Desk Verification
A short checklist for proving your own desk setup before a show. Every console, software version and network is a little different, so one dry run on your own rig is the surest way to know a cue will do on show night what the cue row says. Each check takes a few minutes, needs only a harmless cue, and tells you what a pass looks like.
What CueSync has been run on
- grandMA3 — Session Sync on a physical grandMA3 console (2026-10-01); the command lines, the file exports, the network Timecode object (2.5.0.3 and 2.5.1.0), the remote-show-control desk macros and Art-Net timecode on grandMA3 onPC.
- Resolume Arena 7.27.1, live, read back through Arena's own state (2026-09-04).
- QLab 5.6.3 over TCP and UDP (2026-09-03).
- Pioneer CDJ-3000 over PRO DJ LINK, with a rekordbox USB mounted (2026-08-30).
- Unreal Engine 5, inside the engine with the CueSync for Unreal plugin.
- Art-Net and sACN, on real nodes.
Before any desk
- Reach it. The output shows connected in Network Outputs and Test Connection passes. Over UDP, green means the machine answered, not that the desk is listening, so continue below.
- Fire one harmless action — a Goto to the cue already running, or a level to the value it already holds — and watch the desk itself, not CueSync. The desk's own command history or monitor is the proof.
- If nothing arrives, work down the desk's network settings (interface, port, prefix) before suspecting the cue. Troubleshooting has the common causes.
grandMA3
Full setup is on the GrandMA3 page; this is the proof pass.
| Check | A pass looks like |
|---|---|
| Fire a Goto cue and a Go+ from a pad | The desk's Command Line History shows each line as OK: and the sequence moves. |
| Move a fader level and fire a macro | The executor level changes; the macro runs. |
| Blackout, then Blackout off | The Grand Master goes to 0, then to the restore level in Settings → Advanced → grandMA3 Defaults. |
| Session Sync: push a small scratch sequence | The preview lists every command; after Send, open the sequence on the desk and read the cue list — cue numbers, names and fades are the show's. |
| Edit a cue on the desk, then reopen the Sync dialog | With the bridge running, the dialog warns that the sequence differs and offers Adopt console as baseline. |
| Export a Timecode XML and import it on the desk | Every event row shows its cue. Events with no cue mean the file does not match your desk's software: export again with the bridge connected. |
| Run a timecode slot from CueSync's clock | The slot follows the clock, holds when you park it, and pauses when you stop. |
| Timecode at 23.976 or 29.97 fps | An event late in the show fires at the label you expect. |
Timecode out of CueSync
Do this once on your own rig before a show that depends on a desk chasing CueSync's clock.
| Check | A pass looks like |
|---|---|
| Press Hold TC, then BLACKOUT, then switch to DRY | The desk's timecode stops on the frame it was on and fires nothing in each; on release it re-locks to the live clock. |
| Pause a real LTC source, then a grandMA3 slot | You know whether each goes quiet or repeats a frozen frame — that decides whether Silence means stopped (Settings → Timecode → Advanced) belongs on for that source. For Art-Net it is on by default: a paused grandMA3 slot sends no packets, so the clock is held and nothing fires until the stream returns, and a pulled cable reads the same, so switch it off if you would rather ride through dropouts. |
| Pull the primary timecode source with a standby already running | The cues inside the gap fire late, once, in order; an error names the source that was lost. |
| Unplug and re-plug the LTC output interface and the pinned MTC input | CueSync re-opens each by itself and says so; the desk re-locks. |
| Snap a DAW or console to a marker so the transport parks there | Nothing fires until the transport rolls. |
| Play a track on a CDJ with a deck-clock row on | The desk's time follows the deck's elapsed time. |
grandMA2
| Check | A pass looks like |
|---|---|
| Connect over Telnet with the console login | The output goes green only once the login is confirmed; a wrong password reads Login failed. |
| Fire a Go+ and a fader level | The desk's Command Line History shows them arriving. |
| Import the exported macro on a spare macro slot and run it once | The target sequence is labelled and every cue is stored with its fade. Names are written as plain text: a semicolon, backslash or control character in a cue or sequence name is removed (a tab or line break becomes a space) and a double quote becomes an apostrophe, so a label on the desk can differ from the name in CueSync. Do this before you rely on the file at a show. |
QLab
| Check | A pass looks like |
|---|---|
| A new workspace's OSC Access | Grants View, Edit and Control either to the passcode you typed into the output's OSC passcode, or to the "No Passcode" row. With neither, every command is refused. |
| Fire a harmless cue | It starts in QLab. Over TCP a refusal is detected and logged; over UDP QLab's answer cannot be read, so a wrong passcode is silent — prove it with a real cue. |
| Two workspaces open | Set the output's Workspace ID field. With one workspace open the field is optional; with two it is required, or a command can land on the wrong one. |
| Send Cue List to QLab into a new empty workspace | The cues appear with the right numbers, names and trigger times, and a second send creates none. The Timecode trigger tick stays manual: tick it in QLab. |
Art-Net and sACN
Test one node, one universe, one channel to full: the fixture goes to full when the cue fires and out when the value is 0. Diagnostics → Identify DMX Universes helps label an unknown cable. Check the node's Port-Address or universe, and that the machine and node share a subnet. Art-Net timecode into or out of a grandMA3 is covered on Timecode.
Other consoles and media servers
For Avolites, MagicQ, Eos, Pixera and the other output integrations, fire a harmless cue that reaches the desk or program and does what the cue row says. If something does not behave, send support the cue, the device and the software version.
Files the desks import
Two console files are built to each manufacturer's published import page: the USITT ASCII cue list for ETC Eos (Export Cue Sheet → Lighting → USITT ASCII) and Export Desk Timecode CSV (MagicQ, Hog 4, Titan)…. Each can be checked on the vendor's free offline software as well as on a console; see the files the desks import.
| Desk | A pass looks like |
|---|---|
| Eos | Import a file whose cues carry a fade and a Follow, then read cue list 1: the labels, up/down times and follow time are the show's. |
| MagicQ | IMPORT TC TIMINGS, Make Cues: one cue per marker at the file's times. |
| Hog 4 | Cuelist Import: one new cuelist, a cue per marker, with timecode wait values. |
| Titan | Timeline → Tools → Import Markers: the markers at the file's times. |
A time off by a whole number of frames points at the frame rate; one off by an hour points at the venue origin in Settings → Timecode.
If a check fails
Stop, note the desk model, its software version and what you sent, and contact support. A failed dry run on a spare afternoon is the point of the exercise.
Related
- Protocol Reference — transports and ports
- What Each Action Can Send — the verb list per action
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