Thanks for the quick responses!
If I go the route of the EtherDongle with DMX firmware, would I need a combiner as well? I haven't been able to determine from the documentation if the combiner is just for Pixelnet or if it is for all EtherDongle applications.
Jeff, you also mentioned buying the USB Dongle PCB from the store and ordering parts separately, does that hold true for the EtherDongle as well or would that be a coop?
In terms of software, I've downloaded Vixen and loaded it up, but I only watched some YouTube videos on a sample sequence so far.
I know I might be getting ahead of myself, but the USB Dongle communications method seems to be a virtual COM port whose port# is defined in the software. Would the EtherDongle create a virtual COM port, our is there a different way that it is defined within software packages? I couldn't find any documentation on setting up an EtherDongle, could someone point me to it? It looks like from some diagrams that the EtherDongle could be attached to a local network (ie: router), but there was no documentation that I could find that talked about IP addressing. Do most people just use it direct connected to a dedicated PC with a crossover cable?
Sorry for all the questions, I'm a BSEE software engineer working in the LED lighting world so most of this stuff is right down my alley...