", "Pre-programming a show before load-in", "Checking fixture positions and beam coverage" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.realizzer.com/", "label": "Realizzer" }, "gotchas": [ "Visualiser beam appearance is a rendering choice, not a photometric measurement. Use the beam and photometrics maths for coverage decisions, not the picture.", "A visualiser only knows the rig you modelled. Fixture positions that differ from the plot make the pre-programmed show wrong in a way that looks right on screen." ], "tags": [ "previs", "visualiser", "rendering", "lighting" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Realizzer", "url": "https://www.realizzer.com/", "publisher": "Realizzer", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "reaper", "name": "REAPER", "aka": [ "Cockos REAPER" ], "vendor": "Cockos Incorporated", "category": "audio-playback", "summary": "Cross-platform DAW that theatre and touring departments run as a show playback host: multitrack stems, timecode generate and chase, and OSC-driven control. Unusually cheap to licence and deeply scriptable, with the same project opening on Windows, macOS and Linux.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Built-in OSC control surface. Cockos state a device can receive messages from REAPER, send messages to it, or both; message mapping lives in .ReaperOSC pattern config files.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Chases MTC via the external timecode synchronization settings against an enabled MIDI input; generates MTC from the stock SMPTE LTC/MTC Timecode Generator.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "out", "note": "The stock SMPTE LTC/MTC Timecode Generator produces an LTC audio signal at a chosen frame rate and start time. Real-time LTC chase is not part of it.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI in and out for control surfaces and MIDI learn on parameters; MIDI clock is enabled per output device in Preferences > Audio > MIDI Devices.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.reaper.fm/", "label": "reaper.fm" }, "docs": { "url": "https://www.reaper.fm/userguide.php", "label": "REAPER User Guide (PDF)" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Multitrack backing tracks, stems and click for touring bands and musicals", "Generating house timecode for lighting, video and automation to chase", "Chasing an external MTC master so playback follows the show clock", "OSC control and feedback from a tablet, Companion or a show controller", "ReaScript (Lua, EEL2, Python) automation of routing and cue behaviour", "Playback on Linux where the rest of the toolchain is macOS or Windows only" ], "gotchas": [ "Licence tiers are self-certified, not feature-gated: the discounted licence covers individuals, small businesses under a stated revenue threshold, and education or non-profit use. The binary is identical either way.", "A licence includes free upgrades only up to a stated version ceiling, not forever. Budget a repurchase at the next major cycle instead of assuming perpetual free upgrades.", "Real-time chase is MTC, not LTC. REAPER 7.75 added an action to detect LTC inside media items and move to the detected position, but that is offline alignment; locking to an LTC master still needs an LTC-to-MTC converter in front of it.", "Evaluation is fully functional for 60 days with no feature limits, so an unlicensed spare laptop behaves exactly like a licensed one. It works is not evidence the rig is properly licensed.", "OSC control surface settings and .ReaperOSC pattern files live in the REAPER config on that machine, not in the .RPP project. Copy a show to a spare laptop and the OSC mapping does not travel with it.", "REAPER ships 32-bit and ARM builds as well as x86-64 on all three platforms. Plugin bitness and architecture must match the REAPER build, which is how a same version spare machine still fails to open the show." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "playback", "timecode", "osc", "scripting", "touring" ], "sources": [ { "title": "REAPER purchase page - licence tiers, eligibility, upgrade ceiling and 60-day evaluation", "url": "https://www.reaper.fm/purchase.php", "publisher": "Cockos Incorporated", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "REAPER OSC - control surface support, bidirectional operation and .ReaperOSC pattern configs", "url": "https://www.reaper.fm/sdk/osc/osc.php", "publisher": "Cockos Incorporated", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "REAPER downloads - Windows, macOS and Linux builds and architectures", "url": "https://www.reaper.fm/download.php", "publisher": "Cockos Incorporated", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "REAPER changelog - v7.75 timecode LTC detection action", "url": "https://www.reaper.fm/whatsnew.txt", "publisher": "Cockos Incorporated", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "REAPER User Guide", "url": "https://www.reaper.fm/userguide.php", "publisher": "Cockos Incorporated", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "How to configure Source-Connect 4 and REAPER to send MTC", "url": "https://support.source-elements.com/source-connect-4-hub/how-to-configure-source-connect-4-to-send-rts-via-mtc-and-reaper-to-send-mtc", "publisher": "Source Elements", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "Using MIDI Timecode (MTC) with your DAW - REAPER external timecode synchronization settings", "url": "https://faq.ambient.de/hc/en-001/articles/8638072040978-Using-Midi-Timecode-MTC-with-your-DAW", "publisher": "Ambient Recording GmbH", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "resolume-arena", "name": "Resolume Arena", "aka": [ "Arena" ], "vendor": "Resolume", "category": "media-server", "summary": "Clip-based video playback and mixing software with projection mapping, soft edge blending and DMX fixture output. Arena is the upper tier above Avenue and carries the features a show with projectors or LED actually needs.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Pixel and fixture output to lights uses Art-Net. Enttec USB DMX devices are not supported from Arena 6 onward.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://resolume.com/", "label": "resolume.com" }, "docs": { "url": "https://resolume.com/support/en/", "label": "Resolume support and manual" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Club and festival VJ playback", "Multi-projector mapping with soft edge blending", "Pixel mapping LED battens and strips from video content", "Timecoded video playback in a show with a fixed running order" ], "gotchas": [ "Projection mapping, edge blending, DMX control, DMX fixture output, SMPTE timecode input, groups and slice transforms are Arena-only. A show designed in Arena will not open usefully on an Avenue seat.", "DMX output from Arena is Art-Net. Enttec USB DMX widgets stopped being supported at Arena 6, so an old USB interface in the case is dead weight.", "Licences are perpetual and per computer, so a spare machine on the truck needs its own licence rather than a copy of the show file." