[linux-audio-dev] Audio over Ethernet / Livewire

[Benno Senoner]

chriswareham at chriswareham.demon.co.uk wrote:

>Wasn't there also a proposal for MIDI over ethernet? It would be
>quite a neat idea for a totally software based studio - have the
>sequencer on one machine, while softsynths, samplers and whatever
>else could be spread across more powerfull machines. If such an
>interface could be seen at the userland level just like any other
>MIDI device, support would be seamless.
>
>Chris
>
>
>  
>
I discussed these issues at the latest ZKM LAD conference with Paul 
Davis (jack) and Francois Dechelle (ircam)
and the most flexible approach seems to add networking capabilities to 
jackd and the jack client library.
Plus considering that midi over jack is being implemented too you would 
have both midi and audio over ethernet
through jack, available to any jack client without the application 
needing to be changed.

We are interested in allowing clusters of LinuxSampler machines and we 
here we need both audio and midi
over ethernet so I assume devs from the LS team will contribute to the 
jack networking stuff too.
Since we need both midi and audio Paul said it's probably the best to 
wait that midi over jack is implemented and then
start planning how to export this data over network.

The cool thing of such an audio/midi network protocol would be that you 
could write VST/AU plugins on windows/mac which
sees the remote machines like they were local plugins.
(there is already a commercial audio/midi VST over ethernet solution 
http://www.fx-max.com/ )

cheers,
Benno
http://www.linuxsampler.org