NewTek 3Play 3P1, User Manual

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17.5 MIDI CONTROLLERS
A useful (and often very affordable) macro trigger option is MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface).
Figure 178
MIDI devices are often used in the audio and events
industries, but can be found in other realms as well.
Literally thousands of devices and systems of this sort are
available.
The Macro Configuration panel system can ‘listen’ for
button presses from most MIDI controllers, just as it
recognizes input from the keyboard or native control
surface (see Section 17.3.2). Too, a wide variety of MIDI
software and extensions are available for other devices,
including mobile devices such as tablets and smart
phones. These can be used to create unique custom
control alternatives.
Note: Many MIDI devices provide ‘plug-and-play’ convenience. Some, though, require non-standard
device drivers. Generally, adding device drivers to NewTek products is discouraged, since these may not
have been prepared with the rigorous demands of live production in mind.
If you install a driver and encounter unintended consequences, you can resolve the problem by restoring
to factory defaults and, if necessary, updating to the current software version appropriate for your
system.
17.6 NDI CONNECTIONS
Not surprisingly, NewTek products typically have extensive NDI (Network Device Interface)
implementations. Various systems and software (both native and third-party) also take advantage of NDI
connections to support transfer of things like metadata, control instructions and tally (on air) notification.
MIDI Configuration Add-On:
The Add-On group in 3Play’s Session page
(Startup) includes a link named Ableton
Novation Launchpad. This link opens a
simple configuration application that
allows you to alter the colors used to
illuminate buttons on this popular MIDI
device.
Simply choose a specific device from the
menu at upper left, choose a Fill Color,
and click a button on the screen with the
fill bucket mouse pointer. (Alternatively,
each button has a right-click menu you
can use to select the color for that
button.)