Disklavier

A few more requests for the dev team more around networking and home entertainment:

16 Ability to access networked shared drives such as a Media Centre, a PC hard drive or Network Attached Storage. The advantage of these dedicated storage devices is manifold including background backup (incrememntal) of the Disklavier hard drive, practically limitless storage for .wav files, better file management...

17a PRC applications that can be installed on any PDA / PDA Phone running Windows Mobile, or say on iPhone. Today's wireless PDAs are sleeker, faster, have longer battery life, colour UI etc. Let's move the Disklavier into the 21st century.

17b I would simply die if there was open source code that could be used on a multi-function remote control like my Philips Pronto. Not expecting this but hey, this is a wish list.

18 Peer to peer bi-directional network connection over the internet to enable remote teaching, performance, or purely for fun. Disklavier has audio capturing so voice over IP should be no problem. i know that others are experimenting with this in their own way, but this should be standard functionality.

19 All the above requires no additional hardware. One more request that would involve hardware would include another wireless (N) adapter (say through one of the USB ports) to get rid of the Cat 5 cable. Nothing uglier than seeing trailing cables coming out from under a grand piano and this would get rid of one.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to the next round of developments Bill mentioned.

Mark

--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, Freeman Richard <rfreeman26@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks for reply.  Sit tight I will.
> 
> 
> On Sep 5, 2009, at 10:39 PM, Bill Brandom wrote:
> 
> > Hi Rich,
> >
> > Sit tight. I think we are going to be able to help.
> >
> > Can't say much more at the moment.
> >
> > Bill
> >
> > Bill Brandom
> > Senior Technical Manager
> > Keyboard Division
> > Yamaha Corporation of America
> > bbrandom@...
> > 714-522-9417
> > ________________________________________
> > From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On  
> > Behalf Of Freeman Richard [rfreeman26@...]
> > Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2009 3:44 PM
> > To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: Re: [disklavier] Mark4 Software
> >
> > Bill, would like to add my two-cents regarding my Yamaha wish-list.  
> > Apologies in advance for inundating you on this thread.
> >
> > As an owner of a Mark II XG series purchased in 2000 - I can only  
> > dream of what you Mark IV owners can do. I missed the boat and  
> > didn't purchase the DCD1 add-on CD unit - which is no longer  
> > produced. I no longer own a PC that can record 3.5' floppy  
> > diskettes. I've tried numerous players and/or sequencers that  
> > adequately play MIDI files, never found an appropriate Mac solution  
> > to play native Eseq files.
> >
> > So, I feel Yamaha has left me stranded in the previous century. Mind  
> > you, as a piano, my DCS2 5'8' Grand is a beautiful instrument, which  
> > I enjoy playing daily. However, as a Disklavier, my choices of  
> > material / media are seriously limit ed.
> >
> > Short of refinancing my house to acquire a Mark IV, will Yamaha ever  
> > provide a updated control-unit (mine is the DKC500R), or a successor  
> > to the DCD1, which also incorporates data storage?
> >
> > If you are aware of any upgrades on the horizon to give us Mark II /  
> > Mark III owners hope - any information will be greatly appreciated.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Rich Freeman
> >
> > On Sep 5, 2009, at 10:51 AM, Bill Brandom wrote:
> >
> > Tom,
> >
> > I also have forwarded your email to our engineers. I apologize for  
> > the fact I have not been responding to the forums much during the  
> > last year. I am going to work much harder to resonding. I have been  
> > watching, just not responding.
> >
> > Our engineers told me that within a year they would have a solution  
> > for a larger hard drive. I am now reminding them of that.
> >
> > I just returned from a several days in Japan working with the  
> > engineers. To say the least, a lot is getting ready to happen with  
> > the Mark IV. I will keep you and the group informed, when I am able  
> > to release the information.
> >
> > Bill
> >
> > Bill Brandom
> > Senior Technical Manager
> > Keyboard Division
> > Yama ha Corporation of America
> > bbrandom@...<mailto:bbrandom%40yamaha.com>
> > 714-522-9417
> > ________________________________________
> > From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com<mailto:disklavier 
> > %40yahoogroups.com> [disklavier@yahoogroups.com<mailto:disklavier%40yahoogroups.com 
> > >] On Behalf Of Tom Wheeler [tnwheeler@...<mailto:tnwheeler%40nc.rr.com 
> > >]
> > Sent: Saturday, September 05, 2009 9:35 AM
> > To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com<mailto:disklavier%40yahoogroups.com>
> > Subject: Re: [disklavier] Mark4 Software
> >
> > Philip,
> >
> > Yours is one of the best posts that I have seen in a very long time on
> > this Forum. I agree with every single one of your requests and can
> > add a few comments and suggestions as well, although frankly over the
> > five years since purchasing my Mark IV I have only rarely felt that
> > Yamaha was listening, and although I have written to Bill Brandom with
