sACN (E1.31)

sACN (E1.31)

DMXRouter implements ANSI E1.31 2018 (Streaming ACN) for DMX transport with full multicast and unicast support.

Key Features

• Full multicast and unicast support
• Universe range 1–63,999
• Per-universe per-source priority (default 100, range 0–200)
• Per-channel priority via 0xDD start code — fully supported in merge and monitoring
• Universe Synchronization via Extended Sync packets for glitch-free multi-universe refresh
• Universe Discovery with 10-second cycle and pagination
• Stream termination handling
• Self-send detection via CID — prevents processing our own multicast packets

Per-Channel Priority (0xDD)

sACN supports per-channel priority using the 0xDD start code. This allows different sources to have different priority levels on individual channels — the merge uses the highest priority source for each channel.

Priority 0 on a channel means the source is excluded from the merge on that channel, per E1.31 §6.2.3.

The Universe Monitor can toggle between DMX values and priority data visualization. Priority view uses a colour palette: blue (low) → green (default 100) → orange/red (high/max 200).

Monitor Range

By default, DMXRouter joins multicast groups for universes 1–1024 so incoming sACN traffic is visible immediately in the Monitor. This range is adjustable via a spinner in the Monitor tab toolbar (0–63,999).

Universes required by process engine inputs are always joined regardless of this setting.

Cross-Protocol Bridging

Any sACN input can be routed to an Art-Net output, and vice versa. Configure this in the process engine's merge editor by selecting different protocols for input and output.