Hardware Utility Version; Important Considerations - Light O Rama DC-MP3 User Manual

Hardware Utility Version

If your Hardware Utility has an LOR MP3 tab on the
upper left of the LOR Control window (initial window)
you will be able to put a show on an SD card for
your DC-MP3. If you want to use the show
scheduling features, you must have Hardware Utility
version 1.5.8 or later. If you want to use interactive
trigger inputs in your show, you must have Hardware
Utility version 1.6.4 or later. The version of the
Hardware Utility appears in the title bar to the right of
"Light-O-Rama Hardware." If the version you have
does not support the features you want to use or
there is no version number at all, then you need a
new Hardware Utility.
The latest version is available for download at
www.lightorama.com ► Support ► Software
Downloads. Click the Download button to the left of
the Hardware Utility and run the installer.

Important Considerations

The DC-MP3 is normally powered by the nearest
Light O Rama controller or a USB485B PC adapter.
Use a 50' or less CAT5e LAN cable to connect the
DC-MP3 to either of these devices. Longer cables
may have an unacceptable voltage drop that may
cause erratic operation of the DC-MP3.
SD cards must be formatted FAT16 (or just FAT)
SD cards supplied by LOR will already be formatted
FAT16 and ready for use.
Not all brands of SD cards will work with the DC-
MP3. Lexar Media and SimpleTech are known to
work.
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DC-MP3 DC-MP3
Individual MP3 songs are limited to 10 minutes. After
10 minutes the song will continue to play, but control
of the lights will not continue. This does not mean
that the DC-MP3 can only control a 10 minute show,
only that no song(MP3 file) in your show can be
longer than 10 minutes.
A 128 MB SD card can hold approximately one hour
of MP3 audio and controller commands.
Songs (audio files) for use with the DC-MP3 must be
encoded as MP3 files. Constant Bit Rate (CBR) at
128K bits/second is best. See
► Support ► "How to and considerations: Ripping
CDs to MP3s"
The backup power for the DC-MP3's real time clock
will keep the clock going for at least three days. The
DC-MP3 must be powered for 15 minutes to fully
charge the backup capacitor. The real time clock is
needed only for scheduled shows. In this case, the
DC-MP3 is always powered, so the backup power
capacitor is only needed to survive power failures.
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