Basics of DMX for beginners

For those new to DMX, envision a grid with 16 rows and 32 columns, forming 512 cells. Each cell is a CHANNEL, and in DMX, a collection of 512 channels constitutes a UNIVERSE (Maestro currently supports one universe).

Consider the light you've purchased, known as a FIXTURE. A fixture's capabilities are controlled through one or more channels. As a simple example, your fixture might require three channels for controlling red, green, and blue colors. For instance, channel 1 could be for red, 2 for green, and 3 for blue. These assignments are determined by the fixture manufacturer and are detailed in the fixture’s manual.

Each channel holds a VALUE from 1 to 255. In our example, setting channel 1 to 255 and the others to 0 would display red. By manipulating RGB values, your fixture can showcase various colors.

Maestro constantly generates and sends values to every channel. Your fixture requires an ADDRESS so it knows which channels to utilize and which to ignore. If you set the fixture's address to channel 1, channels 1, 2, and 3 are now dedicated to it. 

Adding a second fixture means avoiding channels 1, 2, and 3 for the address. Suppose you set its address to channel 4; then, for this second fixture, channel 4 is red, 5 is green, and 6 is blue. 

If maestro sent a value of 128 to channel 5 and 0 to the other channels, the first fixture would black out and the second fixture would show green at 50% intensity.

Fixtures often have various MODES; the previous example is a 3-channel mode. They might have a 5-channel mode for features like strobe (channel 4) and a master dimmer (channel 5). More complex features may use up to 16 or even 100 channels in extremely complex fixtures.

There's a limit to fitting fixtures into one universe—512 channels in total. Overlapping channels for fixtures are a no-go, but you can assign multiple identical fixtures to the same address, sacrificing individual control for space efficiency.

Informing Maestro about your fixtures, their channel count, and controlled features is called PATCHING. Deciding on fixtures, modes, addresses, and channels is called STAGE DESIGN, and that's your responsibility.

I hope this aids your conceptual understanding of DMX and makes the setup and operation of Maestro easier for you.

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