Technical Support

There are three methods of controlling the CVC4. Each method dictates the maximum number of CVC4’s units can be chained together.

PLINK

This method uses PLINK data input from a member of the Pixelator Family (devices capable of receiving ArtNet or sACN to control pixels). PLINK data is transmitted by Ethernet cable (CAT6) and can be connected in and through each CVC4, each ethernet cable should be less than 300 meters long. 

The PLINK method can control up to 2 universes (1024 channels) of data when using 2u-PLINK. The start address is set within the web interface of the Pixelator device and each CVC4 is automatically addressed consecutively based on its position in the chain.

If the start address of the first PLink has been set to 1 on the Pixelator web interface, the maximum number of CVC4’s you can control are as follows:

DMX & PLINK

This method uses a DMX input from a lighting controller. The CVC4 converts this DMX source to PLink data to chain into more CVC4’s using the PLink output port using CAT6 cable.

The first CVC4 should be within the DMX standard. The CVC4 can then reformat the incoming DMX signal and output it over an Ethernet cable (CAT6) using our PLINK protocol, this CAT6 cable shouldn't be longer than 300 meters. 

The DMX & PLINK method can control up to 1 universe (512 channels). The start address is set using RDM and then the following CVC4 are automatically address consecutively thanks to the PLINK protocol. This means that you can control:

Note: by default, each CVC4’s DMX address is set to ch001. 

DMX

This method uses an input from a DMX source. This distance between the DMX source and the CVC4’s should be within the DMX standard. The DMX standard states that no more than 32 devices can be chained together on a single line, therefore 32 CVC4 devices is a hard maximum for all modes. 

The DMX method gives access to all 512 DMX channels. The address of each CVC4 is set using RDM and can be any channel specified. With the maximum number of devices being chained together you can only control 32 devices: