quadETH#

quadETH is our 4-port DMX-over-Ethernet node — the bigger sibling of the dualETH. Where dualETH gives you two ports, quadETH gives you four, each independently set to DMX-out or DMX-in, with Art-Net 4 and sACN coming in over a single Ethernet drop. It's built and shipped from our workshop in the UK.

In development. quadETH isn't on sale yet — it's in active bring-up on production hardware. This page describes what the shipping unit will do; specifics (price, exact dimensions, ship date) firm up closer to launch. Want to know the moment it's ready? Pop your email into the "Notify me at launch" box on the home page.

What it's for#

One Ethernet cable to a small metal box; four DMX universes out the other side. quadETH takes Art-Net or sACN off your lighting network and drives up to four independent DMX lines from it — or turns any of those ports around to read a DMX line and republish it onto the network. It's the node you reach for when two ports (dualETH) isn't enough: a moving-light rig, a few independent zones, or an in and out on the same box.

The four ports#

Each of the four ports is configured on its own:

• Direction — DMX-out (drive fixtures from the network) or DMX-in (read a console/desk and send it onto the network as Art-Net/sACN).
• Universe — any Art-Net net/sub/universe or sACN universe.
• Protocol — Art-Net 4 or sACN E1.31, per port.
• Merging — when two sources target the same port, merge them HTP (highest-takes-precedence) or LTP (latest-takes-precedence).

Ports are exposed on 3-pin XLR.

Protocols#

• Art-Net 4 — full receive with ArtPollReply, and remote configuration from controllers like DMX Workshop (universe, direction, merge mode, protocol, device name, identify).
• sACN (E1.31) — multicast receive with priority and sequence handling, per universe.
• RDM (E1.20) — quadETH is an RDM controller: discover fixtures on a port, read and change their settings (DMX address, mode/personality, identify, labels and more) straight from the web UI or over Art-Net. It also answers RDM as a responder so controllers can discover and identify the quadETH itself.

Scenes & failover memory#

quadETH has non-volatile memory that survives a power cut:

• Hold-last-value failover — if the network drops, an output port can keep holding the last levels it received (and restore them after a power cycle), so a blackout on the network doesn't mean a blackout on stage.
• Scenes — save full snapshots of all four ports and recall them later, straight from the web UI.

Power#

quadETH takes power from either PoE (Power over Ethernet — one cable for data and power) or USB-C. Use whichever suits the install.

On-board display & indicators#

• A small OLED display cycles through identity, network, per-port status, system and firmware screens — so you can read the IP and what each port's doing without a laptop.
• A chain of addressable status LEDs shows system health and per-port activity at a glance (a different colour for Art-Net, sACN and DMX-in traffic).
• An ambient temperature/humidity sensor reports the conditions inside the box on the status page.

The web UI#

Like every expanseElectronics node, quadETH serves its own self-contained web interface — no app, no cloud, no login wall on your own LAN. From it you can set each port's mode and addressing, configure the network, run RDM discovery, save/recall scenes, watch live status and the on-board log, run a self-test, and flash firmware. It's the same family of UI as dualETH and masterETH, so it'll feel familiar.

• Firmware updates are over-the-air from the browser (or via our firmware updater when it's published for quadETH).
• mDNS advertises the unit as quadETH-<id>.local, so several can live on one network without IP-hunting.
• A masterETH on the same LAN will discover quadETH automatically and manage it alongside the rest of your fleet.

quadETH vs dualETH#

If two ports cover your show, dualETH is the lighter, cheaper choice and it's available now — it does RDM too, on port A. quadETH is for when you need four ports, RDM on every one of them, or scene memory.

Network defaults#

If your network has a DHCP server, quadETH takes an address from it and advertises itself over mDNS; most routers will list it as quadETH-…. A full quick-start (first boot, patching your first universe, switching a port to DMX-in) will follow closer to launch.