Nicolaudie's DMX Recorder is a good, inexpensive tool, and for a small job it may well be all you need. The question worth asking before you commit is not how well it records — it records very well — but what happens to that recording afterwards. Here is the honest comparison.
This is the single most important thing to understand about DMX Recorder, and it is easy to miss because the quoted numbers all describe the recording side.
Nicolaudie's documentation states there is no cap on the number of universes recorded simultaneously, and none on duration. Read that precisely: it says nobody wrote a limit into the software. It is a statement about the code, not a measured capability — and it describes what the computer can capture, not what the interface can replay.
Writing the show to hardware runs it through an Output Patch, which cross-patches "show universes" onto "device universes". In Nicolaudie's own worked example a three-universe show is written to a DVC GOLD and device universe 4 remains unused. Universes beyond the device's count have nowhere to go.
There is no single number to quote, and anyone who gives you one is guessing. A 512-channel XLR interface can add roughly 20 more universes over eDMX; a smaller stick cannot. It records without limit and replays only as much as the interface you bought.
If the rig grows, the constraint is hardware, not a licence key. On DMX Core 100 the ceiling is the licence tier — an eight-universe install can grow to 800 without anything in the rack changing. Which model is better depends entirely on whether your channel count is settled.
No software records an unbounded number of universes. Every recorder eventually runs into the network interface, the operating system's timer granularity and scheduling, and its own architecture — and none of those limits are in anyone's datasheet. An absent limit in the code is not a measured ceiling. We quote 800 universes at 40 Hz because that is what we have tested to, not because that is where the code stops. Whichever product you pick, test it at your own universe count before you specify it.
Capture is cheap on both sides. The differences that cost money later are all on the playback row.
| Feature | DMX Core 100 | Nicolaudie DMX Recorder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $599 software (800 universes) $399 software (8 universes) · $999 appliance |
Software free; playback needs an SUT interface and a per-device licence |
| Universes captured | 800 — tested | No documented cap |
| Universes played back | 800 at 40 Hz — tested | Interface-dependent |
| Capture protocols | Art-Net, sACN, DMX-512, KiNet | DMX / Art-Net only |
| Protocol conversion on output | ✓ | — |
| Playback tied to one hardware family | No | Nicolaudie SUT interfaces |
| Runs on Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| Runs on macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Runs on Linux | ✓ | — |
| Runs standalone without a computer | ✓ (appliance) | ✓ (interface) |
| Timeline editor | ✓ | ✓ via ESA Pro 2 |
| Audio track synced to the timeline | ✓ every model | ✓ software mode only |
| Scheduling & sunrise/sunset | ✓ | ✓ |
| Zones for multi-area venues | ✓ | — |
| Browser-based UI | ✓ | — |
| Multi-user / roles | 24 permissions | — |
| Fixture library for programming from scratch | Fixture control included | 20,000+ fixtures via ESA Pro 2 |
A note on lossless capture: when a show is written to a Nicolaudie interface, a compression slider (0–100%) is applied. That is a sensible trade for fitting long shows into device memory, but it is worth understanding before you assume the replayed output is frame-identical to what you recorded. Test the setting against your own content rather than accepting the default.
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.
We would rather be honest than oversell. On a good number of jobs Nicolaudie wins, and these are the ones:
A small SUT interface plus the free recorder is a cheap, genuinely standalone solution — the smallest sticks sell for around $49. Nothing we make competes at that price, and for a single looping look in a shop window it is the right answer. Buy it.
If there is a DVC or SUT device in the rack, DMX Recorder writes straight to it and the recorder itself costs nothing. Adding a second platform to capture DMX you can already capture makes no sense.
ESA Pro 2 and Daslight carry a library of more than 20,000 fixtures from some 500 manufacturers. If the job is to author a show rather than capture one, that library is a real asset and DMX Core 100 is not the tool you want.
A USB-powered stick running standalone off 5 V is smaller and cheaper than any appliance we ship. If the box has to disappear inside a fixture housing or a display plinth, that is a hardware constraint we cannot beat.
