RTP-MIDI (also known as AppleMIDI) is a protocol to transport MIDI messages within Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) packets over Ethernet and WiFi networks. It is completely open and free (no license is needed), and is compatible both with LAN and WAN application fields.
Translation: RTP MIDI is a way of sending MIDI data over a network setup.
What type of cable do I connect to this port that says RTP?
You would connect a CAT5e or higher ethernet cable.
Where and How do I connect these cables?
These cables will be connection to either a computer or your iConnectivity interface.
On some newer computers you may not see this port. You can use an adaptor or hub to get the connection from the USB-C end on your computer to the ethernet port type.
There are multiple ways you can connect you ethernet cables, to your interfaces and computers, to get data moving between different points but there are 2 main ways that are commonly use.
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A single connection - Point A to Point B
- This is commonly used when you only have 2 devices connected together.
1 interface and 1 computer
2 interfaces
2 computers
Note: These connections can be direct between the devices in the network or using a network switch to just connect the one device. It's personal preference how you want to connect this. We recommend direct connection without the switch if you have no plans on adding computers or interfaces in the future.
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Multiple connections
- This type of connection will require use of a network switch or router. In this situation you connect any computer or interface into the switch and all other computers or interfaces connected to this can see it.
Data Flow
You may notice you only have a single ethernet/RTP port on your interface, so you may ask if you can only send from one device down this connection or if you can only send to or from a device.
The answer in no. Ethernet connections allow you to send data both in and out and allow for many ports. This is similar to a USB connection. USB connections allow data back and forth and can carry multiple MIDI ports.
If you would like to know how many ports your specific interface can carry check our our article iConnectivity | Ports and Connections
In our examples of wiring above we showed the mioXL. This is a device that has 1 physical ethernet port on the outside but has 22 viritual ports available from it. Each viritual MIDI port has 16 channels. These can all be separately addressed. This means you could use a single RTP port to for 16 different things or you can just use 1 channel on all/any of the 22 ports.
All of this and only 1 cable from the mioXL is needed.
Pretend the blue lines on the outside are the outsides of an ethernet cable. Since you are connected with the mioXL. You will have 22 RTP MIDI ports and each RTP MIDI port has it's own 16 channels of MIDI data. Each channel and port can include sending and receiving information. That's a lot of info.
Each RTP MIDI port can be used in one of 2 ways:
1) An Initiator
- This is where the port goes to the network and says Hey everyone I'm here and I would like to connect to a specific IP or a Bonjour Name.
2) A Responder
- This is where the port says hello to the network and then sits back and waits for someone to calls it's number to connect.
In order to make a successful connection you will need one RTP port to be an Initiator and one to be a responder. This way one device calls out for a name and the other answers.
Pretend it's like a waiting room one person needs to call and name or number and the other will need to respond.
This will be easy to see when you have 2 of our iConnectivity interfaces setting up together as you will see the Responder or Initiator dropdown menu on the RTP/Network page in Auracle X.
To learn more about the RTP/Network page in Auracle X please see the Auracle X manual (pg 21 &22).
If you want to connect directly to a computer from an RTP port you will need to do a few steps.
This article will help you setup a connection from an interface to the computer.
You'll notice the computer's network sessions can only work as a responder so setting up as an Initiator is the recommend way to connect.
If you need help troubleshooting your RTP connection check out the articles below
Troubleshooting my RTP connection
How to check if your RTP ports are showing to your computer
You can also check out the videos below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3ywIA2wCpI&t=697s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOvruu22x4A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI3lsxh4DRE&t=453s
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