Show Cue System

Under View, would it be possible to have a 'channel' display as well as a DMX display.
The majority of our fixtures are single channel Profiles or Fresnels. Our sockets are numbered 1 through 72 and are hardwired to 3 (3 phase) dimmer racks of 24 channels, but they are not wired 1 for 1. The sockets are striped across the racks so the DMX display doesn't help me to identify which socket (we call then channels) is active unless I use a cross reference chart.
e.g. DMX 9 is socket 25, DMX 52 is socket 60.
This wiring is for two reasons. 1) To spread the load across the 3 phases and 2) to ensure that each wired barrel only has one phase on it for safety reasons so re-wiring the dimmer racks is not an option.
There would need to be a cross reference table of Channel to DMX - by default 1 to 1 - which the user populated at installation time. This would need to be stored as part of the Device Map as it would be unique to the location.
If the user selected a 'channel' display the DMX value would be passed through this table and then presented as a 'channel' display.

I don't know if this would meet your requirements but what I am considering is adding a Fixture DMX Display. This would be similar to the existing DMX Display but would display one line per fixture, with the DMX values for each channel of that fixture.

I don't think that would help me. It would be fine - as is the current display - for DMX addresses greater than 72 as our fixtures start at Chan/DMX 73.
Another advantage of the current display is that the whole universe is visible in a relatively small window which can be overlaid on the main panel without obscuring too much of the main panel and you can get an overall picture of your levels. If I read your comment correctly there will be a very large display - one line for each defined fixture - which would probably require scroll bars and the overall view of the universe will be lost. Especially in a large installation. Again if the Fixtures are sorted by DMX address it wouldn't help me.

What I'm planning will not be affected by DMX addresses greater than 72. Yes, there will almost always be a scrollable area but the window size itself will not change.

On re-reading your posting I see that I overlooked the main issue as I immediately associated 'channel' with 'DMX channel', not with 'socket'. It would be possible to add an optional 'socket' field to the DMX Devices and Fixtures device map info, alongside the 'DMX Start Channel'.

Regarding the change I mentioned, I can't provide a sample screenshot yet but the proposal is as follows:

• A new combobox will be added to the top of the window for 'Display Type' and the choices will be 'DMX Universe' (ie the current display) and 'Fixtures'. (NB If the 'socket' field is added then we could add 'Sockets' to this list.)
• If 'Fixtures' is selected then the display will show one line per fixture for fixtures associated with the selected 'DMX Device', in the order the fixtures are listed in Production Properties.
• As an example, if the first such fixture is an 8-channel fixture named 'CPAR1' with a DMX start channel of 101, then the first line of the display will show CPAR1 in the first column followed by 8 cells showing the current DMX values of DMX channels 101-108.
• I'm also planing to add a few 'smarts' such as if a fixture type's channel description is 'R' or 'Red' then to show a red line at the base of the cell.
• The current display shows 16 lines (from 1-32 to 481-512), and for a Display Type of 'Fixtures' this will continue to show 16 lines (ie 16 fixtures) but the whole area will become a scrollable area so you can scroll down to see all the fixtures for that 'DMX Device'.

This idea came after testing cues for a recent production where I wanted a clearer indication of what was happening on certain fixtures. Viewing the actual lighting plot it was obvious that something was not quite right but it was difficult to easily identify which fixture(s) needed to be adjusted.

Yes, it can be confusing. I always think in terms of channels, and in the case of a fixed installation; a socket. This is probably from my early days of Strand Jumior 8 wire-wound dimmers! DMX when it came was, and really still is, just an address that's used internally to switch the correct logic. Initially this was just within the dimmer rack and nowadays is within the dimmer rack or the fixture.
We are a multi-function space and for the majority of our activities - Gigs, weddings, parties, lectures, visiting groups - our Strand desk is the usual choice as it it easier to show a visitor how to set up Subs and Cues (in many cases they are used to a desk rather than a PC program) than it would be to teach them SCS. We don't have a paid technician running all the shows/events. When we then come to an in-house production run our volunteer techies turn to the greater flexibility of SCS. The monitor connected to the Strand displays 'Channels' 1-512 and in the background converts the Channel to the correct DMX address via a 'soft patch' file. Hence my initial suggestion for SCS to do the same so the displays were similar and thus make moving between the two systems easier.
The Strand display of:-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 etc
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 00 00 49 49 00 00 00 49 49 00
Tells me immediately the state of our standard front wash.
Whereas the SCS display of:-
01-32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 49 49 0 0
33-64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 49 49 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
is harder to interpret, especially when other fixtures are active and at the same level.

Adding a 'socket' field to the DMX Devices and Fixtures would only be of use if the display was then sorted by that field, and might be confusing for users for whom this isn't a problem.
I think displaying the Fixtures in the order they are listed in Production Properties would answer my request. I assume you are referring to the Fixture Code column.
Would your display show all fixtures, or only those fixtures that have a value > 0? Showing those with a value > 0 would reduce the size of the table and might make it easier to interpret the results.
I like your idea of 'smarts'. Would this be customisable? Having asked that question I now can't think of an example! But I'll leave it in case others are interested.

SilverTech wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 4:24 am

I think displaying the Fixtures in the order they are listed in Production Properties would answer my request. I assume you are referring to the Fixture Code column.

Yes, the Fixture Code would be displayed in the first column when using the 'Fixtures' display type.

SilverTech wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 10, 2020 4:24 am

Would your display show all fixtures, or only those fixtures that have a value > 0? Showing those with a value > 0 would reduce the size of the table and might make it easier to interpret the results.

That would certainly be a useful option, and possibly also an option to show only those fixtures that have a value > 0 in any 'dimmer channel'. Many fixtures would have some > 0 value in other channels, such as pan and tilt channels or a function channel, and it would be helpful to exclude such fixtures unless they had a value > 0 in a dimmer channel.

Not wishing to over complicate this feature I can see a use for an option to display fixtures that have the dimmer channel set at 0 but have values >0 in other channels e.g. to review/check the pan/tilt/function have been set correctly in readiness for the dimmer channel to be turned up by a later cue.