Wireless and wired MIDI for the Nintendo DS
About DSMI
Updates
2008-02-02 - MIDI Jammer
Andrew Buch has released the fantastic DSMI application MIDI Jammer which is a lot of fun to jam around with. Get it at his homepage!
2007-11-12 - DSMI video taken down
The video demonstrating DSMI was taken down from YouTube due to a copyright claim by a site called hackerscenter.com. I don't see how this video violates anything, so I filed a DMCA counter notice. Hopefully it will be back up soon.
Update: The video has been restored!
2007-05-04 - TheRain's dSTAR now uses DSMI
TheRain is back with a new version of his dSTAR sequencer. Previously, dSTAR required a custom-made DSMIDI device, so only a few people (the brave ones with soldering skills) could use it. With DSMI, dSTAR can now be used as a wireless MIDI controller, so everyone with a computer can use it. And using a DSerial you can still talk to your MIDI hardware instead.
2007-05-03 - Proper GPL versions of the servers
To avoid confision, I added GPL headers and a license file to the source code of the DSMIDIWiFi servers. Also, they now come with a Readme file :-) Yes, work is still going on, but receiving MIDI messages is rather tricky and does not work reliably yet, so give me some time.
DS? MIDI? WiFi? DSerial?
The Nintendo DS hardware offers a variety of possibilities for creating music as well as interacting with music. TheRain first had the idea of using the DS as a MIDI controller and created the DSMIDI, a DS cartridge that adds a standard MIDI port to the DS that can be used by homebrew DS software.
But since making a DSMIDI requires soldering skills and is rather dangerous, we came up with another idea: Using the DS as a wireless MIDI controller. The MIDI signals are sent to the computer via Wifi, and a server program forwards them to MIDI applications.
Later, support for natrium42's, DSerial was added, enabling MIDI input and output via standard oldskool MIDI cables.
Here's a video that demonstrates the wireless capabilities of DSMI
So what is DSMI exactly?
DSMI consists of- libdsmi
An open source library for DS homebrew development that makes it easy to write DS software that acts as a MIDI controller or MIDI client. - DSMIDIWiFi Server
An application that runs on the computer and forwards the MIDI messages received via Wifi to MIDI applications. The DSMIDIWiFi server is open source and is available for
MacOS X (intel/ppc)
Linux
Windows (guess who's the ugliest) - Example apps!
Three example applications including source code to demonstrate the use of DSMI
DS MIDI Keyboard Kaos DS Pulse DS
- DS MIDI Keyboard acts as a MIDI keyboard, including pitch wheel / MIDI control adjustment by sliding the stylus vertically/horizonally.
- Kaos DS is an XY controller similar to the Kaoss pad. You can use the stylus or your fingers to adjust MIDI controls.
- Pulse DS turns the DS into a MIDI synthesizer that uses the DS's PSG (programmable sound generator) to produce Game-Boy-like sounds.
What do I need?
In short, you need:- A computer of some sort (OSX, Linux, Windows will do just fine)
- Either A wireless access point of some sort and a game that uses the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (needed only once)
- Or A DSerial
- A Nintendo DS, obviously
- DS homebrew hardware of some sort