How To Program DMX Lights | Beginner DMX Lighting Tutorial
April 17, 2023
In this beginner DMX lighting tutorial, we’ll explain how DMX works, how to set the address on your LED lights, and how to manage them using a controller. Then we’ll talk you through a basic setup using a DMX 512 controller and two LED PAR lights.
Quick Answer: Connect the DMX controller to the lights using a DMX cable and set the lights to the mode and DMX address you require. You can group lights by giving them the same DMX address or control them independently by giving them their own channels.
How does DMX lighting work?
DMX cables can send 512 channels of data from the controller to the light fixtures in your system. You can set each channel to a value of anywhere between 0 to 255. The DMX controller acts like an audio mixing console, mixing light instead of sound.
This group of 512 DMX channels is called a universe.
Related: What is a DMX Universe?
256 values per channel over 512 channels is a lot of data. That’s why specific DMX cables are required. They may look like XLR audio cables, but the actual cable between the connectors is different and designed specifically for this job. We always recommend using the proper DMX cable.
Related: XLR vs DMX Cables, What’s the Difference?
How do DMX lights work?
So, with up to 512 channels of data coming from one cable, how does each light know what to listen for? Each light has two settings that let you specify how you want it to behave.
DMX Channel Mode
This is specific to each light model, and you will need to refer to the manual for details of how the light responds in each mode.
