History Platform / MIDI

General MIDI was quite attractive in the early days of computing, because it was (and is) very portable. It only provided ''notation'' for a song, not the sounds themselves; if [[UsefulNotes/WavAudio WAV files]] were recordings[[note]]Technically, they are.[[/note]] and synthesizers were orchestras and bands, then MIDI files were merely the sheet music, an object that is smaller (often only a few KB) and rather more portable than an orchestra. The problem came with the ''lack'' of orchestra. Sheet music needs to be performed, after all, and if the entity ''performing'' it (like a [[PacManFever Pac-Man cabinet]]) can't produce very good noises, you're stuck, and most computerized entities of the day could not produce very good noises.

As [=PCs=] got more powerful, sound card makers (and, eventually, the operating systems themselves via [=QuickTime=] on Macs and Windows machines, and the Microsoft GS Synthesizer module on newer versions of Windows, both of which use licensed Sound Canvas [=ROMs=]) added software-based PCM synthesizers, making General MIDI a much more palatable solution comparable to UsefulNotes/{{MOD}}. General MIDI reached its height around the days of the Platform/PlayStation, with its 24-voice ADPCM sampler. In Japan, the Platform/SharpX68000 played music with its eight-channel FM synthesizer and one ADPCM channel. However, MIDI data could be routed to an external Roland MT-32 or SC-55 synthesizer to produce superior audio quality, and it was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h83e7eBrdaQ&t=1m24s pretty]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIdL6jdImus awesome]] (albeit expensive) for its time.

The increase in cheap computing power also had the effect of making General MIDI itself obsolete on consumer devices. As hard disk and memory capacity increased, it became easier to include pre-recorded music and elaborate sound-processing engines directly in games for [=PCs=] and stationary consoles, making the size advantages of General MIDI moot. Today, some see MIDI as a {{Scrappy}} in digital audio. Poor or unconvincing emulations of real instruments with synthesizers (and by extension the music they produce) are labelled as "MIDI-ish", even though technically, as described above, the format itself has nothing to do with the quality of the samples/sound synthesis used. However, MIDI is still used today by composers who work with music/audio workstations to create and perform music on computers and synthesizers. In terms of consumer applications, MIDI (along with UsefulNotes/{{MOD}}) are not used for much besides [[MusicalGameplay games that need precise tempo control]], music in Platform/NintendoDS, Platform/Nintendo3DS and a handful of freeware doujin games, and ringtones on low-end cellphones. Even smartphones have switched to [=MP3=] or [=M4A=] ringtones.

To get something that wasn't just beeps and bloops, you needed a General MIDI module using PCM samples, which were very expensive at the time; the cheaper FM synthesizers used on PC sound cards weren't up to the task of simulating an entire orchestra well.[[note]]Though to be fair, the blame lies at least as much with the driver software, if not more; most drivers for Yamaha FM-based cards didn't implement the MIDI standard very well, and the default patch sets were usually sub-par. Games that provided their own instrument sets tended to be a lot better, and there are some good examples of what these chips can ''really'' do in the DemoScene. Still, FM definitely is more suited for some kinds of music than others; orchestral music in particular just doesn't work that well.[[/note]] Instead, MIDI music on [=PCs=] sounded like music on the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, another platform with an FM synthesizer. ''This'' started to change when Creative and Gravis introduced sound cards with samplers on-board—the ''Sound Blaster [=AWE32=]'' and the ''Ultrasound'', repectively[[note]]The ''Ultrasound'' was released in 1992, two years before the ''[=AWE32=]'', and was the first sample based soundcard for [=PCs=]. However, support for the ''Ultrasound'' was rather flaky at best, so most users just stuck a ''Sound Blaster'' card in their [=PCs=] anyway.[[/note]]. However, the already poor perception of FM synthesis was made worse with the appearance of unlicensed clone synthesizer chips from fly-by-night companies in China, which was used in equally dubious [=SoundBlaster=] clones. Due to the cheapness of these cards, they often found their way into budget multimedia [=PCs=] (These were often from unheard of companies like "Pro Multimedia"), and their bad quality left poor first impressions on the format. Even worse was that Creative themselves and top brands like ESS would also eventually shun the official FM chips for in-house developed ''inferior'' clones that would further tarnish the opinion of FM synthesis.
As [=PCs=] got more powerful, sound card makers (and, eventually, the operating systems themselves via [=QuickTime=] on Macs and Windows machines, and the Microsoft GS Synthesizer module on newer versions of Windows, both of which use licensed Sound Canvas [=ROMs=]) added software-based PCM synthesizers, making General MIDI a much more palatable solution comparable to UsefulNotes/{{MOD}}. General MIDI reached its height around the days of the first UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation}}, with its 24-voice ADPCM sampler. In Japan, the UsefulNotes/SharpX68000 played music with its eight-channel FM synthesizer and one ADPCM channel. However, MIDI data could be routed to an external Roland MT-32 or SC-55 synthesizer to produce superior audio quality, and it was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h83e7eBrdaQ&t=1m24s pretty]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIdL6jdImus awesome]] (albeit expensive) for its time.

