ShowControl.
Professional lighting, without needing a professional. And when a professional does show up, everything they need is right there too.
Intelligent lights,
untrained operators.
Most small to medium venues face the same challenge. They invest in modern intelligent lighting, but the people who run the venue day to day aren't lighting technicians. ShowControl is the layer in between.
Traditional DMX desks
Capable, but require training, presence, and an operator who actually knows the rig. Wrong tool for an unmanned venue.
Generic lighting apps
Built for "everyone", so tuned to "no one". Don't know your room, your fixtures, or your scenes.
ShowControl
Built for your rig, in your room. Designed for the people actually behind the bar.
Simple architecture,
powerful results.
ShowControl runs as a web application on a dedicated server at the venue. Any device with a browser can control the lights. Nothing to install. No special hardware.
Open a browser
Any device, any modern browser. The venue's controller is a URL away, not an app-store away.
Any modern browserTap the look you want
Easy Mode buttons. Scene grid. Programme list. Tap and go. The room responds in real time.
35 frames per secondLights respond
Art-Net out to the rig, DMX512 down the line. Open standards, no proprietary lock-in anywhere.
Art-Net / DMX512Five tabs. Different audiences. One app.
The interface is layered for who's actually using it. Bar staff stay on Easy Mode. Visiting techs go deeper. Everyone gets what they need.
Easy Mode.
Large, clearly labelled buttons for the most common looks. The default screen. This is where staff spend 95% of their time.
"Houselights", "Cabaret", "Party Mode", "Blackout". Tap, done.
Scenes.
A grid of every static look configured for the venue. Bar lighting, cabaret, dance, breaks, between-acts.
Curated for the room. Not a generic library.
Programmes.
Animated lighting effects that run continuously. Beat-driven, timed, and tuned to the fixtures actually on the rig.
Tap a programme, walk away. The room runs itself.
Patch.
A complete fixture reference showing every fixture, its DMX address, channel count, and mode. For visiting techs and engineers.
Fixture identify. Channel maps. No mystery.
Config.
Moving head calibration, sunstrip lock settings, audio sensitivity, and venue-specific tuning. Set once, persists.
The detail layer. Hidden from day-to-day operators.
What ShowControl actually does.
Day-to-day operation
- One-tap presets for every common look
- Live Mode for audio-reactive playback
- Master dimmer for the whole room
- Crossfading between every preset
- Blackout, instantly
Audio-reactive lighting
- Real-time beat detection from the room mic
- 3-band frequency splitting (bass / mid / high)
- Music confidence scoring
- Tap tempo backup, always
For visiting professionals
- Art-Net standard, no lock-in
- Complete patch documentation
- Fixture identify on every fixture
- Open architecture, no proprietary hardware
Venue management
- Usage statistics & analytics
- Persistent state across reboots
- Remote access for support
- Zero day-to-day maintenance
Built on open tech.
Python · FastAPI
Async architecture handling real-time DMX output.
Vanilla JS SPA
No framework bloat. Fast load, low latency.
Art-Net (DMX512)
35 frames per second of smooth fixture output.
EMA
Exponential moving average for buttery transitions.
FFT analysis
Real-time spectrum from the room microphone.
Docker Compose
Self-contained venue-side install. Boots itself.
Built-in protection
Soft start, fail-safe defaults, rate limiting.
Any browser
iPad, phone, laptop, kiosk. URL is the interface.
"Every installation is bespoke. The scenes are designed for the room. The programmes are tuned to the fixtures. The calibration is set to the physical space. It's lighting control that fits the venue like a glove."
ShowControl isn't trying to replace professional lighting software. It's the control layer that makes a venue's lighting accessible to everyone, while keeping every door open for the people who do want to plug into the rig with their own desk.