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "video", "vj", "projection-mapping", "pixel-mapping" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Resolume support — DMX", "url": "https://www.resolume.com/support/en/dmx", "publisher": "Resolume", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Difference between Avenue and Arena", "url": "https://resolume.com/support/en/avenue-arena-difference", "publisher": "Resolume", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Resolume Avenue & Arena product page", "url": "https://www.resolume.com/software/avenue-arena", "publisher": "Resolume", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "rew-room-eq-wizard", "name": "REW (Room EQ Wizard)", "vendor": "John Mulcahy", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "free", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "summary": "Free acoustic measurement software covering swept-sine and RTA measurement, waterfall and decay analysis, and filter design. Widely used for room analysis and system verification.", "typical_use": [ "Measuring room decay and modal behaviour", "Verifying a system response after tuning", "Designing correction filters" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.roomeqwizard.com/", "label": "REW" }, "gotchas": [ "REW is strongest at room and steady-state analysis. It is not a live dual-channel alignment tool in the way Smaart or Open Sound Meter are, so do not reach for it mid-soundcheck.", "Swept-sine measurements need a quiet room. A measurement taken over a load-in tells you about the load-in." ], "tags": [ "audio", "measurement", "acoustics", "room", "free" ], "sources": [ { "title": "REW", "url": "https://www.roomeqwizard.com/", "publisher": "Room EQ Wizard", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "rhino-3d", "name": "Rhino 3D", "vendor": "Robert McNeel & Associates", "category": "cad-drafting", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "NURBS modelling application used for scenic design, complex geometry and stage architecture, and increasingly as the geometry source for projection mapping and LED screen design.", "typical_use": [ "Modelling complex scenic geometry", "Producing the surface model a projection map is built against", "Fabrication drawings for a scenic shop" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.rhino3d.com/", "label": "Rhino 3D" }, "gotchas": [ "A mapping model needs clean, correctly scaled geometry with sane units. A beautiful visual model with inconsistent scale is unusable to a media server.", "Grasshopper work is often the real deliverable in complex scenic design, and it does not survive export to a mesh format. Hand over the definition, not only the geometry." ], "tags": [ "cad", "3d", "scenic", "nurbs", "mapping" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Rhino 3D", "url": "https://www.rhino3d.com/", "publisher": "Robert McNeel & Associates", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "sacnview", "name": "sACNView", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Cross-platform open-source application for monitoring, viewing, and transmitting Streaming ACN (sACN/E1.31) DMX-over-Ethernet data, widely used to inspect universes, sources, and priorities.", "license": "Apache-2.0", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Core purpose is monitoring and sending ANSI/ESTA E1.31 (Streaming ACN)." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://sacnview.org/" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/docsteer/sacnview" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "View live per-channel DMX levels for any sACN universe on the network", "Detect duplicate or conflicting sACN sources on the same universe and compare their priorities", "Send test sACN data to verify a fixture, node, or console's reception", "Oscilloscope-style view of channel level changes over time for chase/timing diagnosis" ], "gotchas": [ "'sACNView mark 2' is a ground-up Qt6/C++ rewrite; it is not config- or plugin-compatible with the older Delphi-based original sACNView.", "A separate legacy build is maintained for Windows XP since the current releases require newer OS versions." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "sacn", "e1.31", "dmx-over-ip" ], "sources": [ { "title": "sACNView official site", "url": "https://sacnview.org/", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "docsteer/sacnview GitHub repository", "url": "https://github.com/docsteer/sacnview", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "Open Lighting wiki: SACNView", "url": "https://wiki.openlighting.org/index.php/SACNView", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "shoflo", "name": "Shoflo", "vendor": "Shoflo", "category": "production-management", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "web" ], "summary": "Browser-based live rundown and cue sheet tool that keeps a production team on the same running order in real time, with timing that updates for everyone as the show moves.", "typical_use": [ "Live rundown for a broadcast or corporate show", "Keeping stage management, video and audio on one running order", "Tracking actual versus planned timing during a show" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://shoflo.tv/", "label": "Shoflo" }, "gotchas": [ "It is only useful if everyone has it open. A rundown half the crew is reading from a printout is worse than a printout for everyone.", "Browser-based means it depends on venue internet, which is the least reliable part of most venues. Have a printed fallback for the moment the wifi drops." ], "tags": [ "production", "rundown", "cue-sheet", "collaboration", "web" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Shoflo", "url": "https://shoflo.tv/", "publisher": "Shoflo", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "show-cue-system", "name": "Show Cue System (SCS)", "vendor": "Show Cue Systems", "category": "cue-playback", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Windows cue playback software for theatre sound, covering audio cues, video, MIDI and DMX triggering. The main Windows counterpart to QLab in community and regional theatre.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI triggering and output.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MSC in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC control.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "out", "note": "DMX output via interface.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "out", "note": "Art-Net output on supported versions.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Timecode chase.