Network MIDI 2.0 at NAMM

General discussion about Gig Performer
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Excellent interview with Pete Brown of the MIDI Association.

My takeaways:

  • Microsoft is integrating MIDI (including 1.0 & 2.0) into the OS.
  • Network MIDI 2.0 will have very low latency.
  • There are some infrastructure boxes being introduced.
  • MIDI 2.0 includes keyboard sensitivity curve communication. That could be helpful when playing a given instrument on different keyboards during a song.
  • It seems that CAT-5/6 will be the replacement for the MIDI DIN cable.

It will be interesting to see what Gig Performer might add in the future to integrate MIDI 2.0 features.

A word of caution… I tried to add Wired Ethernet to my iPad for MIDI over Wired Ethernet to control Mobile Sheets. I got it to work, but it wasn’t robust. On my Mac, the settings didn’t persist, so every time I’d reconnect, I had to go through the Audio MIDI Setup process again. Also, Ethernet to an older (Lightning) iPad isn’t roadworthy. The only interface I know is the bulky dongle with a short connector that you can see in the video. They’re expensive, and one accidental tug broke mine.

I hope that more robust solutions become available soon for wired Ethernet and MIDI on the road and in the studio.

There’s the feature that we imagine and then there’s the feature in the real world.

I now connect the iPad to Mac using USB, I use the iPad as an extended monitor using Sidecar, and I run Mobile Sheets on the Mac. I lose touch functionality, and the Pencil isn’t handy, but it just works.

So for MIDI 2.0, let’s be patient. We want solid, practical implementations. Just because something works at a trade show doesn’t mean that you’d want to run it daily.

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I’ve been using Bome Network for network MIDI and unlike RT-MIDI the sessions have always re-established themselves without need for intervention.

Yes, I also work for Bome but I was a customer long before that. If you notice on the video Pete was using BomeBox which has support for MIDI 2.0.

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Bome Network is also available for the iPad at the App Store so no dongle needed,

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Thanks Steve,

I’ll look into it. While my first attempt was a time sink, and I’ve got a solid solution today, it’s not ideal that I lose touch functionality.

Regarding MIDI 2.0 features, I don’t have a need for single note expression. More resolution and the ability to improve response mapping would be cool, but I have 1.0 controllers.

Best wishes to your success at Bome. I’ll keep an eye on the product line.

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Never has that problem on my Windows laptops with iConnectivity and RTP. I guess that’s the trade off. Ethernet problems with MAC and audio problems on Windows. If Microsoft, Dell, Alienware and others would stop installing poorly written apps and services on laptops that try to mimic Apple OS, I wouldn’t have any problems.

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I have been using wired ethernet with my iPad Pro and Surface Pro 9 for some time. The iPad runs OnSong, and in addition to lyrics and program change on the Surface Pro (running Gig Performer), provides flawless midi commands with any midi command available. I initially used wireless but found that there was inference from other networks when I gigged. I also use Bome Network on both the iPad and the Surface Pro connecting them together. I bought a USB C interface from Apple that provides HDMI as well as ethernet and also has a USB C input that allows iPad charging. When working with an iPad, I have found that it is important to buy adapters from Apple. They sell different brands that work and integrate well. Yes, what they sell is usually expensive, but you can be certain that what ever you do buy will work flawlessly (at least in my experience!).

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A question for you Steve. With my setup as explained above, I get instant program changes from the iPad to the Surface Pro, but I cannot get physical control of the S Pro for quite a few seconds at times. Will Midi 2 improve on this giving me faster access, or is it a processor issue?
(P.S. - I have predictive set to 1.)

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It will largely depend on how Microsoft implements the new drivers. There is a session handshake that happens when connecting over a network. That will probably not change much but the drivers that implement the endpoint (device) connections I expect will be more optimized using MIDI 2.0 transport. Until I get to play with the new Windows 2.0 MIDI driver API (probably mid to late 2025), I won’t know. Since Florian was the chair of the transport committee, I expect anything to do with BomeBox will be optimized but for iPad and Surface Pro, we will need to see Apple’s and Microsoft’s new implementation.

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