Glossary
The terms this manual uses, in alphabetical order.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Address | Where a fixture listens in its universe: the first of its channels. Studio counts from 0, so address 0 is the one a fixture's display calls 1. Patching |
| Art-Net | A protocol that carries DMX universes over a computer network. Studio's gateway sends it; an Art-Net node turns it back into DMX on a cable. Outputs |
| Bar | Four beats. Cue and chase durations are counted in bars, so they follow the tempo: at 120 BPM a bar lasts 2 s. Timing |
| BPM | Beats per minute: the show's tempo, set in the toolbar or with Tap Tempo. Timing |
| Cell | A repeated part of a fixture with its own channels: a pixel of a bar, a head of a multi-head fixture. Scenes and effects can treat each cell on its own. Fixture Library |
| Channel | One controllable value of a fixture (a dimmer, a colour, pan), sent as a number from 0 to 255. Each channel takes one address. Patching |
| Chase | A timeline of a group's cues, measured in bars: each cue item plays a cue from a point, for a length. Chases |
| Cue | Something a group does: a scene or an effect, kept in the group's cue pool. Show structure |
| Cue item | One entry on a chase's timeline: a cue, where it starts and how long it lasts. Chases |
| DMX (DMX512) | The standard language of stage lights: 512 values per universe, sent many times a second. How Studio works |
| Effect | A cue that moves channels along a waveform between a minimum and a maximum, offset from fixture to fixture. Effects |
| Fade | How a scene moves from its start values to its values, over its duration, along its fade curve. Scenes |
| Fixture | One light in the show, patched at an address in a universe, in a mode. Show structure |
| Gateway | The small program that receives Studio's output and sends it to your lights (as Art-Net). Built into the desktop app; run on its own with the browser version. Outputs |
| GDTF | General Device Type Format: the file format manufacturers use to describe their fixtures, with their channels, 3D models and gobos. Fixture Library |
| Gobo | A pattern placed in a beam to project a shape. The visualizer draws gobos on the floor and in the haze. Visualizer |
| Group | A set of fixtures programmed together. It owns its cues and chases, which only touch its fixtures. Groups |
| Haze | Fine smoke in the air that makes beams visible. The visualizer's Density sets how much. Visualizer |
| Master | The column on the right of the group pool: row n starts or stops chase n of every group at once. Playing a show |
| Mode | A fixture's DMX setup: how many channels it uses and in what order. It must match the mode set on the light itself. Fixture Library |
| OFL (Open Fixture Library) | A free, community-made library of fixture descriptions. Studio has 480 of them built in. Fixture Library |
| Patch | Telling Studio which lights you have, at which addresses, in which universes. Patching |
| Phase | Where a fixture is on an effect's waveform, in degrees. Spreading phases makes a movement travel across the rig. Effects |
| Quantize | When a chase you start actually begins: at once, or on the next bar. Chases |
| sACN | Another protocol for DMX over a network (E1.31). Not available with the current gateway yet. Outputs |
| Scene | A cue that brings channels to set values, with a fade. Scenes |
| Showfile | A show saved as a file (.json): everything you programmed, for the web and desktop versions. Showfiles |
| Stream | A universe being sent through an output: its protocol and the device's address. Outputs |
| Universe | A block of 512 DMX channels, sent through one output. Show structure |
| Visualizer | Studio's 3D view of your rig, driven by the same values as your lights. Visualizer |
| WSC (Web Show Control) | The protocol Studio uses to talk to the gateway. You only see it as a connection's Type / Protocol. Outputs |