Which controller do I need?

Designer Controller families

All programmed using Designer software, our Designer controllers are grouped into two families – the LPC (Lighting Playback Controller) family and VLC (Video Lighting Controller) family.

Most features and functionality are common to all Designer controllers, but the families do have a few specific differences in programming and playback methods dependant on whether you’re primarily controlling lighting or video content.

If you’re not sure which Pharos lighting controller is right for your project, we hope the breakdown below will help you pick. A more detailed table of the features of each controller follows at the end of this page, or you can contact us for more information.

All Pharos Designer controllers interface with lighting fixtures via DMX, eDMX and DALI and feature show control, a wide range of integration options, are extremely reliable and come with a 5 year warranty as standard. For complete peace of mind and control over your installation, all controllers have a range of remote management options built-in, including a customisable web-server and support for Pharos Cloud.

A Pharos Designer system can be scaled by combining multiple Designer lighting controllers and remote devices over Ethernet to create a cohesive control system, all programmed in the same environment, with a combination of features to suit the project.

This explainer video provides an overview of the main differences between the families. There is also a webinar on this subject, and this Tips and Tricks covers more detail about differences in content processing, level of fixture control, mapping and playback.

Here’s a top level summary of the differences between the two families:

LPC Family

Versatile control to realise your lighting design

Controllers in the LPC family feature individually controllable and independently running timelines and scenes, letting you build dynamic, precise, fully customisable lighting effects with the freedom of real-time manual overrides, and the versatility of powerful show control and integration features.

LPC

1/2/4 universes of eDMX with 2 local DMX ports
RS232, MIDI and 8 inputs
DIN-rail mountable

Ideal for ‘fit and forget’ applications – the controller is commissioned once, then can be left to reliably do its job.

LPC X

10-100 universes of eDMX
Optional HDMI input

Ideal for large lighting installations requiring unrivalled programming power and flexibility.

VLC Family

Play videos on a canvas that has lights as pixels

VLC lighting controllers are cost-effective solutions for huge LED pixel arrays. Play videos with smooth crossfades in different compositions from internal storage and live HD video input. The VLC family comes complete with powerful show control and integration features for ultimate real-time control.

VLC

50-1500 universes of eDMX
Display video or HDMI input with smooth transitions

Ideal for mapping video to lighting fixtures used as a single large video screen.

VLC+

50-3000 universes of eDMX
Display two videos or live video input with smooth transitions, rotation, movement, masking and more

Ideal for advanced façade projects, observation wheels and wrap-around applications like stadiums.

Capacity Comparison

Universes of DMX/eDMX output per Controller type

Detailed controller comparison

LPC 1
LPC 2
LPC 4
LPC X S3
VLC S2
VLC+ M
VLC+

	LPC 1	LPC 2	LPC 4	LPC X S3	VLC S2	VLC+ M	VLC+

Overview

Key Features
Channels of DMX/eDMX outputChannels can be flexibly mapped to DMX/eDMX universes.	512	1024	2048	5120 - 51200	25600 - 768000	25600 - 256000	512000 - 1536000
Equivalent universe countController output is limited by channel count not universe count. Channels can be flexibly mapped to DMX/eDMX universes.	1	2	4	10-100	50-1500	50-500	1000-3000
Controller family	LPC	LPC	LPC	LPC	VLC	VLC	VLC
Control concept	Fully flexible	Fully flexible	Fully flexible	Fully flexible	Single canvas	Single canvas	Single canvas
Built-in touch panel interface	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Scalability
Add extra controllers for increased capacity
Add extra controllers for extra interfaces/features
Add Pharos remote devices for extra interfaces/features
Add Pharos wall stations for human interfaces
Number of remote devices supported	64	64	64	100	100	100	100

Interfaces

DMX512 output
Built-in DMX512/RDM output portsEach up to 512 channels, RDM compatible, and individually isolated	2 (mirrored)	2	2	-	-	-	-
Additional DMX512 output ports over Ethernet with RIO, RIO G4 and EDNLimited to 96 channels per port for the RIO, with 4 full universes with the RIO G4 and 10 or 20 with EDN.

Ethernet and eDMX output
Dedicated eDMX output ports	-	-	-	1	2	2	2
Dedicated management Ethernet ports	-	-	-	1	1	1	1
Shared management Ethernet/eDMX ports	1	1	1	-	-	-	-
Multi-protocol eDMX outputsACN, Art-Net, KiNET and Pathport support.
UDP/TCP/Multicast send/receiveSend/receive of any Ethernet message/syntax; UDP, TCP, Multicast via management Ethernet port.

