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Vision 2019 and GrandMA on PC


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This may sound like amateur hour, because it is exactly that. I am entirely self taught with all of this. I have looked everywhere and done all the research I can handle.

 

When using MAonPC do you need to have a dongle? When I go to select the DMX provider, or rather once the file is exported into Vision I get a HASP error. I really wish that when I spoke to the team about all of this prior to purchase they mentioned that without a console you can't really do anything in Vision. I purchased this mostly to put video on the LED screens to display my customers content with the rest of the stage elements, but also wanted to be able to have just a few basic lights to boot.

 

I'm happy to do more reading if someone could just point me in the right direction. Links to things that Jim have posted aren't going to help because i've read them top to bottom and still can't seem to find the answer i'm looking for. 

 

Thanks in advance!

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You need something that outputs dmx, depending on the brand of consoles you get some free Chanels, but I believe there is no console manufacturer that will let you output unlimited channels...

 

That being said, for MA Lighting you have two options, if you want to use GrandMA 1 or 2 OnPC you need to download the ESP Vision Connection Driver from MA website (https://www.malighting.com/downloads/products/grandma2/) which only runs on Windows (so your Vision also has to run on Windows), and allows you to use MA NET to connect to Vision and has no limit in the amount of fixtures you can control. The other option is to use GrandMA Dot2 onPC, which has one free universe through Artnet or sACN. 

 

I believe Chamsys also has a free universe, not sure on the rest of the manufacturers.

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  • 1 month later...
Just now, pazworkfornow@gmail.com said:

no, i dont have a dongle. but its should work with the esp vision driver no?

When I spoke to the guys at vectorworks they said you for sure need to use a dongle in order to get around that hasp error. I ended up getting a dongle anyway, but if you aren’t committed to the MAonPC You could use some other artnet virtual console ie. obsidian onyx or magic q etc. 

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  • 8 months later...
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi Basem

 

The dongle requirement applies to all versions of Vision if the user wants to use MA-net 1 or 2, (or if you are using  MA1 or 2  on pc software without any MA hardware such as a command wing,as it will give out an dmx signal of any kind without physical hardware).

This restriction is a condition that MA made when they gave us access to the protocol.

Also you need to be aware that MA-net 3 is not supported at all in Vision, as MA have not given us (or anyone else) permission to use it. If a user wants to connect an MA3 console to vision they will need to use either sACN or Artnet.

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  • 1 month later...

I have Vectorworks 2020 Education, Vision 2020 Education,  MA2 ONPC V8.0.0, and GrandMA ESP Vision. I can't get MA2 to talk to vision at all. 

I know that I can't output any real dmx to a rig this way since I need some actual hardware. But, it works with ETC EOS without any extra hardware, plugins or licenses and you can't output to a rig but you can to Vision.

IMG_9295.thumb.jpg.12b1f6ea7241d554bb0a87396319ca83.jpgIMG_1069.thumb.jpg.e462eeb503ae4b53c0aafc80a3c5a641.jpg160198402_IMG_47762.thumb.jpg.c014e33d436537771d36fb98b0dbeb70.jpgIMG_1995.thumb.jpg.1510b548d61d85085e6bf87ae39cb5bd.jpg

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@_Aidan_ A dongle is required to use MA-Net

See:

Vision FAQ

What is a dongle? Do I need one to run Vision?

A dongle is a USB key that contains your license information, including the number of universes that you own and subscription data.

...

if you need to use MA-Net as your DMX provider, MA Lighting requires the use of a dongle for Vision. The Vision dongle can be purchased directly from Vectorworks. MA Lighting does not currently support visualizer connectivity via MA-Net on the grandMA3.

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@_Aidan_ Because MA has not updated their installer you may need to install or re-install Vision after you run the grandMA Vision connection driver installer supplied by MA Lighting.

The MA installer has been known to overwrite one of the files we provide with Vision.

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  • 2 months later...
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

If this happens during the install process, you will need to contact MA as we don't control or maintain the plugin.

 

If it is happening afterword you will need to reinstall Vision, you won't need to re install the plugin just Vision. This is a common problem with the plug-in, it often damages some of the Vision files that deal with DMX control protocols.

 

 

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@alfeltsld Correct. The requirement for the use of a  dongle is from MALighitng because of the use of MA-Net2.

You can connect using ArtNet or sACN without a dongle.

For MA you would need to have a console, programming wing etc. in order to enable ArtNet or sACN output.

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  • 4 months later...
On 3/20/2019 at 9:46 AM, Gaspar Potocnik said:

You need something that outputs dmx, depending on the brand of consoles you get some free Chanels, but I believe there is no console manufacturer that will let you output unlimited channels...

 

That being said, for MA Lighting you have two options, if you want to use GrandMA 1 or 2 OnPC you need to download the ESP Vision Connection Driver from MA website (https://www.malighting.com/downloads/products/grandma2/) which only runs on Windows (so your Vision also has to run on Windows), and allows you to use MA NET to connect to Vision and has no limit in the amount of fixtures you can control. The other option is to use GrandMA Dot2 onPC, which has one free universe through Artnet or sACN. 

 

I believe Chamsys also has a free universe, not sure on the rest of the manufacturers.

So if I only need one universe to run my show... I can just use GrandMA Dot2 onPC connected with a USB to 3pin dmx out, and that should work without any MA hardware or the use of Vision and their dongle. Am I correct? If so, is one dmx out enough? Or would I need to out for some reason? thanks!

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