Terminology

Fixture Profile Database/Library

Where the fixture profiles are stored.

Fixture Profile

The template of a specific fixture’s DMX channel profile mode(s). For example:

• Channel 1: Dimmer

• Channel 2: Pan

• Channel 3: Tilt

• Etc…..

Mode

A specific template of control for a given fixture. Typically fixtures have several templates or modes that provide different levels of control of the fixture; for example, a moving-head light could have:

• Mode 1: 9 channels. Mode 2: 16 channels, and Mode 3: 32 channels.

Increasing channels allows for a greater level of control over the fixture. These templates are also known as personalities.

Fixture Attribute

Controllable parameter types of a fixture. For example:

• PAN, TILT, RGBW, Dimmer, Colour Wheel etc.

Attribute Properties

Beyond the standard attribute defined in the DMX specification, MaestroDMX has additional controls

• Output Range, Invert, and Smoothing across all channels

• Offset and Width for PAN and TILT channels

Fixture

The real-world physical manifestation of a DMX controllable piece of hardware. For example:

• A moving head DMX light or flood light, LED pixels, etc

• A DMX controllable laser, haze machine, or flame effect

A live show typically has many fixtures on a given stage.

Stage

A MaestroDMX stage contains the Patcher, Layout, and Control pages. 

Patcher

This is where the fixtures are placed into the DMX universe based on their base addresses and assigned to fixture groups. 

Layout

Set the mapping (linear or 2D grid) for the fixtures in each fixture group.

Control

Set default values for DMX channels in each fixture. 

Fixture Group

A group of fixtures. This can be useful to control the parameters of many fixtures at once, such as brightness, color palettes, patterns, parameters, pixel mapping, etc.

Snapshot

A saved configuration of the fixtures on your stage that can be recalled at a later time using FX Palettes.

FX Palettes

FX Palettes provides a powerful way to map and trigger Snapshots when specific Cues are played in your Show. Using FX Palettes, Snapshots can be triggered manually by the global Trigger Buttons or autonomously by events in the music. 

Examples:

• Turn off all your laser-style effects when the music is low-energy

• Point some movers to the wedding cake

When this palette is recalled, all the moving heads will modulate their pan/tilt attributes to point at the wedding cake.

Show Control

A Show is a ‘playlist’ of cues with a specified run length. You can play, pause, stop, go back, and go forward on the sequence.

Live Control

Live Control Mode gives the user the ability to modify patterns, palettes, parameters, etc., in real time. At any time, a snapshot of Live Control Mode can be saved as a cue for Show Control Mode.

Trigger Buttons

On the Show page, the global trigger effects buttons can be controlled via the WebApp, Midi, or OSC input: Strobe, Blackout, Blinder, Fog, and Effect.

Color Palettes

These are the built-in palettes that control the color channel types, such as RGBWAUV, of fixtures on the stage.

Individual Palettes define a single color palette of either a color gradient or a single color.

Example:

• ‘Royal’: mix of amber, purple, etc.

• ‘Hawaii’: blues and greens

While Grouped Palettes define any number of individual color palettes.

Patterns

These are the lighting patterns and effects at the core of the MaestroDMX system. There are Core patterns and Maestro patterns.

Parameters

Depending on the specific lighting pattern, each cue has a variety of parameters that can be modified to customize the lighting output.

Cue

Cues are the items that are ‘played back’ in Show Mode. They control the fixtures on the stage for each fixture group for a specified duration. A Cue has the following properties that can be configured by the user:

• Which Patterns are playing along with Parameters to control how the pattern behaves

• Color Palettes (individual or grouped)

• Blackout on/off controls

• Effect trigger toggle controls

• Length of cue in minutes & seconds (or infinite)

• Fade time into Cue

• FX Palette