showstack / protocols / osc
OSC
Also called Open Sound Control, OpenSoundControl.
A transport-independent message format carrying named, typed messages such as /cue/5/go with int, float, string and blob arguments, optionally grouped into timestamped bundles. On a show it is the glue between QLab, lighting consoles, control surfaces and anything with a scripting port.
Stewarded by CNMAT, University of California Berkeley.
Control
Small, urgent, must arrive
Small messages that either repeat constantly or fire once. Bandwidth is almost never the problem.
What kills it. Latency and loss on the messages that fire once. A repeating level survives a dropped packet; a GO does not.
Ports
udp/53000
QLab default OSC listening port
An application default, not part of OSC. Figure 53 document it as the port QLab listens on, changeable per workspace.
An application default, not part of OSC. Figure 53 document it as the port QLab listens on, changeable per workspace.
tcp/3032
ETC Eos default OSC TCP port (OSC 1.0 packet-length framing)
An application default, not part of OSC. Bidirectional, so no separate transmit port is needed.
An application default, not part of OSC. Bidirectional, so no separate transmit port is needed.
tcp/3037
ETC Eos third-party OSC port using OSC 1.1 SLIP framing
Added in Eos v3.1.0. Separate from 3032 because the two stream framings cannot be auto-detected.
Added in Eos v3.1.0. Separate from 3032 because the two stream framings cannot be auto-detected.
What goes wrong
OSC defines no port and no transport. Every product picks its own, and the receiver usually needs telling the reply port as well as the listen port, so a link that "works" one way often has no return path at all.
Over TCP or serial there are two incompatible framings. OSC 1.0 prefixes each packet with a 32-bit length; OSC 1.1 uses SLIP. ETC put them on separate TCP ports (3032 and 3037) precisely because you cannot detect which is which.
There is no formal 1.1 specification document, only a NIME 2009 paper. When a datasheet claims "OSC 1.1 support" it can mean SLIP framing, the new argument types, or almost nothing.
Address patterns support wildcards on the receiving side, so a stray /eos/chan/* reaches far more than one channel. Test pattern messages against a rehearsal state, never against a running show.
Bundle time tags are 64-bit NTP timestamps and assume the two machines agree on time. Many entertainment implementations ignore the tag entirely and execute on arrival, so do not build sample-accurate timing on it.
UDP has no delivery guarantee and OSC adds none. A single lost GO is simply gone with no error anywhere. If the cue matters, use a TCP link where the product offers one.
What speaks OSC (99)
99 products — 43 hardware, 56 softwareshow all
| Product | Direction | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ableton Live Ableton AG |
bidirectional needs licence |
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. |
| Ardour Ardour Community |
bidirectional | OSC control surface support. |
| ArKaos MediaMaster ArKaos |
bidirectional | OSC control. |
| Capture Capture Visualisation AB |
bidirectional | Documented as supporting DMX talkback with ETC Eos consoles. |
| CasparCG Server CasparCG project |
out | Sends per-layer status and playback position. Default port 6250 in casparcg.config. |
| ChamSys MagicQ ChamSys |
bidirectional needs licence |
OSC requires Unlocked mode, activated by a MagicQ wing, Connect interface or rack-mount dongle. The manual documents both receiving and sending messages. |
| Chataigne Ben Kuper |
bidirectional | Also supports OSCQuery for discovery. |
| Bitfocus Companion Bitfocus AS |
bidirectional | Companion can be controlled over OSC on a configurable listen port, and modules send OSC out. |
| Daslight Daslight (Nicolaudie) |
in | OSC control. |
| disguise Designer disguise |
bidirectional | |
| DMXControl 3 DMXControl Projects e.V. |
bidirectional | OSC control. |
| Eos Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC) |
bidirectional | ETC states all Eos family devices can send and receive OSC when running software v2.3 or higher. |
