1st day DMXIS

ddrumguy
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2020 4:10 am

1st day DMXIS

Post by ddrumguy »

have some questions (brand new at this)

ok, i just plugged in dmxis for the first time. and managed to modify / copy a fixture into my own folder and got my fixture working

other questions popping up though..

why does the dmxis window at full size only appear to be about 5x6" in maximize (which appears to be greyed out) . WOuld love to have this fill my laptop screen so i can better see what im doing.

noticed when assigning fixtures that the channel number at the top of the fader goes away-- is this normal? would be nice if it stayed there so i know what channel id to start counting the next light from (maybe im doing something wrong here)?

I have a pretty ok understanding of what i think dmxis is - what is this show buddy thing??? no clue here

controlling lights with midi note on's - does my midi controller (a drum triggering module) have to have some connectivity via usb for this to work? all i have are midi cables - is their some kind of midi to usb connection that can connect to laptop if this is needed?

finally - Dave Brown I sent you an email earlier today and i still cannot get registered or logged into fixtures so not sure what im doing wrong there - please let me know what you are seeing. Thanks in advance for all the help :)
RichG
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Re: 1st day DMXIS

Post by RichG »

ddrumguy wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:09 pm ok, i just plugged in dmxis for the first time. and managed to modify / copy a fixture into my own folder and got my fixture working
Good job! :)
why does the dmxis window at full size only appear to be about 5x6" in maximize (which appears to be greyed out) . WOuld love to have this fill my laptop screen so i can better see what im doing.
This has been a request for a very long time. Suffice it to say, if it hasn't happened by now (about 10 years), it's just not going to happen. One way around this is to change your screen resolution. Reducing the screen resolution will increase the size of the DMXIS window.
noticed when assigning fixtures that the channel number at the top of the fader goes away-- is this normal? would be nice if it stayed there so i know what channel id to start counting the next light from (maybe im doing something wrong here)?
Yes, that's normal... and yes it would be nice if it were still shown somewhere. Again- been requested, but we'll probably never see it.

If you look at the DmxConfig.xml file, it shows the DMX Channels for a given fixture.
I have a pretty ok understanding of what i think dmxis is - what is this show buddy thing??? no clue here
DMXIS lets you define lighting Presets.
Show Buddy is a separate program that lets you put those presets on a timeline. Kind of a mini-DAW for lighting. For example, you can add a backing track to the timeline and then put various Presets along that timeline... so you can design a light show for a song. You don't absolutely *need* Show Buddy. DMXIS will work fine without it.

Not to complicate things further- but there's a third product called "Show Buddy Active". Think of it like DMXIS+. It's more like DMXIS than Show Buddy. In fact, It was first called DMXIS Platinum when it first came out. It lets you create Presets like DMXIS and can even import DMXIS presets. You can even resize the Windows.
controlling lights with midi note on's - does my midi controller (a drum triggering module) have to have some connectivity via usb for this to work? all i have are midi cables - is their some kind of midi to usb connection that can connect to laptop if this is needed?
To control DMXIS via Midi you need a way to get that Midi signal into the computer (as you suspected). I've used the M-Audio MidiSport 2x2 with good results in the past. Not sure if they're still available. Once you have the interface connected, you have to select it under File|Preferences|Audio/MIDI Settings.

Midi control is not absolutely needed. DMXIS can be controlled by a simple foot switch.
finally - Dave Brown I sent you an email earlier today and i still cannot get registered or logged into fixtures so not sure what im doing wrong there - please let me know what you are seeing. Thanks in advance for all the help :)
I'll let Dave handle that one. ;)
neilnotts
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Location: Nottingham, UK
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Re: 1st day DMXIS

Post by neilnotts »

ddrumguy wrote: Wed Mar 10, 2021 10:09 pm noticed when assigning fixtures that the channel number at the top of the fader goes away-- is this normal? would be nice if it stayed there so i know what channel id to start counting the next light from (maybe im doing something wrong here)?
Welcome. You can rename your fixture to include the channel range. Just right click on the first fader of your fixture. I do something like this;

Dotz Par 1 [001-009]
Dotz Par 2 [010-018]

Though the numbers don't appear at the top of each channel, you at least know which channel to start your next fixture on.
ddrumguy
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2020 4:10 am

Re: 1st day DMXIS

Post by ddrumguy »

Awesome responses !! Thanks guys !!
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