ArtNet Configuration

Setting up an ArtNet network for recording and playing back DMX clips.

For users new to working with stage lighting, ArtNet is the lighting control protocol that allows for DMX lighting data to be sent over an ethernet network. The MVP can both receive DMX over ArtNet for recording DMX cues and output to ArtNet for lighting playback, both via the ethernet port on the back of the device. When the MVP is connected to other ArtNet devices (lighting desks, computers running lighting software, ArtNet Nodes) via the ethernet port it is part of an ArtNet network.

An ArtNet node is a device that translates in either direction between ArtNet (via ethernet) on one end, and DMX on the other. With MVP, an ArtNet node can be used to receive lighting data from the MVP via ArtNet and output to DMX lighting fixtures.

To ensure proper communication between ArtNet devices, they must have compatible IP and subnet mask settings. The MVP by default assigns it's ethernet port the following network settings:

IP: 2.0.0.111 Subnet mask: 255.0.0.0

These settings are compatible with standard configurations of many ArtNet devices. You can verify the MVP’s network settings on the top of the lighting page of the UI.

MVP must detect an ethernet connection to load and display it's network settings in the UI and on the device display.

If the MVP does not seem to be communicating with other devices on your ArtNet network, double check their settings and confirm that they are assigned a unique IP address beginning with the same 2 as the first number, and a matching subnet mask of 255.0.0.0. If the subnet masks match but the IP address does not start with the same number as the MVP, you can change either the MVP or other device’s IP address to match the first number.

If outputting DMX over ArtNet from a computer lighting software to the MVP, check the software’s output settings and ensure that each DMX universe is outputting to the port connected to the MVP, and that said port has been configured with a compatible IP & subnet mask. If recording lighting clips from computer software using USB ArtNet, you can find MVP in your software's ArtNet output settings with the following IP addresses:

Mac: 192.168.3.1 Windows: 192.168.2.1

For more advanced ArtNet users, the MVP allows you to manually reassign its IP and subnet mask settings. See Networking for details.