FAQ for newbies
Moderator: MADRIX Team
FAQ for newbies
If anyone could recommend me a FAQ for newbies where i can find infos on how to build a basic setup based around Madrix NEO.
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Background:
A teacher gave us a task to do a project but it has to be based on LEDs. So we came to idea to use LEDs that will follow music. We plan to get eight RGB LED strips, each with 60 LEDs (similar to this). The Madrix looks like exactly what we need. But unfortunately we have zero experience in this area.
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The idea is to have 8 vertical strips (each with 60 LEDs) where Madrix would do some graphics (i.e. VU meter, waterfall, etc).
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So we want to know what exactly do we need to buy to build this system - from scratch. Notice: We do not have any power supply at this moment.
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Any help appreciated!
.
.
Background:
A teacher gave us a task to do a project but it has to be based on LEDs. So we came to idea to use LEDs that will follow music. We plan to get eight RGB LED strips, each with 60 LEDs (similar to this). The Madrix looks like exactly what we need. But unfortunately we have zero experience in this area.
.
.
The idea is to have 8 vertical strips (each with 60 LEDs) where Madrix would do some graphics (i.e. VU meter, waterfall, etc).
.
So we want to know what exactly do we need to buy to build this system - from scratch. Notice: We do not have any power supply at this moment.
.
Any help appreciated!
Last edited by tom94 on Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: FAQ for newbies
Hi tom94,
Thank you very much for your interest!
Can you please specify which components you do already have and which not? That part is not quite clear to me.
If you have anything already please let me know how the product is called.
Thanks!
Thank you very much for your interest!
Can you please specify which components you do already have and which not? That part is not quite clear to me.
If you have anything already please let me know how the product is called.
Thanks!
Re: FAQ for newbies
Very short,
regarding MADRIX the first you have to do is to patch.
http://www.madrix.com/en/home/support/t ... asics.html
Follow this with your own fixtures.
After this just select a free storage place on the left or right side and select a S2L (Sound2Light) or M2L (Music2Light) effect from the drop down list.
Make sure you have a audio signal in and you have selected the right audio capture device (Menu->Preferences->Device Manager->Audio).
If all this is done correctly you should see effects running in MADRIX after music.
For the last step more informations are necessary as like as Mr.Dannenberg already told you.
regarding MADRIX the first you have to do is to patch.
http://www.madrix.com/en/home/support/t ... asics.html
Follow this with your own fixtures.
After this just select a free storage place on the left or right side and select a S2L (Sound2Light) or M2L (Music2Light) effect from the drop down list.
Make sure you have a audio signal in and you have selected the right audio capture device (Menu->Preferences->Device Manager->Audio).
If all this is done correctly you should see effects running in MADRIX after music.
For the last step more informations are necessary as like as Mr.Dannenberg already told you.
LEDs are nothing without control 
Re: FAQ for newbies
At this moment all we have is a laptop computer with audio card and USB ports.
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We plan to buy:
1 x NEO
1 x Madrix Software
8 x led strips (60 RGB LEDs in a strip) i posted link earlier
.
And everything else* you tell us to.
.
. *(preferably Madrix product so that we can get as much components as possible on the same place. Plus it makes life easier. Compatibility, etc..)
.
We plan to buy:
1 x NEO
1 x Madrix Software
8 x led strips (60 RGB LEDs in a strip) i posted link earlier
.
And everything else* you tell us to.
.
. *(preferably Madrix product so that we can get as much components as possible on the same place. Plus it makes life easier. Compatibility, etc..)
Re: FAQ for newbies
Hi!
The MADRIX NEO is a "package". If you buy it, you will get the hardware interface and at the same time you will get the software. If you connect the NEO, it will automatically activate the license for 512 DMX channels output of the software.
This takes us to the next topic. The MADRIX NEO is a DMX512 USB interface. It will be connected to the computer/laptop with a USB cable and it will put out DMX512 data over the XLR connector it has.
MADRIX communicates with LED products using various communication protocols. One of them is DMX512. So in order to control LEDs in this way, they need to be fully compatible with DMX512 (or at least their controller/power supply needs to be).
And I am afraid the LED strips from your link will not be compatible with MADRIX because of this. They cannot be controlled via DMX. (But I also don't have enough knowledge about the products, if they maybe can be driven with the help of another DMX-compatible power supply or controller).
Essentially, you will want to have products where each pixel as well as each of its color channels (Red Green and Blue) can be controlled individually (and that are compatible with DMX512).
FYI: DMX512 has its name from the 512 channels you can drive per DMX line (DMX universe). 1 DMX universe has 512 DMX channels. 1 color channel needs 1 DMX channel. So an R G B LED pixel will need 3 color channels and therefore 3 DMX channels. So you will need 180 DMX channels for your 60 LED pixels eventually.
So it is really hard to tell you what you should buy exactly. There are a lot of products out there.
Does this information help you?
The MADRIX NEO is a "package". If you buy it, you will get the hardware interface and at the same time you will get the software. If you connect the NEO, it will automatically activate the license for 512 DMX channels output of the software.
This takes us to the next topic. The MADRIX NEO is a DMX512 USB interface. It will be connected to the computer/laptop with a USB cable and it will put out DMX512 data over the XLR connector it has.
MADRIX communicates with LED products using various communication protocols. One of them is DMX512. So in order to control LEDs in this way, they need to be fully compatible with DMX512 (or at least their controller/power supply needs to be).
And I am afraid the LED strips from your link will not be compatible with MADRIX because of this. They cannot be controlled via DMX. (But I also don't have enough knowledge about the products, if they maybe can be driven with the help of another DMX-compatible power supply or controller).
Essentially, you will want to have products where each pixel as well as each of its color channels (Red Green and Blue) can be controlled individually (and that are compatible with DMX512).
