MIDI vs OSC

alberto · Post by **alberto** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 1:02 pm

I use MIDI or OSC?

Post by **admin** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 7:06 pm

I think for anyone to give you advice on this they need to know what you want to accomplish.

MIDI has been around for a very long time and has been generally well tested. But, OS X 10.9 has shown some signs of older drivers not working and so, depending on the hardware, newer versions of OS X might have some issues.

OSC has an advantage of being able to be transported over a wireless network. But, I have documented dropped OSC packets over wireless on OS X 10.9, resulting in cues not being triggered. (I have not observed this with 10.10, but it is hard to prove a negative.) In show critical applications, I will use a wired ethernet connection for OSC. This somewhat mitigates OSC's advantage over MIDI.

Johan SÃ¶derberg · Post by **Johan SÃ¶derberg** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 1:36 am

Id pick OSC since its easier to program and feels more straightforward.

Midi always needs to be routed but OSC can send straightforward commands that need no routing.

Easier is better...

alberto · Post by **alberto** » Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:58 pm

I use MIDI to communicate Qlab and LX console.
Upgrade to OSC? I need stability
I have OSX 10.9

Post by **admin** » Thu Nov 06, 2014 4:23 am

If you are using MIDI through the IAC Driver to communicate between QLab and LXConsole and its working, doing what you need, then there's no advantage switching to OSC.

If you are connecting two different computers, one running QLab and one running LXConsole, then there might be a difference. But, again, if your hardware is working, then there's no reason to switch.

There's no generalized statement you can make saying OSC is better than MIDI or MIDI is better than OSC. They will both accomplish similar functions. And, except as noted perviously, they both work well.