Visitors to the amazing city of Philadelphia will not fail to notice the lovely parks, a variety of historical monuments, and the large number of murals that seem to adorn every road and square in this metro of brotherly love. Those who travel there during the Christmas season are in for a very pleasant surprise; the city's amazing light shows, which would not be possible without the aid of a DMX Merge controller, a small machine that punches above its size.
These machines may be small, but without them, concerts, discos, even architectural lighting would a lot less interesting. It all starts with lights linked together to form a single channel, with each having an individual hue. These are connected to a controller, with each hue having its own. A single operator can handle one or two colors, but this would make for a poor light show. To control more colours, the amazing piece of equipment is needed.
All the individual controllers are then linked to this piece of equipment, which joins different signals together and allows an operator to control an amazing number of lights all by themselves. More complex sequences are also possible by using a merger, while also minimizing or eliminating the possibility of error, and making troubleshooting easier. It is possible to link some types of mergers with a computer, making work even easier.
Mergers come in a variety of types. Anyone with a relatively advanced knowledge of electronics, a keen eye and above average soldering skills can actually construct a reliable merger from components available in outlets catering for hobbyists. By taking this route, one can make a relatively high quality merger at the minimum of costs. There are a number of disadvantages, though; anyone who lacks the necessary knowledge and skills can forget about making their own machine, and some of the components may be hard to find.
There is a mind boggling variety of store bought mergers. Those with limited needs can save their hard earned money and buy a low end machine. This will have a limited number of inputs, such as Universal Serial Bus ports, and may lack the ability to connect to a computer.
Mid range mergers, on the other hand, create a balance between features, performance and price. Such machines typically have at least one microphone input, a Universal Serial Bus port, a firewire port among other features. These are satisfactory to most users, while also being relatively easy on pocket. They can also be programmed, or even connected to a computer for enhanced performance.
Mid level machines, on the other hand, seek to provide a satisfactory level of features and performance without costing too much. A typical merger in that category will normally have at least one microphone input, the ability to connect to a computer, one Universal Serial Bus port among other features. Such machines also more programmable than their lower priced brethren.
Manufacturers are even making machines with Thunderbolt ports, which makes them capable of connecting with computers made by Apple, or any that have a similar port. All these do come at a cost, however, and it is not a surprise to find machines in this category that cost thousands of dollars.
These machines may be small, but without them, concerts, discos, even architectural lighting would a lot less interesting. It all starts with lights linked together to form a single channel, with each having an individual hue. These are connected to a controller, with each hue having its own. A single operator can handle one or two colors, but this would make for a poor light show. To control more colours, the amazing piece of equipment is needed.
All the individual controllers are then linked to this piece of equipment, which joins different signals together and allows an operator to control an amazing number of lights all by themselves. More complex sequences are also possible by using a merger, while also minimizing or eliminating the possibility of error, and making troubleshooting easier. It is possible to link some types of mergers with a computer, making work even easier.
Mergers come in a variety of types. Anyone with a relatively advanced knowledge of electronics, a keen eye and above average soldering skills can actually construct a reliable merger from components available in outlets catering for hobbyists. By taking this route, one can make a relatively high quality merger at the minimum of costs. There are a number of disadvantages, though; anyone who lacks the necessary knowledge and skills can forget about making their own machine, and some of the components may be hard to find.
There is a mind boggling variety of store bought mergers. Those with limited needs can save their hard earned money and buy a low end machine. This will have a limited number of inputs, such as Universal Serial Bus ports, and may lack the ability to connect to a computer.
Mid range mergers, on the other hand, create a balance between features, performance and price. Such machines typically have at least one microphone input, a Universal Serial Bus port, a firewire port among other features. These are satisfactory to most users, while also being relatively easy on pocket. They can also be programmed, or even connected to a computer for enhanced performance.
Mid level machines, on the other hand, seek to provide a satisfactory level of features and performance without costing too much. A typical merger in that category will normally have at least one microphone input, the ability to connect to a computer, one Universal Serial Bus port among other features. Such machines also more programmable than their lower priced brethren.
Manufacturers are even making machines with Thunderbolt ports, which makes them capable of connecting with computers made by Apple, or any that have a similar port. All these do come at a cost, however, and it is not a surprise to find machines in this category that cost thousands of dollars.
