The Visual Productions CueCore3 is a well-built architectural show controller — solid-state, compact, and designed to run unattended. If you are looking for a CueCore alternative that starts as software, scales past four native universes without a rack of nodes, or gives staff a touchscreen and permissioned zones, here is how DMX Core 100 compares — fairly, feature by feature.
This page is about the CueCore as an install controller, not CueluxPro as a live console, and not a roundup of lighting desks. QLC+, ChamSys, Lightkey, grandMA, Madrix and similar tools are sources you record from. The comparison below is CueCore3 versus another show controller.
A side-by-side look at the features installers and integrators evaluate most. Specs below are current for DMX Core 100 as documented on this site, including the Faders page and Avolites Personality Library import.
| Feature | DMX Core 100 | CueCore3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $599 software (800 universes) $399 software (8 universes) · $999 appliance |
$2,990 (hardware) |
| Max Universes | 800 at 40 Hz 600 at 60 Hz, native |
4 (32 with add-ons) |
| Software-Only Option | ✓ Win / Mac / Linux | — |
| Dedicated Hardware | ✓ touchscreen appliance | ✓ solid-state DIN / desktop / rack |
| Native isolated DMX ports | Optional 2-port board; USB DMX up to 4 universes | 4 bi-directional, opto-isolated |
| Web UI | ✓ | ✓ |
| Art-Net / sACN / KiNet | ✓ | ✓ |
| OSC / MIDI / HTTP | ✓ | ✓ |
| MQTT | ✓ | — |
| Q-SYS / Symetrix | ✓ | — |
| Stream Deck | ✓ | — |
| Cloud remote access | ✓ | ✓ Purple Cloud |
| Zones | ✓ first-class, with submasters | Playbacks / tracks |
| Faders / live levels | ✓ Faders page, fade mode | Web console (FX, pan/tilt, plot) |
| Fixture profiles | GDTF, Lightkey, Daslight, Avolites, AI from manuals | Built-in personality editor (max 256 luminaires) |
| Record & playback | ✓ Art-Net, sACN, DMX-512, KiNet | ✓ DMX, Art-Net, sACN |
| Timeline editor | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sunrise / sunset scheduling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Art-Net timecode chase | ✓ | ✓ |
| SMPTE / MTC timecode | — | ✓ |
| Full RDM (addressing) | Status monitoring over Art-Net | ✓ discovery, addressing, status |
| Native GPI | ADIO board / USB / MQTT IO | 4× GPI (contact-closure or 0–10 V) |
| Synchronized audio playback | ✓ WAV / FLAC (does not record audio) | — |
| Multi-user / roles | 24 permissions | — |
| Scripting | JavaScript + plugin SDK | Show-control actions / tasks |
| Evaluate before you buy | Free demo; recording unrestricted; output pauses 1 min / 16 | Hardware unit required |
Competitor specs are based on publicly available product documentation and may change. Always confirm current details with the manufacturer. DMX Core prices set out or referred to on this page are recommended prices only, and there is no obligation to comply with the recommendation.
People searching for a CueCore alternative are rarely looking for a live desk. The useful split is which Visual Productions box is in the rack, and what job it is doing.
The current generation, and the one this comparison is built around. Four native universes, expandable to 32 with RdmNode or SpiNode, full RDM, SMPTE/MTC, four GPI ports, and a mature web programming interface. If four universes is comfortably enough and you want a sealed Dutch-built box with a five-year warranty, it is a strong call. The case for DMX Core 100 is software-first evaluation, native scale, zones, and operator-facing roles.
Still in service in a great many architectural installs. Two native universes, same family of protocols and show-control logic. If it is doing the job, there is no urgency. The usual reason to look at a CueCore alternative is that the site has outgrown two universes, or you want to program and demo on a laptop before the next hardware refresh.
CueluxPro is the console Visual Productions bundles for authoring content to upload into a CueCore. QLC+, ChamSys, Lightkey, grandMA, Madrix, MadMapper, Resolume and Lightjams are the same class of tool: you design on them. DMX Core 100 is not an alternative to those. It records what they put on the wire and runs the install afterwards. Roundups titled “Cue alternatives” often mix the two jobs; this page does not.
We would rather be honest than oversell. The CueCore3 is a genuinely strong controller, and it may be the right call if:
The CueCore3 locks to SMPTE and MIDI timecode in hardware. DMX Core 100 chases Art-Net ArtTimeCode on a timeline, but not SMPTE or MTC in this release. If the show must follow an analog or MIDI clock, keep the CueCore3 for that role.
It is a complete RDM controller — discovery, remote addressing, and status on dashboards — with four opto-isolated bidirectional DMX ports and four GPI inputs (contact-closure or 0–10 V) on the box. DMX Core 100 monitors RDM device status over Art-Net and adds IO via expansion or MQTT; for RDM-heavy addressing and hardwired contacts, CueCore3 has the edge.
Designed and built in the Netherlands with a 5-year limited warranty, DIN-rail / desktop / 19" mounting, and a mature family of nodes, button stations and interfaces (RdmNode, SpiNode, B-Station, Kiosc, IoCore). If the install is already a Visual Productions grid, staying in-family is a coherent choice.
The CueCore3 outputs 4 universes and only reaches 32 by adding external RdmNode or SpiNode units. DMX Core 100 handles up to 800 universes at 40 Hz on one license — no bolt-on hardware to unlock capacity. For a four-universe facade that will never grow, that ceiling does not matter; for a pixel-heavy site, it does.
Program on Windows, macOS, or Linux, then deploy on the same software or on dedicated touchscreen hardware — from $399, well below a CueCore3, with the 800-universe tier at $599. CueCore3 is hardware-only; evaluating it means a unit in your hands.
