I'd like to know if anyone else has experienced similar issues to those that I've had with the Enttec DMX USB Pro. I've owned two of these units and after a period of time, my first unit began experiencing issues where it would freeze and need to be "restarted" (by deselecting and reselecting the output in QLC). I replaced that unit with an Open DMX USB, which is of course, much cheaper than the USB Pro and I have yet to have a problem with that unit. Recently, my other USB Pro started experiencing the same issues and I'm wondering if anyone has had similar problems.
Also, has anyone experienced any downsides of using the Open DMX instead of the USB Pro? I know that technically the USB Pro is supposed to be the superior unit, but in my experience, that doesn't seem to be the case in practice…
Enttec DMX USB Pro (Problem) vs. Enttec Open DMX USB
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Massimo Callegari
Hey George, have you tried the USB pro with QLC+ in Windows ?
Also, have you tried the Pro with other lighting softwares ?
In this way you could just determine if it's a software or hardware issue.
Also, have you tried the Pro with other lighting softwares ?
In this way you could just determine if it's a software or hardware issue.
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George Qualley
Massimo,
Other lighting softwares! Why would I do that? QLC+ does everything I need it to do and it's the only program I use.
Seriously though, I don't really have access to a windows machine and I really don't have another lighting software that I could put a significant load on the box with (and the crashes only seem to happen when I'm running a number of fixtures in a number of chases). Not very good troubleshooting on my part, I know, but I'll probably just do the same thing that I did with the last USB Pro: sell it on eBay and buy a Open DMX (which I haven't had any problems with yet).
I guess the most important question I have is whether anyone can tell me if there is any tangible benefit to the Pro over the Open.
Other lighting softwares! Why would I do that? QLC+ does everything I need it to do and it's the only program I use.
Seriously though, I don't really have access to a windows machine and I really don't have another lighting software that I could put a significant load on the box with (and the crashes only seem to happen when I'm running a number of fixtures in a number of chases). Not very good troubleshooting on my part, I know, but I'll probably just do the same thing that I did with the last USB Pro: sell it on eBay and buy a Open DMX (which I haven't had any problems with yet).
I guess the most important question I have is whether anyone can tell me if there is any tangible benefit to the Pro over the Open.
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Massimo Callegari
You're right George...stupid me !
Seriously, the code driving the open DMX is different from the one of the Pro.
This is because ENTTEC has different protocols running on those devices.
I don't know much about their chipsets, but I think they're both based on FTDI.
Technically I don't see a reason why the Open should work better than the PRO.
ENTTEC donated a PRO Mk2 (very similar to a PRO) to QLC+, so I can try to run a stress test on it and see how it goes.
Seriously, the code driving the open DMX is different from the one of the Pro.
This is because ENTTEC has different protocols running on those devices.
I don't know much about their chipsets, but I think they're both based on FTDI.
Technically I don't see a reason why the Open should work better than the PRO.
ENTTEC donated a PRO Mk2 (very similar to a PRO) to QLC+, so I can try to run a stress test on it and see how it goes.
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Massimo Callegari
EDIT: my request to run a test on Windows is just because Linux and OSX use the libFTDI code, while Windows use D2XX code.
It would be interesting to see if it makes any difference.
It would be interesting to see if it makes any difference.
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George Qualley
Massimo,
If it would be valuable for you to have me test it under Windows, I could probably do so, but the best I would be able to do would be a virtual machine. I don't know if that would be sufficient or not. I will say that this isn't something that generally tends to occur immediately. Usually, it's something that only happens after hours of use. For example, this past Saturday at my bar, I had to restart the DMX Pro after probably two hours of use, then again every 45 minutes or so because it kept freezing. However, I have noticed that if I'm not running my moving heads (only four ADJ Accuspots), I rarely see it freeze…
If it would be valuable for you to have me test it under Windows, I could probably do so, but the best I would be able to do would be a virtual machine. I don't know if that would be sufficient or not. I will say that this isn't something that generally tends to occur immediately. Usually, it's something that only happens after hours of use. For example, this past Saturday at my bar, I had to restart the DMX Pro after probably two hours of use, then again every 45 minutes or so because it kept freezing. However, I have noticed that if I'm not running my moving heads (only four ADJ Accuspots), I rarely see it freeze…
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Travis Cook
I think I've experienced the same thing, with a slightly different setup.
I'm using QLC+ with a DMX King ultraDMX Pro. I believe it uses the same driver as the Enttec USB Pro and that is how I've got it setup in QLC+.
I first started experiencing issues where I only had one fixture setup on one universe, where if I left the software up and running overnight and came back to it about 20 hours later, I could no longer control the light. I found that odd, but not really applicable to my intended production use.
