4th Generation (G4) Directors have the ability to link up and control many more networks or DMX universes. These directors have a feature called 'Director Link'. To use Director Link you need:
1.Two or more directors that support Director Link. Only directors that specifically say they support director link can be used. No exceptions.
2.CAT 5/6 wired connections between all directors
3.A show that was created specifically for Linked Directors using multiple SD cards
In a multi-Director setup, the first director is considered the 'Master' director. In this director is placed the first card of the multi-card set. All other directors are considered secondary directors and while they can be connected in any order we strongly recommend you have a logical system in place. It can become very confusing remembering which director needs which SD card. The best way to do this would be to sketch out all your directors and all the networks you want attached to them. Label everything to reduce the confusion.
Linking up directors physically is very simple: They daisy-chain the same way that LOR lighting controllers do with a CAT 5 cable. From your first (master) director, run a cat 5 from Net 1 (Labeled G4 Link or just Link) to the next (secondary) MP3 director 's port 1. For a third director, connect to the OTHER jack on the secondary director labeled 'Link' or 'Net 1' to the third controller's Net 1/Link port. Continue on that way for any additional directors.
When using MP3 Directors in Link mode remember that NET 1 is reserverd ONLY for linking directors together. You can only attach other linkable directors to the link port, not lighting controllers. If you do attach a lighting controller while the director is being used in link mode, the controller will not work or will light random channels.
The connection between 2 directors' link ports can use ELLs. Please ensure that the ELLs that you use are on a different channel than any other ELL that may be in use for your show.
Assigning Ports
When you get to the port assignment step in SD card creation, it is important to check the box at the top: "I have MULTIPLE G4 Directors...". This gives you access to a menu that can add 2- and 4-port Directors to the configuration. You may add any number or combination of 2 and 4 port linkable directors to a show.
Please be aware that ALL directors MUST be Director-Link capable. You can not mix linkable and older non-linkable directors in the same show.
One 4-port Director
Selecting Director > Add 4-Port Director results in this:
After adding a second 4-port Director
To remove a Director, select any port (row) on that Director, then select Director > Remove.
You easily move networks to other ports using cut, copy, and paste.
•Cut copies the network setting for the port to the clipboard and then sets the port to unassigned.
•Copy copies the network setting for the port to the clipboard without changing the port.
•Paste copies the clipboard settings to the selected port.
There are 2 ways to perform cut, copy, and paste operations:
•You can select a row in the grid and then click the cut, copy, or paste button above the grid, or
•You can right-click on a row and select cut, copy, or paste from the pop-up menu
So in screen shown above, if we want to move Aux B from Director 1 to Director 2:
•Select the row for Director 1, port 4. Perform a cut (either using the right-click menu or clicking the Cut button). Port 4 will change to "unassigned".
•Select the row for Director 2, port 3. Perform a paste (either using the right-click menu or clicking the Cut button).
You should end up with the following assignments:
Aux B moved to Director 2, port 3
If you want to manually configure a port, double-click on its row to bring up the settings. Please remember that since Port 1 is the 'Link' connection between MP3 directors, you can not assign or change any of it's parameters.
In this example, the user double-clicked on port 3, which is indicated in the heading.
•Network/Universe: The LOR Network or DMX universe that this port will control. There is an option for "None" here, Use this option when a port is not going to be used.
•Protocol: The data protocol in use: LOR, ELOR (Enhanced LOR) or DMX.
•Speed: The speed of the network. DMX Universes run at a fixed speed and cannot be changed. The 1000K speed can ONLY be used with networks that only contain PixCon16 controllers or Pixie family controllers. No other LOR controllers support 1000K.
•Comment: User comment if desired.
More information about the protocols and speeds supported by various Light-O-Rama controllers is available on our web site.