> > some of these suggestions, I have received no response and only very
> > rarely see his presence on this Forum in the last year or so.
> >
> > I have pleaded for a larger HD for the Mark IV for a long time to no
> > avail. The 80 GB HD that is on the piano is totally inadequate
> > especially when you realize that the Mark IV stores CD audio in
> > the .wav format which takes up tons of space. Please, please provide
> > the option of a larger HD for this piano. I s topped all purchases of
> > Yamaha software more than 3 years ago because my HD is nearly full and
> > I don't want to take the chance of crashing it by adding any more
> > software to it.
> >
> > The backup option provided by the Mark IV is simply inadequate. There
> > is no way to do an incremental backup. Each time you backup, you have
> > to backup everything. Even with only an 80 GB HD that takes more
> > than 12 hours with the software that I have on my Mark IV. Please,
> > please, Yamaha provide a means of doing incremental backups that will
> > not work the HD (both internal and external) to death.
> >
> > A second contribu tor to the inadequate backup capabilities of the  
> > Mark
> > IV is the fact that it supports only USB 1.0. Even when the piano was
> > introduced in 2004 the USB 2.0 standard had completely replaced USB
> > 1.0 and my Mark IV is the only device in my home that still uses the
> > far slower US 1.0. While Yamaha has been quick to raise the prices on
> > the MarK IV, it has been just as slow to implement current (much less
> > advanced technologies) as Philip has so well pointed out in his post.
> > It will be interesting to see how outdated the technology on the Mark
> > V will be when and if it ever appears.
> >
> > The processor in the Mark IV is a 333 MHz -- incredibly slow even for
> > 2004 when it was introduced. Why was this done? I was told that it
> > was to keep down heat produced and obviate the need for a fan. My Mac
> > Pro 8-core computer with four 2.8 GHz processors has a fan so quiet
> > that I can barely hear it even in a quiet room. Surely Yamaha can
> > mount a processor in the Mark V that will be reflective of the 21st
> > century instead of the 20th century and find a quiet fan if heat
> > production is a problem. Until they do, we can forget parallel
> > processes and running things in the background because the Mark IV's
> > 333 MHz processor is apparently simply not able to support it.
> >
> > I suspect that Yamaha is hard at w ork on a Mark V and that it will
> > incorporate a few of the suggestions Phil and I have made. However,
> > if past disklaviers are any indication, the Mark V will be totally
> > outdated even before it arrives, but the price will be far far greater
> > than the Mark IV.
> >
> > Tom
> >
> > On Sep 5, 2009, at 5:15 AM, Phil Blah wrote:
> >
> > > Hey Guys,
> > >
> > > No much happening with the Disklavier forums lately, perhaps
> > > everyone is content with their piano!
> > >
> > > Does anyone know if Yamaha are going to releas e new software for
> > > their pianos? (psst Bill Brandon you still here?)
> > >
> > > I must say that the DKVBrowser software that Kevin has made is so
> > > great! It makes moving files around so easy.. the clunky old PDA is
> > > pretty crappy for this!
> > >
> > > On a side note, has anyone tried running the java app on an iphone?
> > > it would be much better than the clunky old PDA's... the battery
> > > does not last long (even a new one only lasts 2 hours max). Also the
> > > wireless is pretty weak signal. Perhaps the DKVBrowser can be made
> > > for iphones? lol.
> > >
> > > Dear Yamaha, here is my wish-list/advice for version 4 of the
> > > software :)
> > >
> > > 1) Disk image needs to support 'fresh' install. This has various
> > > advantages..as the old 80gb drives clag out people can just put in a
> > > new HD easily or they want a bigger HD so they can install from
> > > scratch. A fresh install will be clean and have performance
> > > advantages too. Plus it will solve 99% of peoples problems if their
> > > software gets screwy.
> > >
> > > 2) Finish off the half done Graphics support.. ie allow songs to
> > > have .jpgs attached to them as a slide show or just as a cover to
> > > the song (this is the TV out part, not all Disklaviers have the
> > > tablet thing like in Australia for example!).
> > >
> > > 3) Allow access to the XG voices in performance mode.
> > >
> > > 4) Make a new 'live sounding' special drum and base kit.. the
> > > current base and drums are alright but they all sound too synthetic.
> > > Surely Yamaha can try harder with these most critical synths...
> > > There are free drum/base sound fonts on the net that people have
> > > just recorded a real drum and base that sound better! Lets face it
> > > guys, no one listens to crappy midi with the ir beautiful piano...
> > > the only exception is Jazz that has a base/drums only. Most Sue
> > > Downs songs are excellent like this.... anyway having a 'live' drum
> > > sound font would be perfect!
> > >
> > > 5) Better strings and wood instruments overall... some songs are
> > > just embarrassing with these cheezy synths, sounds like a big mobile
> > > phone with most midi's.
> > >
> > > 6) More control with the network setup ie wep keys/ip everything
> > > overall etc. Also as they use Samba it would take 2 seconds to put a
> > > basic password for windows networking (not everyone has their piano
> > > in their home!).
> > >
> > > 7) MP3 Support. Wave files are so inefficient. MP3's have been
