Show Cue System

I am using an 8 channel midi relay board to control various devices in the theatre using SCS.

Frequently I want those devices to be activated at the same tie.

My question is that when I program control cues to send midi notes at the same time (an auto cue, at the start of the previous cue), in that circumstance does SCS send the midi notes at the same time or do the notes cue and get sent in turn?

I have had the occasion when I believe I get clashing notes therefore the commands corrupt (I assume). I am now programming control cues and sub cues to have a small delay (200ms) between notes, but this can get complicated using multiple auto cues and sub cues, and the times accumulate causing short delays.

I would be interested in how midi notes work in SCS.

Love the product, it is the back bone of our productions.

regards
Geoff
Garrick Theatre, Perth WA

Geoff,

MIDI commands in a Control Send Cue are sent sequentially, but if you are having an issue with the timing then could you email me a log file from a run in which that happens? Let me know which cue(s) are clashing, etc. (SCS log files are created and saved in a folder named "SCS Logs" under "Documents", and the name of the file includes a time-stamp indicating when the log started.)

Hi Mike,

This is a copy of the PM sent.

Further to the forum post, I have conducted a quick experiment on SCS, firstly sending a number of midi control cues that send at the same time (next cue at the start of the previous cue) and secondly sending sequentially (next cue at the end of the previous cue). While this is extreme it shows that the cues triggered at the same time send the notes also at the same time and therefore clash causing decode issues. I can see this by the led on the Roland UM-ONE.
This seems to confirm that without paying close attention to when notes are sent on separate multiple control cues and sub cues, clashes can occur. If this is the case, is it possible that the software be somehow arranged that a note cannot be sent at the same time as another note, in effect queuing the midi notes so they send in turn irregardless of when the cue itself is triggered. The notes themselves are very short, in the milliseconds but I'm not sure exactly.
2 log files are attached.
regards
Geoff

Geoff,

Thanks for the logs. I've replied in detail by email, but the issue seems to be that the Roland UM-ONE is not handling the rapid input of MIDI messages, because tests here using MIDI-OX show that MIDI-OX successfully separates the messages. I could add an 'inter message delay' field for MIDI Control Send devices, similar to that available for TCP Network devices. Based on the information in your logs, setting that delay time to about 20 milliseconds should enable the UM-ONE to successfully separate the MIDI messages.