So this is in reply to bigalminal and everyone in general as my initial impressions to the new MIDI stack:
First, I can confirm the multi client aspect of the new Windows 11 MIDI stack works. As mentioned earlier, if I wanted to use my Akai APCmini mkII with both a MIDI sequencer and my DMX lighting software, I had to use two physical MIDI devices to relay it from one to the other and back again on the same computer. I was just now able to have my MIDI DAW, DMX software, and GP open at the same time using the Akai APCmini mkII directly via USB MIDI all at once with no issues. I didn’t have to configure or reconfigure a thing or install or reinstall drivers; it just worked.
It is harder to tell and more subjective to judge the less latency and reduced ‘jitter’ claims of the new MIDI stack, but the fact that three programs were very responsive to the same MIDI hardware at the same time makes me very optimistic.
I was trying to see if I could get the MIDI Services app up and running, but wasn’t able to this weekend. The ability to make virtual MIDI ports so different software can talk directly to each other through Windows has a lot of possibilities and has given me a few ideas. As I get the opportunity to test them I will write about them. My first priority will be using a virtual MIDI port to get GP to talk to my DMX lighting software so that a MIDI file synced with a click track for our songs played by GP controls our DMX lighting software.
So as far as what the ‘real world’ implications for what the new Windows 11 MIDI stack are, I can’t tell you. MIDI 2.0 implementation, jitter-free timing, virtual MIDI ports, multi-client operation, and system level vs. user level MIDI implementation are all just words in a press release until they are released, tested, and made use of in the real world. What I can tell you is that my first experience with the new MIDI stack for Windows 11 (which I’ve had for all of two days) worked flawlessly and solved an issue I’ve had with Windows and MIDI for a long time, albeit one caused partially by how Windows handled MIDI to begin with. This is the first time I’ve been excited about something Microsoft has done to Windows in a long time, and I see this as a positive sign for those who use Windows for music production in any capacity. This seems to be the biggest foundational shift in how Windows deals with MIDI since Windows 95 came out (I’ve been doing this since the days of DOS and Windows 3.1), and so far it works as advertised at the base level (for me at least).
Here is to hoping Mircrosoft continues to address issues with, and make improvements to, the Windows platform instead of telling their users AI and subscription/cloud services will solve all their woes.