[ANSWERED] MSC over Ethernet Implementation

Kotli0512

The first show in my theater company is coming up, and there's a large video component (7 monitors and 4 cameras), all being integrated into the set. So to reduce video cabling lengths, we plan to store our Tower computer running Isadora behind the set.

This isn't a problem, except that we need to have a control option for going between scenes. Numerous ideas are bouncing around, but my idea was to send MSC out our lighting Console (ETC-Ion) and then use that to trigger Izzy. But because our console will be located in our booth, several hundred feet away, we need to translate the MSC commands from our console into rtp-midi over built in ethernet ports in the building. I've tried using an iConnectivity 2+ midi device and also a Fireface to bring the MSC data into a computer, and then using Tobias Erichsen's rtp-midi driver and also the built-in MAC network midi setup, but I cannot get the MSC commands to transmit to our other computer. Is there a step I'm missing?

Fred

@kotli0512 Did you try just extending your midi cables over XLR? I have used this at distances of 100m and it has been fine, I just cut up a short midi cable and put XLR connections on each side. If the venue has analogue XLR lines running you should be fine.

mark

@Kotli0512

Did you try just extending your midi cables over XLR? I have used this at distances of 100m and it has been fine, I just cut up a short midi cable and put XLR connections on each side. If the venue has analogue XLR lines running you should be fine.

That's a totally valid suggestion. I have a pair of MIDI <-> XLR adapaters for just this purpose and I also have used them at least to 50m.

I have also had great success using the MacOS MIDI Networking feature -- but I haven't tried it with MSC. I will try to attempt this later today when I have two Mac available, which I don't at the moment.

Best Wishes,
Mark

Woland

@mark said:

MacOS MIDI Networking feature -- but I haven't tried it with MS

I have had great success using MSC over a virtual MIDI network on Mac. Here's a guide to setting up a virtual MIDI network on Mac.

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209071169-Sending-and-receiving-MIDI-messages-using-a-virtual-MIDI-network

I also built a system (with a pretty good set of instructions) specifically for cueing Isadora with MSC from a lighting console which I taught at the 2019 Werkstatt in my MIDI Show Control Freak session:

https://community.troikatronix.com/topic/5543/midi-show-control-scene-navigation-cueing-system/5

(The version above is for Isadora 2, but I can upload the Isadora 3 version upon request.)

Woland

Make sure you have the right settings going on your Ion (pg 40 has a picture in my readme file)