do all true MIDI ports use optical

The physical MIDI interface uses DIN 5/180° connectors. Opto-isolating* connections are used, to prevent ground loops occurring among connected MIDI devices. Logically, MIDI is based on a ring network topology, with a transceiver inside each device. The transceivers physically and logically separate the input and output lines, meaning that MIDI messages received by a device in the network not intended for that device will be re-transmitted on the output line (MIDI-OUT). This introduces a delay, one that is long enough to become audible on larger MIDI rings....

*In electronics, an opto-isolator (or optical isolator, optocoupler, photocoupler, or photoMOS) is a device that uses a short optical transmission path to transfer a signal between elements of a circuit, typically a transmitter and a receiver, while keeping them electrically isolated — since the signal goes from an electrical signal to an optical signal back to an electrical signal, electrical contact along the path is broken.

jesus christ, what the fuck have you been smoking?

Didn't understand a single word of it

when i read the thread title i wtflol'd but actually yes i think they do. it's a single wee chip so don't go imagining lasers or anything complex (they usually use an LED on the chip for hte light source i think but it's fabricated on the chip and fully enclosed with the receiving part). basically it helps prevent mains hum by splitting the physical electric circuit.

yeah midi connectors are always optocoupled, i wouldn't say they are "optical" tho, that sounds like optical fibre and other futuristic robocop shit, and midi is keeping it steel (copper), no fibres anywhere.

optocoupling used to be very common for isolation and in the 80s every designer would throw in an optocoupler chip or two, just as one would use some cheap bypass capacitors for isolation now.

a pretty nasty solution actually, since midi is all digital & pulse-based, and seeing as optocoupler chips have significant slew rates, the pulses will get maimed and you might actually start losing bits when daisy-chaining lots of midi ports together. if you connect more than, say, five midi devices with the THRUs and feed them busy complex MIDI-strings you'll see they'll start choking and skipping bits.

edit: what greenbank said (i must've choked and skipped his bit)

'Real world' MIDI was cool over 20yrs ago but is shit by today's standards and in many ways has been holding hardware back for far too long.

I can see things going USB (not ideal) but its about time we had something new methinks or at least an increased bandwidth or something.

  soundwave said:

'Real world' MIDI was cool over 20yrs ago but is shit by today's standards and in many ways has been holding hardware back for far too long.

 

I can see things going USB (not ideal) but its about time we had something new methinks or at least an increased bandwidth or something.

it's looking like OSC is going to be the new standard of choice for a lot of new gear, quite a few newer programs and controllers use it already (bidule, reaktor, the monome 40h, lemur, max/msp etc.).

ever one be talkin bout this osc bisness.

why in the hell don't we have wireless midi yet. i want to rock some keytar action.

  modey said:

why in the hell don't we have wireless midi yet. i want to rock some keytar action.

Well, there is this. A rather expensive way to look like a prat on stage, though.

And this:

  mcbpete said:

And this:

 

^ That rocks, I tried it out.