DMX Recorder replays through Nicolaudie hardware, and the universe ceiling comes with the device. DMX Core 100 replays on its own software or appliance and scales by licence tier — up to 800 universes at 40 Hz for $599.
Capture Art-Net, sACN, DMX-512 or KiNet, stored protocol-neutrally, and convert on the way out. DMX Recorder takes Art-Net only for network input, so an sACN console needs converting before you can even record it.
Multi-area venues get zones as a first-class concept and 24 permission-based roles, so a duty manager can change the terrace without touching the rest of the rig — from a browser or the touchscreen, with no software to install.
Windows, macOS and Linux, or a dedicated appliance. DMX Recorder is Windows and macOS only, which rules it out of a fair number of AV racks before the comparison even starts.
There is no single number, because recording and playback have different limits. On the recording side Nicolaudie's documentation states there is no cap on the number of universes recorded simultaneously or on duration, because that happens on the computer. Playback is capped by the interface the show is written into: the Output Patch cross-patches show universes onto device universes, and universes beyond the device's count have nowhere to go. So the honest answer is that it records without a documented cap and replays only as much as the interface you bought.
They are not the same kind of claim, and it is worth separating them. “Unlimited” means no limit was written into the software. It does not mean the software has been run at a thousand universes and held up. Every DMX recorder, ours included, eventually hits a real ceiling somewhere in the network interface, the operating system's timer granularity and thread scheduling, or its own internal architecture — and none of those numbers appear in any manufacturer's documentation, because they depend on the machine it is running on. We quote 800 universes at 40 Hz because that is the figure we have tested to, not because that is where our code stops counting. That is a smaller-sounding number than “unlimited” and a more useful one. The practical advice is the same either way: whichever product you choose, run it at your actual universe count on your actual hardware before you specify it.
Not for network capture. Nicolaudie's documentation states that only the Art-Net protocol is supported for network input. If your console outputs sACN (E1.31) or KiNet, you would need to convert it before recording. DMX Core 100 captures Art-Net, sACN, DMX-512 and KiNet directly, and converts between them on output.
No. DMX Recorder runs on Windows and macOS only. DMX Core 100 runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and on a dedicated touchscreen appliance, so it can be deployed on whatever the site already has in the rack.
The software is free to download, but standalone playback requires a compatible Nicolaudie SUT interface and a per-device licence purchased from their store. That is a reasonable model and the interfaces are inexpensive — the point is simply that the cost sits in the hardware and the licence rather than in the software. DMX Core 100 inverts this: recording is free and unrestricted in the demo, and the licence is what puts playback into production.
You buy a larger interface and re-write the show to it. Because the ceiling is per-device rather than per-licence, growing the rig means changing the hardware — the glossary notes a 512-channel XLR interface can add an extra 10,240 channels (20 universes) via eDMX, so the expansion path exists but it is tied to the specific device. With DMX Core 100 the ceiling is the licence tier, so an eight-universe install can grow to 800 without changing what is in the rack.
For a one- or two-universe job that only needs to replay a recorded look on a loop, Nicolaudie is very likely the better buy, and we would say so on a call. A small SUT interface plus the free recorder is a genuinely cheap, genuinely standalone solution, and nothing we sell competes at that price. DMX Core 100 starts to make sense when you need more universes, protocol conversion, scheduling, zones, multiple operators, or an audio track locked to the timeline.
Neither product records audio, and no comparable tool does — they capture DMX only. The difference is what happens afterwards. DMX Core 100 lets you attach an audio track to the recording in the timeline editor and keeps it in sync on playback, on every model. Nicolaudie's audio features live in the full ESA Pro 2 software rather than in standalone microSD playback, so check whether audio survives the step onto the interface.
If you are weighing DMX Recorder against a dedicated show controller rather than against software, these comparisons go deeper on each one.
Capture is free and unrestricted in the demo — no signup, no expiry. Record your rig, look at what you get back, and then decide which platform you want replaying it.