ArtNet & DMX Output

Exaplay 3 can transmit DMX512 lighting values over the Art-Net protocol, enabling direct control of lighting fixtures, dimmers, moving lights, and other DMX devices — driven by timeline-animated Data Tracks.

Overview

Art-Net is an Ethernet-based protocol that encapsulates DMX512 (the industry-standard lighting control protocol). Any Art-Net-capable lighting console, fixture, or media server on the same network can receive values from Exaplay.

Prerequisites

• A network connection between the Exaplay machine and the Art-Net device
• The Art-Net device configured to receive on the correct universe
• Both devices on the same subnet (or a network that passes Art-Net UDP broadcasts)

Setting Up a Data Track with ArtNet Output

Step 1 — Create the Data Track

1. In the Sub-header, switch to the Data panel.
2. Click + Data Track.
3. Set Output Type to ArtNet.

Step 2 — Configure ArtNet

Field	Description	Valid range
Universe	Art-Net universe number	0–32767
Channel	DMX channel within the universe	1–512
Destination IP	Target Art-Net device IP (or 255.255.255.255 for broadcast)	Any IPv4

Tip: Most lighting fixtures start on Universe 0. Check your fixture's DMX address map.

Step 3 — Add Keyframes

Set keyframe values between the track's Min and Max range. Exaplay automatically scales:

Track value 0.0  →  DMX 0    (off)
Track value 0.5  →  DMX 127  (50 %)
Track value 1.0  →  DMX 255  (full)

Step 4 — Play

Press Play. Exaplay calculates the interpolated track value for each frame and transmits an Art-Net OpDmx packet to the configured destination.

Art-Net Packet Format

Exaplay sends standard Art-Net 4 OpDmx packets:

Bytes  0–7   "Art-Net\0"  (8 bytes, ASCII + null)
Bytes  8–9   OpCode 0x5000  (OpDmx, little-endian)
Bytes 10–11  Protocol version 14  (big-endian)
Byte   12    Sequence number
Byte   13    Physical port
Bytes 14–15  Universe (little-endian)
Bytes 16–17  DMX data length (big-endian, must be even)
Bytes 18+    DMX data (up to 512 bytes)

Multi-Universe and Multi-Channel

You can have multiple Data Tracks, each targeting a different universe/channel combination. All tracks run simultaneously:

Data Track "Dimmer 1"    → Universe 0, Channel 1
Data Track "Red"         → Universe 0, Channel 2
Data Track "Green"       → Universe 0, Channel 3
Data Track "Blue"        → Universe 0, Channel 4
Data Track "Moving Head" → Universe 1, Channel 1

Broadcast vs Unicast

Mode	Destination IP	Use when
Broadcast	255.255.255.255	Quick setup; all Art-Net devices on the subnet receive the packet
Unicast	Specific IP (e.g. 192.168.1.50)	Reduces network load; targets one specific device

For shows with many DMX universes, use unicast to avoid flooding the network.

Value Clamping

Values outside the track's Min–Max range are clamped before scaling:

• A value below Min is treated as Min (DMX 0)
• A value above Max is treated as Max (DMX 255)

Combining with OSC and UDP

A single Data Track outputs to one protocol. To drive both a lighting console via Art-Net and a media server via OSC with the same keyframe animation:

1. Create two Data Tracks with identical keyframes.
2. Set one to ArtNet output and one to OSC output.
3. Both transmit in sync during playback.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Fixture does not respond	Verify universe and channel match the fixture's DMX address
Intermittent control	Switch from broadcast to unicast; reduce network congestion
Values too high/low	Check Min/Max track range vs expected DMX scaling
No packets transmitted	Confirm the Data Track is on a playing composition; verify destination IP is reachable