Hey everyone,
I’m using Unreal Engine 5 to pre-visualize my lighting shows via DMX Live Control, and while the basic setup works, I’m really overwhelmed by all the features in UE5 — especially when it comes to achieving realistic lighting and scene rendering.
Here are some specific issues I’m facing:
- Lights continue to glow or fade softly, even though the DMX value is instantly set to 0 – almost like there’s a hidden fade time or soft dimmer behavior
- Shadows and light transitions appear soft, while I’d expect crisp, sharp edges (especially for fast lighting changes)
- Trusses flicker or sparkle strangely under daylight or intense lighting conditions
- Reflections often look wrong or behave unnaturally, especially with moving light sources or mirrors
- Strobe effects above 25Hz don’t look convincing — they don’t capture the fast, harsh “real-life” strobe look
I’m using some of the default DMX fixtures that come with UE5, but I also added third-party lighting assets (like Astera lights and other expansion packs).
So my question is:
Does anyone here have experience with realistic lighting/rendering setups for DMX in UE5?
Are there any good templates, presets, or workflows you’d recommend to improve realism?
Or would anyone be willing to give a quick crash course or best practices on lighting, performance optimization, or DMX rendering inside UE5?
I’d truly appreciate any help, tips, or links 
Thanks a lot!
Best regards,
Marten