Blue Cat Audio releases Network Audio Protocol V2 Free Update

By sampler  On  

Blue Cat Audio has announced a major update of their network audio/MIDI communication protocol, with the release of Blue Cat’s Connector 1.4, Freeceiver 1.2 and PatchWork 2.72.

This free update allows the plug-ins and applications to carry up to 32 audio channels for surround and ambisonics streaming, and now supports System Exclusive MIDI data. It also adds network latency compensation and transport/clock synchronization capabilities to synchronize applications and audio streams together, regardless of the network latency and many other improvements and fixes (full list below).

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Connector, the virtual cable plug-in that lets you connect applications together locally or thru the Internet, provides the core features of this new protocol. Freeceiver is a free implementation that can receive audio and MIDI signals sent by Connector anywhere. PatchWork, the virtual patchbay for plug-ins, provides network processing capabilities using this network protocol.

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New In Connector 1.4/Freeceiver 1.2
Connector Protocol V2:

  • Latency compensation: Connector can now evaluate, compensate and report the latency of the connection.
  • Transport synchronization: Connector can now send MIDI Timecode (MTC) and MIDI Clock compatible signals to synchronize applications together.
  • Manage synchronization with clock anticipation: the clock signal can compensate the connection latency to synchronize apps with no delay.
  • Carry up to 32 audio channels for surround and Ambisonics support.
  • MIDI System Exclusive (SysEx) support.
  • Plug-in/app Features:
  • The plug-in can now receive and transmit SysEx MIDI events.
  • MIDI Thru option to merge incoming MIDI events with received events.
  • Improved connection stability when sender under high CPU load.
  • Improved connection status reporting in receiver.
  • Find currently selected preset easily in the menu (folders containing the preset now display a check mark).
  • New option to cycle next/previous preset in current bank.
  • The plug-in can now send Bank Select and Program Change messages upon changes in the user interface to keep in sync with an external controller.
  • Fixed memory leak in receiver when using resampling.
  • Mac: Fixed location of text edit boxes changing when closing and re-opening the plug-in GUI in previous release.
  • ASIO Driver:
  • ASIO Positioning Protocol (A.P.P.) support: the ASIO driver can now control the transport of applications supporting the A.P.P. protocol (Cubase, Nuendo…) when being sent a clock signal.
  • ASIO buffer size can now be set from the driver settings window.
  • Audio compression and UPnP options can now be set from the driver settings window.

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New in Patchwork 2.72:
Network Audio:

  • Connector Protocol V2 support for network audio device.
  • Application now reports plug-ins latency to the network client when running in network mode.
  • Network audio device can now manage up to 32 audio channels.
  • Adjust compression settings and activate UpnP for the Connector slave network audio device.
  • Fixed application sometimes dropping local MIDI events when using the network audio device.
  • New Features:
  • Reported latency is now displayed in the status bar (bottom right).
  • Route MIDI events from hosted plug-ins back to PatchWork’s input with the new MIDI Loopback port.
  • New “learn once” mode for MIDI and macro controls.
  • Fixes:
  • Fixed issue with some older VST2 instrument plug-ins not receiving MIDI events (such NI Kontakt 6) in previous release.
  • Fixed VST3 plug-ins sometimes not updating meters when loaded in PatchWork.
  • Fixed AAX effect plug-in not loading anymore in Pro Tools 11 and earlier.
  • Improved WASAPI driver support for some audio devices in the Windows application.
  • Fixed Arturia VST3 plug-ins editor not re-opening properly when closed with the plug-in slot button.
  • Fixed Audio Player crashes when using file with less channels than the plug-in.
  • Fixed Audio Player not properly syncing its playback position when resampling.
  • Fixed generated MIDI clock sync issues when already slaved to another MIDI clock.
  • Fixed occasional performance issue when controlling PatchWork parameters via MIDI in the VST/VST3 plug-in.
  • Fixed CPU meter display sometimes off by one pixel.

System requirements:

  • Intel or Apple Silicon Mac running Mac OS 10.9 or newer.
  • PC running Windows Vista or newer.

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