Downstage Support

Help for our Mac apps.

Mac apps Contact us

Mac apps.

Setup steps, how to use each app, and answers.

Video and guide

Show Builder

Lay out and send your first Companion page.

Video and guide

SuperSource Builder

Design a SuperSource look and its Companion buttons.

Video and guide

Virtual Deck

Put a Stream Deck on your screen and join Companion.

Video and guide

Downstage Find

Find your Downstage devices and open their apps.

Cue lights.

Tutorials, setup and help for the Cue Lite, Cue 360 and Cue Mini.

Tutorials Set up a light Guide and updates Questions Troubleshooting

Cue light tutorials.

Video coming soon

Set up a Cue light

From the box to Companion in about a minute.

Video coming soon

Link a 360 or Mini by touch

Hold it to a Cue Lite for two seconds.

Video coming soon

Give a light its Companion button

Choose the page and key it follows.

Video coming soon

Take your lights to a new venue

Move every light to a new WiFi network.

Set up a light.

The same four steps for the Cue Lite, the Cue 360 and the Cue Mini. It is also on the card in the box.

Power it
Plug in USB-C. A new light opens its own setup network, named for the light and its four-character id, like Downstage Cue 360 66B8. The password is downstage.
Join it
Join that network from your phone. The setup page opens by itself; if it does not, go to http://192.168.4.1/.
Put it on your network
Pick your WiFi and enter its password. Under Companion, enter the Companion computer's address and the Satellite port, 16622. Save.
Give it a button
In Companion's Surfaces page, set the light's page and position so its key sits on the button it should follow. Red is on air, green is preview.

A Cue 360 or Cue Mini can skip WiFi: hold it to a Cue Lite for two seconds and it links over CueLink.

Guide and updates.

The full user guide for the Cue Lite, Cue 360 and Cue Mini, and the latest firmware for each.

User guide (PDF) Download updates

A light's own page checks for updates and installs them in one tap: Device, then Update. Download a file here only to update a light where there is no internet.

Cue light questions.

Do I need a Downstage One to use the Cue lights?

No. Every Cue light works with any Bitfocus Companion over WiFi, on its own. The Downstage One, coming soon, adds the show clock and gives Companion a home in your Cue system.

What is CueLink?

CueLink is the lights' own radio. Hold a Cue 360 or a Cue Mini to a Cue Lite for two seconds and they link: from then on it reaches Companion through the Lite, so it needs no WiFi where it stands. It follows the Lite's tally until you give it its own Companion button. One light can link to each Cue Lite. CueLink is short range: keep the linked light near its Lite, such as on the same rig or the same set, not across a venue. Walls, metal and crowds shorten it, and the Lite shows WEAK CUELINK when the link is dropping messages.

How do they mount?

The Cue 360 has magnets in its base for steel and a 1/4-20 for an arm. The Cue Lite and the Cue Mini take a 1/4-20, and the Cue Lite comes with a hot shoe adapter for the camera.

What powers them?

USB-C, on all three: a USB-C charger or a power bank. Some camera USB ports cannot supply enough power, so check yours before the show. USB power is how the lights run a show. The Cue Lite has a built-in backup battery, about 1 hour away from power; it does not last a show day on battery. The Cue 360 and the Cue Mini run on USB power only.

Is the software open?

Downstage OS, which runs the One, is public on GitHub. It stands on Ontime, free and open source under GPL v3 (source), and Bitfocus Companion. We publish our manuals before you buy.

Cue light troubleshooting.

A Downstage light says what is wrong in a sentence. Here is what to do about it.

The setup page did not open

Stay joined to the light's own network and go to http://192.168.4.1/ in your phone's browser.

It says the WiFi has a sign-in page

Hotel and venue networks that want a login in a browser cannot carry tally: a light cannot get past the sign-in page. Use a network without one, your own router, or a phone hotspot. A Cue 360 or Cue Mini has no screen to say it: it opens its own setup network beside the venue's, and a magenta dot circles its edge. Join that network from your phone and pick another WiFi.

It is on WiFi, but cannot reach Companion

Guest networks often keep devices apart. Use a network where devices can see each other, check the Companion address and port 16622 on the light's page, and check that Companion's Satellite service is on (it is by default).

It says WEAK WIFI

The light is losing messages on your WiFi, so tally can lag or drop out. It says so when one in ten of its checks goes unanswered for ten seconds, and clears once the link settles. Downstage lights run on 2.4 GHz WiFi, so a strong 2.4 GHz signal where the lights sit matters most. Move the access point or the light closer, keep metal, walls and crowds out of the line between them, and avoid a busy guest network if you can. The Cue Lite says it in its top bar, where the clock usually is. When a CueLink link is dropping messages, the Lite shows WEAK CUELINK: bring the linked light closer to it.

Does it work on 5 GHz WiFi?

No. Downstage lights join 2.4 GHz networks only, which reach further through walls and crowds than 5 GHz. Most venue and home routers offer both under one name and the light picks the 2.4 GHz side by itself. If yours is 5 GHz only, turn on its 2.4 GHz band or use another router. For the steadiest tally, use a strong network of your own rather than a crowded guest one.

It says the password is wrong

Join the light's setup network again and re-enter the WiFi password.

I moved to a new venue

When a light cannot find its saved WiFi, it opens its setup network by itself after about a minute. Join it and pick the new network. It keeps its name and number.

Why does my screen shift around?

On purpose. The Cue Lite has an AMOLED screen, and a picture that never moves, like a camera number left up all day, can burn into an OLED screen. To prevent that, the light moves its picture a few pixels every few minutes. It is too small to notice from where you stand, and it protects the screen.

Why doesn't my Lite show the time?

A light has no way to know the time of day by itself: it has to be told. The Cue Lite sets its clock from the internet, or from a Downstage One on the same network. So the time shows only when the light has an active internet connection or can see a One. On a closed show network with neither, the light leaves the clock off rather than show the wrong time.

How do I reset a light?

Open the light's page and choose Factory reset. It wipes every saved network, the name and all settings, and the light comes back as new.

How do I update a light?

Updates are uploaded from the light's own page, and the light restarts on the new version. Firmware downloads will be posted on this page.

Downstage Support

Mac apps.

Show Builder

SuperSource Builder

Virtual Deck

Downstage Find

Cue lights.

Cue light tutorials.

Set up a Cue light

Link a 360 or Mini by touch

Give a light its Companion button

Take your lights to a new venue

Set up a light.

Power it

Join it

Put it on your network

Give it a button

Guide and updates.

Cue light questions.

Cue light troubleshooting.

Still stuck?