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LightLoop speaks OSC (Open Sound Control) in both directions over your local network (UDP):
  • Inbound — an external device (lighting console, TouchOSC, stream deck, show-control system) can drive playback on an Apple TV: next, previous, play/pause, jump to an item or song slide.
  • Outbound — a playlist item can send OSC cues to a lighting console or other gear when it goes live, so your visuals and lighting fire together.
OSC runs over UDP on your local network. The Apple TV and the controlling/receiving device must be on the same network. Because OSC is unauthenticated, only enable it on networks you trust.

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Turn OSC on first

OSC is off by default. Before any OSC controls appear, enable the feature once for your account:
  1. Go to Settings → OSC.
  2. Turn on Enable OSC (Open Sound Control).
Until this is on, the OSC destinations editor, the per-feed OSC Control option, and the OSC Cue item action are all hidden. (Only the account owner can change this.)

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Inbound — control an Apple TV with OSC

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1. Enable OSC Control on the feed

In the Feeds tab, each feed card has an OSC Control toggle plus a port and namespace:
  • OSC Control — off by default. Turn it on for the screens that should accept external control.
  • Port — the UDP port the Apple TV listens on. Default 8000.
  • Namespace — an address prefix. Default /lightloop.

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2. Find the Apple TV’s address

OSC senders need the Apple TV’s IP address. LightLoop shows it in two places:
  • On the Apple TV — a small OSC 192.168.x.x:8000 badge on the browse screen.
  • In the web app — the feed card shows each connected screen, e.g. 🟢 Connected: Living Room Apple TV — 192.168.1.50:8000.
Give the Apple TV a static/reserved IP in your router’s DHCP settings so the address doesn’t change between services.

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3. Send commands

Send OSC messages to that IP and port. The namespace prefix is optional — /lightloop/next and /next both work.
Many controllers send a button as 1 on press and 0 on release. LightLoop treats a trailing 0/false as the release and ignores it, so a single press fires once.

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Outbound — trigger lighting cues from a playlist

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1. Define your OSC targets

In Settings → OSC, add the destinations you want to send to — each is a name, host/IP, and port (for example Main Console → 192.168.1.20:8000). Defining a target once means you can reference it from any cue, and if the console’s IP ever changes you update it in a single place.

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2. Add an OSC Cue to a playlist item

Open a playlist, click a item’s Actions button, and find the OSC Cues section:
  1. Click + Add OSC Message.
  2. Pick a Target (or choose Custom host:port… for a one-off destination).
  3. Enter the address to send, e.g. /cue/12/go.
  4. Optionally add arguments — space-separated. LightLoop infers the type: 5 → integer, 0.5 → float, true/false → boolean, anything else → string.
The cue fires the moment that item becomes current on the Apple TV — making it a clean “go” trigger for a lighting cue, scene change, or any OSC-controllable action.
Lighting desks and show-control systems vary in their OSC address scheme — check your console’s OSC documentation for the exact addresses (cue triggers, fader values, scene recalls) it accepts.

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Notes & limitations

  • OSC is UDP on the local network — there’s no delivery confirmation, and it won’t traverse the public internet.
  • Inbound control is per-feed: enable it only on the screens that should accept it.
  • OSC targets are account-level and shared by everyone on your team who edits playlists.
  • Because OSC is unauthenticated, anyone on the same network can send commands to an enabled Apple TV. Use it on trusted networks, and the per-feed enable + namespace as guardrails.