| Go Button Figure 53 |
bidirectional | OSC control. |
| Godot Engine Godot Foundation |
bidirectional | Through community add-ons. |
| grandMA3 onPC MA Lighting |
bidirectional | |
| HeavyM HeavyM |
in | External control. |
| Hippotizer Green Hippo (an ACT Entertainment brand) |
in | MultiController maps OSC (and raw TCP) to pins. As with MIDI, outbound OSC feedback is referenced but not documented in detail. |
| Isadora TroikaTronix (Mark Coniglio) |
bidirectional | 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. |
| L-ISA Controller L-Acoustics |
bidirectional | Object positions and control. |
| Lightkey Lightkey |
in | OSC control. |
| Lightwright Lightwright LLC (John McKernon Software) |
bidirectional | 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. |
| MadMapper garageCube |
bidirectional | Includes OSC Query support. |
| Max Cycling '74 |
bidirectional | Via widely used objects rather than as a built-in. |
| Medialon Control System Medialon (Barco) |
bidirectional | OSC in and out. |
| Millumin Anomes (Philippe Chaurand) |
bidirectional | Configurable OSC listeners and senders; an OSC API covers almost every feature. Docs also state Millumin supports OSCQuery, without specifying its server/client role. |
| Mitti Imimot |
bidirectional | OSC control in and out, commonly driven from QLab or a console. |
| Mixing Station David Giga |
bidirectional | Uses each console's own network control protocol, OSC where the console offers it. |
| Modul8 GarageCUBE |
bidirectional | OSC control. |
| Node-RED OpenJS Foundation |
bidirectional | Via community nodes. |
| Notch Notch (10bit FX Limited) |
bidirectional | Vendor features page states OSC input and output; the node reference lists both an OSC Modifier (receive) and an OSC Output node (send). |
| OLA (Open Lighting Architecture) Open Lighting Project |
bidirectional | |
| ONYX Obsidian Control Systems |
in needs licence |
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. |
| Open Stage Control Jean-Emmanuel Doucet |
bidirectional | Core. |
| openFrameworks openFrameworks community |
bidirectional | Core addon. |
| PIXERA AV Stumpfl |
bidirectional | Control. |
| Processing Processing Foundation |
bidirectional | Through the widely used oscP5 library. |
| ProPresenter Renewed Vision |
bidirectional | Network API control. |
| Protokol Hexler |
in | Core supported protocol for monitoring/logging. |
| ProVideoPlayer (PVP) Renewed Vision |
bidirectional | OSC control. |
| Pure Data Miller Puckette and contributors |
bidirectional | Through standard external objects. |
| QLab Figure 53 |
bidirectional | QLab exposes a full OSC API for control and feedback, and can send OSC as a cue type. |
| QLC+ QLC+ project |
bidirectional | |
| REAPER Cockos Incorporated |
bidirectional | 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. |
| Resolume Arena Resolume |
bidirectional | |
| Show Cue System (SCS) Show Cue Systems |
bidirectional | OSC control. |
| Smode Smode Tech |
bidirectional | OSC in and out. |
| Stage Precision Stage Precision |
bidirectional | OSC in and out. |
| TouchDesigner Derivative |
bidirectional | |
| TouchOSC Hexler |
bidirectional | Core. |
| Unity Unity Technologies |
bidirectional | Through community packages rather than built in. |
| Unreal Engine Epic Games |
bidirectional | OSC in and out via plugins. |
| Ventuz Ventuz Technology |
bidirectional | OSC in and out. |
| vMix StudioCoast |
in | Control, depending on version. |
| vvvv vvvv group |
bidirectional | Standard nodes. |
| WATCHOUT Dataton |
bidirectional | |
| Wireshark Wireshark Foundation |
in | Open Sound Control dissector, documented display filter fields since Wireshark 1.12.0. |
| 7thSense Delta Media Server 7thSense |
bidirectional | OSC control. |
| Alcorn McBride A/V Binloop HD Alcorn McBride |
in | Control, depending on model. |
| Allen & Heath dLive S7000 Allen & Heath |
bidirectional | Native OSC over TCP, widely used with QLab and show control. |
| Allen & Heath SQ-6 Allen & Heath |
bidirectional | MIDI/TCP control; OSC through third-party bridges. |
| Analog Way Aquilon RS4 Analog Way |
