MIDI Show Control


MIDI Show Control, or MSC, is a significant Real Time System Exclusive extension of the international Musical Instrument Digital Interface standard. MSC enables all types of entertainment equipment to easily communicate with each other through the process of show control.
The MIDI Show Control protocol is an industry standard ratified by the MIDI Manufacturers Association in 1991 which allows all types of entertainment control devices to talk with each other and with computers to perform show control functions in live and canned entertainment applications. Just like musical MIDI, MSC does not transmit the actual show media - it simply transmits digital information about a multimedia performance.

How MSC works

When any cue is called by a user and/or preprogrammed timeline in a show control software application, the show controller transmits one or more MSC messages from its 'MIDI Out' port. A typical MSC message sequence is:
  1. the user has just called a cue
  2. the cue is for lighting device 3
  3. the cue is number 45.8
  4. the cue is in cue list 7
MSC messages are serially transmitted in the same way as musical messages and are fully compatible with all conventional MIDI hardware, however many modern MSC devices now use Ethernet communications for higher bandwidth and the flexibility afforded by networks. Other performance parameters are also transmitted such as lighting desk submaster settings using MSC SET messages.
All cues that a media control device is capable of playing are assigned MSC messages within the Show Controller's cue list and they are transmitted from its 'MIDI Out' port at the appropriate show time, depending on the actions of the user and the show controller's internally timed sequences.
All MSC compatible instruments follow the MSC specification and thus transmit identical MSC messages for identical MSC events such as the playing of a certain cue on the media controller. Since they follow a published standard, all MSC devices can communicate with and understand each other, as well as with computers which have been programmed to understand MSC messages using the MSC Command Set. All MSC compatible instruments have a built-in MIDI interface and many now follow one of the various MIDI-over-Ethernet protocols.

History

To create the MSC spec, Charlie Richmond headed the USITT MIDI Forum on their Callboard Network in 1990, which included developers and designers from the theatre sound and lighting industry from around the world. It is believed that this was the first international standard to be developed without a single physical meeting of the participants and the full transcript of the discussion is available via External Links, below. This Forum created the MSC standard between January and September, 1990. This was ratified by the MIDI Manufacturers Association in January 1991, and the Japan MIDI Standards Committee later that year, becoming a part of the standard MIDI specification in August, 1991. The first show to fully use the MSC specification was the Magic Kingdom Parade at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in September 1991.

MIDI Show Control software

SoftwarePlatformCompany articleCompany website
Martin M-PCWindowsMartin Professional
SM-DesignerWindowsRichmond Sound Design
NavigatorWindowsTait Towers
ABEditWindowsRichmond Sound Design
ShowManWindowsRichmond Sound Design
ABShowMakerMacRichmond Sound Design
IMEASYWindows Mac
ManagerWindows
SFXWindows
V-ControlOpen Source Show Control Windows Linux OS X
showcontrolpro Windows Mac
SAMSCMac
Pure DataWindows Mac GNU/Linux
MAX/MSPWindows Mac
TRAXMac
GTypeWindows
ShowFlowWindows
QLabMac OS X
TJShowWindows
CUE ShowcontrolWindows
PCStageWindows
CSCWindows
MultiPlayWindows
WatchoutWindows
Show Cue SystemsWindows
Jands VistaWindows macOS