[linux-audio-dev] Re: MIDI

[Jennifer Dillon]

Don't forget DMIDI IEEE P1639. Distributed MIDI over ethernet. It is still 
alive and well and I'm developing code for other Os's apart from Linux. Also 
working on a MIDI BOX with 32 MIDI ins and 32 MIDI outs all separately 
addressable and just plugs into a 10/100/1000 ethernet hub/switch.
regards, 

Jennifer Dillon 

Dave Robillard writes: 

On Sat, 2006-11-11 at 21:41 -0500, Gene Heskett wrote:
On Saturday 11 November 2006 21:00, Tony Nelson wrote:
>At 4:21 PM -0500 11/11/06, Gene Heskett wrote:
> ...
>
This thread might be of interest to the linux-audio-dev group, so I've 
added them to the Cc: 

>>Yup, and its been a constant src of amazement to this old fart that
>> when the midi spec was setup, they used a serial port, thats fine, but
>> when they set the data rate at only 31,250 baud, ...
>>
>>Consistently attrocious timeing, with the horns always 1/16 beat late
>>unless the actual output order of each instrument is scrambled in the
>>order output.  That would make it sound a heck of a lot less
>> mechanical. And there isn't a heck of a lot that can be done until we
>> put midi on an optical circuit running at several megabytes/sec. 
>> Something like TOS maybe?
>
>Firewire.  Many products already, plenty of speed, almost robust enough.
>1/8 millisecond isoch cycle times; each cycle can contain packets from
> many senders; each packet can contain lots of notes. 

More robust IMO than the din connectors now used for midi interconnects, 
however the cabling itself can't help but be more fragile when subjected 
to the rigors of a jam session with bodies walking on them all night.  
And that has to be a consideration else the first users will get 
discouraged at the high cable failure rates and revert, particularly if 
they have a tin ear and can't hear what to many of us would be an 
extremely obvious improvement. 

But I like that idea, a lot.  Maybe some enterprising LAD people could get 
together and spec something like a midi interface running over firewire, 
complete with the repeaters so it can be daisy-chained just like midi can 
be, and hopefully release it into the PD as a new midi-2 interface 
standard.  And design it such that it never, ever gets into the snails 
trail of the 31,250 baud interface it uses today.

Forget Firewire - Ethernet! 

Far cheaper, far more common, more hardware available (eg switches) 

-DR-