Schools and colleges
Prepare lighting for assemblies, lessons, rehearsals, performances, exams and room hire. Staff and students can recall the right setup without learning the full console.
Working prototype · In development
Your lighting, without the computer.
LMX Player is a small box that fits in the palm of your hand. Programme your lighting in LMX, send the show to the Player and disconnect the computer.
Recall a preset look, run a cue list or start an automated sequence from any phone, tablet or computer on the same network.
Target price: around £149 including VAT
The final price will depend on production hardware, testing and certification.
Simple controls for everyday users
Not everyone using the room wants to operate a lighting desk.
A school caretaker may just need Assembly, Performance and Clean-up. A church volunteer might need Service, Lectern and Band. A village hall could have ready-made looks for meetings, parties and performances.
Those looks are programmed properly in LMX, then presented as simple named controls that anyone can use.
Whoever is using the room picks a named look. They never see fixture selection, DMX addresses or anything else from the programming side.
- Assembly
- Performance
- Rehearsal
- Service
- Clean-up
- Blackout
Built for shared spaces
Lighting that does not need a trained operator every time.
LMX Player is a standalone lighting show controller for rooms where the lighting has to work for whoever is there that day.
Churches and worship spaces
Create looks for services, music, readings, weddings and community events, then let volunteers run them from a phone or tablet.
Village and community halls
Give each type of booking an appropriate lighting setup without leaving an expensive desk or computer permanently in the room.
Drama studios and small venues
Run rehearsals, simple performances or house lighting from a dedicated player. Keep a tested copy of the show ready as backup for the main computer.
Museums and exhibitions
Run repeating sequences on timed follows and loops without a computer on display. Set the Player to start the show at power-up, so the room comes back on its own.
Compared with a wall controller
From a few preset looks to a complete show.
Standalone wall controllers often recall a small number of recorded lighting scenes. That is enough for many rooms, and LMX Player can provide the same simple experience.
The difference is what sits behind those buttons. Because the show is programmed in LMX, it can contain proper cue lists, fades, delays, effects, faders, moving-light positions and multiple sequences running at once.
Everyday users still see the same simple named controls, whatever is running behind them.
How it works
How a show gets from LMX to the Player
- Programme LMX on a computer The show is built here, then sent once. The computer can go home afterwards.
- Runs the show LMX Player A small box, about the size of your palm, that plays the cue lists, effects and faders itself. Controlled from a browser on any phone, tablet or laptop on the same network.
- Lights Your lighting Straight into your fixtures over DMX, or through Art-Net nodes on the network.
- 01
Build the show in LMX
Use the full LMX console to patch fixtures and create your looks, cues, effects and playback controls.
- 02
Send it to the Player
LMX finds Players on the network and sends the show directly to them. Change something later, and you push it again.
- 03
Open the controls
Open the Player in a browser on a phone, tablet or laptop. Recall a look, press GO, move a fader or stop the show.
Working screenshots
Once the show has been transferred, the LMX computer is no longer needed.
Not a recording
It runs the show itself.
LMX Player does not replay a flat recording of the lighting output. It runs the LMX playback engine on the device.
Fades, effects and cue tracking all behave as they do in LMX, and several cue lists can play independently.
During development, automated tests compare the Player's Art-Net output with LMX running the same show, so that the same show produces the same result wherever it is played.
Each output frame is compared byte for byte during testing.
Practical details for shared rooms
- Starts again after a power cut
- Set the Player to GO the first cue at power-up, and the room comes back on its own, without someone finding and starting the correct computer.
- Clear controls for occasional users
- Give people named cues and lighting states instead of fixture parameters and channel numbers. Faders can be shown as a grid of big named buttons.
- No app to install
- The controls open in a normal web browser on the same network.
- Works without venue Wi-Fi
- If the venue network cannot be found when it starts, the Player puts up its own Wi-Fi network, so its controls can always be reached.
- Immediate blackout
- Blackout and emergency are one tap each. They snap on and off with no fade, and playback carries on underneath while they are on.
Where it is now
Working and being tested.
LMX Player is a working prototype. The playback software and browser controls are running now. The production enclosure, final connections and manufacturing details are still being developed.
Working now
- Shows sent directly from LMX over the network
- Standalone cue-list playback
- Fades, tracking, effects and faders
- Multiple cue lists running together
- Phone, tablet and laptop control in a browser
- Starting the show at power-up
- Its own Wi-Fi network when the venue's is not there
- DMX output
- Art-Net output and universe routing
- Blackout and emergency controls
- Automated comparison with LMX desktop output
Still being developed
- Production enclosure
- Final physical connection options
- Installation and setup experience
- Production testing and certification
- Final price and availability
Target price: around £149.
LMX Player is intended to be an affordable alternative to leaving a computer or full lighting console permanently installed.
The current target is approximately £149 including VAT. The final price will depend on the production hardware, testing and certification.
There is nothing to order yet and no deposit to pay.
Where would you use it?
If you might use LMX Player in a school, church, village hall, theatre or installation, I would like to hear what you would need it to do.
Follow LMX Player developmentThis opens an email to [email protected]. Nothing is ordered or reserved.
Shows for the Player are built in LMX, which you can use now: download the beta, see what LMX does and its supported outputs, or read how playback works in the manual.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does LMX Player need a computer?
A computer is used to programme the show in LMX and send it to the Player. Once transferred, the Player runs the show itself.
Can people control LMX Player without learning LMX?
Yes. The browser controls can present named cues, playback buttons and faders without exposing the programming underneath.
Is LMX Player a DMX recorder?
No. LMX Player receives an LMX show and runs its cue lists, fades and effects. It does not simply record and replay a stream of DMX values.
How does LMX Player connect to the lighting system?
Directly over DMX, or over the network as Art-Net. Plug the Player into the DMX input of your fixtures or dimmers, or let it send Art-Net to nodes and fixtures on the same network. For Art-Net, the prototype joins the venue's Wi-Fi, or provides its own, and sends to the network's broadcast address, to every network or to a single node; each universe in the show can be switched off or sent out as a different Art-Net universe. It does not currently output sACN.
Can LMX Player play audio?
Not currently. Audio remains on the LMX computer.
When will LMX Player be available?
There is no confirmed release date yet. The prototype is working, but the production hardware, testing and certification still need to be completed.