13.
A
PPENDIX
63
Chauvet® ShowXpress™ V6.22
Glossary
Below is a list of common terms found throughout this manual and lighting in general.
1.
Blackout
– an action that instantly douses all output; usually by pressing a single button.
2.
CMY
– a subtractive color mixing process that combines cyan, magenta and yellow filters to
create other colors in the spectrum. These secondary colors of light at 100% will produce
black, or the absence of light.
3.
Daisy chain
– a wiring practice in which device A is connected to device B, device B is
connected to device C, device C is connected to device D, etc. each device in the chain
carries the same information from device to device. The last device receives the exact same
information as the first device.
4.
Device manager
– a
Control Panel
applet
included with
Windows
® operating systems that
allows the user to display and control the hardware attached to the computer. When a piece
of hardware is not working, the offending hardware is highlighted where the user can deal with
it. The list of hardware can also be sorted by various criteria.
5.
Dimmer packs
– a device that offers the ability to dim lighting fixtures; typically PAR cans.
6.
DIP switches
– sets the starting address of the fixture using binary code. Each switch has a
value and when the sum of those values is added together, that is the fixture’s starting
address.
a.
Switch #1 = 1
b.
Switch #2 = 2
c.
Switch #3 = 4
d.
Switch #4 = 8
e.
Switch #5 = 16
f.
Switch #6 = 32
g.
Switch #7 = 64
h.
Switch #8 = 128
i.
Switch #9 = 256
7.
DMX-512
– a standardized protocol monitored by the United States Institute for Theatre
Technology (USITT) that allows all lighting manufacturers’ products to communicate with
others. Uses a 3 or 5-pin XLR-style connection and has a maximum of 512 channels per line
or universe.
8.
Driver
– a software module that tells the operating system how to control a given piece of
hardware, such as a printer or external hard drive.
9.
File extension
– the portion of a filename following the final dot which indicates the kind of
data stored in the file. It also tells the computer which program is needed to open it correctly.
10.
Forum
– an online chat board for individuals to exchange ideas, post questions, offer
answers, etc. The website for ShowXpress™ is
http://forum.thelightingcontroller.com
11.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
– an 8-bit-per-pixel bitmap image format that is
commonly used for the Internet due to its wide support and portability. Also supports
animations.
12.
Gobo
– a piece of metal or glass which fits into a gobo holder and set inside of a lighting
instrument for projection of that image. Gobo is derived from the words GOes Before Optics
and sits before the optical lens within lighting fixtures and is the “picture” seen coming from
the lights.
13.
Group (grouping)
– setting multiple fixtures to respond to a single command, in this case a
letter on the keyboard.
14.
Interface
– the means by which people interact with something else that they would not
normally be able to communicate with. The X-Factor™ or Xpress™ Plus would be an
example of an interface.
15.
JPG – JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
– a graphics compressions format which
makes pictures smaller, in terms of data size, with some loss of detail.
16.
Laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)
– emits light in a narrow,
single-colored beam with a well-defined wave length.
17.
Layering
– playing back multiple light scenes without affecting the ones prior to it; also known
as “stacking.”
18.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
– a standard protocol for communication
between electronic devices (such as keyboards) to activate or trigger a controller.
