sACN over 5G

Where 5G is available the same beam node gets lower latency and more headroom for larger rigs. Nothing changes in the workflow: route universes in the browser, the node uses the best uplink it has and falls back to LTE when 5G fades.

The problem

LTE is enough for most lighting jobs. What it does not give you is headroom: many universes with high frame rates, or a time-critical show where every extra millisecond shows. 5G brings a lower and more stable round-trip time and far more bandwidth, but coverage is patchy outside cities, and a node that only works on 5G would be a liability on set.

How BeamBridge does it

1. Same node, better link. A 5G-capable beam node behaves exactly like the LTE one: it boots, connects to the relay and re-emits sACN on site.
2. 5G when it is there, LTE when it is not. The modem registers on 5G where available and falls back to LTE automatically. The dashboard shows which one you are on.
3. Headroom for more universes. With the extra bandwidth you can route full-frame-rate universes to more nodes without thinking about the data budget.
4. Latency you can plan with. Lower round-trip time means tighter timing for chases and effects that are triggered from the desk.

What you need on site

• A beam node with a 5G modem (on request; the standard fleet is LTE) or any 5G router with Ethernet the node can plug into.
• 5G coverage at the location — check it with us before the shoot; we can read the serving cell from the node during a recce.
• A source node on the console network, or the console's own sACN/Art-Net output on a network the node can see.
• 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.
• For a tightly timed pixel-mapped show keep that part of the rig on the local network and use BeamBridge for everything that is out of reach — that advice does not change with 5G.

Questions we get about this