Your lighting desk
in your hand
The AKAI grid, the playlist, the lighting plot: all of MyStrow fits on a tablet or a phone. No app to install, no cable — scan a QR code and leave the control desk to set your lights from the audience area.
The tablet is a remote, the computer stays in charge
When you turn on External Input, MyStrow starts a small server on your computer that can be reached over Wi-Fi. The tablet connects to it with its usual browser and shows a page with the application's controls: every tap goes to the computer, and every change on the computer comes back to the tablet in real time.
One important consequence: the computer always sends the DMX to your fixtures, through your Art-Net node or USB interface as usual. The tablet replaces nothing, it gives you an extra hand.
Nothing to install
iPad, Android tablet, iPhone or smartphone: Chrome, Safari or Firefox is all it takes. No account, no store, no updates to keep an eye on the device.
A show that doesn't drop
If the tablet loses Wi-Fi, switches off or falls off its stand, the lighting stays exactly where it is. The page reconnects by itself when the network comes back.
The tablet and the AKAI APC mini work side by side. A pad tapped on the screen lights up on the physical controller, a fader moved on the AKAI moves on the tablet. Leave the AKAI at the desk and walk away with the tablet, or the other way round, without reconfiguring anything.
What you need
- An up-to-date MyStrow on your PC or Mac.
- A tablet or a phone with a recent browser.
- One and the same Wi-Fi network for the computer and the tablet. No Internet needed: a small router at the desk does the job perfectly, and is often more reliable than a venue's Wi-Fi.
Beware of "guest" networks and public hotspots: they deliberately isolate devices from each other for security reasons. The computer and the tablet are both connected, but they cannot see each other — the page never opens. Use the router's main network, or your own router.
Connect the tablet in five steps
Open Connection ▸ 🎮 Control ▸ 📱 External Input
In MyStrow's menu bar, on the computer. The window shows ● INACTIF (inactive) as long as the service is not running.
Click "Activate"
The window switches to ● ACTIF (active) and shows a QR code, the page address (something like http://192.168.1.20:5000) and a six-digit pairing code. If Windows asks you to allow MyStrow through the firewall, accept for private networks: otherwise the tablet will not be able to reach the computer.
Scan the QR code with the camera
The MyStrow page opens in the browser and pairs by itself: the code is already inside the QR code. No camera at hand? Type the displayed address into the browser, then enter the six-digit code when the page asks for it.
Check the indicator at the top right
EN LIGNE (online) in green: you're ready. Tap a pad, it lights up in MyStrow too. The indicator stays visible at all times, so you can tell at a glance whether the tablet is connected.
Go full screen
The ⛶ button hides the address bar and gives the whole screen to the controls. On iPhone, where Safari has no full-screen mode, add the page to the home screen instead (Share button ▸ Add to Home Screen): it will then open like an app.
Remember to turn External Input back on every time you start MyStrow. The service does not start by itself: that is deliberate, so your computer never opens network access without you deciding to. A tablet that is already paired does not need the code again — just reload the page.
Why a pairing code
Without it, any device connected to the same Wi-Fi could open the page and take over your lights: a curious audience member on the venue network, a crew member's phone that kept the address as a bookmark… The code shuts that door.
Paired once, recognised afterwards
After the first pairing, the computer remembers the tablet. Next time, just reopen the page — keep it as a bookmark or on the home screen. You can pair several tablets and phones: they all stay in sync with each other.
Revoking every device
A borrowed device, a technician whose gig is over? The "Forget paired devices" button in the External Input window instantly disconnects every tablet and generates a new code. Each one will have to enter the new code to come back. After five wrong codes in a row, entry is blocked for about thirty seconds to discourage random guessing.
Four tabs, all of MyStrow
The top bar gives access to four screens. Everything you do there is instantly reflected in MyStrow on the computer — and the other way round. The tablet page is currently displayed in French, which is why its labels are quoted as they appear.
AKAI — the playing surface
- The 8×8 pad grid, with the same colours as on the controller.
- The group faders G1 to G8, and the VIT fader for effect speed.
- The effects column, and the REC and CLEAR buttons.
- The pages of your layout with ◀ ▶, just like on the APC.
MEDIA — the playlist
- Previous, play/pause, next, with the current title.
- The full list of the media in your show.
- The C1 to C4 cartridges to fire jingles and sound effects.
SCÈNE — the lighting plot
- Tap a fixture to select it, drag a rectangle to pick several.
- A panel opens: intensity, strobe, colour, and for moving heads pan/tilt position with your finger, colour wheel and gobo.
- Zoom with a pinch or with − / +, and the NOMS (names) button to show labels.
SURFACE — your own buttons
- The configurable pad surface you built in MyStrow, with its exact layout.
- Buttons, faders and clock: ideal for an occasional operator who only needs a few clearly labelled actions.
Tablet or phone? A tablet in landscape is still the best format for playing a show on the AKAI grid. A phone in portrait shines at something else: walking into the room and setting your moving heads from the audience's seats with the SCÈNE tab, or starting the playlist from the stage during a soundcheck.
The connection indicator
The indicator at the top right of the page switches from EN LIGNE (online) to HORS LIGNE (offline) as soon as the link with the computer is lost. There is nothing to do: the page retries automatically, at growing intervals, until the network comes back.
Tap the indicator for details: the computer's address, how long the tablet has been connected, the last update received and the number of attempts. The "Reconnecter maintenant" (reconnect now) button retries straight away.
During a dropout, your lights don't move. The tablet only sends commands to the computer; if it goes quiet, MyStrow keeps playing whatever is running.
If the tablet won't connect
- The page doesn't open at all: check that both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network — not the guest network, not the phone's mobile data, no active VPN. Then run Connection ▸ 🩺 Diagnostics ▸ 📱 Tablet test in MyStrow: it tells apart a service that isn't running, a busy port and a firewall block.
- The address doesn't end in 5000: that's normal if another program was already using that port — MyStrow takes a neighbouring one (5001, 5002…). Always use the address shown in the window, or scan the QR code.
- HORS LIGNE after restarting the computer: External Input has to be turned on again every time MyStrow starts. If the computer's network address has changed, scan the QR code again.
- The page asks for the code again: the devices were forgotten from the computer, or the browser cleared the site's data — which always happens in private browsing. Enter the displayed code and use a normal tab.
- The screen goes to sleep mid-show: turn off the tablet's auto-lock, or lengthen its delay, for the evening.
- The tablet responds but nothing lights up: the tablet link works; it's the computer's DMX output that needs checking. Our guide Setting up an Art-Net node covers every case.
What's next? We are also working on a dedicated app; we'll tell you more when the time comes. Until then, the browser does everything this guide describes.
Leave the control desk behind
Download MyStrow, turn on External Input and take your lights with you.