AMEI to Fund Open Source MIDI 2.0 Driver for Windows

The Association of Musical Electronics Industries (AMEI), the organization that oversees the MIDI specification in Japan, has committed to funding the development of an open-source USB MIDI 2.0 Host Driver for Windows Operating Systems under a memorandum of understanding between AMEI, AmeNote Inc, and Microsoft. While Apple and Google already support MIDI 2.0, Microsoft has now agreed to start development of a Windows standard open-source MIDI 2.0 API.

The MIDI Association has released details of the ongoing, industry-wide initiative by over 50 MIDI Association companies to develop MIDI 2.0 products and services. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, MIDI Association members persevered, and have addressed these challenges through global collaboration and cooperation. Following the demonstrations promoted by the MIDI Association at NAMM 2022, work on the latest USB MIDI 2.0 digital interface prototyping and testing tools continues.

The MIDI Association announced the addition of MIDI 2.0 capabilities to the Automotive Audio Bus (A2B) technology from Analog Devices, Inc. The technology will be showcased at the MIDI Association during the NAMM show in Anaheim, California on June 3-5, 2022, with a demonstration of a USB to A2B bridge, based on AmeNote's ProtoZOA prototyping board for MIDI 2.0. using open source firmware for developers to use in their own hardware and software products.