Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!qt.cs.utexas.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!att!drutx!druwy!mab From: mab@druwy.ATT.COM (Alan Bland) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.audio Subject: Re: Multitasking sequencers Message-ID: <9277@drutx.ATT.COM> Date: 28 Jun 91 13:31:56 GMT References: Sender: news@drutx.ATT.COM Lines: 38 In article , phil@phd.UUCP (H Phil Duby) writes: > In article <6346@mindlink.bc.ca> Rick_Younie@mindlink.bc.ca (Rick Younie) writes: > > Is it possible to have 2 sequencers sharing 1 serial port? Is there any > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > > other way of converting MOD files to standard midi files? > > I suspect that is the trouble. Using different timers probably does not help > when only using I serial port. Right. AmigaDOS doesn't provide an easy way for two tasks to selectively read from the serial port. A typical MIDI task always has a pending read from the serial port so that any incoming MIDI data will signal the task. A task can open the serial port in shared mode, but if it doesn't have a way to stop trying to read from the port, it will interfere with other tasks trying to read. Most Amiga MIDI programs these days have a way to pause or release the MIDI port, which seems to actually close it for other tasks to use. Better would be a way to tell a sequencer to stop reading but to otherwise operate normally. Then it would be possible to connect MIDI IN and OUT to play one sequencer into the other. Better yet would be a continuation of the old Soundscape MIDI routing ideas. > Wild quess with nothing to back it up, but 2 serial port + 2 midi > interfaces + differerent timers MIGHT work. Would also depend on how fast > your system is (and the configurability of at least on of the programs). > Can the system keep up to both those ports, at the rate the midi data is > moving around? That should work fine. A good multi-tasking-friendly MIDI player should use less than 10% of a stock 68000 CPU, leaving plenty of time for the recorder. -- -- Alan Bland -- att!druwy!mab == mab@druwy.ATT.COM -- AT&T Bell Laboratories, Denver CO -- (303)538-3510