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Theatre sound cue playback on Windows", "Triggering lighting cues from the sound operator position", "Community and educational theatre" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.showcuesystems.com/", "label": "Show Cue Systems" }, "gotchas": [ "The Windows alternative to QLab, and cue lists do not transfer between them. A production moving platforms is a re-programming job.", "Audio device selection is a Windows problem more than an SCS one. Lock the interface and disable device switching before the show." ], "tags": [ "cue-playback", "theatre", "windows", "sound" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Show Cue Systems", "url": "https://www.showcuesystems.com/", "publisher": "Show Cue Systems", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "sketchup", "name": "SketchUp", "vendor": "Trimble", "category": "cad-drafting", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "web" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Fast, forgiving 3D modelling that answers \"roughly, does this fit and what does it feel like\" in an afternoon. Excellent for the conversation with a director or a client. Not a data model and not a documentation tool, so it is the wrong place for the source of truth on a build.", "homepage": { "url": "https://www.sketchup.com/", "label": "SketchUp" }, "typical_use": [ "Early massing and design communication", "Quick venue and scenic studies", "Sharing an idea with people who do not read plans" ], "gotchas": [ "Geometry only. Nothing in a SketchUp model knows what it weighs, draws or is patched to, so no paperwork comes out of it.", "Imported models from warehouses vary wildly in scale, cleanliness and polygon count. Check a known dimension immediately." ], "tags": [ "cad", "3d", "modelling", "design" ], "sources": [ { "title": "SketchUp", "url": "https://www.sketchup.com/", "publisher": "Trimble", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "smaart", "name": "Smaart", "vendor": "Rational Acoustics", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Dual-channel FFT measurement software: transfer function, impulse response, RTA and SPL logging. The standard tool for aligning and tuning a PA system against a reference.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dante", "direction": "in", "note": "Measurement input via Dante Virtual Soundcard or a Dante interface.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Aligning subs to tops and delays to mains", "Verifying system EQ against a measurement", "Logging SPL against a venue limit" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.rationalacoustics.com/", "label": "Rational Acoustics" }, "gotchas": [ "The measurement microphone position is the measurement. Two engineers measuring the same system three metres apart get different, equally correct answers.", "Transfer function needs a genuine reference feed of the same signal. A reference taken after processing measures nothing useful about that processing.", "Coherence is the honesty indicator. Low coherence means the data in that band should not be acted on, however convincing the trace looks." ], "tags": [ "audio", "measurement", "system-tuning", "fft", "spl" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Rational Acoustics", "url": "https://www.rationalacoustics.com/", "publisher": "Rational Acoustics", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "smode", "name": "Smode", "vendor": "Smode Tech", "category": "media-server", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Real-time 3D compositing and media server software combining generative content creation and playback in one environment, used for concert visuals, projection mapping and LED stage design.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Art-Net in for console control and out for fixture control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "sACN in for console control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI send and receive.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "LTC for timeline sync.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI control.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "in", "note": "PosiStageNet input for tracked objects.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "smpte-st-2110", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "ST 2110 on suitably equipped systems.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Generative concert visuals", "Projection mapping with live content", "LED screen content driven from a lighting console" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://smode.fr/", "label": "Smode" }, "gotchas": [ "Smode is both the design tool and the playback engine, which is efficient and means a design change on site is a live edit to the thing that is playing the show.", "Real-time generative content is GPU-bound in ways that pre-rendered playback is not. The machine that ran the design at 60 fps in the studio may not with the full show loaded." ], "tags": [ "media-server", "generative", "3d", "smode", "projection" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Smode", "url": "https://smode.fr/", "publisher": "Smode Tech", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "stage-precision", "name": "Stage Precision", "vendor": "Stage Precision", "category": "tracking", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Integration and data-routing platform that sits between tracking systems, media servers, lighting and automation: it takes positional data in any of several formats, calibrates and transforms it, and republishes it where it is needed.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "PosiStageNet in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "rttrpm", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "RTTrPM in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Art-Net in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "sACN in and out.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "in", "note": "NDI input for camera and video sources.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Timecode input.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Bridging a tracking system to media servers and lighting", "Calibrating tracking data to a stage coordinate system", "Routing and transforming show data between departments" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://stage-precision.com/", "label": "Stage Precision" }, "gotchas": [ "It becomes a single point of failure by design: everything routes through it. Plan the redundancy the same way you would for a media server.", "Coordinate systems are the whole job. Lighting, automation, audio and video rarely agree on where the origin is or which way Z points, and reconciling that is the actual work." ], "tags": [ "tracking", "integration", "psn", "rttrpm", "data-routing" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Stage Precision", "url": "https://stage-precision.com/", "publisher": "Stage Precision", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "timecodedisplay", "name": "TimecodeDisplay", "vendor": "Figure53", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "Small open-source macOS app from the makers of QLab that listens for incoming MIDI Time Code and displays it in large, easily readable digits for backstage cueing and MTC troubleshooting.", "license": "MIT", "price_model": "open-source", "platforms": [ "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "mtc", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Listens to and displays incoming MIDI Time Code." } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://github.com/Figure53/TimecodeDisplay" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/Figure53/TimecodeDisplay" }, "status": "historical", "typical_use": [ "Confirm MTC is actually being received and is running/counting correctly before a show", "Give a stage manager or crew member a large, unambiguous timecode readout separate from the show computer's main screen" ], "gotchas": [ "macOS only, no Windows build.", "Repository shows no formal tagged releases, so most users build it from source rather than downloading a signed binary." