WHAT IS ART-NET?
Art-Net is a royalty-free communication protocol that allows DMX512 and RDM protocols to be transmitted over UDP (User Data Packet Protocol). This protocol enables communication between smart lighting tools and a server.
Art-Net is a simple implementation of the DMX512-A protocol with the transmission of lighting control information in IP packets, usually over Ethernet, a dedicated local area network. Supported functions include transmitting and receiving lighting data (e.g. fader levels for individual lights, positions of moving lights), management functions such as detecting nodes, updating node control parameters and transmitting timecodes, and functions that allow nodes to “subscribe” to “publisher” nodes.
Art-Net is generated by the lighting controller generating serial signals to a light fixture connected to the output of a lighting controller or a PC. Each DMX compatible light fixture has one DMX input and one DMX output. The lighting controller acts as the controller, while the light fixture acts as a slave to the controller, but as a master that connects to the next light fixture. This is a master-slave system where light fixtures are chained and the lighting controller can address each one.
ART-NET / DMX Differences
Both protocols have their own use cases and which protocol to use depends on the requirements of a particular application.
