ControlForge Entertainment & Show Control Guide

James M. Belcher Founder, JMB Technical Services LLC April 2026 | ControlForge v1.0.535

1. Overview

ControlForge supports four entertainment/show control protocols for stage lighting, sound, and interactive installations — all callable from Structured Text.

Protocol	Functions	Use Case
Art-Net	7	DMX512 lighting via Ethernet (UDP port 6454)
sACN/E1.31	7	Streaming ACN lighting (multicast or unicast)
MIDI	14	Musical instrument control, show cues
OSC	12	Open Sound Control (media servers, projectors)

2. Art-Net — DMX Over Ethernet

Control DMX512 lighting fixtures via Art-Net protocol.

(* Create a 512-channel universe *)
u := ARTNET_CREATE_UNIVERSE('main', 0);

(* Set individual channels *)
u := ARTNET_SET_CHANNEL(u, 1, 255);         (* Ch 1 = full *)
u := ARTNET_SET_CHANNEL(u, 2, 128);         (* Ch 2 = 50% *)

(* Set RGB fixture starting at channel 10 *)
u := ARTNET_SET_RGB(u, 10, 255, 0, 0);      (* Red *)

(* Send to Art-Net node *)
ARTNET_SEND_UNIVERSE('10.0.0.200', u);

(* Quick send without universe buffer *)
ARTNET_SEND('10.0.0.200', 0, 255, 128, 64);  (* Universe 0, channels 1-3 *)

(* Blackout / full *)
u := ARTNET_BLACKOUT(u);                      (* All channels → 0 *)
u := ARTNET_FULL(u);                          (* All channels → 255 *)

Function	Parameters	Returns	Description
`ARTNET_CREATE_UNIVERSE(name, num)`	2	Handle	Create 512-channel buffer
`ARTNET_SET_CHANNEL(h, ch, val)`	3	Handle	Set channel 1-512 (0-255)
`ARTNET_SET_RGB(h, start, r, g, b)`	5	Handle	Set 3 consecutive RGB channels
`ARTNET_SEND(host, universe, vals...)`	3+	BOOL	Quick send raw channels
`ARTNET_SEND_UNIVERSE(host, h)`	2	BOOL	Send universe buffer (port 6454)
`ARTNET_BLACKOUT(h)`	1	Handle	All channels → 0
`ARTNET_FULL(h)`	1	Handle	All channels → 255

3. sACN/E1.31 — Streaming ACN

ANSI E1.31 streaming DMX — supports multicast and priority.

u := SACN_CREATE_UNIVERSE('wash', 1);
SACN_SET_PRIORITY(u, 150);                   (* Higher priority wins *)

SACN_SET_CHANNEL(u, 1, 255);
SACN_SET_RGB(u, 10, 0, 255, 0);             (* Green *)

(* Unicast *)
SACN_SEND_UNIVERSE('10.0.0.201', u);

(* Multicast — use empty string or multicast address *)
SACN_SEND_UNIVERSE('', u);

(* Quick send *)
SACN_SEND('10.0.0.201', 1, 255, 128, 64);

SACN_BLACKOUT(u);

Function	Parameters	Returns	Description
`SACN_CREATE_UNIVERSE(name, num)`	2	Handle	Create universe (priority 100)
`SACN_SET_CHANNEL(h, ch, val)`	3	Handle	Set channel 1-512 (0-255)
`SACN_SET_RGB(h, start, r, g, b)`	5	Handle	Set 3 RGB channels
`SACN_SET_PRIORITY(h, priority)`	2	Handle	Set sACN priority (0-200)
`SACN_SEND(host, universe, vals...)`	3+	BOOL	Quick send
`SACN_SEND_UNIVERSE(host, h)`	2	BOOL	Send buffer (multicast if host empty)
`SACN_BLACKOUT(h)`	1	Handle	All channels → 0

4. MIDI — Musical Instrument Control

Build and parse MIDI messages for instrument control, show cues, and sound design.

(* Send Note On — middle C, velocity 100, channel 1 *)
msg := MIDI_NOTE_ON(0, 60, 100);

(* Note name conversion *)
note := MIDI_NAME_TO_NOTE('C4');              (* 60 *)
name := MIDI_NOTE_TO_NAME(60);               (* "C4" *)

(* Control Change — modulation wheel *)
cc := MIDI_CC(0, 1, 127);

(* Pitch bend — center = 8192 *)
pb := MIDI_PITCH_BEND(0, 8192);

(* Program change — select patch *)
pc := MIDI_PROGRAM_CHANGE(0, 42);

(* SysEx message *)
sx := MIDI_SYSEX(16#7E, 16#7F, 16#09, 16#01);

