Pathport® OCTO - 64XX - Manual
January 2021
1
ABOUT PATHPORT OCTO
Pathway Connectivity’s
Pathport® OCTO
is a eight-port DMX-over-Ethernet gateway intended for use primarily in entertainment
lighting systems. The OCTO provides transparent transmission and receipt of the DMX512 lighting control standard, using a
number of widely accepted protocols including
Pathport Protocol, sACN (E1.31)
,
Art-Net
,
Strand ShowNet
, and
Pathway
ssACN (Secure sACN)
, across a standard Ethernet data network.
The OCTO may be used alone, networked with other OCTOs and Pathport gateways, as well as with a number of other
Ethernet-aware lighting control products, such as consoles and controllers.
The OCTO, like all Pathports, is a routing device and does not provide control over the protocols or the data being passed. It
only provides control over the path the data takes, how multiple DMX sources are treated (merged or prioritized), and certain
other routing characteristics including DMX transmission speed and signal loss behavior.
The OCTO is easily configured and upgraded using the freely available software tool,
Pathscape
. It is also configurable using
the Front Panel UI, which consists of the LCD and rotary pushbutton encoder.
NOTE
that some features are not available if
configuring the device solely with the front panel.
PROTOCOLS SUPPORTED
DMX512
The most widely used digital multiplex protocol for controlling entertainment lighting and effects equipment. The DMX signal
consists of 512 8-bit control packets sent asynchronously over a two-pair shielded cable at 250K Baud. The standard
connector type is 5 pin XLR. The standard has been revised several times over the years, with the latest being ANSI E1.11
DMX512-A (2013). The Pathport OCTO is designed to work seamlessly with all variants of the protocol.
DMX is a last mile protocol, daisy-chained between end fixtures.
ETHERNET PROTOCOLS
Ethernet protocols are used to multiplex DMX data over Ethernet networks, largely to circumvent control channel limitations
inherent in the DMX standard. The Pathport OCTO supports the most widely accepted.
Pathport Protocol
: A broadcast protocol developed by Pathway Connectivity and implemented by a variety of console
manufacturers.
Art-Net
: A broadcast protocol developed by Artistic Licence. Its free distribution has made in popular with media server
manufacturers. Because this is not a standard, some implementations may not work with others.
Strand Shownet
: A proprietary broadcast protocol developed by Strand Lighting and used exclusively in Strand lighting
consoles.
ANSI E1.31 streaming ACN (sACN)
: A multicast industry standard developed and maintained by the Technical Standards
Program of the Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA). The standard is available for a nominal cost
from ESTA. This standard provides the DMX512 data transport for the separate ANSI E1.17 ACN (Architecture for Control
Networks) industry standard.
sACN is the DMX transport used by ETC Net3. The OCTO is fully compliant with Net3, and will seamlessly receive either
Final Draft 20, or the ANSI approved versions of sACN.
Pathway ssACN (Secure sACN)
: A new protocol developed by Pathway Connectivity that incorporates many features of
ANSI E1.31 sACN, but adds a layer of secure authentication. See later in the manual for details on Pathway ssACN.
Summary of Contents for Pathport OCTO 64 Series
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