Using MIDI to trigger DMXControl from Power Point?

I am trying to use DMX Control to run lights for a one-man show. Specifically it will be myself performing with marionette in front of a video projection screen. I will trigger each segment of lights or sound/video by using a remote control in my pocket.

One approach I had considered I have considered other approaches, including using DMX Control to run audio cues, and then to trigger the video using Beamer, but the remote control will not work with the DMXControl v.2 software. A keyboard remapping program was suggested to allow the remote to work, but then I got lost on telling DMXControl how to respond to keyboard presses. The lack of an English manual is probably the barrier for me.

So, I think I will to a different way and use Power Point as the software that controls everything else. Power Point will provide the sound and video, and to trigger the lighting I think I can embed a MIDI file, which will trigger DMXControl. However, this is where I am getting lost.

I can't figure out how to create a MIDI file to send the correct codes to DMXControl. I have some MIDI note editing software, and they have some means to create a control code, but again, I get lost with the specifics.

I imagine I only need to send a few numbers via MIDI. Perhaps it can be as simple as creating the file using a text editor, and saving it as a .mid file. But, I am completely guessing here.

Has anyone attempted this? Can any suggest how I should proceed?

Joe Dunfee

As usual, your help is greatly appreciated.

I have done some Visual Basic programming, so that is one possible solution. But, since I would first have to learn about MidiOX, I will first attempt to use the MIDI file provided by Dennis.

My understanding is that I first need to;
1) Install MIDI Yoke to allow an internal MIDI signal to be visible by windows.
2) Set up DMXControl to see the MIDI note trigger.

Then, by simply having Power Point play that MIDI file, it would trigger DMXControl to go to the next scene. I have read the English PDF help file about MIDI control. I think I have every thing set up, but it is not working. The MIDI Remote window does not seem to show any MIDI data being received. Attached is a screen shot of my DMX Control windows.

Thank You,
Joe Dunfee

Perhaps I am getting stuck with the MIDI mapping or something like that. It has been many years since I dabbled in MIDI, and even then, I really didn't get into the configuration stuff. I suspect that Windows is somehow routing my MIDI messages from Power Point to the Windows Media Player, so that DMXControl is not getting them at all. If I embed an actual musical MIDI file in the PowerPoint, it comes out the audio fine. I've read that Windows Vista didn't include the MIDI mapper that was included with earlier versions of Windows. Another message I found on a forum somewhere showed where to do this in the Device Manger. But, my sound device manager area didn't show the MIDI related listings the poster did. I imagine he had a computer with a physical MIDI port, and I don't.

I have spent the last few hours with MIDI-OX. But, I can't get it to show anything. The only MIDI input devices are the MIDI Yoke ones. If I play a musical MIDI using the player that comes with MIDI-OX, it plays, but again nothing shows on the MIDI-OX screen.

I can play a musical MIDI file in Power Point, but, I can't see any activity in MIDI-OX.

So, I am pretty sure that DMXControl is not getting the MIDI data at all. But, I am lost about how to fix it.

Joe Dunfee

I have purchased a cheap USB-to-MIDI adapter. It does show up as a MIDI in/out device in MIDI-OX. However, the activity lights do not show anything when playing a Power Point embedded MIDI file nor do they when I play MIDI using the MIDI-Bar program that came with MIDI-OX. That last failure surprised me. I would think that MIDI-Bar would successfully send MIDI out the MIDI interface. It is apparent that, in this last issue, it is probably a matter of fully understanding all the settings for MIDI-OX. But, I don't think that it is worth my effort to spend more hours trying to get MIDI-OX to work, because I need MS Media player to do it.

I also found some commentary about choosing the MIDI player that MS Media Player chooses by default. Vista was the first version of Windows that had this limitation. But, the directions I found were specifically for editing the registry to redirect the MIDI to a Creative Labs sound card synth. I found a few utilities that would modify the registry to redirect MIDI more generally, but these programs were not to be found on the large, and respected, download sites. I was hesitant to trust such a program from a site I am not familiar with.

So, the VBA seems to be the only choice at this time. I realize that some of you have alternative approaches, but it seems that each of them have their own complexities. The VBA in Power Point really does seem to be the simplest solution.... but perhaps I speak too soon. I will let you know if it actually works.

[edit - if I have to mess with VBA anyway, then perhaps I could just directly control DMXControl. I saw another brief post about using Network Terminal to do it like the PDA interface. But I don't see anything about this in the English manual]

Thank you all for your time,
Joe Dunfee

Just an update on my efforts. I have been talking to others in our local puppet guild, and several are interested in the idea of using the computer to run both lights and sound cues. However, I have been unsuccessful with DMXcontrol in this idea, so perhaps it is a dead end.

I did do some additional research using the Open Office equivalent to Power Point, called Impress. It will play MIDI files embedded in a slide, but as with all other MIDI players I test, I cannot see any MIDI input using MIDI-OX. I don't know if these programs will generate the MIDI data in such a way that DMXcontrol can see it. It could still be my own inability to properly use MIDI-OX.

Joe Dunfee