Light Stream Converter Setup

A converter is a device that receives a network signal from the computer and distributes it to fixtures through its ports. To make it work on site, it needs to be configured: set the network address, port mode, pixel chip type, and universe numbers. All of this is done directly from Light Stream, over the network, without any separate utilities.

This article is about configuring the physical device itself. The converter's parameters inside the project (which address and protocol to send data to, how many ports and universes are described in the project) are a different window, described in the article Параметры Light Stream Converter. The device settings and the project settings must match: if they diverge, the program will keep sending data correctly, but the fixtures will stay dark.

Configuration is done over the network using broadcast requests. The computer and the converter must be connected to the same network, and the computer's network adapter must be on the same subnet as the device.

Finding devices on the network

It all starts with the Art-Net Node Discovery window. It can be opened in two ways:

in the Fixtures window — the magnifying glass button (Search) on the bottom panel, next to the Add Device button;

in the program settings, Network section — the Search button (see Settings).

Workflow:

In the Network Device list, select the network adapter the converters are connected to. The choice is remembered and offered again the next time the window is opened.

Click Search. While the network is being polled, a progress indicator runs at the bottom; the search takes a couple of seconds.

Devices found appear in the list on the left: the device's IP and Name.

Select a row — information about the selected device appears on the right: the long and short name, IP address, device report (Node report), firmware version, ESTA and OEM codes, MAC address. The device report shows which mode the ports are currently working in and which chip is selected.

A device report looks roughly like this: #0001[0035] UCS1903(High,340)Tb=125,T0=30,T1=100,Tr=290. Here UCS1903 is the selected chip, and 340 is the port mode (340 pixels per port).

Good to know:

For the duration of the search, the program stops sending Art-Net and turns it back on once the search finishes. If the lights on site go dark during configuration, that's normal — they will come back.

The Ping button makes the selected device respond: the real converter blinks its indicators. This makes it easier to tell which box in the cabinet corresponds to the found IP. The button only works for Light Stream devices.

The Settings button opens the configuration window for the selected device. It is only available for Light Stream converters: devices from other manufacturers and the Light Stream Player have no settings here.

If the list is empty, check that you selected the right network adapter and that it is on the same subnet as the converter.

Adding a found device to the project

The Add Selected Nodes button adds the checked devices to the project along with their real settings. You can select several rows at once.

A found Light Stream Player is added to the project as a player, with its IP address.

A found converter is added as a converter: with the device's name and IP address, its starting universe, and the actual number of ports the device has. If the ports are working in 1024-channel mode, the program accounts for the fact that each port takes up two universes.

This is the fastest way to describe already-configured equipment in the project: there's no need to manually cross-check addresses and universes. After adding, all that's left is to patch fixtures to ports — see Патчинг приборов.

Adding can be undone with Ctrl+Z, like any other action in the project.

The "Controller Settings" window

The window is opened with the Settings button in the search window and is divided into four parts:

General Settings — network address, device name, port mode, and chip;

Ports — a table of universes per port;

Information — what the device currently reports about itself;

Send Art-Net Macro — a service field for tech support commands.

Changes are only sent to the device when you click the corresponding Set button. Just typing a value into a field is not enough.

IP address and subnet mask

Enter the desired IP Address and Mask.

Click Set IP.

Confirm the action in the Change IP? window.

On success, the message IP set successfully appears, and the list of found devices refreshes automatically.

After changing the device's address, be sure to set the same address for the converter in the project — in the IP Address field in the Properties window (see Параметры Light Stream Converter). Otherwise the program will keep sending data to the old address.

If the computer and the converter end up on different subnets, the device may disappear from the search after the address change — bring the computer's network adapter onto the new subnet and search again.

Device name

The Full Name field and the Set button next to it write the name into the converter. The name is visible in the list of found devices and in Art-Net reports, so meaningful names ("Facade North", "Roof") greatly simplify further work on a site with a dozen identical boxes.

Port mode and chip

The Port Mode list sets how the device's ports work:

Value	What it means
DMX 512	Regular DMX: 512 channels, one universe per port
DMX 1024HS	DMX with double the channel count: 1024 channels, two universes per port
SPI 170 Pix	Pixel mode, up to 170 pixels per port
SPI 340 Pix	Pixel mode, up to 340 pixels per port
SPI 680 Pix	Pixel mode, up to 680 pixels per port

The Chip list only appears in SPI modes — DMX ports have no chip. It selects the type of the driver IC used by the LED strip or pixel module: GS8206, WS2811, WS2811L, WS2812, WS2814, WS2818, SK6812, UCS1903, UCS8903, TM1803, TM1914. The value must match what is actually installed in the connected line, otherwise the pixels will flicker randomly, glow the wrong color, or not light up at all.

