By xparis001
Thu Feb 02, 2012 10:02 pm
mp3 wrote:Any info to share on your high speed MIDI driver that you're developing for these products? What sort of latency/jitter figures are you guys getting?
And if you decide roll out this MIDI driver across your entire controller product line, then you can consider the controller market conquered.
edit: apologize if this has been asked before, I didn't check.
Standard midi is 30 kilobits per second (roughly). Our driver is 1500 kbps(again, withing a few kb). we havent tested specific latency re: midi yet, but if our serato controllers are any indication, our midi transfer over USB wont be an issue.[/quote]
Thanks for the info.
To my knowledge, the problem with computers and MIDI is the fact that the operating system uses the interrupt system to process MIDI messages. In other words, if the processor is busy at that particular moment, or if there is a higher priority task to execute (like for example a mouse movement or screen redraw), then the MIDI message just has to wait. Therefore it doesn't seem to me that going faster is the solution (at least conceptually speaking), since you'll just be running into the same brick wall at a higher speed. To me (at least conceptually speaking) the solution is to trick the OS into assigning a higher priority to MIDI messages, and I'm wondering if that's your approach?
Anyway, MIDI jitter is one of the top three reasons I still use an MPC. Basically because why would I want a sequencer that I can't record my own swing/groove into??? I can deal with a constant delay (latency), but its the variable delay (jitter) that throws me off with computers. If you're able to solve this problem, then you're really on to something.
Assuming you're talking about the NS7/NS6/V7? They're using your high speed MIDI drivers?[/quote]
your assumption is correct, the same company who did the drivers for NS7 / NS6/ V7 will be doing our drivers. As to the interrupt thing, you're absolutely correct, this is how most systems handle midi. I cant get in to specifics without tilting some of our IP, but essentially, we're making it so the highest priority on the upstream port is pad strikes, and on the downstream port is audio. we also have the screen on its own dedicated port, so not to have the screen cause issues with midi.
Dan G.
- Product Manager, Akai Professional
- Product Manager, Akai Professional





