Timing out IDENTIFY_DEVICE

[Gerry]

Is it advisable for a responder to time out IDENTIFY_DEVICE?
It seems a good idea to me, as it prevents the situation where a lamp could appear to be stuck on if the controller failed to clear it for some reason.

[sblair]

There has been discussion on this in the past. In some respects it is application dependant. The standard does not currently mandate this either way.

The preference by most of us is to leave it enabled until the responder is reset or an identify off has been sent. Depending on the product, the type of install and venue there are reasons why you don't want it to automatically stop. If you are in a large architectural install or the device is not physically viewable for the location where the RDM controller is you want IDENTIFY to remain enabled until you have had a chance to physically track the device down.

[ericthegeek]

I strongly feel that IDENTIFY_DEVICE should remain in place until explicitly turned off.

I can think of nothing more frustrating than setting a fixture that needs repair to identify, walking 5 or 10 minutes across a large venue to get to it, only to have identify time out seconds before you get there.

If the controller wishes to implement a way to automatically disable identify, it is free to do so. The advantage of doing it at the controller is that it's easier for the user to setup a timeout that makes sense for their venue, rather than building it into the fixture's firmware.

You could adjust a built-in timeout via a manufacturer specific PID in the fixture, but this will not be widely supported and will result in different behavior from different manufacturers.

I understand the concern about a fixture seeming to be stuck on. In general, I think it's best if the identify behavior is somewhat dynamic, with a strobe, ongoing color change, or fast fade. This way it's clear that nothing is stuck and that the behavior is deliberate.

[Gerry]

Hi Scott & Eric,

Thanks for the advice guys.
I shall abandon the timeout in favour of a strobe on one channel.

[dangeross]

I agree I would want the IDENTIFY_DEVICE to On until turned Off or the device is reset via RDM/Local Panel/Power Cycle. I would want the controller to keep track of which devices it has set IDENTIFY_DEVICE to On and also allow the transmission of a broadcast IDENTIFY_DEVICE Off.