Connect Photon and QLab through UDP

STEP-BY-STEP

PREREQUISITES:

• The communicating computers need to be set on the same network.
• Both computers subnet masks’ have to be set to 255.255.255.0.

DESCRIPTION

Photon can send and receive UDP messages in order to communicate with other devices and software over a network.

SEND UDP FROM PHOTON

This portion of the step-by-step shows how to use PHOTON to trigger an audio cue in QLab.

QLab

  1. Create a new audio cue. Select {Cues > Audio} or press [Cmd+1].
  2. Make sure the Basics tab is selected.
  3. Enter a cue Number in the Number field.
  4. Select an audio file as the cue Target.

PHOTON

  1. Open the I/O Manager module. Select {System > I/O Manager} or press [Alt+I].
  2. Select the Network Protocol tab.
  3. Add a new message by clicking on the [+] button.
  4. Select UDP as Message type.
  5. Configure the IP address and port of the computer running QLab. The default communication port to send UDP commands to QLab is 53535.
  6. Enter the message to trigger a cue in QLab. To start a cue : /cue/{number}/start
  7. Press on the [Send] button
  8. To create a Send UDP cue on the Timeline, open the Cue Editor module. Select {Show > Cue Editor} or press [Alt+Q].
  9. To view the full cue list, select {View > View Full}.
  10. Create a new cue by clicking on the [+] button.
  11. Click on the [Record] button to record your action.
  12. Navigate back to the I/O Manager module. Select {System > I/O Manager} or press [Alt+I].
  13. Click on the [Send] button.
  14. Navigate back to the Cue Editor module. Select {Show > Cue Editor} or press [Alt+Q].
  15. Click on the [Record] button again to stop recording your action.
  16. Open the Timeline module. Select {Show>Timeline} or press [Alt+T].
  17. Create a new Cue Clip on the Timeline. Right-click on a layer track to open a contextual menu and select {Add Cue} or press [Ctrl+U].
  18. Navigate to Cue Properties and select your Cue as its source.
  19. Click-drag the Playhead to position it before the Cue Clip on the Timeline then press the [spacebar] to resume playback.
  20. The Cue will be executed when the Playhead intersects the Cue Clip.

RECEIVE UPD IN PHOTON

This portion of the step-by-step shows how to use QLab to send a UDP message to PHOTON.

QLab

  1. Open the Settings menu. Click on the gear icon at the lower right corner of the window.
  2. Select the Network tab.
  3. Add a new network patch. Click on the [New Patch] button or press [CMD+N]
  4. Add PHOTON as a destination and set its IP address and port. The default communication port to send UDP commands to PHOTON is 55503.
  5. Add a new network cue. Select {Cues > Network} or press [CMD+8].
  6. In the Settings tab, enter PHOTON’s IP address and port as the destination.
  7. Select UDP message from the Type dropdown menu.
  8. Entered the command in the message box with the correct syntax.
  9. In this example, we will use QLab Network Cue to trigger Cue ID 1 set in Photon. Enter <photon> CUE_EXEC_ID 1 </photon> in the message box.

PHOTON

  1. Open the Timeline module. Select {Show>Timeline} or press [Alt+T].
  2. Locate Regions Editing in the Timeline window and click on the [+] button to create a new Region.
  3. Set the In-point at 00:00:00:00.
  4. Set Out-point at 00:02:00:00.
  5. Open the Cue Editor module. Select {Show>Cue Editor} or press [Alt+Q].
  6. To view the full cue list, select {View > View Full}.
  7. Create a new cue. Click on the [+] button.
  8. Set the Cue ID to 1.
  9. Press the [Record] button.
  10. Navigate back to the Timeline module. Select {Show>Timeline} or press [Alt+T].
  11. Select region 1.
  12. Navigate back to the Cue Editor module. Select {Show > Cue Editor} or press [Alt+Q].
  13. Click on the [Record] button again to stop recording your action.
  14. To make sure the communication between QLab and Photon is set up correctly, open the Logs module. Select {System > Tools > Monitoring > Logs} or press [Alt+L].

QLab

  1. Select the network cue in your workspace.
  2. Select the Settings tab.
  3. Click on the [Send] button.

PHOTON

If the communication between computers and your UDP message string are set up correctly the Logs will display: SHOW CONTROL : {your UDP message}.

Other Step-By-Steps:

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