The S-Play is a capable show recorder with a polished timeline, sold in four sizes — SP1 (32U), Lite (16U), Mini (2U) and Nano (1U). Whichever one you are sizing against, here is how DMX Core 100 compares — fairly, feature by feature.
A side-by-side look at the features installers and show designers evaluate most. The S-Play is sold by universe count — Nano (1), Mini (2), S-Play Lite (16) and SP1 (32) — so both current mid- and top-tier models are shown separately.
| Feature | DMX Core 100 | Enttec S-Play Lite (16U) | Enttec S-Play SP1 (32U) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $599 software (800 universes) $399 software (8 universes) · $999 appliance |
$1,750 (hardware) | $2,300 (hardware) |
| Max Universes | 800 | 16 | 32 |
| Output Routing / Fan-Out | Any universe to any outputs, down to channel level | One destination per output | One destination per output |
| Software-Only Option | ✓ | — | — |
| Cross-Platform (Win / Mac / Linux) | ✓ | — | — |
| Dedicated Hardware Option | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web UI | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ArtNet | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| sACN (E1.31) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| KiNet | ✓ | — | — |
| OSC | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| MQTT | ✓ | — | — |
| REST API | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| MIDI | ✓ | — | — |
| Q-SYS / Symetrix | ✓ | — | — |
| Stream Deck | ✓ | — | — |
| Cloud Remote Access | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Timeline Editor | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Built-in Effects | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Record & Playback | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Synchronized Audio | ✓ | — | — |
| Multi-User / Roles | 24 permissions | — | — |
Outgrown a Nano or a Mini? The upgrade path Enttec offers is a bigger box — a 16-universe S-Play Lite at around $1,750, or the 32-universe SP1 above it — and the ceiling moves with you each time. DMX Core 100 is a software license instead — $399 for up to 8 universes, $599 for up to 800 — so the next expansion is a license change at most, not another box on the wall. Worth knowing before you commit: the Lite drops the SP1's remote cloud access, so a site you cannot easily drive to is a different proposition on the two models.
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.
The four models differ mainly in universe capacity, which is the clearest place to compare.
The full-size unit, and the one this comparison is built around. If 32 universes is comfortably enough and you want a sealed box with no computer in the rack, the SP1 is a sound choice. The case for DMX Core 100 is headroom and price: up to 800 universes at 40 Hz for $599 in software, on hardware you already own.
The middle tier, and the most common cross-shop. At this size the question is rarely raw capacity — it is whether you want multi-user roles, a browser interface, scheduling with sunrise/sunset triggers, and the option to move the same show onto bigger hardware later without re-authoring it.
Genuinely small, genuinely inexpensive, and often the right answer. If you need one or two universes replayed in a single room and nothing else, a Nano or Mini will do it for less than our software costs, and we would rather say so. Look at DMX Core 100 only if you expect the site to grow, or you need zones, roles or scheduling the small units do not offer.
We would rather be honest than oversell. The S-Play is a strong product, and it may be the right call if:
The S-Play is a tidy, purpose-built box with no PC in the signal path. For simple sealed installs, that is a clean solution.
If your rig leans on Enttec nodes and interfaces, staying in-family keeps support and firmware updates under one roof.
If a 16-universe S-Play Lite or a 32-universe SP1 comfortably covers the show and always will, its recorder and timeline do the job well.
Twenty-five times the SP1's universe ceiling and fifty times the Lite's, for $599 in software — or $399 if eight universes is all the site needs. Both well below a hardware appliance.
Program on Windows, macOS, or Linux, then deploy on the same software or on dedicated touchscreen hardware. Evaluate fully before you buy any box.
MQTT, Q-SYS, Symetrix, MIDI, Stream Deck, and KiNet, plus 24 permission-based user roles for venues with multiple operators.
Capture shows from any console, store them as cues with synchronized audio, and trigger them on schedules or external events.
DMX Core 100 imports Enttec S-Play backups directly — cues, playlists, schedules, and triggers — so an existing S-Play library moves over without re-recording. Recordings from other tools come along too, including Pharos DMX Record files and Lightjams recorder videos.
On the S-Play each of the 32 outputs can be pointed at exactly one destination — a DMX port, an Art-Net universe or an sACN universe — and never more than one. DMX Core 100 lets you route any recorded universe to any mix of outputs: sACN 1, 2 and 5 plus DMX-512 port A from a single recording, for example. Channel Rules take that down to individual channels — copy, cap or scale channels on the fly without re-recording the show.
