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Overview

Masking allows you to control which DMX channels are visible in the rendered output. You can hide specific channel ranges, invert the mask to show only certain channels, or automatically hide channels that are set to zero.

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Configuration Properties

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maskedChannels
array
default:"[]"
A list of DMX channel ranges to mask out. Masked channels will be forced to transparent in the output.Each range is defined with a start and end channel. Channels can be specified in two formats:
  • Universe.Channel format: 1.1 (universe 1, channel 1), 2.512 (universe 2, channel 512)
  • Global channel index: 0 (first channel), 512 (first channel of second universe)
Universe.Channel format:
  • Universe numbers start at 1
  • Channel numbers within a universe range from 1 to 512
  • Example: 1.1 is the first channel, 1.512 is the 512th channel
Global channel index:
  • Starts at 0
  • Each universe contains 512 channels
  • Channel 512 is the first channel of universe 2
  • Channel 1024 is the first channel of universe 3
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invertMask
boolean
default:"false"
If true, the mask behavior is inverted. Instead of hiding the channels in maskedChannels, only those channels will be visible and all others will be transparent.This is useful when you want to isolate a specific range of fixtures:
  • Set maskedChannels to the range you want to see
  • Set invertMask to true
  • All other channels will be hidden
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autoMaskOnZero
boolean
default:"false"
If true, channels that are set to zero will automatically be masked (made transparent), regardless of the maskedChannels configuration.This is useful for:
  • Hiding fixtures that are turned off
  • Cleaning up the output by removing black pixels
  • Creating cleaner overlays when compositing multiple layers

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YAML Configuration Examples

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Basic Channel Masking

# Hide channels 1-100 in universe 1
maskedChannels:
  - start: 1.1
    end: 1.100
invertMask: false
autoMaskOnZero: false

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Multiple Ranges

# Hide multiple ranges
maskedChannels:
  - start: 1.1
    end: 1.50
  - start: 1.100
    end: 1.150
  - start: 2.1
    end: 2.50
invertMask: false
autoMaskOnZero: false

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Using Global Channel Index

# Hide first 100 channels (global index)
maskedChannels:
  - start: 0
    end: 99
invertMask: false
autoMaskOnZero: false

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Inverted Mask (Show Only Specific Channels)

# Show ONLY channels 1-100, hide everything else
maskedChannels:
  - start: 1.1
    end: 1.100
invertMask: true
autoMaskOnZero: false

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Auto-Hide Zero Channels

# Automatically hide any channels set to zero
maskedChannels: []
invertMask: false
autoMaskOnZero: true

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Combined Configuration

# Show only channels 50-200 AND hide zeros
maskedChannels:
  - start: 1.50
    end: 1.200
invertMask: true
autoMaskOnZero: true

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Channel Format Examples

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Universe.Channel Format

maskedChannels:
  - start: 1.1      # Universe 1, Channel 1
    end: 1.512      # Universe 1, Channel 512
  - start: 2.1      # Universe 2, Channel 1
    end: 3.256      # Universe 3, Channel 256

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Global Channel Index Format

maskedChannels:
  - start: 0        # First channel overall (Universe 1, Channel 1)
    end: 511        # Last channel of universe 1 (Universe 1, Channel 512)
  - start: 512      # First channel of universe 2 (Universe 2, Channel 1)
    end: 1023       # Last channel of universe 2 (Universe 2, Channel 512)

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Use Cases

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Isolating Specific Fixtures

Use inverted masking to solo specific fixtures during programming: 
maskedChannels:
  - start: 1.100
    end: 1.150
invertMask: true

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Hiding Unused Universes

If you’re only using the first 2 universes, hide the rest: 
maskedChannels:
  - start: 1025     # Start of universe 3
    end: 262143     # Maximum channels (512 universes × 512 channels)
invertMask: false

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Clean Compositing

When layering multiple HNode instances, use autoMaskOnZero to create clean transparency: 
maskedChannels: []
invertMask: false
autoMaskOnZero: true

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Debugging Specific Fixtures

Mask all channels except the ones you’re troubleshooting: 
maskedChannels:
  - start: 2.100
    end: 2.120
invertMask: true
autoMaskOnZero: false

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Tips

  • Empty mask list: If maskedChannels is empty and invertMask is false, no channels are masked
  • Empty mask list with invert: If maskedChannels is empty and invertMask is true, ALL channels are masked
  • Overlapping ranges: You can define overlapping ranges; the mask will be applied to the union of all ranges
  • Performance: Masking has minimal performance impact, so use it freely

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