DMX lighting software for mobile DJs
HitLight is DMX lighting software for macOS that runs a mobile DJ rig from the music in the room. Auto Show listens through the Mac's microphone rather than a pre-analysed track library, MIDI learn puts the next cue under a foot pedal, and the output side is one USB adapter or one network node.
Key facts
- What drives the lights
- HitLight outputs DMX from the macOS app on macOS 14 or later. The browser app and the iOS remote cannot output DMX; they author shows and act as remotes for the Mac that is wired to the rig.
- How it follows the music
- Auto Show uses the Mac's system-default microphone as its only audio source. There is no line-in, no DJ-software integration and no track pre-analysis, so it works the same on a request, a live vocalist or an unreleased edit.
- What you carry
- A Mac, one DMX interface and a DMX cable per run. HitLight does not sell a dongle and never charges per universe, so the interface already in your flight case is very likely the one you keep using.
Why does lighting that listens to the room suit a mobile DJ?
Because a mobile DJ set is not a fixed track list. Auto Show listens through the Mac's microphone, follows the beat and the structure of whatever is actually playing, and runs the rig live with no scenes programmed first. That behaves identically for a request you did not plan for, a saxophonist over a backing track, a bootleg edit, and the father of the bride's speech.
The cost of that design is worth stating: Auto Show does not know what is coming next. A system built on your DJ software's track analysis knows a drop is eight bars away, and HitLight does not. What HitLight gains in exchange is that nothing has to be in a library first, and nothing breaks when the night stops resembling the plan.
If you play a prepared, analysed set from the same library every week, that trade may go the other way. HitLight compared with SoundSwitch sets out both sides.
Can you run the whole set without touching the laptop?
Yes, once you have bound a physical control to it. HitLight has MIDI learn: you press the pad, the knob or the foot pedal you want to use, and it binds. Put "next cue" under your foot and you can advance the show with both hands on the mixer and your eyes on the room.
| Control | What it is | Typical use for a DJ |
|---|---|---|
| Footswitch | Any MIDI foot pedal, bound by pressing it in learn mode. | Advance to the next cue between tracks without reaching for the laptop. |
| MIDI pad or knob | A pad fires a button action; a knob moves a fader. | Keep master intensity or a colour under your hand on a small controller. |
| Virtual console | Buttons, faders and XY pads you arrange yourself on screen. | Turn the laptop into the four or five controls this rig actually needs. |
| iOS remote | An iPhone or iPad app distributed through TestFlight. | Follow show and Auto Show status, fire cues, and issue Stop or Blackout from the floor. |
| Auto toggle | One switch that hands the rig to Auto Show, and takes it back. | Let the lights follow the music while you work, and take over at any moment. |
The iOS remote does not output DMX. The Mac stays the device plugged into the rig, and the phone in your pocket is a way to reach it — including a Blackout you can hit while standing at the other end of the room.
What DMX hardware travels well?
Two shapes, and the choice is mechanical rather than technical. For a small rig that packs into a car, a USB interface is the fewest things that can go wrong: ENTTEC Open DMX USB is around $70, and the buffered ENTTEC DMX USB Pro is around $190 and copes better with long or noisy cable runs. For anything further from the booth, an Art-Net or sACN node gives you a locking connector instead of a USB plug that can be kicked out of a laptop.
- USB, for a compact rig. Driverless on macOS, nothing to configure, and it lives in the same bag as the laptop.
- A network node, for a locking connector. Art-Net and sACN both carry ordinary DMX512 over an ordinary Ethernet network, and HitLight supports both.
- No per-universe charge, either way. HitLight does not sell a DMX dongle and does not bill you for a second universe when the rig grows.
The maintained list, including what is still experimental, is on supported hardware.
How fast is set-up and pack-down?
Most of the work happens before you leave the house. Your show lives in your account, so the patch, the scenes and the console layout are already there when you open the Mac at the venue. What remains at the door is physical, and it is the same short list every time.
- 1
Patch at home, not at the venue
Choose the profile, DMX mode, universe and start address for each fixture once. The 3D stage runs with no interface attached, so you can build and rehearse the whole set on the sofa before anything is in the car.
- 2
Plug the interface in
A USB interface is driverless on macOS. A network node needs to be on the same network as the Mac — wired where you have the choice, because Wi-Fi adds latency you will see in a fast chase.
- 3
Confirm the address on the fixtures themselves
Read the address and the DMX mode off each unit's own display rather than off your patch sheet. A mode mismatch is the most common reason a light does something unexpected, and it takes seconds to rule out.
- 4
Press Blackout and watch the rig go dark
Every venue, every time. Blackout is immediate and sits next to the Auto toggle. It is the one control you may need in a hurry, and using it is the only way to know it is wired correctly.
- 5
Turn Auto on when the first track starts
Auto Show is a starting point rather than a replacement for programming. Everything it does, you can take over at any moment — including mid-track.
Pack-down is shorter. Fade Out takes the rig down over one second, Blackout is immediate, and nothing you built during the night lives only on the laptop — the show is in your account before the cable is coiled.
What will Auto Show never do to your rig?
Auto Show drives colour, intensity, a steady open shutter and eligible movement. It will not drive the channel types below. They are stripped from every automatic path in code rather than avoided by convention, so automatic control cannot reach them even by accident, and the assistant cannot arm them either.
- Smoke machines, hazers and fans
- Flame projectors, flame ignition and any pyrotechnic channel
- Lasers
- Flashing strobes and blinders
- UV
- Fixture macros and unverified effect channels
For a mobile DJ this matters more than it does for a resident operator, because you usually do not own the room, the hazer is often the venue's, and you will not always know who in the crowd is photosensitive. Strobe bursts are capped for that reason. The full reasoning is on lighting safety.
What does HitLight not do for a mobile DJ?
If any of that is disqualifying, better to know now than at 11pm in a function room. The whole list is on what HitLight cannot do.
Last verified .
Try it on your own rig
Patch your fixtures, describe the look you want, and watch it on the 3D stage before you connect anything.
Free during the public beta, with no credit card. Launch pricing has not been announced. Requires macOS 14 or later for hardware output.