Joe Bleasdale Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Hi all, I am thinking of investing in four of these abit later in the year. http://www.enttec.com/index.php?main_menu=...how=description I was thinking about Cat Lynx, Ether Lynx, Data Lynx or Net Lynx from Artistic Licence. However they are just too expensive and don’t quite do what I need. I need to be able to convert 4 universes of Art-Net to DMX. The Art-Net is coming directly from a media server then into a network switch I have, and then out into DMX. The easiest way would have been for me to buy either 2 Net Lynx boxes or a Data Lynx rackmount option. But like I have stated, they are just too much. Has anybody used these? What are they like in terms of quality and reliability? If anybody else has any other ideas (around the same price range) to convert Art-Net to DMX... please do let me know. Thanks for reading, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvi675 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 At 199 euros each, in todays exchange rate that works out about £680. For four universes that's not an extortionate cost, but a cheaper solution would be two of http://www.artisticlicence.com/index.php?m...=&order_id= The Enttec ODE does seem like a good product. I personally haven't used one although have been toying with the idea of getting one for the DMX to Art-Net conversion side of things. I know back in the early days there were a few firmware bugs but having looked at the firmware updates the ones I know of seem to have been addressed. For small numbers of universes it really is a more cost effective solution than some of the other products out there - Artistic License, Luminex, etc - although I always get the feeling you do get what you pay for, and if the budget was available for a Luminex box, having used it I know which out of the two I would go for! Alternatively, if you could squeeze it into three universes then we could sort you out with something cheaper than 4 of these! :unsure: Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 Thanks Matt. I did look at those cards... but I really want an "out of the box" solution I can just plug and play with. But thanks for your insight. Your certainly right about "you get what you pay for". Best Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 From the outside they both look like boxes that accept Artnet and spit out DMX, what makes the difference between an Enttec box and a Luminex one? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 From the outside they both look like boxes that accept Artnet and spit out DMX, what makes the difference between an Enttec box and a Luminex one? Price. Best Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Price. Best Regards, Care expanding on that a bit? from what you and Matt have said about >>"Your certainly right about "you get what you pay for".<< and mentions of firmware glitches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 Care expanding on that a bit? The price of a luminex product vs 4 of these entec ones is alot! from what you and Matt have said about >>"Your certainly right about "you get what you pay for".<< I do not doubt that for one minute. However I was asking for people who actually have these or have used them in anger. Were they reliable? Were they rubbish? Would you recommend them - things like that. and mentions of firmware glitches If you re-read Matts post... you will see the it says... I know back in the early days there were a few firmware bugs but having looked at the firmware updates the ones I know of seem to have been addressed. Best Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son of lx dad Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I have used the Luminex box on various TV Game Shows and have found them to be very reliable, stable well built pieces of kit. I used them to drive video through DMX based LED products and they ran without fault over long periods with constantly changing data of over 50 universes. The software is not too complicated and quite versatile. Yes, they are quite expensive, but for the application I used them for I would not go for anything less.I have no experience of the Entec product. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvi675 Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 With regard to the difference in basic functionality, ie as an Art-Net to DMX convertor, then there is very little to choose between the Enttec ODE and some of the more expensive models out there. Working as the support guy for a manufacturer of a desk that spits out Art-Net, you get to talk to people who are using all sorts of devices, specifically about resolving the problems using them. When the ODE was first released, we had several people contacting us because they were unable to get DMX out of it and were wondering if it was our side of the equation. The problem was eventually traced to a bug in the firmware that could cause the stack to corrupt if connections on startup weren't made in a certain order or settings were changed, something which appears to have been addressed in v1.6 of the ODE firmware on the Enttec site. Although having not used one in anger myself, I have been considering buying one personally, mainly because of the DMX input side of things. It offers a very cost effective way convert Art-Net to DMX and vice versa. I've also got experience with using similar products from Artistic License and Luminex, both of which I find to be incredibly high quality. As I said before, if the budget was available and more than a few universes were needed, then to me a 1u rack mounted box would offer a neater solution. No need to split the Ethernet out to each one, and also easier and potentially less damaging to the products for travel. Also from a hire point of view, if the hire company were to offer you a flightcased all in one unit for 8 universes of DMX, or 8 ODEs each with separate 7vdc power supplies and an Ethernet hub and pile of cables, given a limitless budget which would you go for? Having heard good things about the ODE, this informed my comment that it appears to be a good product, and is also tempting me into spending some money on one. On a side note, does anyone know if Enttec have any plans to make the Open DMX -> Ethernet available with a GPL license like the Open USB -> DMX? Would quite like to have a play around with one! Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Very much appreciate the insight, can see the advantages of a multi-universe output against a switch and sphaghetti, own interest is in getting isolated DMX drops out of existing building structured cabling, Enttec ODE looks worth experimenting with. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted August 4, 2009 Author Share Posted August 4, 2009 This is another thing I like about them. If I have alot of colour web, I can stick one of these at the top of each drop because it is only small... putting a switch there would be a waste! Thanks for that Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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