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "mtc", "midi", "macos", "qlab" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Figure53/TimecodeDisplay GitHub repository", "url": "https://github.com/Figure53/TimecodeDisplay", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "ControlBooth forum: View MIDI Time Code (TimecodeDisplay recommendation)", "url": "https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/view-midi-time-code.24707/", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "touchdesigner", "name": "TouchDesigner", "aka": [ "TD" ], "vendor": "Derivative", "category": "content-creation", "summary": "Node-based visual development environment for real-time generative content, interactive installations and custom control surfaces. Frequently deployed as the content engine behind a show rather than as a cue playback tool.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://derivative.ca/", "label": "derivative.ca" }, "docs": { "url": "https://docs.derivative.ca/", "label": "TouchDesigner documentation" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Generative and reactive content driven by live data or sensors", "Custom operator interfaces and bespoke control glue", "Projection content and LED processing pipelines", "Prototyping interactive installations" ], "gotchas": [ "The free Non-Commercial licence caps image resolution at 1280x1280 and locks out Shared Memory, C++ and SDI operators. A project prototyped on it will not scale to a real output without paying.", "Projection calibration, optical tracking, motion capture input and multi-process sync are Pro-tier only, so a Commercial licence is not enough for a mapped or tracked show.", "Non-Commercial keys are tied to the machine and cannot be moved. Only Commercial and higher licences transfer between computers, which matters when a show laptop dies." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "generative", "realtime", "visuals", "interactive" ], "sources": [ { "title": "TouchDesigner Products — licence tiers and limits", "url": "https://derivative.ca/UserGuide/TouchDesigner_Products", "publisher": "Derivative", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Derivative — TouchDesigner", "url": "https://derivative.ca/", "publisher": "Derivative", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "touchosc", "name": "TouchOSC", "vendor": "Hexler", "category": "show-control", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux", "ios", "android" ], "summary": "Design a control layout and run it on a tablet or phone, sending OSC or MIDI. The long-standing default for a quick wireless remote, now with a scripting layer and desktop hosts as well as mobile.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Core.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Core.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://hexler.net/touchosc", "label": "Hexler TouchOSC" }, "typical_use": [ "A wireless remote for a console, media server or playback machine", "Purpose-built panels for a specific show" ], "gotchas": [ "A remote over production Wi-Fi is only as reliable as that Wi-Fi. Never make it the only path to something a cue needs.", "Older TouchOSC layouts do not carry across to the current application." ], "tags": [ "osc", "midi", "remote", "tablet" ], "sources": [ { "title": "TouchOSC", "url": "https://hexler.net/touchosc", "publisher": "Hexler", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "twincat", "name": "TwinCAT", "aka": [ "TwinCAT 3" ], "vendor": "Beckhoff Automation", "category": "show-control", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "quote-only", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Beckhoff's automation platform, and the reason an ordinary industrial PC can be trusted with a motion loop: a hard real-time kernel runs alongside Windows on reserved CPU cores, so the control task keeps its cycle no matter what Windows is doing. Developed inside Visual Studio, programmed in the IEC 61131-3 languages plus C++ and Simulink modules.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ethercat", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "The native fieldbus — drives, I/O and sensors on one line, updated every cycle.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "opc-ua", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "The usual way state is exposed upward to other systems.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "modbus-tcp", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via supplementary functions.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "profinet", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via supplementary functions.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.beckhoff.com/twincat/", "label": "Beckhoff TwinCAT" }, "typical_use": [ "Winches, lifts, revolves, turntables and kinetic scenery", "Deterministic control where a general-purpose OS cannot give a cycle guarantee", "Bridging automation state to a show-control system over OPC UA" ], "gotchas": [ "Functional safety is a separate rated channel — TwinSAFE — and it is not where your control code goes. It has to stay valid when the control program is wrong.", "The show network may supply timing to an automation system. It must never supply permission.", "Deterministic behaviour comes from the real-time kernel and reserved cores. A badly configured machine loses the guarantee without any obvious symptom until it matters." ], "tags": [ "plc", "automation", "machinery", "ethercat", "beckhoff" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Beckhoff TwinCAT", "url": "https://www.beckhoff.com/twincat/", "publisher": "Beckhoff Automation", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "ugcs", "name": "UgCS", "vendor": "SPH Engineering", "category": "production-management", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Mission planning and ground control for unmanned aircraft, including a drone-show workflow: choreography is designed, checked for separation and limits across the whole flight, and uploaded to each aircraft before launch, after which the fleet flies its own files against GNSS time.", "homepage": { "url": "https://www.ugcs.com/", "label": "UgCS" }, "typical_use": [ "Planning and validating drone light show choreography", "Ground control and fleet monitoring during a display" ], "gotchas": [ "The plan is the safety case. A show that cannot be checked collision-free offline should not be armed.", "Every jurisdiction requires authorisation for a display. Confirm the current requirement with the regulator, not with the software." ], "tags": [ "drone", "uav", "show", "planning", "gnss" ], "sources": [ { "title": "UgCS", "url": "https://www.ugcs.com/", "publisher": "SPH Engineering", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "unity", "name": "Unity", "vendor": "Unity Technologies", "category": "content-creation", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Real-time engine that dominates XR work. If a project involves headsets, handheld AR or an interactive exhibit on modest hardware, the device SDK you need almost certainly exists for Unity first. Scripted in C#, lighter to start with than Unreal, and less turnkey for camera-tracked broadcast and LED volume work.