MIDI Timecode

Описание: The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) in the 1960s adapted a timecode that was developed for NASA, and used it to synchronize sound and picture elements.

When Dave Smith introduced the MIDI 1.0 spec at the NAMM Show in 1983, synthesizers, sequencers, and controllers could now be interfaced.

MTC or MIDI Time Code was then developed so that a control track on a tape could synchronize the various MIDI devices. This allowed the synchronization of both audio and MIDI elements as well.

MIDI Time Code is similar to SMPTE time code in that it can give a positional reference (as in the exact hour, minute, second, and frame), although MIDI Clock sync doesn't actually require this positional information.

However, one feature that MIDI time code does include, that isn't found in SMPTE time code, is a tempo map, which provides a framework for the musical composition. This tempo map can be clearly seen on digital audio workstations, displayed as a grid, when viewing the timeline in bars and beats.

MIDI Time Code can have some latency issues due to a "clog" of the MIDI data being transmitted. MIDI rigs with lots of external hardware synths often will have as a component, a MIDI router to distribute the MIDI data to the various devices. These MIDI routers can help minimize the "clog" of data and therefore reduce latency.

Digital audio workstations using internal MIDI software synths will generally not experience any latency.