Layers & Priority

When more than one thing wants to control the same universe — two cues, a cue and the fixture engine, or the DMX Core 100 and an external console — these rules decide what wins.

Playback Layers

Every cue has a Playback Layer number (default 0):

• Cues on the same layer replace each other — starting a cue stops whatever else is playing on its layer. This is the classic one-show-at-a-time behavior.
• Cues on different layers play together — for example, a background wash loop on layer 0 while short accent cues fire on layer 1.

Set the layer on each cue’s detail page. See Cues.

Merge Mode

When two sources are active on the same universe with equal priority, the global Merge Mode decides how they combine:

• Blend — channels are mixed together
• HTP — highest takes precedence, per channel

Merge Mode is set under Lighting Setup > Protocol in the Web UI.

Priorities

Priorities decide which source owns a universe when they overlap. Higher priority wins outright; equal priorities merge using the Merge Mode above.

• Cue priority — cues normally replay with the sACN priority they were recorded with. A cue’s Priority Override (1–200) replaces that, letting you pin a specific cue above or below other playback.
• Fixture Control Priority — the priority used by the fixture engine (fixture control, presets, effects), set under Lighting Setup > Protocol (default 100).
• Outputs — each sACN output also has a per-output Send Priority (Output Config), which is what downstream sACN receivers use when merging the DMX Core 100 against other consoles on the network.

Letting a console take over

The classic house-of-worship setup: give the DMX Core 100’s output a low sACN send priority so the main lighting console always wins when it’s active, and the DMX Core 100’s schedule takes back over when the console goes quiet.

End of Data

When playback stops and nothing else is active, the End of Data setting (Lighting Setup > Protocol) controls what the outputs do:

Option	Behavior
Repeat last	Keep sending the last frame
Blackout	Send 0% on all channels, keep the stream alive
Stop output	Stop the stream (receivers may time out)
Blackout and stop	Send 0%, then stop the stream

If an ambient preset is configured, it takes over instead — the venue never goes unexpectedly dark. See also Blackout and Stop for the touchscreen controls.