To apply the mode and chip, click the Set button to the right of the Port Mode list — it sends both settings at once. The device does not switch over instantly: the cursor will turn into an hourglass for a few seconds, after which the program re-reads the converter's state and shows the new report in Information. Wait for it to finish without closing the window.

The mode and chip are set for the whole device at once, for all of its ports.

Mode of an individual port

An individual port's mode is assigned in the Ports table: right-clicking a port row opens a menu with the items DMX IN, DMX OUT, RDM, and SPI. After you make a selection, the program reports Port mode set successfully and refreshes the device data.

DMX IN — the port receives DMX from a third-party console.

DMX OUT — the port sends DMX to fixtures.

RDM — the port works with feedback over the RDM protocol.

SPI — the port drives a pixel line.

This makes it convenient, for example, to leave one port for receiving external DMX while using the rest as outputs.

Port universes

The Ports table shows which universes are assigned to the ports directly on the device.

Column	What it shows
Short Name	The port name as reported by the device. If a port takes up two universes, it will have two rows with the same name
Universe	The overall universe number, from 0 to 32767. This is the number you compare against the port universes in the project
Net / Sub / Universe	The same number broken down into three parts per the Art-Net standard: Net (0–127), Sub (0–15), and Universe (0–15)

Both representations are linked: change the overall number and the three fields recalculate, and vice versa. The overall number is computed as Net × 256 + Sub × 16 + Universe. Set it whichever way is more convenient for you.

Buttons below the table:

Select All — selects all rows.

Edit Selected — asks for a Starting Universe and numbers the selected rows sequentially from it. The fastest way to lay out universes in order.

Set — writes the changes to the device. Art-Net sending stops while writing is in progress. When it finishes, the program re-reads the device and verifies the result: if everything was written, Save successful appears; if not, Save error.

The universes written to the device must match the converter's port universes in the project. In the project they are not set one by one: instead you specify the Starting Universe and Universes per Port, and the rest are calculated in order. The simplest approach is to number the device's universes sequentially with the Edit Selected button, and set the same starting universe in the project.

Information

The Information section shows what the device currently reports about itself: Full Name, Short Name, IP Address, MAC, Status (device report), firmware Version, ESTA and OEM codes. These fields are read-only and refresh after every successful settings write — they're convenient for checking that changes were actually applied.

Service elements

The Data field and the Send Macro button in the Send Art-Net Macro section send a service command to the device. Use them only on the instructions of technical support. The Reset Settings button in this window is inactive.

Steps to set up a new converter

Connect the converter to the network and set the computer's address to the same subnet.

Open Art-Net Node Discovery, select the network adapter, and click Search.

Find the device you need in the list, and use the Ping button to confirm it's the one responding.

Click Settings and set the device's working IP Address and Mask.

Set the Full Name you'll use to recognize the device.

Select the Port Mode and, for SPI modes, the Chip. Click Set and wait for the device to switch over.

In the Ports table, number the universes and click Set.

Close the settings window, repeat the Search, and add the device to the project with the Add Selected Nodes button.

Check the converter's parameters in the project: IP Address, Starting Universe, Number of Ports, Universes per Port, and Controller Type (SPI for pixel lines).

Patch the fixtures to ports and turn on Art-Net.

If something goes wrong

The search finds nothing. Check the selected network adapter, the physical connection, and that the computer's address is on the same subnet as the converter. Some network switches and Wi-Fi adapters don't pass broadcast requests through — connect over a cable.

The device disappeared after changing the IP. The new address ended up on a different subnet. Bring the computer's network adapter address onto the new subnet and search again.

Save error when writing universes. The device didn't confirm the changes. Retry the write; if the error persists, check the connection to the device with the Ping button and make sure no one else is accessing the converter while it's being written to.

The "Ping" and "Settings" buttons are unavailable. Either more than one device is selected in the list, or the selected device is from another manufacturer, or it's a Light Stream Player. Settings in this window are only available for Light Stream converters.

The mode and chip weren't applied. The device needs a few seconds to switch over. Don't close the window until the waiting cursor disappears, and check the report in the Information section.

No light appeared on site. Cross-check the device settings against the converter's parameters in the project: IP address, universe numbers, port mode. A pixel line needs SPI mode both on the device and in the project (the Controller Type parameter), otherwise the image will shift at universe boundaries.

The pixels glow the wrong colors or flicker. The Chip type doesn't match what's actually installed in the line.