Adam Bennette has released a new edition of his book Recommended Practice for DMX 512: A Guide for Users and Installers.
Steve Terry, the chair of the original USITT committee that wrote DMX512 in 1986, says, “Adam’s book has been used for many years by thousands of entertainment technicians and equipment designers. When DMX512 was updated in 2004 to become the new ANSI E1.11 standard, and when the new E1.20 Remote Device Management (RDM) standard was published, it left the industry clamoring for an updated version. No one was better suited than Adam to write that update.”
According to Bennette, “Users who only require a simple DMX system without any of the new features may still use the original advice in the first edition of this booklet if they wish. However, systems set up in that way may not be upgradeable in the future. I therefore recommend that all new systems be set up in the way described in this second edition.”
The new edition was made possible through the help of ETC, who has been a longtime supporter of entertainment-industry standards and a founding contributor to the ESTA Technical Standards Program. Terry, who is also ETC’s vice president of R&D, was the founding co-chair of the ESTA Control Protocols Working Group that is now responsible for the maintenance of the DMX512 Standard. Dan Antonuk, ETC’s Network Products Development Manager, leads the ESTA E1.17 ACN Task Group. At the forefront of developing these standards, ETC was pleased to facilitate the updating of Bennette’s guide. Bennette is also technical director for ETC Ltd. in the United Kingdom. Says Terry, “We’re very pleased that ETC could help make this much-needed new edition happen in a very short period of time.”