ShowRunner™ can control DMX fixtures through several different methods, including Pharos DMX controllers. The most common Pharos controllers sold through Crestron are the Pharos LPC-1 (DIN-DMX-1UNIVERSE) and the Pharos LPC-2 (DIN-DMX-2UNIVERSE). These LPC controllers appear physically identical, but the LPC-1 shares a single universe across both DMX outputs while the LPC-2 has a separate universe for each output. ShowRunner™ uses the Pharos Controller API to send commands over Ethernet to the Pharos Controller, which then sends DMX commands to the fixtures.

Pharos Project

Pharos projects are created using the free Pharos Designer 2 software from Pharos Controls. When creating a project for use with ShowRunner™, ensure that API version 5.0 is selected for the project. Individual loads control from ShowRunner™ is achieved with group-level commands using the Pharos Controller API, so each Fixture Group defined in the Pharos Project should correspond to a single load in ShowRunner™. In addition to group-level commands, ShowRunner™ also supports mapping ShowRunner™ Scenes to Pharos Timelines.

When creating a Pharos project for a ShowRunner™ installation, there are several things to consider:

• Individual loads defined in ShowRunner™ send commands to individual Fixture Groups in Pharos
• Scenes in ShowRunner™ can be mapped in order to trigger Timelines in Pharos
• The Pharos API limits group-level commands to intensity, intensity/RGB, and intensity/CCT

  ShowRunner™ Load Type	Pharos API Command
  Single-Channel	Intensity
  RGB	Intensity/RGB
  Dynamic White	Intensity/CCT

• The Pharos controller does any necessary processing to adapt these commands for the fixtures
  • For example, if Pharos receives an RGB command for a group containing RGB, HSI, and HSIC fixtures, it will do its best to make sure that the output color is consistent across all the different fixture types
  • Certain manufacturer-specific fixture Profiles exist in order to help the Pharos controller achieve a consistent output across multiple different fixture types
• If it is desired to control the white channel separately from the RGB channels of an RGBW fixture, then it must be defined in the Pharos project as two separate RGB and W fixtures that are in different groups
• Individual Fixtures can belong to multiple Fixture Groups, allowing ShowRunner™ to send different types of command (e.g. RGB vs CCT) to the same fixture 
  • Useful for certain situations, such as HSIC fixtures that need to be controlled as color-changing (RGB) in some situations but dynamic white (intensity/CCT) in others
  • In this scenario, one group would be defined in ShowRunner™ as an RGB load and one group would be defined as a Dynamic White load

The basic steps for creating a Pharos Project for use with ShowRunner™ are as follows:

1. Open the Pharos Designer 2 software
2. In the top-right, click "New Project" and select the type of Pharos controller that will be the primary controller
   • Crestron SKUs DIN-DMX-1UNIVERSE and DIN-DMX-2UNIVERSE both correspond to "LPC" in Pharos
3. Navigate to the "Project" page by clicking the Pharos logo on the left
4. Under the "Controller API" heading, verify that API Version 5.0 is selected
5. Navigate to the "Network" page by clicking the network icon on the left
6. Select "Controller 1" and verify that the number of universes in the "Properties" menu matches the controller that was ordered for the job
7. If required, click the "New Controller..." button to add additional Pharos controllers
8. Navigate to the "Layout" page by clicking the pencil and ruler icon on the left
9. At the top left, click "Manage..." to edit the layout name and dimensions, modify grid settings, and upload a background image if desired
10. Locate the desired fixture in the Fixture Profile List on the right side of the Layout page
    • Most fixtures can be controlled correctly using the generic single-channel, RGB, warm/cool, intensity/CCT, HSIC, etc. profiles
    • Additional generic and manufacturer-specific profiles can be downloaded by clicking the cloud icon on the right, above the fixture profile list
11. Add fixtures to the layout by dragging them from the fixture profile list
    • Every fixture that is added to the layout represents a unique set of DMX addresses 
    • The fixture number is different than the fixture address, and is automatically incremented by Pharos Designer 2
    • Fixture properties such as name, shape, and size can be edited using the menu on the right
    • Right-clicking a fixture on the layout will allow you to either "Duplicate" or create a "New Instance" of a fixture
      • Duplicating a fixture creates a new fixture with the same profile and properties but that will occupy different DMX addresses
      • Creating a New Instance will create a new representation of the fixture without actually creating a new fixture; this allows you to have multiple fixtures represented on the layout that share the same DMX address
12. Create Fixture Groups by clicking the folder icon above the list of fixtures on the left or by right clicking an empty area in the fixture list
    • Fixture Groups will correspond to individual loads in ShowRunner™
    • When a new Fixture Group is created, all currently selected fixtures are automatically added to the group
      • Clicking a fixture on the layout or in the fixture list will select just that fixture
      • Ctrl-clicking a fixture will add or remove it from the current selection
      • Ctrl-dragging on the layout will add multiple fixtures to the current selection
      • Shift-dragging on the layout will select just the highlighted fixtures
    • Fixtures can be removed from a group by right clicking them under the group in the fixture list
    • Fixtures can be added to an existing group by selecting them and then dragging them to the group in the fixture list
13. Once all fixtures have been laid out and grouped, navigate to the "Patch" page
14.  

Device Configuration

ShowRunner™ Configuration

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