Peripheral MIDI Controller

File Release Notes and Changelog

Release Name: Version 0.5

Notes:
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Peripheral MIDI Controller (pmidic) Version 0.5 
Released on 11 March 2007

Official website : http://pmidic.sourceforge.net/
Contact          : benxtan at gmail dot com
Operating System : Windows XP
License          : GNU General Public License (GPL)
                   (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php)       

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CONTENTS:

1. MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR
2. DESCRIPTION
3. REQUIREMENTS
4. MODES
5. FEATURES
6. TODO
7. BUGS

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1. MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR:

Hello there! Thanks for taking a look at my program. Send me an email at
benxtan at gmail dot com or post in the forum for this project if you have any
comments or enquiries.

I have a added a number of new features in this version (see below) including an
update of the user interface. I think it looks better than the previous release,
but a lot more can be done to make it prettier (any suggestions are welcome!).

As far as the UI and some of my documentation below goes...it is intended for an
audience that has a fair amount of knowledge of computers and MIDI. I'm trying
to push out releases quickly and focusing more on functionality rather than
intuitiveness and aesthetics, but be sure to expect improvements in the future.

Be creative and have fun!

- Ben X

Special thanks to Karl, Sunny and Steve for the help and support.

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2. DESCRIPTION:

Peripheral MIDI Controller (pmidic) is a software program that intends to act as
a MIDI controller by using various peripheral devices. The initial release(s)
will be focused on using a webcam as a MIDI controller with 3 dimensions (XYZ).

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3. REQUIREMENTS:

You will need the following DLLs:
- cv100.dll
- cxcore100.dll
- highgui100.dll
- libguide40.dll
which are included in the zip file for this release.
Alternatively they can also be obtained from OpenCV_1.0.exe
(http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=22870&package_id=16937&release_id=456897)
These DLLs have to be in the same directory as pmidic.exe.

In order to send MIDI messages from pmidic to a program like Ableton Live, use
MIDI Yoke (http://www.midiox.com/index.htm?http://www.midiox.com/myoke.htm).

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4. MODES:

Incremental Mode:
This mode allows you to send MIDI control change (CC) messages (0-127) to a MIDI
device/port. These values are controlled by the X, Y and Z values calculated
from the light source detected by your webcam. The X and Y values are self-
explanatory, while the Z value is calculated based on the area of the light. The
effect is that the further the light source, the smaller the area, and vice
versa.

In addition to control messages, the Note Range setting sends note values and
functions like a theremin. You can limit the range of notes using the text boxes
labelled Min and Max on the bottom right section of pmidic.

Note Mode:
This mode allows you send MIDI note messages whenever a light source appears in
any of the 4 quadrants of the webcam screen. Furthermore, you can enable a
sequence of up to 4 notes per quadrant. For example, set up quadrant 1 to
play the notes C, D, E and F. The first time a light source appears, the MIDI
message to play C will be sent. The next time a light appears, D will be played.
Then E, then F, then back to C again, and so on.

Hit Mode:
This is basically the same as Note mode except there is only one quadrant. You
can sort of play air drums with it if you have a light in your hand (e.g. LED)
and you make hitting motions. With the camera pointing towards your arm, when
you lift up your arm, there is no light source. When you "hit" downwards, and
your forearm is horizontal, the light source is pointing at the camera and thus
causes it to send a MIDI note out message. In future, this mode will be removed
as it is identical to Note mode except for the number of quadrants. In future,
you will be able to choose how many quadrants (1-4) are used in Note mode.

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5. FEATURES:

Version 0.5
- UI revamp
- Saves general settings on exit, and loads them on startup.
- Ability to save presets
- Ability to refresh the camera list
- Ability to record video to file (no sound at the moment)
- Added Note Range feature to Incremental mode (functions like a theremin)
- Added note sequences to Note mode

Alpha Version
- Incremental mode
- Note mode
- Hit mode

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6. TODO:

- Use pthread instead of windows threading
- Record audio with the video
- Allow user to select codec for video and save the setting for future use
- Run video recording in a separate thread to improve performance
- Consolidate Note mode and Hit mode into one mode
- Allow the user to select the number of quadrants (1-4) for Note mode
- Write Z calibration screen
- Abstract the input device to allow input from other peripherals (e.g. mouse,
  joystick, game controller, wiimote, PDA, DDR mat, etc.)

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7. BUGS:

- Performance is very poor while recording video

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Changes: