Jumbled sACN data

[kaowki16]

My vision connectivity has a mind of its own. When it works, it works perfectly; when it doesn't, it's this mess of random data. A simple relaunch of the program can cause this issue, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Help!

 

I'm using MA2 on PC on the same computer but this issue persists even if that is not open.

[bbudzon]

What version of Vision are you running? We have had quite a few fixes related to sACN lately. And, we have more on the way in Update 3. But, knowing what version you are using will help us better understand what problems you may be running into. FWIW, I recommend you run the latest version of Vision for obvious reason; which the most recent version is 2025 Update 2.

[Mark Eli]

This looks like there's another sACN source on the network. When I say somewhere on the network, that could be somewhere in the room with you, somewhere in the building, or even larger areas depending on how things are setup.

 

The simplest way to test would be to switch to a different network that isn't attached to the first.

Alternatively, if you have a unused router/managed switch, you can connect your computer to it. Nothing else needs to be connected to the router, it is just there to give windows a connection and IP address. There is the possibility that unplugging the computer from the network could work, but it's the least likely. Windows can disable the network interface when nothing is plugged in.

 

If that's not possible, you can also try switching to Artnet. This is a less desirable solution because it's possible for the other source to be transmitting sACN and Artnet simultaneously. If it's not though, it should resolve the issue.

 

As a side note, sACNView is a wild goose chase. It's settings and version of the sACN standard is different from Vision. So, it works sometimes, doesn't others, and there's no way to tell the difference.

[kaowki16]

19 hours ago, bbudzon said:

What version of Vision are you running? 

I'm on Vision 2025 SP0, in the about menu it said version 30.2.0.783598. I clicked 'update vision' in the help menu and it said this is the latest build.

 

14 hours ago, Mark Eli said:

This looks like there's another sACN source on the network.

I tried isolating the network, but the light is still funky and the DMX viewer still says there's data. Then, I tried completely unplugging the ethernet cable, and the status shown in Window was "Network cable unplugged", the lights stopped moving completely but the DMX viewer still said there's data. Then, I tried plugging the ethernet into an unmanaged switch, and the status shown was "Unidentified", and the problem comes back. Maybe there's some other things on my PC that's using the same port?

 

14 hours ago, Mark Eli said:

If that's not possible, you can also try switching to Artnet.

I used artnet in the past with Vision 2024, then one day it just stopped working so I switched to sACN. With Vision 2025 it doesn't work at all, when I open DMX viewer it just gets stuck on "Starting Artnet provider" and does not disappear. But I think it may be some problem on my side too with configuration in MA.

[Mark Eli]

TL;DR It sounds silly but in all seriousness, have you tried turning it off and on again?

 

I think you're correct in something else on your computer that is causing this. If for some reason another program didn't shut down properly, or is open in another virtual desktop, it could still be acting as an sACN station without you knowing. It's kind of impossible to say what, without going over every program you've got installed, so turning it off and on again should clear everything out.

One important note in case you aren't already aware. Shutting down the computer and turning it back on is different from restarting. When you restart, some of the things in memory are saved to make the startup process faster, which can cause issues. That's why I say turn it off and on again.

 

 

8 hours ago, kaowki16 said:

I tried isolating the network, but the light is still funky and the DMX viewer still says there's data. Then, I tried completely unplugging the ethernet cable, and the status shown in Window was "Network cable unplugged", the lights stopped moving completely but the DMX viewer still said there's data.

This is normal. Vision and the DMX Viewer will hold the last DMX received for a predetermined amount of time. I don't remember how long that is at the moment, but it's done to avoid flickering and other issues as some consoles will only send DMX when something is changed. If you restart the DMX Viewer in this situation, it should show zeros.

 

8 hours ago, kaowki16 said:

when I open DMX viewer it just gets stuck on "Starting Artnet provider" and does not disappear.

This too is normal. I double checked to be sure and, the only other message that could possibly come up is "Stopping ArtNet Provider". Although the window should be closed before that message is actually triggered.

I also tested with MA2onPC with a command wing and Artnet worked for me, but of course different setups do different things.

 

[kaowki16]

Uh, doing all the troubleshooting steps above didn't fix the problems I had. Despite relaunching and shutting down the program and my PC many times, reloading the showfile manually fixed it for me. I will report back if this issue arises again. Thank you!

[BScott]

Hello!

 

I am having a similarly strange issue.  Vision is detecting sACN data even when no other programs are running.  I tried shutting down my computer completely and only opening Vision on the restart.  The DMX viewer is still showing sACN data on every universe but sACNView doesn't show any DMX activity.

 

What could cause this?  I'm on a MacBook Pro M3 running Sequoia 15.1.1 and using the most recent version of Vision 2025.

 

Scott

Edited April 1 by BScott

[Mark Eli]

On 4/1/2025 at 10:49 AM, BScott said:

Hello!

 

I am having a similarly strange issue.  Vision is detecting sACN data even when no other programs are running.  I tried shutting down my computer completely and only opening Vision on the restart.  The DMX viewer is still showing sACN data on every universe but sACNView doesn't show any DMX activity.

 

What could cause this?  I'm on a MacBook Pro M3 running Sequoia 15.1.1 and using the most recent version of Vision 2025.

 

Scott

 

Hi Scott,

 

I've seen this behavior in both Vision and Showcase on my macbook.

The first time you see it can be a little confusing, but the good news is it's not an unknown behavior. In my experience this only occurs when there is no sACN stream coming into the macbook, or in the case that the sACN stream has been running prior to Vision being started which causes Vision to not be able to see the steam. 

 

In the case of no sACN, once the console starts sending, it should clear everything up.

In the case of the sACN stream has been running prior to Vision being started. Shut down the console/show file, restart Vision, load your file, then restart the console. Generally speaking, it's always best practice to have Vision running with the file open prior to started your console.

If for some reason you don't have anything that can send sACN and you want to work with the file without all your lights doing weird things. Switch your DMX Provider to Artnet.