OSC input from QLab

blattenrose · Mon Mar 20, 2017 6:05 pm

I just started exploring QLC+ for a project I have coming up. I'm a musician, producing my own show in a small theater space, and diving into the technical side of lighting for the first time. That is to say, please forgive any gross ignorances here!

I am trying to send OSC messages from QLab to QLC+. I have verified that QLC+ is receiving OSC packets from QLab (via the "packets received" number in the input/output tab), but I can't seem to get the OSC messages to actually do anything in QLC+ (fire a cue, push a button, etc). I am sure this comes down to user error, and perhaps not structuring the OSC message the correct way. But I can't locate the problem given my limited knowledge. When I try to modify the input profile for the OSC input from QLab, the autodetect function doesn't seem to detect any information when QLab is sending OSC messages. Therefore, I try to add a channel manually (a button in this case), but I imagine I am not entering the correct information.

I have put the .qxw file in attachment

System info:
OS X 10.11.6
QLC+ 4.10.5b
QLab 3.1.24
Enttec Open USB DMX

mcallegari · Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:18 am

Most likely you need to create an input profile first.
OSC paths are mapped to special "channels" to be recognized like every other controller.

blattenrose · Tue Mar 21, 2017 5:27 pm

I had created a new input profile, specifying the type as OSC. When I went to the "Channels" tab, and tried to use the autodetect wizard function, no channels appeared, even though QLab was sending OSC messages, and the number of received packets was increasing in line with the packets sent from QLab. I then created a channel manually (a button), but I am still not able to have an OSC message push this button in the VC. I've attached a screenshot of the Channels tab of the input profile I created. Perhaps I made a mistake in manually creating the channel.

mcallegari · Wed Mar 22, 2017 8:20 am

With OSC, you cannot enter the channel number manually. It has to be calculated by QLC+

One step back: do you see the joystick blinking in QLC+ when you send data from Qlab ?

blattenrose · Wed Mar 22, 2017 12:52 pm

No, I don't see the joystick icon in Universe 1 appear when QLab is sending OSC messages. I have verified that the IP addresses and ports match between QLC+ and QLab, and the number of packets received in QLC+ still increases each time I send an OSC message from QLab.

mcallegari · Wed Mar 22, 2017 4:36 pm

Then it means there's something else, probably in the QLC+ internals.

2 options:
- would you be able to provide a Wireshark network trace of Qlab sending OSC messages to QLC+ that I can analyze ?
- if I download Qlab 4, do you have a ready-made project to share so that I can reproduce the issue you're seeing ?

blattenrose · Wed Mar 22, 2017 6:38 pm

I do have a ready Q Lab 4 workspace you can use to try and replicate the problem. I can't seem to attach that kind of file here, though. Is there another way to get the file to you that you prefer? I can't seem to attach the Wireshark capture files either. So, I've attached 2 screen shots showing all the details from just one of the OSC packets. Sorry this is so clumsy. If there's a better way to send the files, just let me know.

mcallegari · Wed Mar 22, 2017 10:33 pm

Yes, there is. Please capture some Qlab to QLC+ OSC packets, save the trace as a .pcap file, ZIP it and attach it here.
Thanks

blattenrose · Thu Mar 23, 2017 1:33 pm

It wasn't giving me the option to compress the .pcap file, so I just added a .zip extension to the end of the file name to be able to attach it here. Just remove the .zip on the end of the file, and I imagine it will be just fine to read as a .pcap file.

mcallegari · Thu Mar 23, 2017 2:32 pm

Thanks. I've had a quick look at the trace and it seems QLab is not sending any value in their messages.
Basically QLC+ expects at least one value, but the OSC specifications say:

An OSC message consists of an OSC Address Pattern followed by an OSC Type Tag String followed by zero or more OSC Arguments.

So what is missing here is the support for 0 arguments packets. I can implement it and by default emit a 255 (or 0) value when receiving those kind of messages

blattenrose · Thu Mar 23, 2017 2:49 pm

Thanks for the info. I suppose I could also fix this by making Q Lab send a custom OSC message with at least one value. Would you have an idea how I structure such a custom OSC message in Q Lab so that QLC+ can accept it and create a channel for it in the input profile?

mcallegari · Thu Mar 23, 2017 2:52 pm

No idea. Never used Qlab in my life

blattenrose · Thu Mar 23, 2017 3:17 pm

I believe I've found a solution now. I used a custom OSC message in Q Lab, written as "/qlc+/1/push 1"

Not sure yet which part of this message is necessary or sufficient, but it was able to automatically create a channel (a button) in the input profile when the autodetect was on. And the OSC messages from Q Lab can now push a corresponding button in the VC of QLC+.

Thanks for the patience, Massimo! Much appreciated.