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It's all I want to listen to!

0 (0%)

Most of my time listening is MIDI.

1 (6.7%)

I used to listen a lot, but due to the demise of good MIDIs because of lawsuits, I dont' listen much anymore.

3 (20%)

I can take 'em or leave 'em.

2 (13.3%)

Don't care much about MIDIs.

1 (6.7%)

With all the great new formats I am not interested in MIDIs.

3 (20%)

MIDI is old technology, why waste your time?

4 (26.7%)

I hate MIDI.

1 (6.7%)

Total Members Voted: 14

[cjkawmj]

Hi,

With some 70+ views since my original post about getting sound stutters and only 1 reply, I am interested in whether efforts to resolve my MIDI stutters will produce anything more than a yawn.  I personally prefer MIDI (I'll list why if anyone wants to know), but I recognize this is only MHO.  Please let me know what you think.  I do not wish to pursue my issue (at least at this level), if it is not of importance to the whole.

I realize  that MC is inclusive of visual and audio, but my only interest is audio.  I don't even need the visualizations.  My interests are in pure, crisp clean sound with the least overhead.

Please feel free to leave any comments too  

Thank you for your time,

Calvin

[Alex B]

Basically a MIDI file is a set of instructions for MIDI synth. Much depends on how the MIDI synth in PC is playing those instructions and communicating with the playback software.

I don't have a hardware MIDI synth (I have a Terratec DMX6 fire soundcard). Playback programs use Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth and it is not working with MC 10 on my PC for some reason. I can use e.g. Winamp for MIDI playback.

[CDvd]

ok, but if another player can play fine midi files fine (on the same computer, it could be (is?) a MC bug....
Windows media player plays fine all my midi files, and with MC I get shutters (using the Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth).

Playback [....] is not working with MC 10 on my PC for some reason

With you, it makes 3 users that can't play midi files with MC 10. I bet it's a bug.


[Edit]Note : with MC 10 I get shutters and with 11 nothing at all (no sound)!

[Alex B]

I didn't say it is not a bug. Because MIDI is one of the supported formats it should work. If I had lots of MIDI files it would be nice to have them in the MC library (it's possible, but without playback pretty much useless...)

Actually I tried some MIDI files in MC 11 and it played them normally. Then I tried MC 10 with no luck. I went back to MC 11, but it wasn't able to play them anymore. Maybe MC 10 did something to MS synth. I could try MC 11 again after next reboot.

Edit:

[Edit]Note : with MC 10 I get shutters and with 11 nothing at all (no sound)!

With MC 10 I get nothing at all (just the progress bar moves), but with MC 11 it worked once.  ?

[cjkawmj]

OK, here are some more details on the stutters...

 - The MIDIs played fine in MJ8 and recently started having stutters.
 - Upgraded to MC10 and MIDIs played great for a couple of hours, then started stuttering on some songs, but not others.  Eventually with a few more plays, ALL started stuttering.
 - Reinstalls helped initially, but then shortly started stuttering.
 - Now uninstalls/clean installs (including registry) no longer will allow anything other than silence or stutters.
 - If I start a MIDI, there is silence.  If I double-click, press the play button or  go previous or next song I get the stutters.
 - The stutters sound like there are two buffers. but only one of them are getting played.  Almost like fast-forwarding a CD.
 - When playing  a MIDI, MC10 cannot determine length and the duration slider cannot be moved.


Incidentally, my sincere gratitude to all providing input.  

Calvin

[vivavenus]

would you know how to convert from mp3/wav to midi using MJ8?

[Robert Taylor]

As Alex B alluded to, a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) file, is merely a list of "events". From what I remember, MIDI is capable of sending on 16 channels. A device (drum machine, etc.) is set to receive on a specific channel.

Originally designed to control synthesizers, drum machines, and synth sound modules, it is a list of events, sent on a specific channel, which cause that device to perform the specified instructions. ie. Switch on note Middle-C, wait for the duration, switch off note Middle-C.

MIDI can contain a lot more information than that, of course. Have a search on Google for more details.

What this means is that the MIDI file contains NO SOUND DATA (unlike an MP3 etc.). The MIDI file does make any noise on its own. When you listen to a MIDI file on your, PC, the information contained within the MIDI file is sent to a "software synthesizer" which is part of your sound card/software.

To "convert" a MIDI file to an MP3, I expect that you would need to use some sequencing software (Cakewalk etc.), or audio software (Adobe Audition). I think that these might do the job. However, they are not "converting" the MIDI to MP3. They are playing the MP3, the sound card generates the audio (NOT playing back sampled audio, as in an MP3), and records it into an audio file, which you can then play back as per normal. Depending on your sound cards capabilities etc. the MIDI file could end up sounding quite different from PC to PC, even though the tune (the sequence of notes) remains the same.

I would not expect any version of Media Center to be able to perform this function.

Hopefully, this clarifies things a little. If not, that's a shame...