[sdiy] MIDI over Ethernet (was Microchip DSP kit $60 > AVR32)

[Jim Patchell]

Not quite as bad as all that.  UDP is deterministic on timing (on a 
LAN), but is not guaranteed to get to where it is going (no 
handshaking).  TCP is always guaranteed to get to where it is going, but 
is a bit less deterministic as far as timing since there are a number of 
packets exchanged for each message.  On a Local Area Network, UDP is 
more than adequate since the likely hood of a packet getting lost is 
quite infinitesimal.  On a WAN (the internet), UDP becomes problematic 
since packets can become lost and also arrive in a different order than 
they were sent out.

For a studio, Ethernet to me looks like a very nice way to go.  It is 
fun to work with.  The instruments can have their own "webpage" to 
configure them, or they can run a telnet server if you really want to 
keep it simple.

Also, as was pointed out, with 1GB/s bandwidth, it looks pretty open 
ended to me.  As soon as I actually get a system up and running, I 
should be able to do some testing to see just how good or bad it might 
be.  I am planing to use TCP/IP to start out with...(it is easier). 
Commercial systems at present are using UDP...so lossy doesn't seem to 
be a problem.

-Jim

Jason Proctor wrote:
> slight problem here is that ethernet, being a lossy broadband 
> connection, is a completely different animal to lossless point to point 
> connections such as USB or MIDI.
> 
> i'm sure that MI mfrs aren't that keen on including infrastructure 
> within their products that can handle even a 10baseT data connection at 
> full bore for anything isochronous.
> 
> ethernet would be a good way of communicating control stuff between 
> hosts that will then part out the traffic to p2p devices via USB or 
> MIDI. build the bandwidth handling into the routers, prioritise notes & 
> clocks, thin out controller information as fanout capacity decreases. i 
> notice that remote CPUs can be used as remote VST hosts and the control 
> is usually via ethernet. ditto high-end control surfaces eg Digi 
> Control-24 etc.
> 
> on a similar note... what happened to mLan? now Firewire *is* designed 
> to transport large amounts of data around isochronously, hence its use 
> in digital video cameras and stuff.
> 
> can we assume, that given that ethernet and Firewire have effectively 
> not made any penetration into the MIDI & USB market, that high bandwidth 
> broadband isn't regarded as necessary for control purposes?
> 
> 
> 
>> One time while at Yamaha for one of the two P.A.C.E. seminars I got 
>> to,  they
>> had all of us in a rather large room,  with 3-4 people at each table,  
>> and
>> equipment on each table,  all wired together.  At one point during the
>> proceedings they played it a bit.  It was rather impressive,  and not 
>> as flat
>> as you might have expected.  I don't recall now what exactly the 
>> equipment
>> was any more,  that had to be either '86 or '88 and they may even have 
>> been
>> playing samples,  or something,  but it sounded pretty good.  (And 
>> must have
>> taken them a _while_ to set up!  :-)
>>
>> -- 
>> Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
>> ablest -- form of life in this section of space,  a critter that can
>> be killed but can't be tamed.  --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
>> -
>> Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. 
>> --James
>> M Dakin
>>
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