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MIDI Connections
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Hi there everybody!
I'm the DAW operator for a stage production involving flame throwers and pyro.
Currently, the flames are controlled via MIDI tracks on my Macs, run via RTP MIDI over CAT cable to the pyro station, where the MIDI notes are converted to DMX signals and trigger their stuff. (I am aware that this is "not ideal", but it's what I've inherited and am dealing with for now.)
The lighting guy has asked me to implement MTC, with the option of pyro eventually switching over to MTC as well, and doing all the programming themselves.
So I will have lighting console (MTC) and pyro (MIDI note on/off, maybe MTC later) listening via RTP, but no other MIDI devices connected at any point.
My questions:
Can I switch on MTC for "All" ports, or just to the specific RTP connection that's listening?
How bandwidth intensive is the MTC connection?
Is MIDI jitter an issue for things like lighting consoles and pyro? Do different consoles respond differently to MIDI jitter?
MIDI protocol is 300 baud, but there is no SysEx going over, just a maximum of four MIDI note on/off simultaneously. So sending MTC on all ports…?
These are M1 MacBooks running Logic Pro into iConnectivity PlayAudio12 —> RTP —> mioXM, for what it's worth.
I'd appreciate any thoughts, even "Don't do that, you idiot!" is fine. 😉
Chris
Posted : 30/01/2025 3:58 pm
At 30fps, you will have 120 MIDI TC Quarter Messages per second, each of 2 bytes. That's 1960bit/s Far far from the 32Kbit/s of MIDI... over a MIDI cable. It's at worst around 8% of total bandwidth *over* a MIDI cable.
Here, transport is over RtpMidi, itself over an Ethernet cable which is probably, at least, a 100Mbit/s This part will have no issue.
The last part is between the receiving mioXM <-> pyro station, if this part is connected via a MIDI cable, but with just notes (and later not even notes when pyro will play their own programming then synced on MTC), it won't have bandwidth issue either.
Jittering is a different topic. Depending on how each component manage it (or not), it can be an issue or not.
But the speedier the transport is, the less the jitter, and here between Logic Pro on an M1 mac, the PlayAudio12 and the mioXM, you're fine.
A feedback on how it turns out for you use case?
This post was modified 2 weeks ago by Philippe Houdoin
Posted : 14/10/2026 3:40 pm