(* Parse incoming MIDI *)
parsed := MIDI_PARSE(16#90, 60, 100);
status := MIDI_GET_STATUS(parsed);            (* 16#90 = Note On *)
channel := MIDI_GET_CHANNEL(parsed);          (* 0 *)

(* Pack to single integer for serial transmission *)
packed := MIDI_BUILD_NOTE_ON(0, 60, 100);

Function	Parameters	Returns	Description
`MIDI_NOTE_ON(ch, note, vel)`	3	ARRAY	Note On bytes
`MIDI_NOTE_OFF(ch, note, vel)`	3	ARRAY	Note Off bytes
`MIDI_CC(ch, controller, val)`	3	ARRAY	Control Change bytes
`MIDI_PITCH_BEND(ch, val)`	2	ARRAY	Pitch Bend (0-16383)
`MIDI_PROGRAM_CHANGE(ch, prog)`	2	ARRAY	Program Change bytes
`MIDI_SYSEX(mfr, data...)`	2+	ARRAY	SysEx message
`MIDI_PARSE(bytes...)`	1-3	Handle	Parse raw MIDI
`MIDI_GET_STATUS(h)`	1	INT	Status byte (without channel)
`MIDI_GET_CHANNEL(h)`	1	INT	Channel (0-15)
`MIDI_NAME_TO_NOTE(name)`	1	INT	"C4" → 60
`MIDI_NOTE_TO_NAME(note)`	1	STRING	60 → "C4"
`MIDI_BUILD_NOTE_ON(ch, note, vel)`	3	INT	Pack to single int
`MIDI_BUILD_NOTE_OFF(ch, note, vel)`	3	INT	Pack to single int
`MIDI_BUILD_CC(ch, ctrl, val)`	3	INT	Pack to single int

5. OSC — Open Sound Control

Control media servers, projection mapping, sound systems, and interactive installations.

(* Simple typed sends *)
OSC_SEND_FLOAT('10.0.0.100:8000', '/master/volume', 0.75);
OSC_SEND_INT('10.0.0.100:8000', '/cue/number', 42);
OSC_SEND_STRING('10.0.0.100:8000', '/display/text', 'WELCOME');
OSC_SEND_BOOL('10.0.0.100:8000', '/projector/enable', TRUE);

(* Auto-detect type *)
OSC_SEND('10.0.0.100:8000', '/fader/1', 0.5);

(* Multi-argument message *)
msg := OSC_MSG_CREATE('/mixer/channel/1');
msg := OSC_MSG_ADD_FLOAT(msg, 0.75);        (* Volume *)
msg := OSC_MSG_ADD_INT(msg, 1);              (* Mute off *)
msg := OSC_MSG_ADD_STRING(msg, 'Main L');    (* Label *)
OSC_MSG_SEND('10.0.0.100:8000', msg);

(* Bundle — multiple messages, one packet *)
OSC_SEND_BUNDLE('10.0.0.100:8000',
    OSC_MSG_CREATE('/ch/1/mix/fader'),
    OSC_MSG_CREATE('/ch/2/mix/fader')
);

Function	Parameters	Returns	Description
`OSC_SEND(target, addr, val)`	3	BOOL	Auto-typed send
`OSC_SEND_INT(target, addr, val)`	3	BOOL	Send integer
`OSC_SEND_FLOAT(target, addr, val)`	3	BOOL	Send float
`OSC_SEND_STRING(target, addr, val)`	3	BOOL	Send string
`OSC_SEND_BOOL(target, addr, val)`	3	BOOL	Send boolean
`OSC_SEND_BUNDLE(target, msgs...)`	2+	BOOL	Send message bundle
`OSC_MSG_CREATE(addr)`	1	Handle	Create message builder
`OSC_MSG_ADD_INT(h, val)`	2	Handle	Add integer argument
`OSC_MSG_ADD_FLOAT(h, val)`	2	Handle	Add float argument
`OSC_MSG_ADD_STRING(h, val)`	2	Handle	Add string argument
`OSC_MSG_ADD_BOOL(h, val)`	2	Handle	Add boolean argument
`OSC_MSG_SEND(target, h)`	2	BOOL	Send constructed message

ControlForge v1.0.535 | Art-Net (7) + sACN (7) + MIDI (14) + OSC (12) | Entertainment & Show Control

1. Overview​

2. Art-Net — DMX Over Ethernet​

3. sACN/E1.31 — Streaming ACN​

4. MIDI — Musical Instrument Control​

5. OSC — Open Sound Control​

1. Overview

2. Art-Net — DMX Over Ethernet

3. sACN/E1.31 — Streaming ACN

4. MIDI — Musical Instrument Control

5. OSC — Open Sound Control