How to Change the EDID on a Lightware Matrix

Jan 5, 2020

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How to change the EDID on a Lightware Matrix via the Lightware software, which EDID to choose and why.

Connect to the Matrix

Download and install ‘Lightware Device Controller’ http://software.lightware.eu/software/

Plug an ethernet cable into the matrix and connect it to you control machine. If you know the IP address of the matrix then set your machine to the same range (not same IP).

Run Lightware device controller, it may ask for an update, in most cases this can be ignored. Anything above version 1.2 will work fine.

Even if you’re on the wrong IP range your matrix should still auto discover here, If it is in white then you can connect immediately (IP range matches), if it is in grey you will need to change your control machines IP address to the same range (not same IP) as the matrix before you can connect.

The default IP address of a Lightware matrix is 192.168.254.254 but they usually end up on either the 172.16. or the 10.0 ranges.

EDID Location

Once connected head over to the EDID tab.

Find and Apply the EDID

Now you must find the correct EDID for the system requirements. If it is a DVI matrix the selecting an EDID with a ‘D’ before the resolution will give the best results. Most common EDID’s are found in the ‘Factory’ tab.

Apply the EDID

Now you need to apply the selected EDID to the inputs. In most cases you will want the same EDID on every input, ‘select all’ will do this quickly but you can select individual inputs if needed.

It is good practise to change the EDID with nothing connected to the inputs or at least with what’s connected to the inputs powered down. Once you have the correct inputs selected push the centre arrow to apply.

Once you click apply the matrix will take a few moments to update, the bigger the matrix the longer it will take. When complete it will update the input list to the new EDID name.

It is worth noting that after an EDID is change some devices will still send the old resolution to the matrix. You will need to go into each device that is connected to the matrix and ensure it is sending the correct resolution. This is most common in macOS based hardware, Windows machines tend to follow the EDID immediately providing emulation is disabled.

HDCP

The EDID’s with the letter ‘D’ in front of them are true DVI EDID’s. These are the preferred option for DVI matrices as you will not encounter HDCP issues. On some of the newer Lightware devices HDCP can get stuck on and can be removed by selecting the input in ‘crosspoint’ and unchecking ‘HDCP enable’.