In this article we will go over the workflow for setting up sending OSC to PIXERA to make native API Calls, similar to using TCP/UDP calls.

Settings/API

First, go into the “Settings/API” tab and change the “Protocol” of “API Access 1” or “API Access 2” to be “OSC/UDP”. Then set the “Adapter” and the “Port” you will be sending the OSC message to.

Testing/Troubleshooting OSC Output to PIXERA

Next you will need to setup your software being used to output OSC. This can be on the same server, or over the network on a separate server/smaller device.

If no OSC outputting software is available, below is a download link to a python executable made by Ryan Jones of the US PIXERA team to help test sending and receiving OSC.
OSC-SendReceive.exe

Reference Available Calls

Every API Call available can be found at this file path after installing PIXERA, with the #### being the PIXERA version installed:

“C:\Program Files\AV Stumpfl\Pixera\build_####\data\api\docs”

Inside are a variety of files, for OSC the two most useful are the “pixera_api_osc_examples_rev441.txt” for referencing only the OSC format of each call, and the “pixera_api_documentation.html” for a web visual of the whole API.

Formatting OSC API Calls

Unlike TCP and UDP calls to PIXERA, the OSC API uses a different format for the calls being received. Below is a quick example of the difference between the protocols with the call “applyCueWithName”:

• applyCueWithName(string name, optional blendDuration): Jumps to and executes the cue with the given name.
  • name: name of cue
  • blendDuration: optional parameter to set blend duration in seconds.
• Control Example

Pixera.Timelines.Timeline.applyCueWithName(handle 123456789, name "Abcd", blendDuration val)

• TCP/UDP

=> {"jsonrpc":"2.0", "id":503, "method":"Pixera.Timelines.Timeline.applyCueWithName", "params":{"handle":123456789, "name":"Abcd", "blendDuration":val}}
<= {"jsonrpc":"2.0", "id":503}

• OSC

=> "/Pixera/Timelines/Timeline/applyCueWithName" arguments: (Handle or Path) "Abcd" val 

As shown above, the OSC call much contain two sections, one being the “path” of the call, in this case being:

• /Pixera: The Pixera API
• /Timelines: The Timelines class of calls
• /Timeline: The Timeline class of calls
• /applyCueWithName: The actual API call found in a Timeline class

The second section contains the arguments that should be used for the API call in PIXERA. In this case these include a “(Handle or path)”, a “name”, and a “blendDuration”. Keep in mind that this usually takes the form of an Array holding each of these arguments inside.

Handle and Path

The "(Handle or path)" is found on most API calls. If entering the “Handle”, this is a Number that references a created object in the PIXERA software. If using the “path” this is a String being the path to that object.

In the case of this call, it is a Timeline object that has been created which has a cue of a certain name that needs to be applied.

Starting with Handle, get it from an object you need to right-click on it in the PIXERA GUI and select the “Copy API Handle to Clipboard” option:

It should look similar to this: 3982792495444882

Now paste the Handle as the first of the arguments to be sent from the OSC Sender and PIXERA will know to use that object for the call.

If wanting to instead use the “path”, a string needs to be entered as the first of the arguments. This string should be formatted the same as what you would enter into a LUA code version of the call from PIXERA Control, so for a Timeline it would look like this:

• “Timeline 1”

Make sure to include the parenthesis to denote this as a string. Another example may be needing to reference a Parameter on a Layer such as the X Position, that path would look like this:

• “Timeline 1.Layer 1.Position.X”

Note that the periods are similar to “/” in the way they are going into the “folder” of Timeline 1, then Layer 1, etc.

Other Values and the Final Call

In the case of other values like the “name” and “blendDuration”, these will be normal value inputs such as a String “Cue1” and the Number 100 respectively.

In total, combining these parts together you will get a final call similar to below, keep in mind that different software allow entering the initial call path and the arguments in different ways:

• OSC path: /Pixera/Timelines/Timeline/applyCueWithName
• Arguments: 3982792495444882 “Cue1” 100

PIXERA 25.1 INTER 45 | 02 April 2025 | CL