DMX Quickstart

DMX Blueprint Template

This Quick Start guide will describe the basics of how to use the DMX features in order to help you get started creating your own visual installation or live event using Unreal Engine. This includes the following.

• Exposed parameters (what they do, why they are there, what they impact).
• Underlying concepts (so that you understand what is going on).
• A step-by-step typical workflow with use-cases.

Enabling the DMX Plugin

To enable the DMX plugin in a project, navigate to Edit > Plugins and enable the following plugins.

• DMX Runtime
• DMX Protocol

Restart the editor before continuing the following steps.

Steps

1. Create a new DMX Library by going to Add New > DMX > DMX Library.

2. Open your newly created DMX Library and navigate to the Controllers panel.

   1. Add a controller by clicking the green New Controller button in the top left.

      

   2. Select your desired protocol and Communication Mode.

      1. Protocol: Art-Net or sACN

      2. Communication Mode: Broadcast or Unicast

         1. Create an array with multiple Unicast IPs for Multicast.

            

   3. Set the desired Universe Range on your physical controller.

      

3. Navigate to the Fixture Types panel and add a new fixture type by clicking the green New Fixture Type button.

   

4. Import a GDTF asset to automatically configure your fixture type or configure manually as described below.

   

   1. Modes

      1. Add modes using the + Add Mode button.

         

      2. Set the Mode Properties.

         

   2. Attributes

      1. Add all needed functions for this mode using the + Add Function button.

         

      2. Set the associated attribute for each function.

         

      3. Set the desired properties.

         

5. Navigate to the Fixture Patch panel and add a new patch by clicking the green Add Fixture button and select the fixture type from which to create a new patch.

   

   1. Make sure to set your Universe ID, Starting Channel, and Active Mode to match what is set on your physical controller and physical fixture respectively.

      

   2. The patch visualizer on the right side will indicate where patches are currently assigned in a specified universe.

      

6. In order to test that the output of DMX is working properly:

   1. Open the Output Console.

      

   2. Create a new fader.

      

   3. Drag the slider up and down to test the output.

      

7. Next, to view the outgoing and incoming DMX signals of a particular universe, open the Channel Monitor or Activity Monitor.

   

   Set your protocol and the universe you want to monitor and then broadcast some DMX either in Unreal Engine or from an external program. You will see a real-time update reflected here.

   If using an external program, make sure you are connected to the same network and are broadcasting to the network card's IP subnet. See the "Receive DMX" section for more information.

8. To create a custom fixture and place it in the scene:

   1. Navigate to the DMX Fixtures plugin folder, find a fixture template, and create a child or duplicate actor class.

      

   2. Add the new actor class to the scene by dragging and dropping it in the viewport.

   3. Set the DMX Library and Fixture Patch.