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through community packages rather than built in.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through community and vendor packages.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through vendor plug-ins.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://unity.com/", "label": "Unity" }, "typical_use": [ "VR, AR and MR applications", "Museum and exhibition interactives", "Interactive content on constrained hardware" ], "gotchas": [ "Licence tiers and their terms have changed more than once. Confirm what applies to your seat and your revenue before committing a long project.", "Show-specific plumbing — timecode, Art-Net, tracking — is community-supplied more often than it is first-party. Check maintenance before depending on a package." ], "tags": [ "engine", "xr", "real-time", "csharp" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Unity", "url": "https://unity.com/", "publisher": "Unity Technologies", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "unreal-engine", "name": "Unreal Engine", "vendor": "Epic Games", "category": "content-creation", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "summary": "Real-time 3D engine that became core infrastructure for virtual production and increasingly for live event content, driving LED volumes with camera-tracked in-camera VFX.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC in and out via plugins.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "DMX in and out through the built-in DMX plugin.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "sACN through the DMX plugin.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI via plugin.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Timecode via plugin and hardware.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "in", "note": "PosiStageNet via plugin.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "freed", "direction": "in", "note": "FreeD camera tracking input via Live Link, the usual path in an LED volume.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "typical_use": [ "LED volume virtual production", "Real-time generated content for concert screens", "Previsualisation of a lighting and video design" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.unrealengine.com/", "label": "Unreal Engine" }, "gotchas": [ "A virtual production volume is a synchronised system: engine frame rate, genlock, camera shutter and LED processor all have to agree, and any one of them being wrong looks like a content fault.", "nDisplay clusters need identical machines and configuration. A mismatched node is not a degraded node, it is a visibly wrong one.", "Project size and build times make last-minute changes expensive. Treat content freeze the way a broadcast production would." ], "tags": [ "real-time", "3d", "virtual-production", "unreal", "dmx" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Unreal Engine", "url": "https://www.unrealengine.com/", "publisher": "Epic Games", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "vectorworks-braceworks", "name": "Vectorworks Braceworks", "vendor": "Vectorworks", "category": "production-management", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Structural load analysis add-on for Vectorworks that calculates loads on trusses, hoists and rigging points from the drawn rig, integrated with the Spotlight design workflow.", "typical_use": [ "Load calculations from a drawn lighting and audio rig", "Producing hoist load figures for a venue", "Checking a truss span against manufacturer data" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/", "label": "Vectorworks" }, "gotchas": [ "Results depend entirely on the drawn model being accurate: real fixture weights, real cable weights, real hang points. A rig drawn with default weights produces confident, wrong numbers.", "It is an aid to a qualified rigger and an engineer, not a substitute for either. The output is an input to a rigging plan.", "Truss and hoist manufacturer data has to be loaded and current. Analysing a generic truss and hanging a specific one is not the same calculation." ], "tags": [ "rigging", "load", "vectorworks", "structural", "production" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Vectorworks", "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/", "publisher": "Vectorworks", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "vectorworks-spotlight", "name": "Vectorworks Spotlight", "aka": [ "Spotlight" ], "vendor": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "category": "cad-drafting", "summary": "CAD and 3D design package aimed at lighting, scenic and event work, with a fixture and truss library and automatic paperwork. It is where most lighting plots and hanging plots in theatre and events are actually drawn.", "license": "proprietary", "homepage": { "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/spotlight", "label": "Vectorworks Spotlight" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Drawing light plots, section and hanging plots", "Generating channel hookups, instrument schedules and equipment lists from the drawing", "Exchanging a rig with a console or visualiser using GDTF and MVR", "Scenic modelling and event layout including seating and tables" ], "gotchas": [ "Worksheets are generated from the objects in the drawing. A fixture with an incomplete record produces a report that looks correct and quietly omits it, so check counts against the plot before sending paperwork out.", "Braceworks rigging analysis and Vision previsualisation are separate products, not Spotlight features. Budget for them separately if the job needs load calculations or previs.", "GDTF and MVR round-tripping depends on both ends supporting the same revision. Test the export against the actual console before relying on it to carry patch." