Before you buy

The short version is on the homepage. This page has the longer answers people ask before they order.

Will it run the lights I already own?

Stage lights or uplights with a round 3-pin or 5-pin plug. Yes. Pick a kit with a DMX output. The HUB sends DMX through the USB interface that comes in the kit, and it already knows your lights: 12,000+ fixture profiles built in.

Govee bulbs, strips and bars. Yes. Sign in with your Govee account inside the HUB and they show up next to your stage lights, in the same scene. Nothing is reflashed.

Battery uplights that only work from a remote. Not on their own. They need a wireless DMX receiver first. Email us and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth it.

Not sure what you have? Email a photo of the back of one light to support@dmxsmartlink.com and we will tell you which kit fits before you spend anything.

Which HUB is right for your room?

• Output Kit. Your first stage lights, small rooms. Adds a wired DMX output for a few par cans or uplights.
• Pro Output Kit. Venues, churches and DJs. A professional, hardware-timed DMX output for rooms that run every weekend. The one most rooms pick.
• Pro Dual I/O Kit. Rooms with a lighting console. DMX in from the console, DMX out to the fixtures, at the same time.
• Network Edition. A full DMX console for stage lights over Art-Net or sACN (through any Art-Net node or Art-Net-to-DMX bridge box you already have), plus Govee and smart lights. No USB DMX interface in the box; add one, or pick an Output kit, if your lights need a direct DMX cable.

Want the cables, splitter and tape in the same order? See the ready-to-run packages.

For AVL engineers and integrators

Every edition is a full DMX console, not an accessory. Patch from 12,000+ fixture profiles, build scenes that store the full DMX frame per universe, run multiple universes, and recall from the dashboard, a Stream Deck, OSC or the control API. Art-Net and sACN go in and out, so it drops into an existing rig fed from your desk, or drives Art-Net nodes and Art-Net-to-DMX bridge boxes on its own. Govee and smart lights patch as DMX fixtures on the same universe as the stage lights.

HUB, or the software on your own computer?

The HUB is a small box that stays on. Plug it in once and the show runs whether or not a computer is on. The kits add the DMX interface your stage lights plug into. Most churches, venues and home displays pick this.

The software does the same job on a Mac, Windows 11 PC or Raspberry Pi 5 you already own, as long as that computer is on when the show runs. Try it free for 14 days first.

Setting it up takes one afternoon. Here is who can do it.

The HUB arrives configured and licensed. Someone still tells it which lights you own and saves the scenes you want. Three ways to get that afternoon done:

You, with the guide. If you can set up a Wi-Fi printer, you can do this. Step by step on the documentation page, with videos.

Your AV person, once. Send them this page. They patch your lights, build "Wedding", "Sunday Service" or "Party" and "All off", and hand you the button.

Us, by email or Discord. Send a photo of your room and your lights to support@dmxsmartlink.com and we walk your person through it until the first scene works.

After that afternoon, running the room is pressing a button.

More questions

Do I need Wi-Fi at the venue? No. The HUB runs with no internet at all: a valid licence is all it needs, and it only checks in with the licence server when it happens to be online. Your phone and the HUB need to share a network, so plug the HUB into the room's Ethernet or join the venue Wi-Fi from Settings. Govee lights need Wi-Fi. With LAN Control switched on in the Govee app, the HUB drives them locally through Home Assistant, with no cloud in the loop. Mobile DJ or travelling rig? Tether the HUB to your phone's hotspot from Settings → Network. If the venue's Govee lights are on the venue Wi-Fi, join that network instead and the HUB runs them locally. If they are signed into a Govee account, the HUB reaches them through the Govee cloud from the hotspot.

Can my staff run it from any phone? Yes. Open the dashboard in the phone's browser and every scene is a big button. iPhone users can also use the free app. A Stream Deck on the wall gives your staff one labeled key per scene.

What happens after the first year? Every HUB includes a 12-month software licence with updates and support. Renewal is an annual licence. We email you a reminder before it expires and again on the expiry date. The lighting stops if the licence lapses, so renew before the date. Renewal pricing is on the software product page.

Is this a company I can rely on? DMX Smart Link is built and run by White Crow Security LLC, a veteran-owned business in Stafford, Virginia. Software releases are published on GitHub, your license moves with you if you change hardware, and a community of owners on Discord runs it in churches, venues and event rooms every week.

For the technical folks

New in September 2026. Home Assistant and a Matter server install themselves on the HUB (Pi and Ubuntu). Govee lights with LAN Control switched on are driven locally: in our tests a colour change reached the light in under 0.3 seconds and 120 back-to-back commands went through in 2.6 seconds, with no cloud request limit. Matter devices pair from the Devices page. Already run Home Assistant? Point the HUB at it and it imports your lights. A Pi with a screen boots straight into the dashboard as a touch kiosk. QLab, TouchOSC and Companion recall scenes over OSC, and any app on the network can use the control API.

Protocols and consoles. Art-Net and sACN in and out. DMX out over ENTTEC DMX USB Pro, Open DMX and FTDI interfaces, with multiple universes. It runs alongside LightKey, QLC+, Madrix, grandMA or any console you already use, and patches Govee and other smart lights as real DMX fixtures on the same universe.

Hardware. The software runs on macOS, Windows 11, Ubuntu or a Raspberry Pi 5. The HUB is a pre-configured Raspberry Pi 5 that arrives ready to run, with kits that include an ENTTEC DMX USB Pro or Open DMX interface. The HUB itself has no XLR ports; DMX leaves through the USB interface. Govee lights connect over Wi-Fi with your Govee account.

Fixtures, scenes and control surfaces. 12,000+ fixture profiles. Scenes capture the full DMX state of your rig. Recall them from the web dashboard, the iPhone app, an Elgato Stream Deck (Original, MK.2, Mini, XL, Neo, Plus), a YoloLiv YoloDeck or a Mirabox StreamDock 293 V3 plugged into the HUB (or into a Mac or PC running the Stream Deck app), or over OSC and the control API. Stream Deck setup guide.

Everything else is on the documentation page. Still have a question? Email support@dmxsmartlink.com or ask on Discord.