Everything you need
to master
Orchestr.

Installation

• Download Orchestr-x.y.z-macOS.dmg from the website.
• Double-click the .dmg to mount it.
• Drag Orchestr onto the Applications folder.
• Launch Orchestr from Launchpad or the Applications folder.

The app is signed and notarized by Apple, so it launches without a security warning. If macOS still shows a prompt on first launch, right-click the app > Open.

Licence

Orchestr runs with a licence key. On first launch, go to Settings > Licence and enter the key you received by e-mail. Licence validation happens online on first launch, then stays valid offline for a grace period.

Create your first show

• On launch, a show is created by default.
• In the sidebar, under SHOWS, you see your show and its sequences.
• Click + Add to create a sequence (Cue List, Timeline or template library).
• Open the sequence and start adding cues.

The main screen has three areas: the sidebar (left), the centre area (active sequence content), and the inspector (right, settings of the selected item).

Main views

• List — The active cue list / timeline.
• Setlist — A chain of sequences.
• Live — The Recorder: record OSC/DMX live.
• Lights — The Stage module: place and drive your fixtures.

The SHOWS section lists your shows and sequences. Right-click a show or sequence for a menu (rename, duplicate, export, delete…).

Settings

The Settings icon opens preferences organised into tabs: General, Network, OSC, Lights, DMX · Art-Net, Philips Hue, Timecode, MIDI, ESP32, Lighttoys, Music, Screen Video, Audio, VideoPulse, Holofan, Installation, Recorder, Shortcuts, Workspace, Licence, Modules, NFC, About. Configure connections once, then use them in your cues.

Show, sequence, cue

• Show: the project, contains one or more sequences.
• Sequence: a series of actions. Three types — Cue List (triggered on GO), Timeline (locked to timecode), Envelope (continuous curves for OSC/DMX).
• Cue: a single action in a sequence. Each cue has a type and a trigger (manual, automatic, after a delay).

Device

A device is a connection to the outside world: a DMX interface, an Art-Net console, a Philips Hue lamp, an OSC application, etc. You configure devices in Settings, then your cues use them.

One file = one show

Orchestr is document-based: each show is self-contained (its sequences, its lighting patch, its video clips, its settings). You can keep one file per show.

The Cue List is the most common mode: a list of actions you trigger as the show unfolds.

Add a cue

• Open a Cue List sequence and click the + button.
• Select it: the inspector opens on the right.
• In the TYPE section, choose what the cue does (Audio, OSC, DMX, Light, Scene, Screen Video, Record…).

Triggering (GO)

GO fires the active cue and moves to the next. Modes: Manual (waits for GO), Automatic (fires as soon as the previous cue is triggered), After a delay (fires automatically after a set time). A green dot marks the active cue.

Groups

A Group cue contains other cues. Simultaneous: all child cues fire together. Sequential (GO): children triggered one at a time, optionally with background music and a fade. Drag cues onto a group to add them.

The Timeline places cues on a time ruler (timecode). On playback, each cue fires at its moment. This is the ideal mode for a show locked to a soundtrack.

• Assign music: the sequence length matches the audio file.
• Place cues at the right timecode (lighting, video, OSC…).
• Start playback: the playhead advances and fires the cues.

Cue types are the same as in Cue List; only the trigger logic changes (by time rather than by GO).

All cues are created the same way: add a cue, then choose its type in the TYPE section of the inspector.

• Marker — A label/annotation, no action. Useful to structure the list.
• Wait — A pause/delay in an automatic chain.
• Group — A container of cues (simultaneous or sequential).
• Audio — Plays a track from the music library (volume, fade).
• OSC — Sends an OSC message (address + arguments) to software/devices.
• MIDI — Sends a MIDI message.
• DMX — Sends raw DMX values (universe, channel, value, fade).
• Light — Drives your fixtures in the Stage module (colour, intensity, fade).
• Scene — Recalls a saved lighting scene.
• Hue — Drives Philips Hue lamps/plugs.
• Screen Video — Shows a video on the output screen: clip, NDI or virtual camera, with mapping.
• VideoPulse — Drives the PulseVideo software (network video triggering).
• Show — Launches another sequence (timeline, cue list or envelope).
• Record — Launches a recording (a sequence made with the Recorder).
• Holofan — Drives holographic fans.
• Lighttoys — Drives Lighttoys LED props (colour, brightness, show…).
• ESP32 — Drives custom ESP32 modules.
• BLE — Turns Bluetooth accessories on/off (bulb, shoulder, PLB).
• Virtuoz — Sends a command to the Virtuoz system (vibration, etc.).
• Watch — Sends a signal to the Apple Watch (haptic/state).
• Call — Recalls another cue's settings (template), as a live link or a copy.

Tip — Call (template): create a model cue in a template library, then call it from several sequences. In live link mode, any change to the template propagates everywhere; in copy mode, the cue freezes the settings at the time of the call.

The Stage module (the Lights view) lets you place your fixtures on a stage plan and drive them.