DMX512/eDMX input
Built-in DMX512 input portFor triggering and mastering, shared with RS232 and RS485 input (if applicable).				-	-	-	-
eDMX Input via Data portSingle Ethernet port devices accept eDMX via main port.
eDMX to DMX512 pass-throughLocal to a controller.	1 universe	2 universes	2 universes	-	-	-	-

DALI
Built-in DALI control buses	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Support for input triggering on DALI bus
Additional DALI interfaces assigned via RIO D4*For triggering only on VLC Family	16	32	64	100	100*	100*	100*

Video
Live video input	-	-	-	HDMI (optional)	HDMI	HDMI	DVI-D
Confidence monitor video output	-	-	-	DisplayPort	DisplayPort	DisplayPort	DVI-I (Dual Link)

Outputs
Built-in relay output	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Additional relay outputs with RIO 44/08Individually isolated (1KV) relay outputs (48V 250mA)

Inputs
Built-in input pinsFreely divide inputs between supported modes	8	8	8	-	-	-	-
Additional input pins with RIO 80/44
Supports contact closure mode
Supports digital input mode up to 24V
Supports analog input mode up to 24V

MIDI
Built-in MIDI inputMIDI Notes, SysEx or Timecode	-	-	-	-
Additional MIDI inputs with RIO AMIDI Notes, SysEx or Timecode
Built-in MIDI outputMIDI Notes, SysEx or Timecode	-	-	-	-
Additional MIDI outputs with RIO AMIDI Notes, SysEx or Timecode

Audio
Built-in audio/timecode inputSupports multi-band audio spectrum analysis, or linear timecode (LTC)	-	-	-	-
Additional audio/timecode inputs with RIO ASupports multi-band audio spectrum analysis, or linear timecode (LTC)
Built-in analog audio outputTimeline programmable audio clips	-	-	-
Built-in digital audio outputSPDIF. Timeline programmable audio clips	-	-	-

Serial
Built-in RS232 portShared with DMX512 input and RS485 integration (if applicable)
Additional RS232 ports with RIO
Built-in RS485 portShared with DMX512 input and RS232 integration (if applicable)	-	-	-	-
Additional RS485 ports with RIO
Supports any syntax send/receiveSend/receive free syntax in ASCII, HEX or decimal

Infrared
Built-in infrared receiver	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Additional infrared receivers with BPS/TPC
Learning infrared codes per TPC receiver	16	16	16	16	16	16	16
Learning infrared codes per BPS receiver	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Supports any syntax send/receive

Layout and playback

Fully flexible layout/programming (LPC family)
Fully flexible fixture grouping and layout	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fixtures may appear in multiple groups	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fixtures may appear in multiple layouts	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fixture template support	N/A	N/A	N/A

Single canvas layout/programming (VLC family)
Fixtures positioned freely on canvas	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Number of canvasesPer controller	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	1	1	1
Fixture groupingFor organisation/patching only	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fixture template support	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Video composition (VLC family)
Full HD video clip playback with cross-fading	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	1	2	2
Multiple video clip instancesFor duplicating content across across the composition	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Maximum number of simultaneous video playbacksPerformance may vary when playing more clips than the specified number of Full HD layers with cross-fading.	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	2	8	8
Colour gains with definable mask regions	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	-
Video clip transparency with user-definable masks	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	-
Video clip movement and rotationRun-time controllable	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	-

Playback
Scenes for recalling static looks	-	-	-
Timelines for programming dynamic effects
Simultaneous playback of scenes/timelines (as applicable)
User-definable timeline priorities
Stacking last-action-takes-precedence playbackFixtures not controlled by a scene/timeline retain previous state
Timeline loop or hold at end
Real-time and astronomical timelinesUseful for creating lighting effects that vary according to time-of-day, such as circadian rhythm effects
Timeline flags
Media clip playback from internal memory
Parameterisable 2D effects

Output override
Manual colour override	Any group	Any group	Any group	Any group	Any content target	Any content target	Any content target
Manual intensity mastering	Any group	Any group	Any group	Any group	Any content target	Any content target	Any content target

Fixture Support
LED fixtures (RGB, RGBA, RGBAW, 8-bit, 16-bit, white)
Tunable white	-	-	-
Intensity channels (RGBI etc.)	-	-	-
Single channel fixtures	-	-	-
DALI (single channel, RGBWAF, XY, Tc)	-	-	-
Automated/moving fixtures	-	-	-
Media servers	-	-	-
Fountain jets	-	-	-

Triggering

Triggering logic
Trigger / condition / action logic
Variables
Scripting
Built-in real-time clock for time based triggers

3rd party integrations
Full IO module library support
Custom IO module support

Human Interaction

Touch panel interfaces
Additional touch panel interfaces with TPS
Selectable user interface styles
Fully customisable interface design
Fully customisable interface logic

Buttons
Support for BPS button panels
Fully customisable logic/triggering

Web interfaces
Built-in web server
PC and mobile device support
Supplied with Pharos-designed web interface
Fully customisable web interface
PC and mobile device support

Commissioning
Commissioned with Pharos DesignerOnly relevant features are presented to the user

Remote management
Support for Pharos CloudSimple, secure remote management from any Internet-connected device, anywhere, any time.
Support for Pharos DirectorA tool for managing video content and scheduling for sites spanning multiple Pharos systems

Physical

Mechanical
DIN rail mountable				-	-	-	-
Wall mountable	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
19" rack mountable	-	-	-	1U	1U	1U	2U

Electrical
PoE power input				-	-	-	-
DC power input	9-48V DC	9-48V DC	9-48V DC	-	-	-	-
AC power input	-	-	-	100-240V AC	100-240V AC	100-240V AC	100-240V AC
Power consumption	4W	4W	4W	40W	40W	40W	40W

Warranty
Warranty period	5 years	5 years	5 years	5 years	5 years	5 years	5 years

Which controller do I need?