[en] Firmware 0.9 Explained
[en] Released June 2024 for Quasar Science RR and R2 fixtures
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[en] Firmware 0.9 brings major revisions and additions to our line of Rainbow 2 and Double Rainbow LED fixtures starting with the introduction of Advanced Routing modes.
[en] If you would like a PDF copy of these release notes our marketing department made a very nice PDF version that you can download >HERE<.
[en] The first option you now see in the [Config Menu] will be to select the desired Routing Mode. There are two new options [Basic] and [Advanced]. A couple of items now reside in Advanced Routing, such as starCTRL and the revamped Node Modes.
[en] Basic Routing is the Quasar Science you're familiar with, where most everything is operationally similar as it was before when using normal control via DMX, Ethernet or Wireless connectivity.
[en] Advanced Routing expands the capabilities of RR-R2 fixtures by internally bridging a variety of input/output routings, such as: sACN input to DMX output, or wired DMX input to Wireless DMX output. For more information see the [en] Advanced Routing Overview
Avis
[en] It is always best practice to use the same firmware version across your fixtures. There are many improvements to FW 0.9 that may either A.) Display differently than earlier versions, or B.) Not be backward compatible (i.e. Lead/Follow).
[en] We encourage you to update to 0.9 across all your fixtures for best performance and functionality.
[en] System Improvements
[en] Improved boot times
[en] Improved mode change times (i.e. switching between DMX and Ethernet modes)
[en] Independent Manual mode vs Data Input state (aka: can set a No-Data look)
[en] New Advanced Routing Options
[en] Bluetooth response has been improved. This makes using starCTRL mode much smoother!
[en] New Boot Loader (v1.0) for updating the firmware. The Boot Loader's size has been reduced which provides the required space for the 0.9 software.
Important
[en] Firmware 0.9 requires the fixture's Boot Loader be updated to BL v1.0 before updating to this software release, or the firmware will not install.
[en] Perform a [Reset To Default] after updating the firmware. For more information see [en] Boot Loader Upgrade for Firmware 0.9
[en] Dimming Engine Improvements
[en] The internal dimming engine is now fully 16-bit. Firmware 0.8 (and earlier) dithered the light output to 12-bit for performance reasons. In 0.9a we have added a menu item to switch between the 16bit/12bit dimming engine for backwards compatibility.
[en] Improved low-end dimming. Especially when slow fading from 0-20% intensity as compared to firmware 0.8b or earlier.
[en] Standard FPS photography in 16-bit dimming mode (new default engine)
[en] High speed photography in 12-bit dimming mode (i.e when over 200 FPS)
[en] Networking Upgrades
[en] sACN implementation now supports LTP (Latest Takes Precedence) merging, which allows two control devices to send sACN at the same priority (i.e. a Lighting Console and Media Server controlling different parameters of the same lights at the same time.)
[en] sACN assignable universe range of 1-63999 (FW 0.8b was limited to uni's 1-256)
[en] Art-Net4 assignable universe range of 0-32767 (FW 0.8b was limited to uni's 1-256)
[en] Improved power loss/data recovery performance with Ethernet protocols
[en] sACN now supports separate Input/Output universe assignments via the new Advanced Routing mode. (Prior to FW 0.9a this was only supported with ArtNet)
[en] Improved DHCP performance
[en] Improved Failover IP performance
[en] Improved Artpoll behavior (The fixture will not reply to an Artpoll request before obtaining a valid IP address)
Note
[en] Broadcast ArtNet input is still limited to 15 assigned Universes of Broadcast Artnet with RR-R2 fixtures. Higher ArtNet universe counts require the use of Unicast.
[en] Wireless DMX Improvements
[en] All RR-R2 fixtures can now be used as a CRMX Transmitter via Advanced Routing
[en] The Wireless Status LED will now follow Lumenradio universe color assignments when connected in RX mode.
[en] The Wireless Status LED can now be assigned a universe color when in CRMX TX mode (The provided color presets follow the color options in the CRMX Toolbox App)