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "cad", "lighting-design", "paperwork", "gdtf" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Vectorworks Spotlight product page", "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/spotlight", "publisher": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "Vectorworks Spotlight Capabilities", "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/spotlight/capabilities", "publisher": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "vectorworks-vision", "name": "Vectorworks Vision", "aka": [ "Vision" ], "vendor": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "category": "previsualisation", "summary": "Real-time previsualisation companion to Vectorworks Spotlight and Design Suite. It renders a lighting design live from console DMX so a look can be built and cued before load-in, and is licensed separately from the CAD drawing itself.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "quote-only", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ma-net", "direction": "in", "requires_licence": true, "note": "MA-Net2 input requires a Vision-specific USB dongle; MA-Net3 requires an MA viz-key plus a grandMA3 console or onPC, per Vision's own manual.", "confidence": "verified" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Documented by Vectorworks as a DMX-provider option for its Spotlight-integrated previsualisation line, which shares Vision's DMX engine.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "in", "note": "Documented alongside Art-Net as a DMX-provider option for Vectorworks' previsualisation line.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/vision", "label": "Vectorworks Vision" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Previsualising a lighting design against live console DMX before load-in", "Testing focus, colour and gobo choices in a rendered venue model", "Offline programming when the physical rig or venue is not available", "Rehearsing and cueing a show ahead of tech" ], "gotchas": [ "Vision is not standalone software — it requires an active Vectorworks Spotlight or Design Suite licence. Service Select subscribers get it included (Unlimited tier annually, a 4-universe Plus tier otherwise); everyone else buys Vision Unlimited as a separate add-on module.", "MA-Net2 and MA-Net3 need different hardware keys — a Vision dongle versus an MA viz-key — and are not interchangeable, matching the generation split documented for the MA-Net protocol itself.", "Distinct from \"Showcase,\" the real-time previz feature built directly into Spotlight 2025. Vectorworks sells and supports both; existing Vision workflows are unaffected by Showcase's introduction." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "previsualisation", "lighting", "visualiser", "vectorworks" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Vectorworks Vision — product page", "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/vision", "publisher": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "Buy Vectorworks Vision", "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/vision/buy", "publisher": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "Vision 2024 Help: Setting the DMX Provider", "url": "https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2024/Vision/2024_Vision/Vision/Setting%20the_DMX_provider.htm", "publisher": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "Connectivity Options with Showcase in Vectorworks Spotlight", "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/newsroom/showcase-connections-lighting-consoles", "publisher": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "Previz with Showcase in Vectorworks Spotlight", "url": "https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/newsroom/showcase-previz-vectorworks-spotlight-2025", "publisher": "Vectorworks, Inc.", "accessed": "2026-08-22" } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-22" }, { "id": "ventuz", "name": "Ventuz", "vendor": "Ventuz Technology", "category": "media-server", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "quote-only", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Real-time 3D graphics and interactive content platform used for broadcast graphics, data-driven visuals, live event screens and interactive installations.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Art-Net in and out.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "OSC in and out.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "NDI send and receive.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sdi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "SDI in and out with suitable capture hardware.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "MIDI control.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Live data-driven graphics on event screens", "Broadcast-style overlays for a live show", "Interactive installations and touch walls" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.ventuz.com/", "label": "Ventuz" }, "gotchas": [ "Ventuz is a development environment before it is a playback tool. Budget engineering time, not just content time.", "Designer and Runtime are licensed separately. A machine that can play the show may not be able to edit it, which is deliberate and occasionally inconvenient on site." ], "tags": [ "graphics", "real-time", "3d", "broadcast", "data-driven" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Ventuz", "url": "https://www.ventuz.com/", "publisher": "Ventuz Technology", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "vioso-anyblend", "name": "VIOSO Anyblend", "vendor": "VIOSO", "category": "content-creation", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "quote-only", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "status": "current", "summary": "Camera-assisted warping and blending for multi-projector systems. A camera measures what each projector actually puts on the surface, and the software builds the warp and blend from the measurement rather than from an assumption about where the projectors are.", "homepage": { "url": "https://vioso.com/", "label": "VIOSO" }, "typical_use": [ "Multi-projector blends on curved and irregular surfaces", "Domes and simulators", "Automated realignment in permanent installations" ], "gotchas": [ "Blending equalises brightness in the overlap. It cannot make a projector's black darker, so the black level in an overlap stays lifted no matter how good the alignment is." ], "tags": [ "projection", "blending", "warping", "calibration" ], "sources": [ { "title": "VIOSO", "url": "https://vioso.com/", "publisher": "VIOSO", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "vmix", "name": "vMix", "vendor": "StudioCoast", "category": "video-playback", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "summary": "Software video production: switching, titles, playback, streaming and recording on one Windows machine. The workhorse of small broadcast and corporate work, and increasingly of hybrid events.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Core.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "srt", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Contribution and distribution.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "rtmp", "direction": "out", "note": "Streaming.