DMX Input
Receive DMX lighting channel values over ArtNet or sACN.
What it does
DMX Input listens to a lighting-console universe over the network and turns its channel data into values. The whole universe comes out at once as a list of 512 numbers, plus a single selected channel pulled out both as a raw 0–255 level and as a normalised 0–1 fraction.
A Received output reports whether the universe is sending data at all, which separates no signal from a channel value that is genuinely zero.
When to use it
A lighting console, DMX node or show-control system driving parameters live inside the graph: brightness, colour, position
One specific channel's level as a number for a parameter
The whole universe as a list, for feeding 512 channels into an array or mapping them across many objects
Confirming a universe is receiving data before trusting its values downstream
| Parameter | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|
universe | Number | 0 |
channel | Number | 1 |
Gotchas
Channel numbering is 1-based, matching how lighting consoles label channels. Channel 1 is the first channel in the universe, not channel 0.
Check Received before trusting Value or Normalized. With nothing sending to the universe, Received stays at 0 and the channel outputs read as silence rather than a real zero level.
Universe is set per node. For channels from several universes, add one DMX Input node per universe rather than steering a single node across universes at runtime.
Worked example
Add a DMX Input node and set Universe to match the universe your lighting console or DMX interface is sending on.
Set Channel to the channel you want to read, then wire Value or Normalized into the parameter you want it to drive.
Wire Received into a condition or switch so downstream nodes only react once real data is arriving.
If you need every channel at once, wire Channels (the full 512-value list) into a node that consumes an array, such as one distributing values across many objects.
See also
DMX Output · MIDI Input · OSC Input · Numbers, signals & audio