Connecting Lemur to PC? not as easy as i thought.

[Imza]

so while i greatly appreciate the simple straight-to-the-point videos in the support section of the liine website, there was a little bit of information missing.

first of all: i have successfully connected lemur on my ipad to the PC using MIDIYoke, which i used for my Legacy Lemur. it worked over wifi as well as USB, but it had some connectivity issues--mainly, it would connect and work fine, then the next time i wanted to use it, it wouldn't recognize my iPad (my Legacy has been working wonderfully the whole time).

secondly: when i saw the video on how to connect iPad Lemur to PC via USB, i wasn't very pleased to find out that the developers of the software failed to mention I also need a TWO HUNDRED DOLLAR iConnect hardware device to connect my iPad to PC via USB MIDI. the stupid thing also has a power supply that would hog up yet another one of the precious spots on my power strip. kind of defeats the purpose of having an amazing $50 software if you ask me.

third: the video to connect over wifi didn't say that you need to close your current wifi connection to connect to the ad hoc network (i've never used an ad hoc network before, so i didn't know). this means when i'm producing at home, i can't use the internet as long as i'm connected to the iPad using Lemur. since i use the internet so frequently, i got a 404 when i tried to post this because i had my wifi disconnected.

this is my annoyed face.

[Macciza]

Hi
First one: Need a few more details on this one - Is it just the auto-discovery that is not working? Does it work when you type in details?
Often the wired and wi-fi networks are quite separate and this can cause discovery issues.

Second: you can connect via any usb-compliant midi-interface using the dock or camera connection kit. It does not need to be the iConnect.
Cheaper ones will simply give poorer performance or incomplete feature sets. The iPad can only supply so much power to external devices.

Three: Sorry but that goes with the territory, you are setting up your own new network hence you are disconnecting from the one you were connected to.
And also, if you are engaged in serious production you probably should not have the internet running anyway. Or any other unnecessary apps.
That said, most of the time when 'mucking about' I just connect the iPad to my wi-fi network rather than ad-hoc . . .

Sorry but that's life . . .

Cheers
MM

[Imza]

are you saying i can use my wireless home network to connect my lemur to the PC over wifi without using an ad hoc? well, that would have also been useful to know, but that was left out of the video too. i use the internet during production to get samples usually, or sometimes i happen to be having a conversation with a friend online, or maybe i need some support for my product that isn't working the way it was intended to. i don't really understand why the ipad needs an external midi controller, when i can use midi over wifi fine. usb is very powerful and in my other midi devices has lower latency than the ipad, and the same latency as my legacy lemur which connects via ethernet. what happened when i used midiyoke is that the ipad would connect and work fine over the wifi of my home wireless network (i'm assuming...because...it worked. i have a video of it). sometimes when i would pull out the ipad later, it simply didn't show up in jazzdaemon.

[Macciza]

Hi
Yes you can - though it may be less reliable depending on numerous factors. An adhoc network would provide superior performance and is the recommended method.
You may need to also poke holes in firewalls etc depending on the level of network security you have implemented which can additional setup complexity.

Whilst internet etc can be handy during pre-production for best performance (again) it is far better to have a separate user setup for full production that is highly optimised.
This would mean no internet connection and minimised system extensions/background procedures for greater performance - that was all I meant.

Not sure what you mean by 'external midi controller? OIf you mean the Camera Connect Kit then it provides a method to drive hardware midi devices - if you mean the Daemon it simply provide a connection method to the computers midi system. Without knowing network setup it is difficult to say - ideally host names should be used as they resolve easier. When the Daemon has not seen the iPad from the computer have you checked whether you could make the connection from the iPad?

Cheers
MM

[Imza]

when i said "external midi controller" i meant external midi interface, like iConnect. right now, i can't get Lemur to connect to Lemur Daemon at all, after a fresh reformat. i emailed support but haven't gotten a reply yet. i was getting no recognition of my legacy or my ipad from either device or from my pc until i tried it again just now. the only thing i did differently was install drivers for my ethernet port, which i'm pretty sure i already had installed...either way, i've had wifi drivers for a week so it should have seen the ipad before. at least my problem is solved. thanks for your help. although, i do have another question.

what other usb-midi interfaces can i use with my ipad other than iConnect?

[Macciza]

Hi
Any Class-compliant MIDI interface (ie does not require drivers) should work so long as it does not draw too much power. For high-drain USB bus-powered devices it is possible to use a powered-hub in between to supply the necessary device power.
http://iosmidi.com/devices/ has a comprehensive list of various devices that should work.
Cheers
MM

[ark]

I haven't bought an iConnect yet, so I can't comment on it. However, I happen to have a class-compliant MIDI interface sitting around (an Elektron TM-1, which came with my Machinedrum). I tried connecting that to my iPad through the Camera Connection Kit, and it worked fine.

I've also connected an AKAI LPK25 to the iPad, and that works fine too.

A fellow named Tobias Erichsen has produced a small, free software package named rtpMIDI that will allow Windows machines running any version between Windows XP and Windows 7 to talk wirelessly to Apple network MIDI devices such as iPads. It works fine over my home wireless router and does not require an ad hoc network.

It also gives you an alternative to MIDI-Yoke that works on 64-bit Windows 7.