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "in", "note": "Control, depending on version.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "smpte-st-2110", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "On higher tiers with suitable hardware.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.vmix.com/", "label": "vMix" }, "typical_use": [ "Live streaming and hybrid events", "Small-scale broadcast switching", "Playback and titling on one machine" ], "gotchas": [ "One machine doing everything is one machine that can fail. Plan the fallback before the show, not during it.", "Feature availability is tiered — confirm the licence covers the inputs and outputs the design assumes." ], "tags": [ "video", "streaming", "switching", "broadcast" ], "sources": [ { "title": "vMix", "url": "https://www.vmix.com/", "publisher": "StudioCoast", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "vvvv", "name": "vvvv", "aka": [ "vvvv gamma", "vvvv beta" ], "vendor": "vvvv group", "category": "content-creation", "license": "Proprietary", "price_model": "freemium", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "status": "current", "summary": "A long-standing visual programming environment for real-time media, strong on GPU work, large projection setups and hardware interfacing. Free for non-commercial use, which is how most people meet it.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Standard nodes.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Widely used for driving and receiving lighting data.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dmx512", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Through interfaces.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "midi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Standard nodes.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://vvvv.org/", "label": "vvvv" }, "typical_use": [ "Interactive installations", "Large multi-projector and LED content systems", "Prototyping hardware-driven media" ], "gotchas": [ "Windows only, and the two generations (beta and gamma) are different environments — check which one a project was built in before quoting time on it." ], "tags": [ "dataflow", "patching", "projection", "interactive" ], "sources": [ { "title": "vvvv", "url": "https://vvvv.org/", "publisher": "vvvv group", "accessed": "2026-08-29", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-29" }, { "id": "watchout", "name": "WATCHOUT", "vendor": "Dataton", "category": "media-server", "summary": "Multi-display media server software that composites and plays video across many synchronised outputs from a timeline. Long established in corporate, museum and large-format projection work.", "license": "proprietary", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Documented as ArtNet Input for external control of WATCHOUT.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ltc", "direction": "in", "note": "Handled by the LTC Bridge component.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "midi-show-control", "direction": "in", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "psn", "direction": "in", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "ndi", "direction": "in", "note": "NDI sources can be used as video inputs.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "dante", "direction": "bidirectional", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.dataton.com/downloads/watchout7", "label": "Dataton WATCHOUT" }, "docs": { "url": "https://docs.dataton.com/watchout-7-new/watchout/index.html", "label": "WATCHOUT 7 User Guide" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Multi-projector blended shows in museums, visitor attractions and corporate events", "Timecode-locked video playback across many outputs", "Large-format canvases split across a cluster of display computers" ], "gotchas": [ "Windows only. Both the production application and the display servers are Windows software, so a Mac-based crew has no path here.", "A real system needs a minimum of two licence keys, one for the production computer and one for each display computer. Only a keyless production machine with no outputs attached runs unlicensed.", "WATCHOUT 7 is a different architecture to WATCHOUT 6 and the user guide carries a separate WATCHOUT 6 protocol section for backwards compatibility. Do not assume a v6 control integration drives a v7 system unchanged." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "media-server", "projection", "multi-display", "timecode" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Dataton WATCHOUT current version and licensing", "url": "https://www.dataton.com/downloads/watchout7", "publisher": "Dataton", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "WATCHOUT License Keys", "url": "https://www.dataton.com/watchout-license-keys", "publisher": "Dataton", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true }, { "title": "WATCHOUT 7 User Guide", "url": "https://docs.dataton.com/watchout-7-new/watchout/index.html", "publisher": "Dataton", "accessed": "2026-08-16", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-16" }, { "id": "waves-soundgrid-studio", "name": "Waves SoundGrid Studio", "vendor": "Waves Audio", "category": "audio-mixing", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "one-off-purchase", "status": "current", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos" ], "summary": "Networked audio processing system that offloads plug-ins to a dedicated SoundGrid server, letting a live console run large plug-in racks at low latency without loading the mixing desk.", "speaks": [ { "protocol": "dante", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via a SoundGrid/Dante interface, not natively.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "madi", "direction": "bidirectional", "note": "Via SoundGrid interface hardware.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "typical_use": [ "Plug-in racks on a live console", "Multitrack recording and virtual soundcheck", "Offloading processing from the mixing surface" ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.waves.com/", "label": "Waves Audio" }, "gotchas": [ "SoundGrid is its own network on its own NIC. Sharing that NIC with a show network or the internet causes exactly the dropouts it exists to avoid.", "Plug-in licences are on a Waves account and USB drive. The server is useless without them, so the licence drive is show-critical hardware.", "Latency is low but not zero. Inserting a SoundGrid rack on a monitor path is a decision to make deliberately with the monitor engineer." ], "tags": [ "audio", "plugins", "soundgrid", "waves", "live" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Waves Audio", "url": "https://www.waves.com/", "publisher": "Waves Audio", "accessed": "2026-08-26", "primary": true } ], "confidence": "reported", "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-26" }, { "id": "wireshark", "name": "Wireshark", "aka": [ "Ethereal" ], "vendor": "Wireshark Foundation", "category": "monitoring-diagnostics", "summary": "General-purpose packet