January, 2008

For the third year in a row, dozens of MIDI hardware and software manufacturers gathered at the Marriott in Anaheim CA, in conjunction with the Winter NAMM Show, to discuss ideas for a new High Definition protocol for musical instruments.

"MIDI has worked fantastically for more than 25 years, but with today's computers and embedded microprocessors we can now do much more than MIDI was originally designed to do", said MMA President and CEO Tom White. "This new protocol could encourage market growth through more expressive products, improved ease of use, and new and innovative applications. Plus new HD devices and software would be designed to be compatible with all of the great MIDI hardware and software that already exists."

The proposed changes would increase the number of MIDI Channels and Controllers, and provide greater resolution in data values for all of the current MIDI 1.0 messages. Moreover, all of this would be accomplished with single messages, as opposed to the compound messages often used in MIDI 1.0, which means using and editing MIDI data will be far easier for both developers and users. The new protocol could also support the creation of entirely new messages that were not practical with the MIDI 1.0 protocol.

"At this point our 'HD Protocol' is still under development, but we've seen a lot of interest from both hardware and software developers," said White. "Our policy is not to discuss MMA Specifications publicly until they're officially adopted, but in this case we want to make sure that all qualified companies know what we are thinking about so they have the opportunity to participate before the first version is published in 2009."

The original MIDI 1.0 Specification, developed in 1983, has been the foundation for interoperability of digital musical instruments for 25 years. The initial "MIDI 1.0 Specification" contained the rules for remote control of keyboard devices, but over the years additional specifications were developed for file exchange, sound exchange, synthesizer design, and new applications such as stage lighting and ring-tones. Today the term "MIDI" applies to the wide variety of file formats, applications, and device specifications defined by the MIDI Manufacturers Association.

The MIDI Manufacturers Association is an industry non-profit organization that is responsible for maintaining and extending MIDI. Formed in 1985 by the original developers of the MIDI 1.0 Specification, the MMA provides a forum where companies using MIDI can cooperate and collaborate to make their equipment interoperable. More information is available at http://www.midi.org/. 

Companies that are interested in participating in the development of the new HD Protocol should contact the MMA (see the contact form on this site.)