msmith92 wrote:Do you like this app better than the ac7?
It's a tough question. The MOTU app is easier to get working. You don't need to launch a helper app or worry about starting it up in certain sequence. You can have DP running and just launch DP Control and it will update the display with the correct location and track info and just go.
Keep in mind too that MOTU only very recently included OSC support beginning with DP 7.2.
(AC7 or AC7 Pro is still the only option for users who choose to stay with DP 6.02 - DP 7.12) As of DP 7.2, MOTU has made it easy for third party developers to develop control apps. Even end users can make custom remote control apps using some of the OSC applications available for iPhone/iPad like Touch OSC, etc. MOTU has provided the information necessary to do this. Go to the "Help" menu in DP 7.2 and choose "Control Surfaces Help." A folder will open and you'll now see there's a folder called "OSC Programming Guide" that contains all the documentation needed.
If you look in ./Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/MOTU Control Surface there is now a file called "OpenSoundControl.bundle" which interfaces between OSC devices like DP Control and Digital Performer. What's very cool is Digital Performer
itself is handling the network communication directly and doesn't need DSMidiWifi!!
I mention all this before drawing a comparison between DP Control and AC-7, in order to point out that developers like Saitara Software had to jump through MAJOR hoops and come up with workarounds just to get things working, and THEN had to limit themselves to emulating Mackie hardware and interface with DP by using MOTU's Mackie Control driver, which limited what they could do. DP's built-in support of OSC is going to change that. So it's only fair to judge these apps in that light.
DP Control, therefore, because it is using OSC rather than Mackie Control emulation can do many things that AC-7/AC-7 Pro can't. I use AC7-Pro on my iPad so my comparisons are based on that. AC-7 Pro is designed for the iPad where DP Control isn't... yet. On AC-7 Pro you can have transport control, faders, and the ability to record enable a track instantly available, all on the same screen, without having to jump back and forth between different pages. You have a jog wheel. The faders have a longer throw. You can zoom in/out both horizontally and vertically using AC-7 Pro. Some of these differences are likely to disappear if/when MOTU releases an iPad -specific version.
I think for now, both of them are useful... especially if you already own an iPad or iPhone. I mean $10 for the AC-7 Pro? I'm actually surprised MOTU gave DP Control away for free. I would have paid money for it easily. On top of it, I like the idea that even
s would have had to actually BUY it and MOTU would have at least gotten some money from those freeloaders.
The key thing is convenience. Kelly Jacklin's bridging app makes it really pretty easy to use AC-7 Pro with DP once it's configured properly. Still, DP 7.2's built-in OSC support is EVEN EASIER and you can launch the remote app at anytime and it just works. Again, this is brand new in DP 7.2, so third party app developers were limited. Now, if they choose, they can use the Programming Guide provided by MOTU and create much more easy to use and capable remote control apps. Users can even create their own by using apps like Touch OSC (there's an iPad version), but be forewarned that transport control is not yet possible in Touch OSC with DP until a future update because Touch OSC can only send a button value of 0 or 1 from what I understand, and DP's spec requires other integer values for transport buttons. The author of Touch OSC has said an update is coming that will fix that.