analyzer with built-in dissectors for Art-Net, ACN/sACN (E1.31), RDM, RDMnet, and OSC, making it a de facto low-level protocol sniffer for lighting/AV networks.", "license": "GPL-2.0", "price_model": "free", "platforms": [ "windows", "macos", "linux" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Native artnet dissector present since very early Wireshark releases (display filter fields documented back to version 1.0.0)." }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Dissected via the ACN dissector's 'Streaming DMX' (E1.31) option, which must be enabled in Preferences > Protocols > ACN." }, { "protocol": "acn", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Dissects the underlying ACN/E1.17 root layer (Root Layer, SDT, wrappers) that sACN rides on." }, { "protocol": "rdm", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "E1.20 RDM dissector; base fields since Wireshark 1.8.0, extended fields since 3.4.0." }, { "protocol": "rdmnet", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "RDMnet dissector added in Wireshark 3.4.0 (commit 'Added RDMnet protocol', March 2020)." }, { "protocol": "osc", "direction": "in", "confidence": "verified", "note": "Open Sound Control dissector, documented display filter fields since Wireshark 1.12.0." }, { "protocol": "mdns-dns-sd", "direction": "in", "note": "Decodes mDNS, the fastest way to prove a discovery problem.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "snmp", "direction": "in", "note": "Decodes SNMP.", "confidence": "unverified" }, { "protocol": "srt", "direction": "in", "note": "SRT dissector in current builds.", "confidence": "unverified" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://www.wireshark.org/" }, "repo": { "url": "https://github.com/wireshark/wireshark" }, "docs": { "url": "https://www.wireshark.org/docs/dfref/a/artnet.html" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Confirm whether sACN/Art-Net packets are actually reaching a node's NIC", "Diagnose sACN priority conflicts by inspecting per-address priority (start code 0xDD) vs level (0x00) packets", "Verify RDM/RDMnet discovery and GET/SET transactions between controller and responder", "Capture and archive a show's network traffic for post-mortem analysis after a failure" ], "gotchas": [ "sACN ('Streaming DMX') dissection is off by default; enable it in Edit > Preferences > Protocols > ACN or universes show up undissected.", "Wireshark only shows what's on the wire, it does not judge whether DMX/sACN data is 'correct' — you must manually expand fields to tell level packets (start code 0x00) from per-address priority packets (0xDD).", "The Art-Net dissector is missing most Art-Net 4 fields introduced from protocol document revision 1.4DA onward (open bug, GitLab issue #18293).", "The ACN/sACN dissector does not fully dissect Universe Discovery or Universe Sync packets in some releases (GitLab issues #18755, #18767)." ], "confidence": "verified", "tags": [ "packet-capture", "protocol-analyzer", "network-troubleshooting" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Wireshark Display Filter Reference: Art-Net", "url": "https://www.wireshark.org/docs/dfref/a/artnet.html", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "Wireshark Wiki: ACN protocol dissector", "url": "https://wiki.wireshark.org/ACN", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "Wireshark Display Filter Reference: RDMnet", "url": "https://www.wireshark.org/docs/dfref/r/rdmnet.html", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "Wireshark Display Filter Reference: RDM", "url": "https://www.wireshark.org/docs/dfref/r/rdm.html", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "Wireshark Display Filter Reference: Open Sound Control", "url": "https://www.wireshark.org/docs/dfref/o/osc.html", "accessed": "2026-08-17" }, { "title": "ETC Support: Troubleshooting sACN priority using Wireshark", "url": "https://support.etcconnect.com/ETC/Networking/General/Troubleshooting_sACN_priority_using_Wireshark", "accessed": "2026-08-17", "primary": true }, { "title": "Wireshark GitLab issue #18293: Art-Net dissector missing Art-Net 4 features", "url": "https://gitlab.com/wireshark/wireshark/-/issues/18293", "accessed": "2026-08-17" } ], "updated": "2026-08-17" }, { "id": "wysiwyg", "name": "WYSIWYG", "vendor": "CAST Group Inc.", "category": "previsualisation", "summary": "Lighting design, plotting and previsualisation software that renders a rig in real time from live console DMX. A longstanding dedicated previz tool for touring, broadcast, theatre and corporate work, sold as Core, Design and Perform editions.", "license": "proprietary", "price_model": "subscription", "platforms": [ "windows" ], "speaks": [ { "protocol": "art-net", "direction": "in", "note": "Documented as one of the network options for receiving console DMX (e.g. merged BlackTrax tracking data reaches WYSIWYG this way).", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "sacn", "direction": "in", "note": "Documented alongside Art-Net as a network DMX input from the console.", "confidence": "reported" }, { "protocol": "citp", "direction": "in", "note": "Live media-server preview is a supported feature; CAST's own known-issues list references CITP video-display behaviour after a resolution change.", "confidence": "reported" } ], "homepage": { "url": "https://cast-soft.com/WYSIWYG/", "label": "CAST Software — WYSIWYG" }, "status": "current", "typical_use": [ "Offline programming and plotting against a rendered rig before load-in", "Producing CAD plots and paperwork alongside the visualisation", "Simulating BlackTrax-tracked automated fixtures and effects", "Selling a look to a designer or client before the rig is in the room" ], "gotchas": [ "WYSIWYG is a Windows-only application. It can run on an ARM-based Mac via Parallels inside a Windows 11 ARM-64 environment, but Intel Mac support via Boot Camp or Parallels is explicitly not officially supported.", "Dongles and perpetual licences have been discontinued. Licences are cloud-based subscriptions billed monthly or annually, and the software will not run once the subscription lapses.", "CITP video preview can take up to ten seconds to display correctly after a resolution change, per CAST's own WYSIWYG 2025 known-issues list." ], "confidence": "reported", "tags": [ "previsualisation", "lighting", "visualiser", "cad" ], "sources": [ { "title": "WYSIWYG — Lighting Design Software", "url": "https://cast-soft.com/WYSIWYG/", "publisher": "CAST Software", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "CAST Software FAQ", "url": "https://cast-soft.com/faq/", "publisher": "CAST Software", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "WYSIWYG 2025 Known Issues", "url": "https://cast-soft.com/WYSIWYG-known-issues/", "publisher": "CAST Software", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true }, { "title": "CAST Software — company and product overview", "url": "https://cast-soft.com/", "publisher": "CAST Group Inc.", "accessed": "2026-08-22", "primary": true } ], "contributed_by": [], "updated": "2026-08-22" } ]