Patching a fixture

A fixture is defined by a name, a type (PAR, Moving head, Wash, Dimmer, LED, Strip, Hue…), its channel roles (Red, Green, Blue, White, Intensity…) and a start channel + universe. Example: an RGBW PAR patched at universe 1, channel 10, occupies channels 10 (R), 11 (G), 12 (B), 13 (W). Strips can have several independently driven segments.

Driving and saving scenes

• Set colour, intensity and state directly on the stage plan.
• Save the current state as a reusable scene.
• Recall a scene from a Scene cue (with a fade).

Global intensity

Each fixture has a global intensity (master dimmer) that scales all of its colour channels — handy even on an RGBW fixture with no dedicated dimmer channel. This intensity can also be automated from an envelope.

DMX outputs

• Art-Net: DMX over Ethernet/Wi-Fi.
• USB-DMX interfaces: Enttec USB Pro and Open DMX dongles.

Key concepts

• Universe: one DMX universe = 512 channels. Orchestr handles several universes.
• Fade: a DMX/Light cue can interpolate to its target values over a given time.
• DMX input: Orchestr can receive DMX (e.g. from a console) to record it with the Recorder.

Other protocols

• OSC: send/receive OSC messages (Settings > OSC). Essential to talk to Millumin, QLab, TouchDesigner…
• MIDI: send messages and MIDI Timecode (MTC) for sync.
• ESP32 / Holofan / Lighttoys / BLE: specific hardware with their own configuration tab.

In Settings > Philips Hue, pair your Hue bridge. Once connected, your lamps and plugs are controllable from a Hue cue or from the Light module and scenes.

Notes

• Hue plugs only show on/off (no colour).
• A brightness of 0 % actually turns the lamp off.
• Each value can be set with the slider or by double-clicking the field to type the value (Enter to confirm).
• A per-lamp delay is available.

Screen Video shows a video source on an output screen (projector, second display), with mapping (image warping/placement).

Sources

• Video clip from your library (Settings > Screen Video).
• NDI stream (network).
• Virtual camera (OBS, NDI Virtual Input…).

Virtual cameras (OBS, NDI)

For OBS / NDI Virtual Input to appear, macOS must grant Orchestr camera access. On first use, accept the permission prompt. If you had declined it, re-enable Orchestr in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera. You can switch source live — the swap is immediate.

Mapping

For each source, choose Fullscreen or a saved mapping preset. Mapping changes apply in real time when the source is already on screen — handy for live adjustments.

The Recorder (the Live view) records OSC and DMX streams live (both outgoing and incoming) to replay them later.

Recording

• Open the Live view, choose what you capture in Settings > Recorder.
• Start recording, change your lighting / send your messages, then stop.
• Choose a format and a name to save.

Two formats

• Cue List: one cue per event, fired at its timecode.
• Envelope: events grouped into continuous curves (one per output) with smoothed keyframes — ideal for lighting and gradual movement.

Editing an envelope

Right-click a track → Reassign… (OSC, DMX, or from a fixture) or Duplicate track to drive the same curve on several outputs.

Replaying

From a Record cue: on trigger, a timeline starts; an envelope plays as an overlay (the cue list keeps running alongside). Duplicate an entire sequence to make a variant and reassign its tracks.

The Setlist chains several sequences like a show running order: you move from one sequence to the next as the show unfolds. Useful to structure an evening into several scenes or songs.

Installation mode (Settings > Installation) is for running Orchestr unattended (exhibition, window display, walkthrough): looping / automatic triggering, with no operator. Configure the start and looping behaviour there.

• General — General preferences, visible cue types.
• Network — Network connections.
• OSC — OSC targets and reception.
• Lights — Lighting module settings.
• DMX · Art-Net — DMX interfaces and Art-Net.
• Philips Hue — Hue bridge pairing.
• Timecode — Synchronisation (MTC).
• MIDI — MIDI in/out.
• ESP32 — ESP32 modules.
• Lighttoys — Lighttoys FT props.
• Music — Music library (audio tracks).
• Screen Video — Clip library and mapping presets.
• Audio — Audio output.
• VideoPulse — PulseVideo configuration.
• Holofan — Holographic fans.
• Installation — Unattended/installation mode.
• Recorder — What the Recorder captures.
• Shortcuts — Keyboard shortcuts.
• Workspace — Workspace / display.
• Licence — Licence key.
• Modules — Optional module activation.
• NFC — Triggering via NFC tags.
• About — Version and information.

A virtual camera (OBS/NDI) doesn't appear

Check Orchestr's camera permission (System Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera) and click Refresh sources in the Screen Video cue.

NDI doesn't work

Install NDI Tools (Vizrt). The NDI SDK must be present on the machine.

A DMX scene won't fire with several fixtures

Check each fixture's patch (universe/channels); make sure channels don't overlap.

Hue lamps don't respond

Check the bridge pairing in Settings > Philips Hue, and that the Mac is on the same network as the bridge.

"The app can't be opened" on launch

Right-click Orchestr > Open. The app is notarized; this message normally only appears due to download quarantine.