Using MMC to control SCS (mod in 10.7.4)

[russhart]

Hi, I have a digital mixer, Panasonic Ramsa DA7 which I will be controlling by SCS for a theatre performance. What I would also like to do is to use one of the transport buttons on the mixer to control the SCS cues but it outputs the midi message in sysex but in MMC. Is there any way to be able to read the input in SCS or does any one know of a program that will convert an sysex message on the fly to something that SCS will reconize. I tried midiox but it won't convert incoming sysex messages.
Thanks

[Mike Daniell]

MMC shouldn't be difficult to add to SCS since MSC is already supported, and both MMC and MSC use SysEx messages. I couldn't find a downloaded manual for the Panasonic Ramsa DA7, so could you tell me what MMC messages you want to use and if possible provide a download link for the refernce manual?

[russhart]

You can find a reference manual for the DA7 mixer at ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/pub/panasonic/d ... 0Guide.pdf
It doesn't actually list the MMC codes anyway. The codes as shown via midiox.
Play - F0 7F 00 06 03 F7
FF - F0 7F 00 06 04 F7
REW - F0 7F 00 06 05 F7
PAUSE - F0 7F 00 06 09 F7
STOP - F0 7F 00 06 01 F7
REC - F0 7F 00 06 01 F7
I don't expect this to be ready for tech rehersals which start in just over a week, but it would be handy for the next time.

[Mike Daniell]

OK, that corresponds closely to the MMC specification which lists (ref Wikipedia):

Code: Select all

F0 7F deviceID 06 command F7

The third byte is the Device ID.
The fifth byte is the command:
01 Stop 
02 Play 
03 Deferred Play 
04 Fast Forward 
05 Rewind 
06 Record Strobe (Punch In) 
07 Record Exit (Punch out) 
08 Record Ready (Record Pause)
09 Pause
0A Eject
0B Chase 
0D MMC Reset
40 Write 
44 Locate/Go to
47 Shuttle

As with MSC, I would include a field for you to nominate the device id, which for the message examples you've supplied would be 00H.
It would be feasible to implement the following mapping to SCS functions:

• MMC Play or Deferred Play = SCS Go
• MMC Stop = SCS Stop All (Esc)
• MMC Pause = SCS Pause/Resume All (Alt/U)

This obviously doesn't provide any cue list navigation, but should be sufficient for normal running of SCS.

Any comments?

[russhart]

The only problem I can see is how my desk does the pause/stop as it is the same key. Press the stop key once, it sends out the pause code, press it again and the stop code is sent, press it again and it goes to pause. If it could be set up so the input keys could be mapped to individual SCS functions it would be better, otherwise all I was thinking of was just the play function to fire the next que. Possibly use either FF or REW as the pause key as they don't have a dual purpose on this sound desk.

[Mike Daniell]

Is the action of the Stop key affected by pressing Play? EG if you press Stop (sending MMC Pause), then press Play (sending MMC Play or Deferred Play) and then press Stop again, does this second pressing of Stop re-send MMC Pause (because of the Play that was sent since the last use of the Stop key), or does it send MMC Stop?

REW and FF could be mapped to Previous Cue and Next Cue respectively, providing some navigation in the cue list.

btw, I see you're in Toowoomba - just a couple of hours' drive from me. My wife and I go to Toowoomba every two or three months as our daughter and family live there. What's the production you're currently preparing for?

[russhart]

The action of the stop key is as you mentioned. Press Stop (Pause) then play, then stop again it sends the pause code. Stop only works if you press it again when in pause. I didn't check, but I say it would work the same way with FF and REW.
The production I'm involved with is the Darling Downs Scout Revue. A theatre performance involving singing, dancing, pantomime, short skits etc. Details can be found at http://darlingdowns.scoutsqld.com.au/DDASR/index.html
Performances at Highfields Cultral Centre 10 & 11 September and Warwick Town Hall 12 September.
I'll be using SCS mostly for channel mutes/levels on the sound desk as we run something like about 6 stage mics and 6-10 wireless mics with 150+ cues as well as SFX and ambience tracks.

[Mike Daniell]

I'll have a look into implementing the following MMC mapping to SCS functions:

• MMC Play or Deferred Play = SCS Go
• MMC Stop = SCS Stop All (Esc)
• MMC Pause = SCS Pause/Resume All (Alt/U)
• MMC Fast Forward = SCS Next Cue
• MMC Rewind = SCS Previous Cue

Although the DA7 doesn't enable you to send 2 consecutive MMC Pause commands (to Pause All and then to Resume All), the above implementation is probably the most MMC-compatible. What you would need to remember is that to 'Stop All' in SCS you will need to press the DA7 Stop button twice.

I know Highfields. Looks like you have a good (and demanding!) show lined up.

[Mike Daniell]

I'll have a look into implementing the following MMC mapping to SCS functions:

• MMC Play or Deferred Play = SCS Go
• MMC Stop = SCS Stop All (Esc)
• MMC Pause = SCS Pause/Resume All (Alt/U)
• MMC Fast Forward = SCS Next Cue
• MMC Rewind = SCS Previous Cue

MIDI Machine Control (MMC) is now available in SCS 10.7.4 RC2 with the above mappings to SCS functions.

[russhart]

Thanks for that. I will get the desk out over the next week and try it with the files from the recent show I did to see if there are any problems with it and let you know.