Control Receptor Directly from Iphone or Ipad

[cam2000]

I was very excited about TouchOsc, until I realised that I need to be running osculator on a computer to make it work.

Are there any apps that send out cc's directly from the iphone/ipad to the receptor so we can use an iphone/ipad to control the receptor live? The whole point of having the receptor is so that I don't have to set up a laptop on stage.

Thanks

[PhilAiken]

Not sure this is what you are after - but I have a small wireless router in my Receptor rack, and I use VNC on the iPad to bring up the Receptor GUI at gigs, should I want to do some tweaking. Works quite well.
There is a thread or two on here about the specifics, and it is not a complicated thing to set up.

[cam2000]

Yes I've worked out how to to that, but I was more thinking about something like TouchOSC where I can set up a custom screen and control various things in real time. I don;t think the use of VNC is accurate or fast enough for realtime use.

I think i might be able to set up touchOSC to talk to a computer, and THEN to the muse receptor, all in real time, but I don't think I can do it without the computer as the middle mad. TouchOSC doesn't send out midi cc's as such - it needs a computer program to change the signals it sends out to midi cc.

I was asking if anyone knew of a way to bypass the computer. That way, an iphone or ipad could be set up to do all sorts of things - drawbars, volumes, x-y pads, you name it.

[PhilAiken]

I am looking at an app called Midi Touch. It might do the trick. It will require the camera connection kit, and the app itself costs $17.99.
I don't see anything at first glance about requiring specific host software. Take a look....if I take the plunge I will report back.

[cam2000]

Any luck?

[wizard_of_keys]

Not sure this is what you are after - but I have a small wireless router in my Receptor rack, and I use VNC on the iPad to bring up the Receptor GUI at gigs, should I want to do some tweaking. Works quite well.
There is a thread or two on here about the specifics, and it is not a complicated thing to set up.

tell me/us:
tweaking plugins via GUI (e.g. drawbars... or knobs like filter etc).
does this really work fluently wit the wireless router-solution ?

[Bryan@MuseResearch]

Not sure this is what you are after - but I have a small wireless router in my Receptor rack, and I use VNC on the iPad to bring up the Receptor GUI at gigs, should I want to do some tweaking. Works quite well.
There is a thread or two on here about the specifics, and it is not a complicated thing to set up.

tell me/us:
tweaking plugins via GUI (e.g. drawbars... or knobs like filter etc).
does this really work fluently wit the wireless router-solution ?

I haven't tried any of the MIDI iPad apps out there, but should. But everyone here probably already knows that you can use a VNC app on your iPad (or whatever) and directly see / control the user interface of RECEPTOR using a Wireless router... the video of how to do it is located here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMs3hLpWbaM

So using this connection, you can talk directly to the plugin, BUT... not all plugin controls are that cool to control using a touch pad... so in that case, a MIDI controller app might be a better solution.

Bryan

[Robert Karasek]

So using this connection, you can talk directly to the plugin, BUT... not all plugin controls are that cool to control using a touch pad... so in that case, a MIDI controller app might be a better solution.

Bryan

that's my next step. getting the iPad 3- and tweaking plugins via GUI with the wireless connection.
not sure if the use of WiFi does result in a slight amount of extra lag... ?!

I hope synths like Minimonsta, Predator and such are easy to edit...

I'll be checking out Touch OSC and esp. Liine anyway..

btw: do you know the great app "OnStage" by FLUQE LTD worth to buy!

best
Robert

[Bryan@MuseResearch]

There is definitely some lag with WiFi, after all its not Gigabit ethernet although some WiFi routers are getting pretty fast. But the lag will be no different than using a Laptop with Wifi to remote control your RECEPTOR, and that is actually very tolerable IMHO. Bigger concern is how the knobs / dials / buttons of a particular plugin work with a touch pad interface, and unfortunately a lot of GUI designers are expecting mouse pointers and not fingers.

There are a bunch of VNC viewers available on various mobile devices, and one that we came across and use in the video has the ability to "offset" your pointer, which makes it very easy to target small buttons or tiny knobs without having go "guess" where to place your finger for best results.

I'll get on my soapbox briefly and complain about typing on mobile devices... my android phone has these tiny little keys for entering text and I regularly get typing errors because of my fat american fingers missing the tiny little targets. But then again, I find typing on anything but a largish device like a tablet to be a waste of time, but that's just me being an old fart who didn't grow up texting my friends during dinner on my phone!!!

Having said that, selecting a patch on a mobile device like a WiFi phone running a VNC app is actually workable, but as far as programming and naming patches? Fugedaboudit. You need at least a Tablet device... or a Bluetooth keyboard for your phone so you can type at a reasonable rate without all the mistakes I get trying to use those damn tiny targets!


Bryan

[miamigroove]

I want to bring my Receptor out for some gigs but Id like to have access to the GUI at all times just in case I need to change something on the fly.

I have successfully tried the VNC connection with my iPad and Receptor 2 via wireless router. In an effort to simplify my setup, I was wondering if it would be possible to eliminate the Wi-Fi altogether and connect directly from the iPad to the Receptor via the standard iPad USB cable or perhaps the camera connection kit with a USB B-to-A adapter or something similar?

This would be an ideal solution for my needs. Even if the iPad could just mirror the GUI and I had to bring a separate mouse/keyboard I would prefer that to adding a Wi-Fi router/wall wart to my rig.

