Dark On Silence
Intelligent lighting control that responds to audio
Try It FreeHow It Works
Dark On Silence monitors your audio input level in real-time and automatically dims your lighting when silence is detected, then returns to normal operation when audio resumes.
Silence Detection: Monitors audio input level continuously
Smart Buffer: 500ms delay prevents flickering from brief audio drops
Selective Channel Control: Only affects specific channel types while preserving others
Smooth Operation: Gradual transitions maintain professional appearance
Configuration Parameters
Fine-tune how Dark On Silence responds to your audio environment
Trigger Level (0-100)
Sets the audio threshold below which "silence" is detectedLower values = more sensitive to quiet audioHigher values = only triggers on true silence
Silence Level (0-100)
Determines how much to reduce light intensity during silence0% = complete blackout during silence50% = half intensity during silence100% = no change (feature disabled)
Buffer Time
Prevents rapid on/off flickering from brief audio dropsSilence must persist for 500ms before Dark On Silence activatesReturns to normal immediately when audio resumes
Affected Channel Types
Dark On Silence intelligently handles different fixture channel types:
✅ Dimmed Channels (Reduced by Silence Level %)
- • Color Channels: RGB, CMY, RGBW, HSI, etc.
- • Dimmer Channels: Master dimmer, intensity, brightness
- • Strobe Channels: Strobe rate and intensity
- • AudioVolume Channels: Audio-reactive effects
- • Energy Channels: Energy-based lighting effects
🔒 Frozen Channels (Held at Current Position)
Pan/Tilt Channels: Movement channels freeze at current positionPrevents disorienting fixture movement during silence.
⚪ Unaffected Channels
- • Gobo/Pattern Channels: Maintain current selection
- • Focus/Zoom Channels: Preserve beam characteristics
- • Color Wheel Channels: Keep current color selection
- • Other Control Channels: Function-specific controls remain active
When It Works
✅ Active Scenarios
- Live DJ Performance: Audio playing through supported DJ software
- Audio Input Connected: Valid audio signal being monitored
- Feature Enabled: Dark On Silence toggle is ON
- Show Playing: DMX show actively running
- Audio Below Trigger: Input level drops below configured threshold
❌ Inactive Scenarios
- No Audio Input: No audio signal detected
- Audio Above Trigger: Input level above threshold
- Feature Disabled: Toggle is OFF
- No Show Playing: DMX show stopped or paused
Live Edits, Live Wire and Dark On Silence
Live Edits are the answer if you run Dark On Silence
Dark On Silence and a fallback cue have never worked together, and that is the commonest complaint about this feature. The reason is simple: a fallback cue is built from effects, and effects are exactly what Dark On Silence dims. Put a cue up during the quiet with Dark On Silence on and it is dimmed away along with everything else.
A Live Edit sets its channel values directly rather than through effects, so Dark On Silence does not touch it. That makes a Live Edit the only way to keep a look visible while Dark On Silence is switched on.
Both Live Wire and DJ Mode can raise Live Edits when the music stops: on the Live Wire tab under "When the music stops", and in DJ Mode from the Fallback Cue section, alongside the cue or instead of it. Tick as many as you like and they come up together, then go back down when the audio returns.
Live Wire has its own control
Live Wire does not use Dark On Silence. It has its own When the music stops control on the Live Wire tab, offering a choice of staying lit, fading to black, running a cue or raising your own Live Edits, and that supersedes Dark On Silence whenever Live Wire is running.
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