Show Control 451
Sending MIDI Show Control
When MSC Transmit is enabled in Setup (see
Show Control Settings
), the console will send
MIDI Show Control commands to the specified MSC Transmit Channel (or Device ID) that
correspond to the console’s current action. For example, if Cue 1 in List 2 is executed, the
console will send a MSC Go command for Cue 1 List 2.
The console will send the following MSC commands:
Go - runs a cue
Stop - pauses a cue
Resume - resumes a paused cue
Fire - runs a macro
Set commands (for submasters, the playback pair, and grandmaster) are not transmitted from
Eos Family devices.
Hexadecimal and MIDI Show Control Formatting
When configuring other devices to send or receive MIDI Show Control, you may need to
consider the hexadecimal data that is sent as a part of a MIDI Show Control command. Many
software packages manage this formatting for you, but some instances require you to enter this
manually. The following notes are intended as a quick reference for common use cases. For a
more exhaustive reference on MIDI Show Control message formatting, please refer to the book
referenced at the beginning of this guide – Show Networks & Control Systems by John
Huntington.
Structure
A MIDI Show Control string can be written as a short hexadecimal message.
An example string would be:
F0 7F 01 02 01 01 31 00 31 F7
There is a structure to these strings – this is what the same string looks like with the parts that
can be modified identified in brackets:
F0 7F[device_ID]02 [command format] [command] [command_data]F7
Note: For Eos Family products, the command format field is always 01, for Lighting –
General.
The following commands discussed earlier in this document have the following command codes:
Go - runs a cue = Command 01
Stop - pauses a cue = Command 02
Resume - resumes a paused cue = Command 03
Set - controls a submaster, playback, or Grandmaster = Command 06
Fire - runs a macro = Command 07
The other parts of the string are standardized. F0 7F and the ending F7 are parts of the standard
MIDI System Exclusive message format. The 02 specifies the protocol is MIDI Show Control.
Go, Stop, Resume
The cue commands can target any available cue on the console. Hexadecimal doesn’t natively
handle decimal numbers, so the numbers are sent in a different format (ASCII text encoding).
There are four simple rules for formatting: