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Sidus Link Pro - What Are Custom DMX Profiles?

What a DMX profile is, when you need a custom one (third-party fixtures, alternate control maps, R&D) and how custom profiles are structured and stored.

Overview

A DMX profile is a description of what each DMX channel of a fixture does. Channel 1 might be Intensity, channel 2 might be Red, channel 3 might be Green and so on. Sidus Link Pro ships with profiles for the full Aputure and amaran lineup. For most third-party fixtures or for fixtures with a control profile you want to customize, you need a Custom DMX Profile.

This article explains what a custom profile is, when you need one, and how to get one into your library. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see Creating Custom DMX Profiles.

When You Need a Custom Profile

  • You are patching a third-party fixture Sidus Link Pro does not ship a profile for.

  • You want a different control profile than the default profile gives you (for example, swapping HSI for raw RGB on a Picker-only fixture).

  • The fixture has multiple modes (8-bit vs.16-bit, HSI vs. RGB, fan-on vs. fan-off) and you want one mode customized in the patch.

  • You are doing R&D on a fixture before its profile ships in the library.

Plan Requirement

Custom DMX Profiles require a Pro or MAX plan. See Plans Overview.

How Profiles Are Structured

A DMX profile defines:

  • Total Channel Count - How many DMX addresses the fixture occupies.

  • Channel Labels - What each channel does (Intensity, Red, Green, Blue, CCT, Pan, Tilt, Strobe).

  • Parameter Ranges - The DMX value range that maps to a real-world parameter (for example, channel 5 = 0-127 strobe off, 128-255 strobe on).

  • Display Name - How the fixture appears in the Add Fixture menu.

  • Manufacturer - Groups fixtures together by manufacturer when browsing.

Where Profiles Live

Custom profiles are stored in your DMX Profile Library. Once added, a custom profile is available anywhere fixtures get patched: Patching a DMX Fixture, Auto-Patch (when supported) and the fixture browser.

Your library can also pull from the Aputure cloud library on demand. See Updating Your DMX Profile Library.

Building a Profile

For the hands-on walk-through (adding channels, naming parameters, setting ranges, saving the profile), see Creating Custom DMX Profiles.

Sharing a Profile

Custom profiles live on your iPad. If you want the same fixture in another iPad's library, export the profile from one device and import it on the other.

Common Mistakes

  • Wrong channel count - if the profile is 6 channels but the fixture is in an 8-channel mode, every fixture downstream is offset. Confirm the fixture's mode in its UI menu.

  • Range overlap - if channel 5 maps both Strobe and Speed to the same DMX address, ensure that each parameter occupies its own address. Use distinct ranges per parameter.

  • Untested profile in production - always verify a new profiles DMX footprint in the DMX Output Window on a single fixture before fanning out across a whole rig.

Related

Need Help?

See Getting Help & Support for the fastest way to reach the Aputure team.