CME Intros WIDI Core Bluetooth Low Energy Breakout Board

CME has introduced WIDI Core (X), a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) breakout board that implements MIDI over BLE.

The breakout board can be built into any existing piece of MIDI equipment that features MIDI I/O. Power consumption is ultra low and it works natively with Apple iOS, MacOS, Windows and Android.

It can also play both the central and peripheral role to connect to any existing BLE MIDI peripheral, such as Roland AX Edge, Korg MicroKey Air, Roli Seaboard, CME Xkey Air, Jamstik+ Guitar, etc.

Features:

  • Ultra Low 3ms Latency between 2 WIDI devices
  • 20m / 65 ft range without obstacles between 2 WIDI devices
  • WIDI group connectivity with up to 5 WIDI devices per group
  • Jitter or Latency optimisation via WIDI App (iOS/Android)
  • Plug, Pair & Play

Pricing and Availability

WIDI Core is available now, with pricing starting at $29/unit. Bulk pricing is also available.

 

43 thoughts on “CME Intros WIDI Core Bluetooth Low Energy Breakout Board”

  1. Could be interesting to see manufacturers in the future like Roland, Korg, Behringer and DSI adapting this technology to your keyboard as standard.

    2. The manufacturers have been asleep at the wheel when it comes to wireless connectivity.

      Why don’t modern synths provide an option to connect to your WiFi network, so you can automatically download updates, install sound libraries and back your synth up?

      I’ve got light bulbs that can connect to my WiFi. The best that most synths offer is USB connectivity, but that’s not very convenient for people that have even a small collection of keyboards.

      This seems like a logical next step for the MIDI Association to address. Any pro-level keyboard should have wireless connectivity, the ability to easily download updates and sound libraries, and a way to easily back it up.

      2. Totally agree. I have a handheld CNC router that connects to wi-fi to get software updates. A tool that cuts freakin wood is more advanced than modern music equipment.

        1. It is interesting too. That manufacturers create an app for their hardware and then you have to connect a USB to lightning cable to make changes from 1 meter distance. It would be a big plus to do that kind of stuff wireless…

      4. The reason is the manufacturers don’t have expertise in BLE or Wi-Fi and design and support, plus cents would cost them quite a bit. We have to all ask loudly and with our wallets for it to happen.

        1. Or the Modal synth, Nonlinear Labs C15, etc.

          All these synths combined make up a tiny fraction of the synths being made today.

          Take a look at the Korg Prologue, for example. Imagine if you could just connect it to WiFi and download new Multi Engine oscillators and effects? And back up your synth, so if it dies, you could load the backup to a new synth?

  2. Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation. This spectrum of energy also includes the light we can see, along with X-rays and ultraviolet light. But radio waves have much lower energy than these other signals. That means radio signals travel through the air as very long, stretched-out waves.

    For a long time, dividing the radio spectrum like an enormous highway has worked. But now there’s a problem. More and more devices want to be on the road, and there are only so many lanes. In many places, the spectrum is so clogged that it’s like a real highway at rush hour.

    Scientists need room on that overcrowded highway, too. Ransom and other astronomers tune in to radio waves from space. Other scientists use radio waves to study Earth’s surface. Some parts of the radio spectrum are very important to this work. So devices such as cell phones and Wi-Fi routers are supposed to steer clear of those lanes.

    At times, though, signals accidentally stray from their assigned lanes. If two signals try to travel in the same lane at the same time, they may jostle each other. This causes a mixed-up signal. It’s a problem known as interference. It can ruin a scientist’s data. It has been causing problems for phone companies and militaries, too.

    1. I think this challenge has been addressed with Bluetooth 5’s Adaptive Frequency Hopping. Also, with WIDI’s Smart Connectivity Algorithms, the best frequency is negotiated for the given range and associated performance (jitter/latency). This frequency can be switched automatically.

      1. Hopping have the same problem, still share or using the same “lines or channels” to use. Personally i dont like the use of Bluetooth. its full overcrowded band/channels

        2. I see you are a different person. Of course, some people will always dislike Bluetooth. That will never change. It is, for me, quite similar to the MP3/WAV discussion we all had a decade ago. Nobody likes Spotify still, but still half of the world listens to it daily 😉

        1. hi Thomas, I wasn’t responding to you, I was responding to the guy that thinks he has a question

          you should try talking to your bathroom mirror instead, that will solve all your problems

  4. Latency and signal reliability are why the manufacturers haven’t implemented this stuff with gusto (bandwidth has been pretty much addressed). Perhaps this solution will address those issues, but perhaps it will not be good enough.
    Wireless connections (such as BLE) are a good solution when wireless operation is an overriding concern, but so many potential shortcomings simply evaporate when wired connections are implemented.
    Believe it or not, this still relatively niche market is not likely to be among the first to adopt and implement this sort of technology when the existing tech works so well for most buyers.

    1. It is the same old story of the chicken or the egg. Time will tell. I do not think latency and reliability are the real issue. That was the issue maybe back in 2014. From my perspective, it is not cables or wireless. It can be hybrid for sure. Cables have advantages, just like wireless has advantages.

      Taking the best of both worlds opens up new creative opportunities. Of course, there will be people that stick with what they know. That is perfectly fine. As said, there is no one-stop solution.

      The wireless connectivity solves many challenges all those different MIDI terminals have.

      It is for me really weird that traditional DIN MIDI and common USB MIDI already have some difficulties to be compatible with each other. It totally passes the initial idea of having a uniform protocol for communication.

      Not to even to talk about the missed opportunities with today’s smart devices, touch screens and more specifically mobile devices.

      From my humble perspective wireless makes it much easier for cross-platform MIDI communication…

  6. If I had a need for wireless function, I’d be all over this because its CME. I have 3 XKeys and one has developed smudges on the left-hand buttons from 3 years of use. It still performs as well as it did on day one. Testify.

    1. It is a product specifically designed for people who are able to build MIDI devices. No matter the size of the project. It can be DIY to mass production.

      Basically, WIDI Core is breakout board that allows you to implement premium WIDI firmware into any MIDI device. So, it is not an adapter. It is not an interface. It is a DIY breakout board.

      With it, developers of any size can expand their MIDI inventions with advanced wireless MIDI.

    1. The range metric describes the minimum range of 20 meters measured without obstacles. As with these kind of metrics you cannot measure all environments all over the world. It is impossible. That is why you go for a plain sight solution as is common with wireless.

      If you are only interested in wireless to go through walls you have to keep in mind that different materials have different effects on wireless signals.

      Of course, in the world of MIDI applications, there a zillion other use cases 😉

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