Guide · Enttec OCTO MK2
Pixel strips with an Enttec OCTO MK2.
Every pixel in SDC lands on the right LED on your strips.
The one thing to understand
The Enttec OCTO MK2 has 2 outputs. On the Octo's web page you set which universe each output starts at (1st Uni.) and which DMX address it starts at (DMX Start Address). From there, each output takes its pixel data from 4 universes in a row.
Output 2 does not carry on from Output 1 by itself. It takes its data from wherever its own 1st Uni. and DMX Start Address are set. In this guide each output starts at address 1 of its own universe, so each output has its 4 universes to itself.
What you need
- ·A Windows PC running SDC
- ·An Enttec OCTO MK2 on the same network as the PC
- ·Addressable pixel strips, for example WS2815
- ·The Octo's web page open in a browser
How pixels fill a universe
A DMX universe has 512 channels. An RGB pixel uses 3 channels, and SDC never splits a pixel between two universes.
A standard 5 m RGB strip at 60 pixels per metre has 300 pixels, so it uses 2 universes:
- ·Universe N: pixels 1-170 (channels 1-510)
- ·Universe N+1: pixels 171-300 (channels 1-390)
Octo settings
Example: 4 strips, 300 pixels each, RGB, WS2815. One output takes up to 680 pixels, so it can drive two 300-pixel strips. One Octo drives all 4 strips: Output 1 on universes 1-4, Output 2 on universes 5-8.
Adding the strips in SDC
Add the strips for Output 1. Open Add Fixtures and set Fixture Type to Pixel Strip, Pixel Count 300, Color Mode RGB, Fixtures Number 2, DMX Universe 1 and Starting address 1. Click Add fixtures.
Add the strips for Output 2 the same way, but with DMX Universe set to 5.
Send the universes to the Octo. Open Settings and click Art-Net Routing. Under Universe routing, choose the Octo for Universe 1 to Universe 8. If the Octo is not listed under Devices found on network, type its IP address in the IP field and click Add.
If you add all 4 strips in one go, SDC puts them in one long row. The strips then no longer start where the outputs start.
Check it
On the Octo's web page, under Pixel Mapping Options, Maximum Pixels should show 680 for each output. If it shows less, DMX Start Address is not 1.
Quick troubleshooting
Only part of a strip responds to color or dimmer
The strips were added in one go in SDC. Delete them and add them again, one output at a time (steps 1 and 2).
The last pixels of a strip stay dark
Mapped Pixels (under Output Settings) is set too low. Set it back to 680.
Nothing lights
Check that Input Protocol is Art-Net, that 1st Uni. matches the DMX Universe you used in SDC, and that the universes are routed to the Octo in SDC's Art-Net Routing (step 3).