Is there an app for this already?

[Bryan@MuseResearch]

I want to bring my Receptor out for some gigs but Id like to have access to the GUI at all times just in case I need to change something on the fly.

I have successfully tried the VNC connection with my iPad and Receptor 2 via wireless router. In an effort to simplify my setup, I was wondering if it would be possible to eliminate the Wi-Fi altogether and connect directly from the iPad to the Receptor via the standard iPad USB cable or perhaps the camera connection kit with a USB B-to-A adapter or something similar?

This would be an ideal solution for my needs. Even if the iPad could just mirror the GUI and I had to bring a separate mouse/keyboard I would prefer that to adding a Wi-Fi router/wall wart to my rig.

Is there an app for this already?

Hmmm... unfortunately connecting two computers' USB ports together is always problematic, as both systems want to be "the boss". Any network connection is better in that respect since it is designed to connect various hosts together, but you are right, you need the router there to take control of the network.

We've been talking about looking into little USB Wi-Fi adapters that have the ability to serve as routers and assign addresses. Don't know if there are any out there or not, but it would be really cool if you could just plug a little Wi-Fi adapter into the back of a Receptor and then log in with your iPad.

We'll look around and see if there is something available, but in the mean time, what is it that bothers you most about the Wi-Fi router approach - is it the size of the router itself, or the fact you need a wall wart?

Bryan

[miamigroove]

Thanks for the reply, Bryan. Youre right, I wasnt too excited about trying to find a way to cram my large Netgear router into my already overstuffed 4U rack, along with the wall wart & the extra weight & heat that generates.

I recently bought a "mini-wifi-AP/router" (non-USB) off Ebay but I couldnt get it to work as the single ethernet port is designed to work with internet (i.e. NOT the computer port/hub) Maybe there is a way to do it in 'client' mode but I couldnt figure that out either. Im not a networking expert.

I just discovered that they make tiny USB LAN adapters like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/150Mbps-Mini-US ... 4601a7a3cc

That would be perfect if it worked but before I try it are there any specific requirements I should be looking for? Do you have any makes/models you recommend?

[Bryan@MuseResearch]

Thanks for the reply, Bryan. Youre right, I wasnt too excited about trying to find a way to cram my large Netgear router into my already overstuffed 4U rack, along with the wall wart & the extra weight & heat that generates.

I recently bought a "mini-wifi-AP/router" (non-USB) off Ebay but I couldnt get it to work as the single ethernet port is designed to work with internet (i.e. NOT the computer port/hub) Maybe there is a way to do it in 'client' mode but I couldnt figure that out either. Im not a networking expert.

I just discovered that they make tiny USB LAN adapters like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/150Mbps-Mini-US ... 4601a7a3cc

That would be perfect if it worked but before I try it are there any specific requirements I should be looking for? Do you have any makes/models you recommend?

Well, there are a couple of issues that we need to discuss about this. Let's start with what we are trying to accomplish:

Goal: Connect your Receptor to a Wi-Fi enabled device, like a Tablet computer, or mobile device like a smart phone, using some small device that hopefully just plugs in to the back of the Receptor.

This requires two things: First off, we need to talk to that Wi-Fi enabled device via Wi-Fi, right? (I know, duh...). That means we need to take the Ethernet port of the Receptor and connect it to a Wi-Fi transceiver. That's one part of the solution. But the OTHER part of the solution is that once the Receptor is talking Wi-Fi to that portable device, SOMETHING has to be "in charge" of the network, managing the communication between the two devices, and that device is called a ROUTER.

So to get RECEPTOR to speak Wi-Fi, we might want to look at one of those little USB Wi-Fi adapters. Unfortunately, those are just Wi-Fi transceivers that are used to add a Wi-Fi port to a device that doesn't have Wi-Fi capabilities. If you found one of those that had a Linux-compatible driver that was reliable and stable, then that would solve the problem of getting your RECEPTOR 'on the air' as it were and talking Wi-Fi to that portable device.

Unfortunately, with nothing to direct the communication between the Receptor and the mobile device, nothing would happen. We still need a router!

So what we REALLY want is a USB Wi-Fi Adapter / Router combination. I have yet to see any of these that clearly state that they are both USB Wi-Fi Adapters AND Routers at the same time. If you come across one, and it appears that it supports Linux, we'd love to look at it.

To be perfectly honest, I don't like lugging MY Ethernet router around with me either. Actually, I don't mind the router so much since it tucks into my case, but I hate having that extra power adapter and cabling around. So maybe what we need is an external Ethernet W-Fi router that can be powered off of USB??

Until we find such a device, the quickest and best solution is still to find a tiny, standard Ethernet router and stuff that in with your Receptor. Obviously, you don't need a bunch of E-net ports (just one to connect to the RECEPTOR) but it really needs to serve as a Router, which is the part that is essential for connecting two Ethernet devices together. The other advantage of going with a standard Ethernet router is that you know it will work, as the networking standards are just that... standards.

If you do find something that looks like it would work, let me know and we'll look at it further!

Cheers

bryan

[cattivo]

how about this?
seems to be adapter AND router AND powered by USB

think it will work?

http://www.pqigroup.com/prod_in.aspx?mn ... prodid=565

[gary@museresearch]

We tested out this one in the office:
http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/deta ... =TL-WR702N

Seemed to work well. Not sure about how big the range is though. But heck, it was only $25

Thanks,
Gary
Muse Support