sACN Streaming ACN E1.31

Streaming ACN (sACN) is a standard protocol developed by ESTA to efficiently transport DMX universes over the network. It is comparable to ArtNET in many aspects. One nice thing is the multicast option allowing very easy configuration. sACN is a popular protocol to control large number of RGB LEDs. You can find very affordable LED controllers taking sACN input like the SanDevice E682. See more controllers...

16 Input Universes

Easily receive commands from other lighting software over sACN. For example, you can use Vixen and LightoRama (LOR) to do your sequencing and triggers the effects in Lightjams via sACN. This duo is really powerful and will save you many hours of sequence programming.

24 Output Universes

24 universes give you 12288 DMX channels to create with, enough for individually controlling 4080 RGB LEDs.

Wireless Network (WIFI) Optimized

Contrary to ArtNET, sACN defaults to using multicast instead of broadcast. Broadcasting literally kills a wireless network. So sACN performs great out of the box with a WIFI.

Multicast

Multicasting means that the sender (Lightjams in this case) sends DMX universes to those subscribed, in one copy only, even when there are multiple receivers (sACN to DMX nodes for example) at the other end. This is a standard in the network world and is implemented at the hardware level by most routers and switches. The end result is a really optimized network usage and easy configuration since the sender doesn't need to know the IP addresses of the receivers.

Walkthrough

1. Global Configuration

Access the sACN configuration by going to View/Configuration.

Network: Here you can select your network card if you have multiple. There is no port to configure since it is fixed by the ACN standard - less configuration is good!

Input: The input monitor lets you see which universes are coming in. You can subscribe to multicast universes by checking the corresponding boxes.

Output: The output monitor lets you see which universes are going out. For each output universe, you can specify whether you want to use the default multicast option or send DMX to a specific IP address (unicast).

sACN E1.31 Controllers

Here are some E1.31 controllers working great with Lightjams. Most controllers are pixel controllers, meaning they are specialized for RGB LED control. Some controllers even offer DMX output to control conventional lighting equipments. You can use as many controllers as you need to handle all your LEDs.

Device	# E1.31 Universes	Pixel Types	DMX Out	Approx. Price (USD)
SanDevice E682	6 (1020 RGB pixels)	LPD6803, D705, WS2801, TM180x, TLS3001, CYT3005, GE Color Effects, WS2811, LPD880x, 981X, 16716	Yes	$109 (kit), $180 (assembled)
J1SYS ECG-PIXAD8	8 (1360 RGB pixels)	WS2801	No	$155
J1SYS ECG-P12R	12 (2040 RGB pixels)	LPD6803, WS2801, TM180x	No	$175
Enttec Datagate Mk2	8 (1360 RGB pixels)	DMX only. (not a pixel controller, only a sACN to DMX node)	Yes	$1900

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