Easy Integration
Designer controllers can react to, control or interact with other systems. Use a variety of protocols and commands to easily adapt and integrate your lighting, sound, vision, and effects. Build your own integrations with our comprehensive APIs or choose from our growing library of ready-made IO modules.
Interface with the world
Designer controllers can react to, control or interact with other systems. Use a variety of protocols and commands to easily adapt and integrate your lighting, sound, vision, and effects.
Serial
RS232 or RS485. Freely configurable to send or receive any ASCII, hexadecimal or decimal message.
MIDI
Freely configurable for short or extended messages, and MIDI Show Control (MSC).
I/O Pins
Configurable contact closures, digital inputs, analogue inputs, and relay outputs.
DALI
Send or receive any DALI Type 0 message. Including DALI discovery of the addresses and commissioning the ballasts via the Pharos Designer software.
Ethernet
Supports UDP, TCP and multicast. Configurable port and address settings. Send and receive ASCII, hexadecimal or decimal message.
Timecode
Timecode input. MIDI timecode (MTC) or linear timecode (LTC) at all common frame rates: 24fps (film), 25fps (EBU), 30fps (SMPTE), 29.97fps for (NTSC).
Infrared
Learning infrared receiver, with up to 64 slots.
Audio
Audio input. Analyse up to 30 frequency bands and volume.
DMX
Receive DMX512 or eDMX data (including ArtNet and sACN).
Integration made easy
Integration is easier than ever with IO modules – plug-in software modules for Pharos Designer that expand the capabilities of the Designer Trigger engine.
IO Modules make light work of integrating with third-party products, protocols, and web resources, as well as providing automation for current complex triggering requirements. Each IO Module adds its own application-specific triggers, conditions, and actions to Designer, extending the core feature set outlined in Sophisticated Triggering.
IO Modules allow for integration with all kinds of equipment: building management systems, AV equipment, consumer electronic gear, smart home hubs, as well as web-based integrations with sites that can provide weather, sports scores, and public & confidential information via an API.
A full list of the latest IO modules can be viewed in the download tool within the Designer 2 software.
Developers welcome
Pharos has three complementary APIs which developers can use to build integrations with other systems.
Lua
Lua scripting is used as part of our Designer Trigger engine, to provide bespoke Conditions and Actions. Learn more about our Sophisticated Triggering.
HTTP
Our HTTP API is available for external devices/software to communicate with a Designer controller.
Javascript
All Designer controllers have a built-in web server, with our JavaScript API providing access to many features of the controller for development of custom web interfaces.