FYI: DMX512 has its name from the 512 channels you can drive per DMX line (DMX universe). 1 DMX universe has 512 DMX channels. 1 color channel needs 1 DMX channel. So an R G B LED pixel will need 3 color channels and therefore 3 DMX channels. So you will need 180 DMX channels for your 60 LED pixels eventually.
So it is really hard to tell you what you should buy exactly. There are a lot of products out there.
Does this information help you?
Re: FAQ for newbies
Very helpful!
After some research, we found this LED bar since it comes with DMX512 support.
We would take 2 of those bars. That's 1512 RGB channels total. This brings us to Madrix KEY Basic, which we will most likely take.
I assume all that is left to buy would be two XLR cables at that point, right?
But I can't find, which actual hardware is included with KEY Basic. i.e. Into what will we plug in those two XLR cables from two LED bars?
After some research, we found this LED bar since it comes with DMX512 support.
We would take 2 of those bars. That's 1512 RGB channels total. This brings us to Madrix KEY Basic, which we will most likely take.
I assume all that is left to buy would be two XLR cables at that point, right?
But I can't find, which actual hardware is included with KEY Basic. i.e. Into what will we plug in those two XLR cables from two LED bars?
Re: FAQ for newbies
Okay, let's continue this FAQ.
EUROLITE LED BAR-252 can indeed be controlled by DMX512. Very good! But a closer look at the user manual tells us that it only takes up to 12 DMX channels (Ch1 Dimmer, Ch2 Dimmer, Ch3 Flash, Ch4 Red, Ch5 Green, Ch6 Blue, Ch7 Red, Ch8 Green, Ch9 Blue, Ch10 Red, Ch11 Green, Ch12 Blue). This means you can only control 3 large sections of LEDs. You won't be able to control each pixel individually. And this is really not what you want I believe.
So you could say DMX512 compatibility is not the same as "full" DMX512 compatibility; as we just saw. Some other products will tell you that they can be controlled by DMX, but in fact you will only trigger some preprogrammed cues via DMX. This is also not what you would want.
So in fact the LED bar is not suited for your needs and it would not take up 1512 DMX channels. But let's assume you would need as much.
MADRIX KEY basic is a product that supports up to 8192 channels, correct. But it does NOT include any hardware interfaces. It includes a USB dongle, that will activate the software license. If you need a hardware interface, you could use several USBone, which are connected to an actively powered USB hub that connects to your laptop. That is one option.
You could also easily use 3 MADRIX NEOs for the job. That is no problem at all!
Now to your next question. The connection. The user guide of the LED bar will also tell you that the product uses 3-pin XLR plugs. You should further know that XLR comes in 4 types of plugs. There can be so-called male or female versions (pins or inward receptacles) and there are 3-pin or 5-pin versions. The MADRIX NEO and the USBone feature 5-pin female plugs. To connect to other DMX512 plugs, you might need to use so-called XLR Gender Changers or various XLR adapters. Any XLR cables can be used to enlarge distance between interfaces and LEDs a bit (there are technical restrictions to the DMX512 standard that allow only certain distances of cables, etc.).
EUROLITE LED BAR-252 can indeed be controlled by DMX512. Very good! But a closer look at the user manual tells us that it only takes up to 12 DMX channels (Ch1 Dimmer, Ch2 Dimmer, Ch3 Flash, Ch4 Red, Ch5 Green, Ch6 Blue, Ch7 Red, Ch8 Green, Ch9 Blue, Ch10 Red, Ch11 Green, Ch12 Blue). This means you can only control 3 large sections of LEDs. You won't be able to control each pixel individually. And this is really not what you want I believe.
So you could say DMX512 compatibility is not the same as "full" DMX512 compatibility; as we just saw. Some other products will tell you that they can be controlled by DMX, but in fact you will only trigger some preprogrammed cues via DMX. This is also not what you would want.
So in fact the LED bar is not suited for your needs and it would not take up 1512 DMX channels. But let's assume you would need as much.
MADRIX KEY basic is a product that supports up to 8192 channels, correct. But it does NOT include any hardware interfaces. It includes a USB dongle, that will activate the software license. If you need a hardware interface, you could use several USBone, which are connected to an actively powered USB hub that connects to your laptop. That is one option.
You could also easily use 3 MADRIX NEOs for the job. That is no problem at all!
Now to your next question. The connection. The user guide of the LED bar will also tell you that the product uses 3-pin XLR plugs. You should further know that XLR comes in 4 types of plugs. There can be so-called male or female versions (pins or inward receptacles) and there are 3-pin or 5-pin versions. The MADRIX NEO and the USBone feature 5-pin female plugs. To connect to other DMX512 plugs, you might need to use so-called XLR Gender Changers or various XLR adapters. Any XLR cables can be used to enlarge distance between interfaces and LEDs a bit (there are technical restrictions to the DMX512 standard that allow only certain distances of cables, etc.).
Re: FAQ for newbies
Thank you!
The picture is much clearer now.
Can you just recommend any LED strip (with included power supply) that you know already works good with Madrix. 100-200 LEDs per strip is fine for this project (though it's not critical).
The picture is much clearer now.
Can you just recommend any LED strip (with included power supply) that you know already works good with Madrix. 100-200 LEDs per strip is fine for this project (though it's not critical).
Re: FAQ for newbies
Hi Tom94,
What do you think e.g. about this product "PSS-1/75 Pixel String
" from Steinigke:
http://eshop.steinigke.de/Video-Steinig ... RE.twitter
What do you think e.g. about this product "PSS-1/75 Pixel String
" from Steinigke:
http://eshop.steinigke.de/Video-Steinig ... RE.twitter
Christian Hertel
MADRIX - Sales Manager
MADRIX - Sales Manager