PRG DMX Reference Guide 5.4 - Manual (Page 162)

154 DMX512 REFERENCE GUIDE
Time
Control of the duration of the change of the variable parameters of VARI
❋
LITE automated luminaires and other
devices in a lighting system.
Timing Channel
A Timing Channel is used in lieu of cue fade rate to determine the time it will take a luminaire to move from one setting
to another. For example, a cue in which a luminaire pans from one side of stage to the other may look "steppy" if cue
fade rate is used, because of the nature of the DMX512 signal. To overcome this, a timing channel causes the Smart
Repeater unit and luminaire to calculate the move in time, effectively smoothing out the movement. To operate
properly, the new position and timing channel levels need to be sent to the Smart Repeater in a zero count, (an instant
change).
VARI ❋ LITE Color System
The default color palette, available via the Color Soft Select or control keypad, which is based on a numbering system
for VARI
❋
LITE colors.
Zero Position
Pan and Tilt values at 50%. Also called "Home Position" or a "50/50" cue or group.
8-Bit DMX
The universally accepted lighting control protocol in the entertainment industry. A console uses this protocol to
control specific devices in a lighting system. A DMX512 channel packet is eight bits of absolute parameter data. 8-bit
refers to the resolution of the signal: 256 step resolution, providing channel values from 0 through 255. A DMX512
data packet is a group of 512 data channels.
16-Bit DMX
To smooth out the movement of automated luminaires, the industry has adopted 16-bit DMX. This is not a change to
the DMX512 specification, rather a change in the way luminaires and consoles treat DMX512 information. In practice,
16-bit DMX adds a DMX512 channel each to pan and tilt - pan coarse, pan fine, tilt coarse, tilt fine, instead of just pan
and tilt. The console and luminaire combine these levels and increase the resolution of pan and tilt from 256 steps to
a theoretical maximum 65,536 steps at the console level, resulting in the ability to position the luminaire more
accurately.