Pixel Multiplier

Pixel Multiplier is a utility to take an arbitrary number of RGB pixel values (3 DMX channels each) and multiply them live. It is written in Python and requires Open Lighting Architecture.

Use Cases

I wrote Pixel Multiplier because I needed a way to use a mobile phone screen as a DMX-controlled light source. There is an app on iOS called iLedMapper, but it does not allow for the whole screen to be addressed as one pixel. Since my single DMX universe is already quite full, I needed to minimize the number of channels required to accomplish this. Thus, I wrote Pixel Multiplier. Now I can use a handful of iOS device screens as practical effects on stage.

Setup

These instructions assume you're setting up Pixel Multiplier on a Raspberry Pi as a part of Attacca DMX, as I have. You'll need to adapt this slightly if you're running on a different platform or running without Attacca DMX. For example, take out the references to olat.target in the systemd unit if you're not using Attacca DMX.

1. Copy pixel_multiplier.py to /usr/local/bin, renaming to pixel_multiplier.

2. Run sudo chmod a+x /usr/local/bin/pixel_multiplier.

3. Copy pixel_multiplier.environment and pixel_multiplier.conf to /home/pi.

4. Set up your pixel routings in pixel_multiplier.conf. See comments and examples in that file for details.

5. Copy pixel_multiplier.service to /etc/systemd/system.

6. Run sudo systemctl daemon-reload.

7. Run sudo systemctl enable pixel_multiplier.service && sudo systemctl start pixel_multiplier.service.

Warnings

There's nothing preventing you from routing input in a circle; please be certain you know what you are doing when configuring pixel_multiplier.conf. Because I wrote this utility for my own use, it is presented here only as a courtesy. I have not exhaustively tested it. Also, if you look at my code, you'll see I am a beginner. I'm sure there are better ways to do what I'm doing here. You're welcome to pitch in and help if you can.