Editing MIDI (section)

==Alternative hardware transports==
In addition to using a 31.25&nbsp;kbit/s current-loop over a [[DIN connector]], the same data can be transmitted over different hardware transports such as [[USB]], [[FireWire]], and [[Ethernet]].

===USB and FireWire===
Members of the USB-IF in 1999 developed a standard for MIDI over USB, the "Universal Serial Bus Device Class Definition for MIDI Devices".<ref>Ashour, Gal, et al. [http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/devclass_docs/midi10.pdf "Universal Serial Bus Device Class Definition for MIDI Devices"]. ''USB Implementers Forum''. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426221331/http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/devclass_docs/midi10.pdf |date=26 April 2015 }}. 1 November 1999. Accessed 22 August 2012.</ref> MIDI over USB has become increasingly common as other interfaces that had been used for MIDI connections ([[ISA card]], [[game port]], etc.) disappeared from personal computers. Linux, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh OS X, and Apple iOS operating systems include [[USB device class|standard class]] drivers to support devices that use the "Universal Serial Bus Device Class Definition for MIDI Devices".

[[Apple Computer]] developed the FireWire interface during the 1990s. It began to appear on [[DV (video format)#Connectivity|digital video]] (DV) cameras toward the end of the decade, and on G3 Macintosh models in 1999.<ref name="WiffenFW1">Wiffen, Paul. "[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug00/articles/mlan.htm An Introduction To mLAN, Part 1]". {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102133428/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug00/articles/mlan.htm |date=2 January 2016 }}. ''Sound on Sound''. SOS Publications. August 2000.</ref> It was created for use with multimedia applications.<ref name="WalkerLate" /> Unlike USB, FireWire uses intelligent controllers that can manage their own transmission without attention from the main CPU.<ref name="WiffenFW2">Wiffen, Paul. "[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep00/articles/mlan.htm An Introduction To mLAN, Part 2]". {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110210330/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep00/articles/mlan.htm |date=10 January 2012 }}. ''Sound on Sound''. SOS Publications. September 2000.</ref> As with standard MIDI devices, FireWire devices can communicate with each other with no computer present.<ref name="Cables" />

===XLR connectors===
The Octave-Plateau [[Voyetra-8]] synthesizer was an early MIDI implementation using [[XLR connector#XLR3 connectors|XLR3 connectors]] in place of the [[DIN connector|5-pin DIN]]. It was released in the pre-MIDI years and later retrofitted with a MIDI interface but kept its XLR connector.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vail |first=Mark |title=Voyetra 8: The original rackmount analog polysynth |url=http://www.turtlebeach.com/support/entry/830517138/ |work=Keyboard Magazine |publisher=Turtle Beach |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630120411/http://www.turtlebeach.com/support/entry/830517138/ |archive-date=30 June 2013}}</ref>

==== Serial parallel, and joystick port ====
As computer-based studio setups became common, MIDI devices that could connect directly to a computer became available. These typically used the [[Mini DIN-8|8-pin mini-DIN]] connector that was used by Apple for [[serial port]]s prior to the introduction of the [[Blue and White G3]] models. MIDI interfaces intended for use as the centerpiece of a studio, such as the [[Mark of the Unicorn]] MIDI Time Piece, were made possible by a fast transmission mode that could take advantage of these serial ports' ability to operate at 20 times the standard MIDI speed.<ref name="Huber 1991"/>{{rp|62–3|date=November 2012}}<ref name="Cables">"[http://www.midi.org/aboutmidi/tut_midicables.php MIDI Cables & Transports] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104052816/http://www.midi.org/aboutmidi/tut_midicables.php |date=4 November 2012 }}". ''midi.org''. Music Manufacturers Association. n.d. Web. 27 August 2012.</ref> Mini-DIN ports were built into some late-1990s MIDI instruments and enabled such devices to be connected directly to a computer.<ref>"CS2x Control Synthesizer Owner's Manual". Yamaha Corporation, 1998.</ref> Some devices connected via a PCs' [[DB-25 parallel port]], or through the [[DA-15 game port]] found on many PC sound cards.<ref name="Cables" />

====mLAN====
[[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]] introduced the [[mLAN]] protocol in 1999. It was conceived as a [[local area network]] for musical instruments using FireWire as the transport and was designed to carry multiple MIDI channels together with multichannel digital audio, data file transfers, and timecode.<ref name="WiffenFW1" /><ref name="WiffenFW2" /> mLan was used in a number of Yamaha products, notably [[digital mixing console]]s and the [[Yamaha Motif|Motif]] synthesizer, and in third-party products such as the PreSonus FIREstation and the [[Korg Triton Studio]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presonus.com/products/FIREstation |title="PreSonus FIREstation". ''presonus.com''. n.p. n.d. Web. 18 Aug 2012 |publisher=Presonus.com |access-date=27 November 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231140519/http://www.presonus.com/products/FIREstation |archive-date=31 December 2012  }}</ref> No new mLan products have been released since 2007.

