Controlling vMix with MIDI Devices
Learn how to use your MIDI device with vMix, by StudioCoast, running locally or in a Cloud instance
1. Install and Configure vMix
After installing vMix, we will need to define the network connection to the application.
The ShowCockpit vMix driver connects to vMix via the TCP protocol - the default port being 8099 (TCP).
Connecting to vMix on the same computer
If you are connecting to vMix running in the same computer, you can use IP Address 127.0.0.1 with the default port 8099.
Connecting to vMix on LAN
If you are connecting to an instance within your LAN, use the vMix computer IP and the default port 8099.
Connecting to vMix running in a cloud instance
When your vMix instance is running in the cloud (such as Amazon EC2, AWS, etc.), you will need to use the instance public IP and configure port forwarding for the internal TCP port 8099.
You can forward external port 8099 to internal port 8099, but you can also pick any other available external port, as long as you forward it to internal port 8099.
Please refer to your cloud provider on how to configure port forwarding for your instance.
2. Add vMix Element to ShowCockpit Project
On the Elements section, click the Add button to add an OBS element to the project:
Video > Studiocoast > vMix (documentation)
Change the element Options
IP Address: the IP address determined in Step 1
Port: must match the port number defined in Step 1
Smart T-Bar Invert (default is ON): this can be used to automatically invert the T-Bar function input, so you can use a regular fader to control it just like a regular T-Bar control.
Enable the Element
Click the toggle buttons on the element to enable it.
3. Add MIDI device element
Use the Add button again to add your MIDI device element through External Control > MIDI. Currently, RD/ShowCockpit has out-of-the-box support for multiple MIDI devices - check out the complete compatibility list here.
If your device is not listed, you will need to use the Generic MIDI driver and map your device controls manually (step 4).
When using a specific MIDI device driver, you can skip to Step 5.
Set Element Options
After adding the element, make sure that the correct device is selected under both Input Device and Output Device options.
Enable the Element
Finally, click the toggle button on the MIDI device element to enable it.
4. Learn MIDI Controls (Generic MIDI only)
In case you selected the Generic MIDI driver, now you need to "teach" this driver what controls (faders, buttons and encoders) your device has. For the officially supported MIDI devices, controls are automatically mapped, so you can skip to the next step.
Double-click the Generic MIDI element to open its window - you will start by mapping the Faders.
Click on Enable Learn on the top-right to start listening to MIDI input.
Move, one-by-one, all Faders on your MIDI device. They will be added to the Faders list.
To map the Buttons, click on Buttons (above the table) and repeat the procedure now for all your device buttons.
Finally, map your Encoders by clicking on Encoders and repeat the procedure for all the encoders.
You can now close the Generic MIDI window by clicking the Back button on the top or clicking on any menu button.
5. Mapping
At this point, you have the required elements in your project, it's time to map your controls to useful functions! To start mapping these two elements, drag the output port of the MIDI Device element to the input port of the vMix element.
When you create this link (or double-click an existing link), you are brought to the Mapping section.
This section is divided into 3 columns, from left to right:
Functions
Parameters
Controls
The target element vMix is on the Functions column - start by selecting a function (for example, "T-Bar"). When you select the function, the button will be highlighted and the second column will have the parameters for the function. In this particular case, there are no parameters.
On the right side (Controls column), you will have the your MIDI Device element. Open the Faders list and click on one of the faders to assign the T-Bar function.
If you now physically move the assigned fader, you should see the T-Bar moving in vMix.
Repeat the process for all desired controls and functions.
Before you take off...
Controlling multiple vMix instances with one MIDI device
ShowCockpit is a modular software, it allows you to freely add elements to your project and connect them as you like. It is possible to control multiple vMix Instances from the same device.
Controlling one vMix instances with multiple MIDI devices
You can simply add as many devices as you want and link them the way you want.
Go crazy
There's so much more you can do with all the available drivers. Pick the elements you want and design your own dynamic production setup - add ElGato StreamDecks, Joysticks, emulate keyboard presses and add logical conditions using the LUA scripting engine.
Useful Links
What other devices can I connect to vMix using ShowCockpit? Check out the full list of drivers.
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