I then tried to use QLC+ in production for the first time this past weekend, and got screwed pretty bad. In this case, I had 10 PAR fixtures on universe 1, 3 moving heads on universe 2 (they were in a separate room being used for decorative lighting), and my smaller DMX console hooked up to the input universe, so I could use the sliders on it to control the virtual console sliders. Everything tested out and worked fine during setup, and I brought the stage lights down at doors, but as soon as the band went to start, I'd lost all control of universe 1. The input was still working - moving the sliders on my console moved them in the virtual console, but nothing on stage would change. One of my CPU cores was also running at 100%, attributed to qlcplus. I had to quickly kill (it wouldn't exit, just locked up the entire program when I tried) and restart QLC+, at which point everything was back to normal.
I was able to play with the lights a little during the show, bring them down again during the set break and then re-light things, but it was mostly a set and forget type performance. At the end, about 3 hours after the restart, when I went to bring the lights back down, I found I had once again lost all control. Sliders still moved, but the lights on universe 1 wouldn't react. (I don't actually know if universe 2 was still working or not, it wasn't my concern at the time.) Out of desperation, I hit the blackout button, and it did actually work, which seemed totally unexpected. Releasing the blackout left everything black however, with no control still, until I killed and restarted qlcplus.
I'm going to do some more testing later this week to try and recreate the problem and see if simply deselecting and re-selecting it under I/O gets things working again. If it does, it might suggest that the issue is with the linux driver, rather than the hardware itself.
I'm using QLC+ with a DMX King ultraDMX Pro. I believe it uses the same driver as the Enttec USB Pro and that is how I've got it setup in QLC+.
I first started experiencing issues where I only had one fixture setup on one universe, where if I left the software up and running overnight and came back to it about 20 hours later, I could no longer control the light. I found that odd, but not really applicable to my intended production use.
I then tried to use QLC+ in production for the first time this past weekend, and got screwed pretty bad. In this case, I had 10 PAR fixtures on universe 1, 3 moving heads on universe 2 (they were in a separate room being used for decorative lighting), and my smaller DMX console hooked up to the input universe, so I could use the sliders on it to control the virtual console sliders. Everything tested out and worked fine during setup, and I brought the stage lights down at doors, but as soon as the band went to start, I'd lost all control of universe 1. The input was still working - moving the sliders on my console moved them in the virtual console, but nothing on stage would change. One of my CPU cores was also running at 100%, attributed to qlcplus. I had to quickly kill (it wouldn't exit, just locked up the entire program when I tried) and restart QLC+, at which point everything was back to normal.
I was able to play with the lights a little during the show, bring them down again during the set break and then re-light things, but it was mostly a set and forget type performance. At the end, about 3 hours after the restart, when I went to bring the lights back down, I found I had once again lost all control. Sliders still moved, but the lights on universe 1 wouldn't react. (I don't actually know if universe 2 was still working or not, it wasn't my concern at the time.) Out of desperation, I hit the blackout button, and it did actually work, which seemed totally unexpected. Releasing the blackout left everything black however, with no control still, until I killed and restarted qlcplus.
I'm going to do some more testing later this week to try and recreate the problem and see if simply deselecting and re-selecting it under I/O gets things working again. If it does, it might suggest that the issue is with the linux driver, rather than the hardware itself.
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Jano Svitok
I sometimes experience no output too - linux ubuntu 13.04, enttec usb open.
I can quit QLC+ without problems, and after new start it works fine for some time.
When you lose output, can you check DMX monitor if the problem is inside QLC+, or in the output? I.e. if DMX monitor is displaying wrong values, the problem is inside, and if it's OK, than the problem is either output plugin, driver or the dongle itself.
I can quit QLC+ without problems, and after new start it works fine for some time.
When you lose output, can you check DMX monitor if the problem is inside QLC+, or in the output? I.e. if DMX monitor is displaying wrong values, the problem is inside, and if it's OK, than the problem is either output plugin, driver or the dongle itself.
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FactorFilms
I just had this problem with my brand new Enttec USB Pro. I would get full functionality for between 10 seconds to 1 minute, and then it would freeze. The green light would still flash, QLC was still outputting the DMX values of the chase, but no response from the lights until I clicked on the 'settings' tab in Input/Output of the DMX Pro, and then when I closed the settings tab the lights would spring back to life. Until they froze again in 10 sec - 1 minute.
The solution? Don't use a crappy long USB cable! Going back to the short supllied USB cable solved the problems.
The solution? Don't use a crappy long USB cable! Going back to the short supllied USB cable solved the problems.