User`s manual

VARI❋LITE® - VIRTUOSO™ / VIRTUOSO™ DX CONSOLE USER’S MANUAL
304 23-Sep-02 02.9651.0001 C
Concepts
About MIDI/SMPTE
The console is able to accept two forms of external control:
• MIDI Notes
• Timecode (includes both MIDI and SMPTE)
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a communication protocol that allows
electronic musical instruments to interact with each other. Much in the same way that
two computers communicate via modems, two electronic instruments can
communicate via MIDI. At its most basic structure, MIDI information tells a
synthesizer when to start and stop playing a specific note. Since the basis for MIDI
communication is the byte, MIDI can also be used as an interface between musical
instruments and computers, or in this case a computer-based lighting console. In the
same way that MIDI can command a note to start or stop, Virtuoso console functions
such as board cue execution can be initiated by a connected MIDI-compatible device.
MIDI Notes are mapped console macros while MIDI timecode is recorded as a script.
SMPTE timecode is a communication protocol standard set forth by the Society of
Motion Picture and Television Engineers for handling of audio which is associated
with motion images. This is essentially the same as MIDI timecode except that it is
analog while MIDI timecode is digital. However, once either of these signals enters
the console they are stored as digital timecode scripts.
Note: Only one form of timecode - either MIDI or SMPTE - can be input at one time.