Art-Net over the internet
Art-Net is broadcast on a local subnet, which is even less willing to cross a router than sACN. BeamBridge ingests Art-Net at the source, carries the universes as one encrypted stream, and re-emits Art-Net or sACN at the remote node.
The problem
Art-Net sends DMX as UDP broadcast (or unicast to a fixed IP) on a local subnet — usually 2.x.x.x or 10.x.x.x. Broadcast stops at the first router, and unicast needs a fixed, reachable IP on the far side, which a node on a mobile network never has. Consoles that only speak Art-Net, media servers, and a lot of older gear still need to reach lights that are nowhere near the desk.
How BeamBridge does it
- Ingest Art-Net locally. The source node listens on the console's Art-Net subnet and picks up the universes you route.
- Carry it as a stream. The same encrypted, outbound-only connection to the relay as for sACN — no VPN, no fixed IP, no port forwarding.
- Re-emit in the protocol you need. The remote node outputs Art-Net or sACN on its local network, and DMX on its port. Mixed rigs are fine: Art-Net in, sACN out.
- Any uplink. Venue internet, WiFi, or the node's own 4G/LTE or 5G modem.
What you need on site
- A source node on the console network, or the console's own Art-Net output on a network the node can see.
- Any internet or mobile uplink at the remote site.
- A beam node on the far end: Raspberry Pi based, DMX out (Enttec USB Pro), OLED status display, 4G modem inside. We ship it configured for the production.
- A browser. Routing, node health, data usage and config live in the BeamBridge dashboard at app.beambridge.net.
Good to know
- Only the universes you route leave the source. The uplink at the desk does not multiply with the number of remote nodes; the relay does the fan-out.
- Every node reports link type, carrier, signal, temperature, applied config and data usage, so a problem in the field is visible before it becomes a problem on set.
- The node keeps a clean local network on site (DHCP, optional WiFi access point) so fixtures, Zigbee hubs or a small desk can simply plug in.
Questions we get about this
Can I convert Art-Net to sACN on the way?
Yes. The relay carries universes, not packets. What goes in as Art-Net can come out as sACN on the remote node, or the other way round.
Does it work with ArtPoll / node discovery?
The remote node answers on its own local network like any Art-Net node. Discovery across the WAN is not needed: routing is done in the BeamBridge dashboard, not by the console finding remote nodes.
What about RDM?
RDM does not travel over Art-Net or sACN across a WAN. The beam node runs RDM on its own DMX port and reports discovered fixtures back to the dashboard, where you can read and set parameters.