=== SCSI MIDI Device Interface (SMDI) ===
[[SCSI]] MIDI Device Interface (SMDI) was used by some samplers and [[hard disk recorder]]s in the 1990s (e.g. [[Kurzweil K2000]] and [[Peavey Electronics|Peavey]] SP Sample Playback Synthesizer<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Trask |first=Simon |date=1992 |title=Peavey SP Sample Playback Synthesiser |url=https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/peavey-sp-sample-playback-synthesiser/2341 |url-status=live |journal=Music Technology |issue=Aug 1992 |pages=52–56 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516182228/https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/peavey-sp-sample-playback-synthesiser/2341 |archive-date=2021-05-16}}</ref>) for fast bidirectional sample transport to [[hard disk drives]] and [[magneto-optical drive]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Martin |date=1996 |title=Integrating Samplers & Your PC Via SCSI |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/integrating-samplers-your-pc-scsi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222164723/https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/integrating-samplers-your-pc-scsi |archive-date=2023-12-22 |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=[[Sound on Sound]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sweetwater |date=1999-04-23 |title=SMDI |url=https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/smdi/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005133122/http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/smdi/ |archive-date=2015-10-05 |access-date=2023-12-22 |website=inSync |language=en}}</ref>

===Ethernet and Internet Protocol===
[[Computer network]] implementations of MIDI provide network routing capabilities, and the high-bandwidth channel that earlier alternatives to MIDI, such as [[ZIPI]], were intended to bring. Proprietary implementations have existed since the 1980s, some of which use [[fiber optic]] cables for transmission.<ref name="Huber 1991" />{{rp|53–4|date=November 2012}} The [[Internet Engineering Task Force]]'s [[RTP-MIDI]] open specification has gained industry support. Apple has supported this protocol from [[Mac OS X]] 10.4 onwards, and a [[Windows]] driver based on Apple's implementation exists for Windows XP and newer versions.<ref>"rtpMIDI". ''tobias-erichsen.de''. n.p. n.d. Web. 22 August 2012 [http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/rtpmidi.html Windows RTP-MIDI driver download] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816032555/http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/rtpmidi.html |date=16 August 2012 }}</ref>

===Wireless===
Systems for wireless MIDI transmission have been available since the 1980s.<ref name="Huber 1991" />{{rp|44|date=November 2012}} Several commercially available transmitters allow wireless transmission of MIDI and [[Open Sound Control|OSC]] signals over [[Wi-Fi]] and [[Bluetooth]].<ref>Kirn, Peter. "[http://createdigitalmusic.com/2011/03/golden-age-of-wireless-korg-ios-sync-android-midi-hardware-enter-bluetooth-midi/ Golden Age of Wireless: Korg iOS Sync, Android + MIDI Hardware, Enter Bluetooth MIDI?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120911130151/http://createdigitalmusic.com/2011/03/golden-age-of-wireless-korg-ios-sync-android-midi-hardware-enter-bluetooth-midi/ |date=11 September 2012 }}". ''createdigitalmusic.com''. n.p. 25 March 2011. Web.</ref> iOS devices are able to function as MIDI control surfaces, using Wi-Fi and OSC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hexler.net/software/touchosc |title="TouchOSC". ''hexler.net'' n.p. n.d. Web. 20 Aug 2012 |publisher=Hexler.net |access-date=27 November 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121205071535/http://hexler.net/software/touchosc |archive-date=5 December 2012  }}</ref> An [[XBee]] radio can be used to build a wireless MIDI transceiver as a do-it-yourself project.<ref>"[http://ladyada.net/make/xbee/midibee.html XBee Adapter&nbsp;– wireless Arduino programming] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602152151/http://www.ladyada.net/make/xbee/midibee.html |date=2 June 2012 }}". ''ladyada.net''. n.p. 17 May 2011. Web. 20 August 2012.</ref> Android devices are able to function as full MIDI control surfaces using several different protocols over [[Wi-Fi]] and [[Bluetooth]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.humatic.de/htools/touchdaw/|title=TouchDAW – DAW controller and MIDI utilities for Android™|access-date=31 August 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160907160204/http://www.humatic.de/htools/touchdaw/|archive-date=7 September 2016}}</ref>