Doepfer Dark Time

[Martin Naef]

On 14.01.2012 10:09, Peter Korsten wrote:
>> There's plenty of mission critical infrastructure with strict real-time
>> requirements out there that's based on Ethernet. Some of the major nodes
>> of the European power system, for example... It's perfectly possible to
>> have a wonderfully stable music control system based on Ethernet. But
>> why bother when we have MIDI that works already?
>
> Just Ethernet, or TCP/IP as well?

The ones I know best (IEC 61850) are just Ethernet, IP is used on the 
higher levels without real-time constraints. TCP I would say is 
definitely out, but UDP would work. Of course, these are well controlled 
environments, but there's nothing overly fancy that wouldn't work in a 
studio context/budget.

There are also some standards around to use Ethernet for audio in large 
live installations or broadcast. I'm pretty sure they could carry MIDI 
packets if required.

> Anyway, MIDI is a fantastic standard - how many connection standards
> other than L/R stereo and power do you know that are still in use since
> the eighties? - but it would be nice to have a one-cable-does-all approach.

There's plenty of that in the industrial context. I wouldn't know of 
many in the consumer environment, though. S/PDIF comes to mind, and 
probably AES/EBU, but I'd guess they're late 80s.

You're absolutely right of course that MIDI is just fine for what it does.

Martin