3D Visualizer
See your show before you rig it.
Program the Show Before You Arrive
DMXDesktop includes a fully integrated 3D lighting visualizer built directly into the console software. Patch your fixtures, place them on the stage, and see your cues and effects instantly. No extra software, no network configuration, and no additional license - just a visualizer designed for programming your show.
Patch a Fixture. See It Instantly.
When you patch a fixture in DMXDesktop, it appears in the visualizer automatically. There's no separate application to launch, no network protocol to configure, and no synchronization step. Move a fader and the light responds immediately. Trigger a cue and you see it in real time.
Browse and Manage Your Fixtures
The fixture panel gives you a clear overview of every light in your rig. Fixtures are classified automatically based on their channel capabilities and rendered as the appropriate archetype - moving heads, PARs, pixel bars, spiders, derbys, and more. Over 15 fixture archetypes are supported and detected automatically from your patch.
Position and Configure Every Light
Select any fixture and use the 3D gizmo to drag it into position. The inspector panel lets you fine-tune placement, rotation, and fixture-specific properties. Set the style, adjust orientation, and get your rig looking exactly like the real venue - all before you arrive.
Build Your Stage in Minutes
Create a stage layout using drag-and-drop objects including truss, platforms, speakers, DJ tables, screens, curtains, and barriers. Add instruments, microphones, and human figures to provide scale reference. Multiple layouts can be saved for different venues or rig configurations.
Manage Your Scene
The stage objects panel lets you see and organize everything you've placed - platforms, screens, crowds, DJ tables, monitors, and more. Save complete scene layouts and switch between them for different venues or show configurations.
Fine-Tune the Environment
Adjust haze density, ambient lighting, and camera angles to match your venue conditions. The scene settings panel gives you control over the visual environment so what you see on screen reflects what you'll see on stage.
Lighting That Behaves Like Real Lighting
The visualizer renders lighting behavior accurately so programming decisions translate to the real stage. RGB and CMY color mixing, gobo projection with real textures, prism beam multiplication, strobe and shutter effects, zoom and beam spread, and per-pixel rendering for pixel fixtures. Beam cones interact with configurable haze density and produce visible aerial effects and floor hits.
Fixture Archetypes, Not Fixture Libraries
Instead of modelling thousands of individual fixture models, the DMXDesktop visualizer uses fixture archetypes that represent how lights behave. A moving head behaves like a moving head. A pixel bar behaves like a pixel bar. A derby behaves like a multi-beam effect.
This approach covers the vast majority of real fixtures while keeping the system fast, automatic, and easy to maintain. Fixtures appear in the visualizer automatically based on their channel capabilities - no model downloads or manual configuration required.
Built for Real Shows
The visualizer focuses on what lighting operators actually need: seeing beam movement, color looks, gobo effects, and pixel mapping before load-in day.
System Requirements & Quality Settings
The 3D Visualizer renders your rig live as you program. Two simple controls let it scale from a backup laptop to a workstation: a Quality preset (Low / Medium / High) and a Shadows toggle. Quality settings only affect the preview - your DMX output to real fixtures is never affected.
Quality presets
Low
Keeps the visualizer smooth on integrated graphics, older laptops, or modest hardware. Edges look slightly jaggy and beams a touch faceted. Use this if you see stutter or hear the fan working hard.
Medium (default)
Sharp on Retina and 4K displays, smooth edges, standard beam detail. Tuned for typical modern laptops with a discrete GPU. The right starting point for most users.
High
60 fps target, smoother beams, tighter ground impacts, and shadows on by default. Pick this if you have a discrete GPU and you want the cleanest look during programming sessions.
Both settings save per-layout, so a programming layout can run on High while a "lights-up at the venue" reference layout uses Low. Changes are instant - no restart needed.
Shadows
Shadows make beams visibly cut around trusses, stage objects, and walls - great for programming and promo screenshots. They cost frame rate (roughly 30-50% on weaker GPUs), so leave off if you're already at the frame limit and turn on when you've got headroom.
Suggested machines
Match the machine to how you'll use the visualizer. Apple silicon punches above its weight - even an M1 handles Medium comfortably; M2 and M3 handle High + Shadows well.
| Setting | Works on | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Low preset | Integrated graphics, 8 GB RAM, any modern CPU | Older laptops, backup or venue machines |
| Medium preset | Discrete GPU with 4 GB VRAM, 16 GB RAM, 6-core CPU | Most users |
| High preset + Shadows | Discrete GPU with 6 GB+ VRAM (RTX 3060 / RX 6600 / Apple M2+), 16 GB RAM, 8-core CPU | Studio programming and promo screenshots |
Visualizer quality never affects your show
DMX output to your fixtures is independent of the preview's frame rate. You can pick any quality preset - or even close the visualizer entirely - and the show keeps running.
See Your Show Before You Rig It
The 3D Visualizer is included with DMXDesktop PRO at no additional cost. Coming in v1.0.49.
Download DMXDesktop