The increase in cheap computing power also had the effect of making General MIDI itself obsolete on consumer devices. As hard disk and memory capacity increased, it became easier to include pre-recorded music and elaborate sound-processing engines directly in games for [=PCs=] and stationary consoles, making the size advantages of General MIDI moot. Today, some see MIDI as a {{Scrappy}} in digital audio. Poor or unconvincing emulations of real instruments with synthesizers (and by extension the music they produce) are labelled as "MIDI-ish", even though technically, as described above, the format itself has nothing to do with the quality of the samples/sound synthesis used. However, MIDI is still used today by composers who work with music/audio workstations to create and perform music on computers and synthesizers. In terms of consumer applications, MIDI (along with UsefulNotes/{{MOD}}) are not used for much besides [[MusicalGameplay games that need precise tempo control]], music in UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS and a handful of freeware doujin games, and ringtones on low-end cellphones. Even smartphones have switched to [=MP3=] or [=M4A=] ringtones.

To get something that wasn't just beeps and bloops, you needed a General MIDI module using PCM samples, which were very expensive at the time; the cheaper FM synthesizers used on PC sound cards weren't up to the task of simulating an entire orchestra well.[[note]]Though to be fair, the blame lies at least as much with the driver software, if not more; most drivers for Yamaha FM-based cards didn't implement the MIDI standard very well, and the default patch sets were usually sub-par. Games that provided their own instrument sets tended to be a lot better, and there are some good examples of what these chips can ''really'' do in the DemoScene. Still, FM definitely is more suited for some kinds of music than others; orchestral music in particular just doesn't work that well.[[/note]] Instead, MIDI music on [=PCs=] sounded like music on the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, another platform with an FM synthesizer. ''This'' started to change when Creative and Gravis introduced sound cards with samplers on-board—the ''Sound Blaster [=AWE32=]'' and the ''Ultrasound'', repectively[[note]]The ''Ultrasound'' was released in 1992, two years before the ''[=AWE32=]'', and was the first sample based soundcard for [=PCs=]. However, support for the ''Ultrasound'' was rather flaky at best, so most users just stuck a ''Sound Blaster'' card in their [=PCs=] anyway.[[/note]]. However, the already poor preception of FM synthesis was made worse with the appearance of unlicensed clone synthesizer chips from fly-by-night companies in China, which was used in equally dubious [=SoundBlaster=] clones. Due to the cheapness of these cards, they often found their way into budget multimedia PCs, and their bad quality left poor first impressions on the format. Even worse was that Creative themselves and top brands like ESS would also eventually shun the official FM chips for in-house developed ''inferior'' clones that would further tarnish the opinion of FM synthesis.

To get something that wasn't just beeps and bloops, you needed a General MIDI module using PCM samples, which were very expensive at the time; the cheaper FM synthesizers used on PC sound cards weren't up to the task of simulating an entire orchestra well.[[note]]Though to be fair, the blame lies at least as much with the driver software, if not more; most drivers for Yamaha FM-based cards didn't implement the MIDI standard very well, and the default patch sets were usually sub-par. Games that provided their own instrument sets tended to be a lot better, and there are some good examples of what these chips can ''really'' do in the DemoScene. Still, FM definitely is more suited for some kinds of music than others; orchestral music in particular just doesn't work that well.[[/note]] Instead, MIDI music on [=PCs=] sounded like music on the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis, another platform with an FM synthesizer. ''This'' started to change when Creative and Gravis introduced sound cards with samplers on-board—the ''Sound Blaster [=AWE32=]'' and the ''Ultrasound'', repectively[[note]]The ''Ultrasound'' was released in 1992, two years before the ''[=AWE32=]'', and was the first sample based soundcard for [=PCs=]. However, support for the ''Ultrasound'' was rather flaky at best, so most users just stuck a ''Sound Blaster'' card in their [=PCs=] anyway.[[/note]].

The increase in cheap computing power also had the effect of making General MIDI itself obsolete on consumer devices. As hard disk and memory capacity increased, it became easier to include pre-recorded music and elaborate sound-processing engines directly in games for [=PCs=] and stationary consoles, making the size advantages of General MIDI moot. Today, some see MIDI as a {{Scrappy}} in digital audio. Poor or unconvincing emulations of real instruments with synthesizers (and by extension the music they produce) are labelled as "MIDI-ish", even though technically, as described above, the format itself has nothing to do with the quality of the samples/sound synthesis used. However, MIDI is still used today by composers who work with music/audio workstations to create and perform music on computers and synthesizers. In terms of consumer applications, MIDI (along with UsefulNotes/{{MOD}}) are not used for much besides [[MusicalGameplay games that need precise tempo control]], music in UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS and a handful of freeware doujin games, and ringtones on low-end cellphones. Even smartphones have switched to [=MP3=] or [=MP4=] ringtones.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/midi.GIF]]