 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Forums - Music techology
Subject: USB V MIDI
Original Message Date: 09-Feb-04 @ 10:38 AM - USB V MIDI
does any one here think it would be a better option if new gear came with USB ports to control MIDI functions oposed to the standard 5 pin din plugs.
considering all computers come standard with USB and to the best of my knowlege USB is faster and hasa larger range of uses's.
i was also thinking that you could also pump a audio signal down the same cable so you could go digital - digital and save money of A- D converterters.
opinions? statements? questions?
considering all computers come standard with USB and to the best of my knowlege USB is faster and hasa larger range of uses's.
i was also thinking that you could also pump a audio signal down the same cable so you could go digital - digital and save money of A- D converterters.
opinions? statements? questions?
Message 11/14 11-Feb-04 @ 06:27 PM - RE: USB V MIDI
That could work, but it's overly simplistic. How will each synth know what messages to respond to if the whole works is chained off oa USB port? How will flow of instructions be managed if the in/out/through arrangement is disrupted? You could daisy chain USB but then it wouldn't really be USB anymore (ditto for Firewire).
The devices themselves have to become a lot more intelligent when you start talking about a networking type protocol. A sequencer or master keyboard would have to be able to identify all the devices on its network (discovery and configuration). Routing becomes more difficult (identification, and flow control).
Networking like between PCs, also doesn't really have much of a concept of timing. It's built to accomodate network traffic at varying speeds, and messages are shoved into the pipe to arrive whenever network traffic conditions dictate. Obviously this isn't going to work for MIDI-type messages.
I wouldn't mind seeing a USB cable replace a MIDI cable physically, but there are issues beyond just replacing the cable. If you really want total interoperability with existing devices like PCs and hard disks and the like there's a lot more intelligence that has to go into the controller devices before that can be accomplished.
And it makes little sense to me to replace MIDI without also providing the capacity to replace audio lines as well. That opens up a whole other can of worms...
One solution might just be to introduce a transmission mechanism that is MIDI but simply functionas at 4x or 8x or whatever. You could then intruduce small, cheap devices to buffer and "clock down" the stream it's receiving. I think you could get away with this approach since generally the complaint is that messages take too much time getting down the wire, not that there's too much data for the wire to carry...
-Craig
The devices themselves have to become a lot more intelligent when you start talking about a networking type protocol. A sequencer or master keyboard would have to be able to identify all the devices on its network (discovery and configuration). Routing becomes more difficult (identification, and flow control).
Networking like between PCs, also doesn't really have much of a concept of timing. It's built to accomodate network traffic at varying speeds, and messages are shoved into the pipe to arrive whenever network traffic conditions dictate. Obviously this isn't going to work for MIDI-type messages.
I wouldn't mind seeing a USB cable replace a MIDI cable physically, but there are issues beyond just replacing the cable. If you really want total interoperability with existing devices like PCs and hard disks and the like there's a lot more intelligence that has to go into the controller devices before that can be accomplished.
And it makes little sense to me to replace MIDI without also providing the capacity to replace audio lines as well. That opens up a whole other can of worms...
One solution might just be to introduce a transmission mechanism that is MIDI but simply functionas at 4x or 8x or whatever. You could then intruduce small, cheap devices to buffer and "clock down" the stream it's receiving. I think you could get away with this approach since generally the complaint is that messages take too much time getting down the wire, not that there's too much data for the wire to carry...
-Craig
Message 12/14 11-Feb-04 @ 06:28 PM - RE: USB V MIDI
That could work, but it's overly simplistic. How will each synth know what messages to respond to if the whole works is chained off oa USB port? How will flow of instructions be managed if the in/out/through arrangement is disrupted? You could daisy chain USB but then it wouldn't really be USB anymore (ditto for Firewire).
The devices themselves have to become a lot more intelligent when you start talking about a networking type protocol. A sequencer or master keyboard would have to be able to identify all the devices on its network (discovery and configuration). Routing becomes more difficult (identification, and flow control).
Networking like between PCs, also doesn't really have much of a concept of timing. It's built to accomodate network traffic at varying speeds, and messages are shoved into the pipe to arrive whenever network traffic conditions dictate. Obviously this isn't going to work for MIDI-type messages.
I wouldn't mind seeing a USB cable replace a MIDI cable physically, but there are issues beyond just replacing the cable. If you really want total interoperability with existing devices like PCs and hard disks and the like there's a lot more intelligence that has to go into the controller devices before that can be accomplished.
And it makes little sense to me to replace MIDI without also providing the capacity to replace audio lines as well. That opens up a whole other can of worms...
One solution might just be to introduce a transmission mechanism that is MIDI but simply functionas at 4x or 8x or whatever. You could then intruduce small, cheap devices to buffer and "clock down" the stream it's receiving. I think you could get away with this approach since generally the complaint is that messages take too much time getting down the wire, not that there's too much data for the wire to carry...
-Craig
The devices themselves have to become a lot more intelligent when you start talking about a networking type protocol. A sequencer or master keyboard would have to be able to identify all the devices on its network (discovery and configuration). Routing becomes more difficult (identification, and flow control).
Networking like between PCs, also doesn't really have much of a concept of timing. It's built to accomodate network traffic at varying speeds, and messages are shoved into the pipe to arrive whenever network traffic conditions dictate. Obviously this isn't going to work for MIDI-type messages.
I wouldn't mind seeing a USB cable replace a MIDI cable physically, but there are issues beyond just replacing the cable. If you really want total interoperability with existing devices like PCs and hard disks and the like there's a lot more intelligence that has to go into the controller devices before that can be accomplished.
And it makes little sense to me to replace MIDI without also providing the capacity to replace audio lines as well. That opens up a whole other can of worms...
One solution might just be to introduce a transmission mechanism that is MIDI but simply functionas at 4x or 8x or whatever. You could then intruduce small, cheap devices to buffer and "clock down" the stream it's receiving. I think you could get away with this approach since generally the complaint is that messages take too much time getting down the wire, not that there's too much data for the wire to carry...
-Craig
Message 13/14 12-Feb-04 @ 06:29 AM Edit: 12-Feb-04 | 06:30 AM - RE: USB V MIDI
Some of you may find this thread interesting:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&th=403ff04403d2e002&seekm=20000312185742.03762.00002190%40ng-bj1.aol.com#link1
It gets off to a slow start but its worth the patience.
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&th=403ff04403d2e002&seekm=20000312185742.03762.00002190%40ng-bj1.aol.com#link1
It gets off to a slow start but its worth the patience.
Message 14/14 12-Feb-04 @ 02:02 PM - RE: USB V MIDI
Their measurements of "slop" is bullshit.. What they're really measuring is slop incurred during chase, which is totally different.
Pages: 1 2
There are 14 total messages for this topic
Reply to Thread
You need to register/login to use the forum.
Click here to Signup or Login !
[you'll be brought right back to this point after signing up]
Back to Forum
