For a long time I worked with sound at events, where I got mainly through acquaintances and connections. And everything would be fine, but one day I had to move to another city, start everything from scratch and go to interviews. At one of these I was asked to talk about the DMX-512 protocol. I didn't pass the interview then.
But there was a reason to study the issue in detail. The very existence of DMX-512 and its appearance, as it turned out, is a rather interesting story. Although for a narrow circle of people.
Today the DMX-512 (Digital Multiplex) protocol for artists and lighting technicians has become inseparable from their work. It is used to control most lighting fixtures and effects - it is used to expose the light at mass events around the world. This is because it is absurdly simple and at the same time incredibly effective. At its inception, DMX-512 was an absolute revolution in stage lighting.
It happened something like this.
Start
1849 , Grand Opera. «» . .
, . .
60-70- . , «» .
. — . ( 500 ), . , .
70- 0-10V, . .
. 80- 0-10V , , . , , . , . . . ( 1968 ) DMX-512.
«» — .
(, , ) RS-485 . 120 .
— 512 . 50-60 . — . , . , . , «», «». .
, . DMX-512 . .
, , — . .
DMX-512 . , - . , , .
Many experts believe that the technology has already reached its limit - they have already invented the SMX and SDX protocols, which compensate for the weaknesses of DMX-512, but so far they are not very popular. Technology stagnation cannot last long. It either develops or dies off, giving way to fundamentally different solutions. But the light will definitely not go anywhere, so we are expecting a new breakthrough in the near future.