Integrate with Conductor

Last updated 5 May 2026

Conductor is Brainsalt's DMX, light, and motion control software. When running alongside Backstage, Conductor can trigger sequence playback directly — pressing Play on a Conductor timeline starts the matching sequence in Backstage, with optional timecode sync.

Before you start

  • Conductor and Backstage are running on machines that can reach each other over the network
  • You know the IP address of the Backstage server
  • Your Conductor timelines are named to match your Backstage sequence names (or share a common prefix)

Steps

1. Understand the connection

Backstage listens for incoming TCP connections on port 14255. Conductor connects to that port and sends play, pause, and stop commands.

TCP port 14255 must be open in Windows Firewall on the Backstage server. Add an inbound rule if the connection fails.

2. Add an ObserverRegistry node in Backstage

Open the Node Editor. Right-click → Sequence → ObserverRegistry.

The node starts listening on TCP port 14255 automatically. When Conductor connects, the node shows the number of connected clients.

3. Wire the outputs to your sequences

Output

Type

What it carries

Conductor Sequence id

ResourceId

The ID of the sequence Conductor is controlling

Conductor Incidence

String

The command: Play, Pause, or Stop

Conductor Time

Timestamp

The timecode position Conductor is sending

Add a Sequence:Sequence node and select the sequence to control. Connect:

  • Conductor Incidence → Sequence Action input (to trigger play/pause/stop)

  • Conductor Time → Sequence Set time input (to chase Conductor's timecode position)

4. Configure Conductor

  • Set the target IP address to the Backstage server's IP.

  • Set the port to 14255.

  • Enable the sync or slave mode that sends transport commands to an external device.

Conductor matches its timeline names to Backstage sequence names — if the names match (or share a prefix), Conductor knows which sequence to control.

Optional: Backstage broadcasts back to Conductor (bidirectional sync)

Select the Sequence node controlling your main sequence. In its Options panel, check Advertise. Then add a Sequence:Announcer node set to Advertised.

Go to Settings → Network → Node Sync NIC and select the interface facing Conductor. Backstage broadcasts sequence state every 10 ms.

Common Mistakes

  • ObserverRegistry shows no connected clients — TCP port 14255 may be blocked by Windows Firewall. Add an inbound rule to allow TCP on port 14255 on the Backstage server.

  • Conductor sends a command but the wrong sequence responds — name matching is partial. A Conductor timeline named "Show" will match any Backstage sequence containing "Show". Make sequence names specific enough to avoid ambiguous matches.

  • Bidirectional sync not working — the Node Sync NIC is not configured. Go to Settings → Network and set the NIC facing Conductor.

Tips

  • Sequence names in Backstage must match timeline names in Conductor — partial matches work (a Conductor timeline named "Mainshow" will match a Backstage sequence named "Mainshow-Summer").

  • If Conductor is on the same machine as Backstage, use 127.0.0.1 as the target IP.

  • The ObserverRegistry node can handle multiple connected clients simultaneously.

Trigger Playback via UDP — control sequences from external controllers over UDP

Sync to Timecode (LTC) — chase incoming LTC timecode

Show Control & Automation — all show control and automation workflows