[sdiy] Midi CC update rate question

[Tom Wiltshire]

On 7 Jan 2012, at 18:49, Veronica Merryfield wrote:

> 
> On 2012-01-07, at 6:00 AM, ASSI wrote:
> 
>> ... or (more likely) that using running status just 
>> breaks too many MIDI merge boxes and nobody cared to deal with the 
>> predictable support disaster that would produce.
> 
> I suspect this is quite likely. Think about what one would have to do in a merge box to support running status from multiple inputs or even the simpler case, running on one and regular on other inputs. What would you do?

I'd reinsert the status bytes into each incoming message when I put it into the storage buffer. E.g. I'd store each incoming message as if it had arrived in full, without running status.
Then I'd output bytes from the storage buffer, keep track of the current status and strip them out if possible when the messages go out - e.g. apply running status again to thin the output. It might be a be of a pain, but it's not exactly impossible.

I agree that it's likely that dozens of cheap MIDI mergers probably don't bother (although I admit this is nothing more than a gut feeling - not the most reliable indicator). I also agree that if you had produced the one box on the market that output a nicely stripped down CC stream using running status, but also the only box which doesn't work with MIDI merger X, Y or Z, you are definitely going to have irate customers ringing you up asking you what the hell you're playing at and why you're selling a "broken" product - hardly fair, but there you go.


T.