Zones are a first-class concept, not just extra playbacks. The Faders page gives console-style levels with zone submasters and fade mode. Import profiles from GDTF, Lightkey, Daslight, and the Avolites Personality Library, or generate one from a fixture manual.
MQTT, Q-SYS, Symetrix, Stream Deck, Home Assistant and an open plugin SDK on top of the shared OSC/MIDI/KiNet stack, plus 24 permission-based user roles. A duty manager can change the terrace at dusk without any path to re-patch the rig.
Capture shows from any console over Art-Net, sACN, DMX-512 or KiNet, convert protocols on output, and trigger them on schedules or events. Attach WAV or FLAC to a cue or timeline so lighting and soundtrack stay locked — DMX Core does not record audio, and we will not pretend otherwise.
The free demo is full-feature, with no signup and no expiry. Recording is unrestricted. The only gate is DMX output, which pauses for 1 minute every 16 minutes — enough to commission looks, train staff, and decide before anyone buys a box.
Brand pages sell the box. Listicles rank ten products. This is the part that actually decides a CueCore alternative: what happens after handover.
CueCore3 is programmed in its web UI, often with looks authored in CueluxPro and uploaded. DMX Core 100 is programmed in the same Web UI you hand to the venue, on a laptop or on the appliance. There is no separate compile-and-upload step, and staff see the same screens the integrator used. Custom menus and guest links (including QR codes) cover the “please just press this” wall-tablet case.
On CueCore3, day-to-day control is typically Kiosc, B-Station, GPI, or the web interface. On DMX Core 100 it is the touchscreen, browser, Stream Deck, or a locked-down custom menu. 24 permission-based roles mean a volunteer or duty manager can recall a look without reaching patch, outputs or scripts. That is the usual reason churches and restaurant groups look past a sealed architectural box.
A hybrid is a legitimate design. If the show must chase SMPTE or MTC, the CueCore3 can stay for that clock while DMX Core 100 takes scheduling, recorded playback, zones and the operator-facing UI. If the site clock is already Art-Net, you may not need both.
Migrating an existing CueCore3 is a rebuild, not a file conversion. Record the live DMX it is putting out, which preserves the looks, then recreate triggers, schedules and zone logic. On a straightforward facade that is a day; on a complex multi-zone attraction, allow more. The permanent installation guide covers commissioning and handover on the DMX Core side.
Yes. DMX Core 100 runs as desktop software on Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as on dedicated touchscreen hardware. The Visual Productions CueCore3 is a hardware-only controller, so DMX Core 100 lets you program and evaluate entirely in software first.
Both. The comparison is built against the current CueCore3, which is what most new specifications use. If you are replacing a CueCore2 the same points apply, with native universe count the usual reason to look: two universes on the CueCore2, four on the CueCore3, versus up to 800 at 40 Hz on DMX Core 100. This page is about the CueCore show controller, not CueluxPro as a live console.
DMX Core 100 supports up to 800 universes natively at 40 Hz, or 600 at 60 Hz. The CueCore3 outputs 4 universes natively and can reach 32 only by adding external RdmNode or SpiNode units.
DMX Core 100 software is $599 for up to 800 universes ($399 for up to 8), or $999 for the appliance. The Visual Productions CueCore3 lists around $2,990 (about $2,243 street in the US).
Multi-zone is where the two diverge most. DMX Core 100 has zones as a first-class concept, so a restaurant group can run different states for bar, dining room and terrace from one system, on a schedule, with staff able to override one zone without touching the others. Combined with 24 permission-based roles, a duty manager can adjust the terrace at dusk without any risk of them re-patching the rig.
Yes. Download DMX Core 100 for Windows, macOS or Linux and run the full-feature demo with no signup and no expiry. Recording is free and unrestricted. The only demo gate is DMX output, which pauses for 1 minute every 16 minutes. CueCore3 is hardware-only, so evaluating it means buying or borrowing a unit.
No. DMX Core 100 records lighting (Art-Net, sACN, DMX-512 or KiNet). It does not record audio. You can attach WAV or FLAC files to cues and timelines so lighting and soundtrack stay locked on playback, and effects can react to live sound, but the capture itself is DMX only. CueCore3 is the same on this point: it records lighting, not audio.
The 800-universe figure is at 40 Hz, and it is native — no RdmNode or SpiNode expansion required, which is how a CueCore3 gets from its 4 native universes to 32. For a large architectural facade or a pixel-heavy install, that is the difference between one system and a rack of nodes. For a four-universe install, the CueCore3's ceiling is not a constraint and this point does not matter.
It does not transfer — there is no project-file conversion between Visual Productions' tooling and DMX Core. The realistic path is to record the CueCore3's output as live DMX into DMX Core 100, which preserves the looks exactly, and then rebuild the triggers, schedules and zone logic. Budget for that rebuild honestly; on a complex install it is a day's work, not an afternoon.
Partly. CueCore3 locks to SMPTE and MIDI timecode (MTC) in hardware, plus Art-Net timecode. DMX Core 100 chases Art-Net ArtTimeCode on a timeline — Play joins the live clock instead of starting at t=0, including after a restart — but it does not chase SMPTE or MTC in this release. If the show must lock to an analog or MIDI clock, keep the CueCore3 in that role. If the site clock is already Art-Net, DMX Core 100 can take it.
No. Those are consoles, live-control apps and generative tools you design on. DMX Core 100 is a show controller: it records what they put on the wire and runs the install afterwards. Roundups of Cue alternatives often mix those products in with CueCore3. We do not pitch DMX Core 100 as a replacement for a desk or a media server.
Download the free demo and run DMX Core 100 on Windows, macOS or Linux — no hardware required, recording unrestricted, output pauses 1 minute every 16.