sACN

Overview

The sACN device enables Onlyview to send and receive DMX512 lighting control data over Ethernet networks using the streaming ACN (sACN / ANSI E1.31) protocol. It is commonly used to exchange lighting data with consoles, dimmers and media servers on a standard network.

Category: Communication Device
Hardware Requirements: Network interface connected to the sACN network
Software Requirements: None (protocol handled internally)
Compatibility: sACN (ANSI E1.31), multicast

Unlike Art-Net, sACN uses a single flat universe numbering (1–63999) and does not use a Net/Sub-Net scheme.

Setup and Configuration

Network Configuration

sACN transports data over multicast. Choose how the device uses the network interfaces:

Send on the selected interface; Receive on all interfaces: The default. Onlyview emits on the chosen interface but listens for incoming sACN on every interface.
Send and receive on the selected interface only: Restricts both emission and reception to the selected interface.

Network Interface: Select the IPv4 interface connected to your sACN network.

Universe Configuration

Add the universes the device should open, using the + / − buttons (universe numbers 1–63999). At least one universe must be open, and up to 64 universes can be opened simultaneously. Each universe carries 512 DMX channels.

The opened universes are the ones the device monitors for incoming data and can emit on.

Actions

Actions are triggered from Command Cues on a timeline.

Start DMX record / Stop DMX record: Record the incoming sACN stream (typically from a lighting console) to an .ovdmx file, so it can be replayed later in place of the console. The full record-and-replay workflow is described on the DMX Recording media page.

Send DMX values: Transmit specific DMX channel values via sACN. - Parameters: A table of Universe / Channel / Value rows, plus a Crossfade time (seconds) over which the values are reached.

Timeline Integration

sACN actions can be triggered from Command Cues on any timeline: - Add a Command Cue to a timeline layer - Set the cue's device action to the desired sACN action - Configure the action parameters as needed - The action executes when the timeline playhead reaches the cue

User Interface

The sACN device widget provides real-time monitoring: it displays the channel values received on the monitored universes, and the list of active sources currently transmitting on each universe (sACN allows several sources per universe).

ActionGraph Nodes

sACN: Retrieves the last received value of a specific sACN channel. - Properties: Device, Universe, Channel - Outputs: Value (0–255)