Original LXSeries Forum

Is it only me or has something gone wrong in the last update?

Ive chosen to send channel levels to LXBEams and to allow this during fade.

But it doesnt.

If I use a chosen command (S) in the live window to perorm the script I can get quick snapshots sent to LXBeams during an ongoing crossfade.
So the script still works fine, it just doesnt run continuosly upon levelchanges.

Are you using OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion? AppleScripts that target other applications are unreliable in 10.8. Apple is moving toward sandboxing applications and scripts that communicate between applications will probably no longer work at all in the future.

The script that sends channel levels to LXBeams will sometimes freeze somewhere in the operating system under Mountain Lion. The latest build of LXBeams allows it to listen to Art-Net or ACN over a network connection. It is much more reliable to set LXConsole's DMX out to one of these and to have LXBeams listen in rather than using the AppleScript on live update method.

The script manager seems to freeze when scripts are run in rapid succession--such as when a cue is fading and the live update script is being used. LXConsole requires that one script finish before another starts. But somehow, OS X 10.8 is not keeping up like it used to with 10.7 and earlier.

If you do want to use the script on live update function on Mountain Lion, the latest build of LXConsole will detect if the script thread is frozen and after 10 seconds will start another thread that restores the ability to run AppleScripts. (This leaves an unterminated thread hanging. That is probably not a good idea but doesn't seem to harm anything that has been detected...yet.)

The future of AppleScripts is unclear. Until we find out Apple's direction, LXConsole will continue to support them. However, it is possible that in future versions of OS X things like using an AppleScript to play a sound file or advance Keynote when a lighting cue is run will no longer work. AppleScripts that only extend the functions of LXConsole and do not communicate with other applications should still be OK.

Network protocols will still be OK so having LXBeams listen to Art-Net will replace the send levels script. Using MIDI (or OSC) to trigger other applications may become the alternative to AppleScripts in other cue initiated functions.

This change is part of Apple's move toward a "consumer" operating system with increased security. Hopefully Apple will be able to navigate a path that does not kill the innovative things possible on a Mac that have made it a choice for creative people.

Are you using OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion?

- Yes I am.

Clever solution to let LXBeams listen in to the ArtNet, that ought to fix it!

Sad to hear about this attitude against applescripts from Apple. But considering the problems (and costs) Microsoft has had with viruses over the years I guess it's understandable if Apple has it way up high on their prioritylist to stay out of that.

Hope they find a way to keep Applescript and build safetywalls around each user, not each app.

The day applescript dies sure will be a sad day!
Find it hard to believe they can ever let it happen without a new alternative solution.

Ive downloaded LXBeams Version 2.4.04 (6801)
and there´s that setting in the Network prefs "Ethernet DMX Interface" that I guess should do the work, only it doesnt seem to.

Im using LXConsole Version 2.5.03 (5430) in the same laptop as LXBeams but I havent connected any external devices.

They are both in an OSX 10.8 system.

To import DMX over ethernet into the latest build of LXBeams, there are two steps necessary.

First, the Preferences/Network/Ethernet DMX Interface popup needs to be set to the correct protocol and that protocol must have an active ethernet connection.

Second, The File->Import->DMX command must be set so that LXBeams actively listens to DMX over ethernet.

There are some additional points about both of these that are good to know.

The part about the *active* ethernet connection means that there is a functioning network connection, either an ethernet cable is plugged into a device or the AirPort is on and connected to a wireless network. For Art-Net there must be an active network connection that also has a correct IPv4 address and subnet mask. ACN is more tolerant of the network address. So, if you have a laptop with only a regular internet connection through an AirPort, you might want to choose that option. If you have no external connection at all, ACN will work with the internal 127.0.0.1 address.

When File->Import->DMX is active, LXBeams continuously listens to DMX over ethernet. Because even an idle DMX over ethernet connection refreshes regularly it will be difficult to work with LXBeams for other purposes. For example, each time the DMX refreshes, it causes the selection to be reset. So selecting an object to manipulate it while the DMX is on will be difficult at best.

Also, because of the continuous refresh, if the model window is open, it may never be able to keep up because before it is finished rendering, it may receive an update which causes it to start over. For this reason there is a new "Manual Render" option found in the drawer under the camera settings. When this is selected, the model will only redraw when the refresh button is clicked.

So whats wrong in these pictures?

First in LXBeams I listen to ACN over ip 127....



And Ive set LXBeams to import DMX:



Finally in LXConsole Ive made sure it speaks the proper protocol.


The result is none at all in LXBeams. In fact the only visible difference is that if I manually set all beams to show in LXBeams and then use the good old applescript in LXConsole to send channelinfo all beams immediately disappear from the plot.

kind of confusing.

The DMX Out connection for ACN is set in LXConsole's Preferences->DMX Info tab.

(The address shown in LXBeams network preferences pertains to web sharing and has nothing to do with DMX.)

The other big difference between the AppleScript method and DMX is that the AppleScript sends channels and DMX is, of course, dimmer addresses. Check to see that the patch in LXConsole matches the dimmer assignments in LXBeams.

So I found this other little window:



Didnt help any though.

But I got this interesting message from LXConsole:

--- reading XML ---
--- complete ---
DMX ethernet out connected to 127.0.0.1
DMX Ethernet send failure.
sending to: 239.255.0.1
error: Network is unreachable

To me it just looks like Its connected to one adress but sends to another.
Dont get it...
Does it make any sense to all you networklovers out there?

There are two issues here. First, it appears that it was incorrect that 127.0.0.1 was appropriate for ACN multicast. It is actually the default address 0.0.0.0 that was working. You get this by selecting "Any" or "Select automatically" The latter is probably the better option unless you have multiple active interfaces and need to designate between them.

Second was that there was a bug in how LXBeams interpreted the universe of ACN DMX. This is now fixed with 2.4.06 build 6815. LXBeams now listens to the first two universes of ACN which correspond to dimmer addresses 1-1024.

Now Ive updated LXPro and managed to get it to work. I can send DMX to LXBeams!

But I no longer see beam colours and they just appear instantly with no fading as far as I can see.

Is there anything that I can do about that?

It took me a while of checking the DMX settings/import to try to see if I could get this to happen. Then, I realized that the likely explanation is much simpler:

Beams are draw using the stroke/fill settings for the oval tool. By selecting the oval tool and either checking or unchecking the stroke and fill boxes, you can determine if beams are drawn with an outline or as only an outline. My guess is that the latter is the case here.

So, select the oval tool (press the 4 key as a shortcut) and look in the Inspector's drawing tab and be sure that the fill box is checked. That should fix the problem.