MIDI, a standard for digital music since 1981, has been updated to MIDI 2.0. New MIDI 2.0 is not dependent on any particular hardware implementation such as USB or Ethernet. Some of the main goals of the new protocol are to provide higher resolution, more channels, and improved performance and expressiveness. Another change is a move from a byte stream to data packets.
MIDI 2.0 is designed to "deliver an unprecedented level of nuanced musical and artistic expressiveness," and leans on three key design decisions to do so. Firstly its new 32-bit resolution makes for smoother, continuous, analogue feel - if you want that. Controllers will be easy to use and there will be more of them. Lastly major timing advances are present in the standard.
Also at the MIDI Association's press release, Details about MIDI 2.0™, MIDI-CI, Profiles and Property Exchange.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 01 2020, @09:19AM
A Lexicon G2 and R1 used system exclusive messages to enable bi-directional communication quite a few years ago.
I cannot remember how old those units are, maybe mid 1990's?
The two issues I always had to deal with were latency and saturating a link with continuous controller data.
I always hated that Yamaha reduced the MIDI outs on a QX3 sequencer to two physical MIDI connections.
And it would have been good to have two MIDI inputs, one dedicated to MIDI clock and one for recording
an instrument.