The DMX Core 100 appliance stores shows on eMMC soldered to the board. Inside the S-Play's sealed housing the internal storage is a microSD card in a socket — and integrators who run fleets of them have had to open units up and replace failed cards. On an unattended site that is a service visit before anything plays again.
Yes. DMX Core 100 runs as desktop software on Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as on dedicated touchscreen hardware. The S-Play is a hardware-only appliance, so DMX Core 100 lets you evaluate and program entirely in software first.
The comparison table is built against the 32-universe SP1, with the 16-universe Lite noted where it differs. For the Mini (2U) and Nano (1U) we would be straight with you: if you need one or two universes replayed in a single room and nothing more, those units cost less than our software and will do the job. DMX Core 100 is worth comparing when you expect the site to grow, or you need zones, permission-based user roles, or scheduling the small units do not offer.
DMX Core 100 supports up to 800 universes. The Enttec S-Play range tops out at 32 universes, so DMX Core 100 scales further for large installations.
DMX Core 100 software is $599 for up to 800 universes, or $399 for up to 8. Enttec S-Play hardware ranges from around $400 for the S-Play Mini, through about $1,750 for the 16-universe S-Play Lite, to about $2,300 for the 32-universe S-Play (SP1-1).
This is the gap people most often hit with the S-Play. DMX Core 100 has a visual timeline editor with a synchronized audio track, so a cue can carry its own soundtrack and stay locked to it on every playback — useful for attractions, museum exhibits, retail activations and theatrical effects where the lighting has to hit the beat. Note that the audio is attached in the timeline; neither product records audio alongside the DMX capture.
The S-Play range is sold by universe count — the Nano at 1 universe, the Mini at 2, the S-Play Lite at 16 and the SP1 at 32 — so scaling up means buying a different box. DMX Core 100 supports up to 800 universes at 40 Hz on one license, which means a site that grows does not force a hardware swap. If you genuinely only need one or two universes forever, an S-Play Nano or Mini is a tidy, inexpensive answer.
Yes, and the Lite is the tier where the comparison is sharpest. An S-Play Lite is around $1,750 for 16 Art-Net/sACN universes and two physical DMX ports, and unlike the SP1 it does not offer remote cloud access. A DMX Core 100 Full license is $599 for up to 800 universes, includes cloud remote access, and adds MQTT, Q-SYS/Symetrix, MIDI, Stream Deck, KiNet, synchronized audio and 24 permission-based roles. If you are pricing a Lite because a Nano or a Mini ran out of room, the question worth asking first is how many more times that is going to happen.
Yes, and this is common ground between the two products rather than a differentiator. Both capture DMX from an external console for standalone replay. The differences are on either side of that: DMX Core 100 also captures KiNet and DMX-512 in addition to Art-Net and sACN, converts protocols on output so a show recorded on one transport can play back on another, and lets you record for free in demo mode before committing to a license.
Yes. On the S-Play each of the 32 outputs is assigned to exactly one destination in its settings — a DMX port, an Art-Net universe or an sACN universe — so a recorded universe can be pointed somewhere, but never at several places at once. DMX Core 100 separates the recording from the outputs, so a single recorded universe can drive any combination of destinations — sACN universes 1, 2 and 5 plus a physical DMX-512 port, for instance — and a show recorded on Art-Net can be played out over sACN, KiNet or DMX without re-recording. Channel Rules take that further, letting you copy, cap or scale individual channels on the fly, so you can multipatch fixtures or tame a recorded level without touching the source recording. In practice this means a small recording can serve a large or oddly wired site, and re-wiring the venue does not mean re-programming the show.
The DMX Core 100 appliance stores shows on eMMC soldered to the board, so there is no removable media anywhere in the playback path. The S-Play's internal storage is a microSD card inside the sealed housing, with the risks that come with that: a card is a friction-fit component in a socket, with vibration and contact failure modes that soldered storage does not have, and its controller lacks the wear-levelling and health reporting of an eMMC part. Integrators who run fleets of S-Plays have had internal cards fail and had to open units up to replace them. No flash storage is immune to corruption from unclean power loss, so we would not claim eMMC cannot fail. What we would say is that on an unattended site the difference is practical: a failed internal SD card means someone has to travel out, open a unit that is not designed to be opened, and swap the card before the show plays again.
Yes. DMX Core 100 runs as desktop software on Windows, macOS and Linux as well as on a dedicated touchscreen appliance. In practice this changes how projects get built: an integrator can program and test the whole show on a laptop before any hardware ships, and can hand a client a working demo without lending out a controller.
Download the free demo and run DMX Core 100 on your own machine — no hardware required to evaluate it.