I would like to try out OSC to see current song/next song information on an Android tablet or smartphone. I’m using GP4 on a Win10 laptop.
Before I start, my most important question would be:
On many venues I don’t have any LAN or WLAN access for my notebook.
In many cases, even my Android device doesn’t have any mobile network access.
How can I connect both? I can start a mobile hotspot on the Android device, and connect the laptop via WLAN. Will that work, without internet access on neither machine? Without local DHCP server in the netwwork or from internet? Will they get proper IPs for connecting each other for OSC?
DHCP won’t really help you here as that only assigns IP addresses, it doesn’t tell Gig Performer the IP address of your tablet or vice versa. (There are ways to do that which we will hopefully implement in a future version)
Either create static IP addresses on each device, or use DHCP and configure static mapping via mac addresses. Then configure your tablet with the address of the PC with GP and vice versa
When you activate the portable hotspot, then your Android phone is a DHCP server and assigns IP address(es) to your PC(s) and other network devices.
OSC should work. And there’s an opportunity for you to test it. You can refer to some of the OSC-related blog articles on the Gig Performer’s web site.
Well yes. In this case my Win10 laptop gets an ever changing IP4 like 192.168.199.100, for this time. And Win10 reports an IP4 server at 192.168.199.123, probably the hotspot on the Android.
Following your tutorial and using OSCAR on the Android, OSCAR says IP 0.0.0.0 of the Android device, without other WLAN access of the Android except serving as a hotspot for the Win10 laptop. Should that work?
@dhj : I would know how to set up a static IP on Win10 instead of DHCP, but not on Android. And I have no clue how to configure static mapping via mac addresses on Win10, or even Android …
that’s what I have done, using a Netgear WiFi router that seems to be the less troublesome routine particularly if you don’t like entering IP addresses or even wearing dresses for that matter .
Having the WiFi router assigning IP addresses as far as I know seems to be an easier routine , just setting the tablet to the correct SSID (WiFi Network) seems to enable communication in an easier to understand routine perhaps. You can browse to the open TouchOSC source in my case from inside the app on the device as opposed to setting IP’s which is always cumbersome to me .
Without an internet connection there is the caveat that some of your devices may acquire that network especially at home when you are setting it up and therefore without internet this could be a situation you may want to avoid … “weird I’m on call this weekend but I haven’t heard ANY traffic at all on my mobile device " Good grief I’ve missed a ton of issues because I was logged onto a network without any internet for my touchOSC work around !”
Yes, but then it’s really important to configure static routes so that your devices always get the same IP addresses. That way your apps on your tablets and GIg Performer will always have the correct values to communicate with each other.
I refuse to use any plugin that requires a dongle when I’m performing — too much risk of it getting lost or broken during a tour
I have never had a problem using a wifi router. As long as you get a decent brand you should be good to go, your devices are going to be pretty near it.
and as we rely more and more on plugins and there associated subscription based models, best bang for buck horror situation #2 “fire up your tried and true GP rig and no sound, open up your plugin and realize TODAY is the monthly billing day where and when you need to re activate your plugins and you’re A) not on line and B) already late to the gig and late to sound check AND prepare” why Lord why today ?
I am extremely careful about my plugins for live performance to avoid that problem as well.
And that is also the same reason we don’t force GP users to have to reconnect to the internet either once you’re activated.
I’m a newbie in the sense that I don’t really understand why my OSC setting works, but here’s how I managed to do what you’re trying to do with just a USB cable and an Android phone with TouchOSC.
Connect your phone with a USB cable to the Windows 10 computer.
Activate USB tethering in the Android settings:
Drahtlos & Netzwerke / Tethering & mobiler Hotspot / USB-Tethering
The TouchOSC “Host” IP is the GP “Remote client IP address”
Maybe you need to restart GP after OSC settings in GP.
That’s how it works very well for me. The only problem I had was that I initially used a cheap USB cable. With this cable, for example, the connection is stable:
Now you should be able to experiment around, and e.g. get your rackspace selection and display of rackspace variations via smartphone:
Update:
I bought a simple wallwart WLAN extender for 20€: TPLink TL-WA860RE.
It even has an AC mains socket outlet so it doesn’t waste one precious socket on stage.
It can be configured as access point with manual DHCP server setting.
It works without real internet connection, just serves as WiFi access point and DHCP server for my Android devicwe and a Win10 laptop.
As suggested above, thank you very much!
I managed to get a first widget knob with birectional control from my Android smartphone with OSCAR Trial to GP4 on Win10.
What was required was to allow GigPerformer.exe access to network ports in the Windows Security Firewall settings:
I got TouchOSC on Android to work with GP4 on Win10, without any cables and withput any WiFi access points or other network available!
It works as simple as described by LeeHarvey here:
but only using the WLAN hotspot (WiFi teethering) feature of Android, instead of the USB teethering.
Actually, the Android phone serves an IP address to the Win10 laptop connected to this hotspot, as well as providing an IP for itself.
My first experiments with OSCAR (see above) didn’t work because OSACR does not use or display the IP of the hotspot, but instead 0.0.0.0, if the Android phone is connected to no access point.
However, in TouchOSC all is fine! TouchOSC uses and displays properly the IP of the hotspot of the phone.
After some trial and error fiddling with the awkward GUI of the new TouchOSC Android app I got my first button to work! Heureka!
Downside: Each time I reconnect the Win10 laptop to the Android hotspot, I get ever chanching IPs on both …
