Attached Link: bubble tube demo (IDL only - no scene lights)

To use the matrix method, assemble a composite image of animation frames in a matrix and save that as a single image. The material room nodework reads the frame number, takes the modulus for both the number of rows and the number of columns, and from those two calculations adjusts the U and V offsets so as to display only the one cell of the matrix which corresponds to that frame number.

This is a 4x4 matrix which makes pixie dust:

and the matrix image which it uses:

This matrix material animates rising bubbles -with simulated caustics-  in the glowing neon tubes of a Wurlitzer jukebox:

And this is the bubble matrix image, with each cell helpfully numbered.  It is a seamlessly looped sequence, and the cells are arranged in a 6x5 matrix:

Obviously, this method has harsh limitations on the number of frames in the looped sequence and the pixel dimensions of each frame cell.  An image array node would be a far better option.

Poser 12, in feet.  

OSes:  Win7Prox64, Win7Ultx64

Silo Pro 2.5.6 64bit, Vue Infinite 2014.7, Genetica 4.0 Studio, UV Mapper Pro, UV Layout Pro, PhotoImpact X3, GIF Animator 5