> > > around since 1995 or eairler and as it runs linux I am sure it can
> > > handle it (yes ofcorse pun was intended). For quality freaks, the
> > > MP3 can be 256bit rate so its losless. Then each song will be about
> > > 8 - 12 meg rather than 40+
> > >
> > > 8) Faster seek for playing/stopping songs!
> > >
> > > 9) Faster and better methods of recording... I am not sure if it's
> > > just me, but when you 'know' that it's recording you usually make a
> > > mistake while playing a song and then want to quicky start the
> > > recording again. But the current way is all bumbly and clumsy and
> > > slow... worst case is I have to just keep it recording and I copy
> > > the midi to my computer and use cakewalk to edit... but that's a big
> > > pain.
> > >
> > > 10) Backup! - Like most people, we just trust everything will just
> > > keep working and we get complacent... but imagine if your HD failed
> > > tomorrow, all the songs you bought all the CD's that took you hours
> > > to save on the HD... all the midis and files arranged... all gorn!
> > > So a backup option would simply copy everything to a network share
> > > as a big archive file (to preserve the secret database etc etc). And
> > > you can simply restore it all back if needed.
> > >
> > > 11) Better playlist managment and random play
> > >
> > > 12) Guys this is not a mark3 nor is it 1990. It's a linux box that
> > > is already multitasking, surley we can play a song while searching
> > > or copying things! So yes, a song needs to contiune to play while we
> > > do other things.
> > >
> > > 13) Back to recording, It's a bit hard to figure out how to simply
> > > record while a .wav/CD (god bless) is playing... So we need to
> > > simply be able to play a CD/.wav and you can record your piano
> > > playing. Also recording other voices and in performance mode is not
> > > easy to do. My 1992 Yamaha Clavinova makes it easy.
> > >
> > > 14) Just on my 1992 Yamaha Clavinova, it has several built in drum
> > > beats and groovy synth riffs even with a 'varation' button! but
> > > there are no built in drum kits with the mark4.... bit sad
> > > really..... nothing more fun then just having a good beat and
> > > playing the piano with it!
> > >
> > > 15) Better use of the internet, while it might sound all cool 'wow
> > > the pianos on the internet' bu t it's really a closed system,
> > > Yamaha's mini web thing only.... the whole internet piano thing is
> > > NOT available to normal people only 'special' Yamaha people... can
> > > we get over this and allow our pianos to connect to friends.
> > >
> > > 15b) As a Yamaha Radio subscriber and regular song buyer... I think
> > > Yamaha needs to allow people to 'trial' a song... the little 20
> > > second preview is not really enough somtimes.. even if it costs 20c
> > > or something to play only but not save would be good, I think $4.50
> > > USD for a song is so over priced... some songs are just awful and
> > > lifeless.. Also the fact that they even tell peop le that 'the midi
> > > file might be unacceptable'... those songs should be heaps cheaper.
> > >
> > > 15c) Just with the whole internet thing, just like you can stream
> > > internet radio like 'smoothjazz.com' surley they can stream songs
> > > with audio and midi data. They could quite easily setup a large
> > > buffer to handle 192k streams... and lets face it we all have
> > > broadband these days, not like people are on modem or somethin!. So
> > > Even if it costs a bit more or they charge per hour or something...
> > > there is a time when I just crave a voice with piano and get so sick
> > > of my usual collection!
> > >
> > > 15d) Yamaha need to allow for Piano Soft with Audio downloadable...
> > > I don't always want to buy an entire CD just for 1 song, plus the
> > > whole slow clumsy CD thing is not very modern for a company trying
> > > to make out how modern they were (the piano on the internet thing).
> > > I am quite happy to pay $6 per song if it had audio!
> > >
> > > Well that's all I can think of for now.
> > >
> > > Let's hope these features will be in Version 4 :)
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > Philip
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > __________________________________________________________
> > > Get more done like never before with Yahoo!7 Mail.
> > > Learn more: http://au.overview.mail.yahoo.com/
> > >
> > >
> > & gt; ------------------------------------
> > >
> > > To Post a message to the group, send it to: disklavier@... 
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> > >
> > > To Post a private message to Todd Muncy, the group's founder and
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> > >
> > >
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> > >
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> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > To Post a message to the group, send it to: diskla vier@... 
> > <mailto:disklavier%40YahooGroups.com>
> >
> > To Post a private message to Todd Muncy, the group's founder and  
> > moderator, send it to:
> > disklavier-owner@...<mailto:disklavier-owner%40Yahoogroups.com 
> > >
> >
> > To reach our group's web site go to:
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> >
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> > >
> >
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> >
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> >
>