in | Third-party control over the network API. |
| Analog Way Picturall Mark II Analog Way |
bidirectional | OSC control. |
| Avid VENUE S6L-32D Avid |
bidirectional | OSC control via Eucon and third-party apps. |
| Avolites Ai Q3 Avolites |
bidirectional | Control. |
| Avolites Diamond 9 Avolites |
bidirectional | OSC control in and out. |
| Avolites Tiger Touch III Avolites |
bidirectional | OSC in and out. |
| Barco Event Master E2 Barco |
in | Control via third-party systems over the network API. |
| Behringer X32 Behringer |
bidirectional | Undocumented-but-stable OSC protocol that a whole generation of third-party apps and QLab workflows is built on. |
| ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 ChamSys |
bidirectional | Remote control and feedback. |
| ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium ChamSys |
bidirectional | Two-way OSC for external control surfaces and show control. |
| Christie Pandoras Box Christie |
bidirectional | OSC in and out, heavily used via Widget Designer. |
| Crestron CP4N Control System Crestron |
bidirectional | Through modules. |
| Dataton WATCHPAX 60 Dataton |
in | Control. |
| d&b audiotechnik DS100 Signal Engine d&b audiotechnik |
bidirectional | OSC is the control surface for object positions, used by tracking systems and show control. |
| DiGiCo Quantum 338 DiGiCo |
bidirectional | OSC control of the desk. |
| DiGiCo SD12 DiGiCo |
bidirectional | Via the external control protocol. |
| disguise gx 3 disguise |
bidirectional | |
| disguise vx 4 disguise |
bidirectional | OSC control of Designer cues and parameters. |
| Eos Apex 5 ETC |
bidirectional | Over UDP or TCP. Needs no gateway. |
| ETC Eos Apex 10 ETC |
bidirectional | Remote control and feedback. |
| ETC Ion Xe 20 ETC |
bidirectional | OSC in and out, widely used with QLab. |
| grandMA2 full-size MA Lighting |
bidirectional | OSC in and out. |
| grandMA3 full-size MA Lighting |
bidirectional | |
| MA Lighting grandMA3 light MA Lighting |
bidirectional | Remote control. |
| Green Hippo Hippotizer Karst+ MK2 Green Hippo |
bidirectional | Control. |
| Hippotizer Boreal+ MK2 Green Hippo |
in | Remote control of engine parameters. |
| Hog 4 High End Systems |
bidirectional | |
| Kinesys Elevation 1+ Kinesys |
bidirectional | Integration with show control systems. |
| Medialon Showmaster Pro Medialon (Barco) |
bidirectional | Control. |
| Midas HD96-24 Midas |
bidirectional | OSC control. |
| Modulo Kinetic Modulo Pi |
bidirectional | OSC in and out for show control. |
| Obsidian Control Systems NX4 Obsidian Control Systems |
bidirectional | OSC in and out. |
| AV Stumpfl PIXERA one AV Stumpfl |
bidirectional | OSC in and out. |
| Q-SYS Core 510i QSC (Q-SYS) |
bidirectional | External control of named controls in the design. |
| TAIT Navigator TAIT |
bidirectional | Show control integration. |
| TTA StageTracker II TTA — Track The Artist |
bidirectional | Control and data. |
| Yamaha CL5 Yamaha |
bidirectional | Limited OSC via third-party bridges rather than natively. |
| Yamaha RIVAGE PM7 Yamaha |
bidirectional | OSC via the console API. |
| zactrack PRO zactrack |
bidirectional | OSC for integration with audio and show control. |
Open source implementations
- liblo — C, LGPL-2.1-or-later
- python-osc — Python, Unlicense
- oscpack — C++
Typical use
- Cue triggering between QLab and a lighting console, in both directions
- Control surfaces, tablets and stream-deck style panels driving playback
- Digital audio console fader, mute and snapshot recall from show control
- Software-to-software links where neither end speaks a lighting protocol
Sources
- The Open Sound Control 1.0 Specification — CNMAT / Stanford CCRMA primary
- OpenSoundControl.org — history, authorship and versions — CNMAT / Stanford CCRMA primary
- OSC 1.1 — there is no 1.1 specification in the style of 1.0 — CNMAT / Stanford CCRMA primary
- TCP port for OSC communication with Eos software — Electronic Theatre Controls
- QLab 5 OSC Dictionary — Figure 53
Understand the mechanism
Something wrong, or missing?
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