The VideoLAN Forums

G'day folks..

Just a quick question here... why is the MIDI playback only possible after separately downloading the FluidSynth codec? The FS project is GPL anyway, so I don't see an obvious reason why it's excluded... [obviously if VLC wasn't the same license I could understand].

It just seems a little weird that some obscure formats are supported OOTB with inbuilt codecs, yet a format that's been around for eons gets some weird treatment. Creating file associations for a format that you don't play is also weird; it's like Windows Media Player having a mkv association, when without a separate codec, won't play.


Not a rant, just wondering why the strangeness. Cheers.

Because .sf2 are big files and only a minority of people care about midi.

We could add some kind of guide for this.

I think a lot of people care about MIDI. It's just that, for years, VLC had absolutely nothing for MIDI -- that was that and nothing was going to change, so I (personally) just figured that VLC would never have anything for MIDI so there wasn't a point in asking about it. It was only accidentally today, while searching for a MIDI to OGG converter that I happened to stumble across a thread in these forums from early 2009 that happened to mention that around the end of the year there might be a codec of some kind that would allow VLC to play MIDI files. Now it appears that there finally is one, but I have to download and run it separately? Come on, it can't be that big -- it was designed to run on those titchy tiny soundboards in things like the original NES -- if it could work in those miniscule ancient computing environments, then why can't it work in VLC, how big can the codec really be?

8-bit sound is a fairly big subset of music makers nowdays and all the old original 8-bit sound is in MIDI format.

.sf2 file can be over 10MB

to play midi files with vlc u need a sf2 (soundfont) file
a midi file itself contains no music
only notes and how they should played (volume,tempo,etc)

a soundfont is nearly the same as a wavetable from old soundcards (it contains samples of real instruments usually with better quality compared to a wavetable)
some sf2 files are several gb
modern soundcards like creative cards use sf2 files too to playback midis

but midi playback in vlc is very rudimentary
using vlc for midi is not recommended for several reasons

if u want to use a sf2 file to play midis i suggest to use synthfont
http://www.synthfont.com/

or better use a programm like native instruments bandstand
http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/ ... bandstand/
(sounds much better than a soundfont ) or use a good keyboard

....
or better use a programm like native instruments bandstand
http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/ ... bandstand/
(sounds much better than a soundfont ) or use a good keyboard

Per Native Instruments about Bandstand "Please note: This product is discontonued."
That's there own wonderful spelling.

yep it is discontinued
but its still very good
and u can get it cheap (i got mine from ebay for 35 €)

there are some alternative tools
like Cakewalk TTS-1 or
Edirol Hyper Canvas

but the best way to play midis is a good keyboard like
yamaha tyros 4

I fear no one started with the more fundamental question: "Where do you find a .SF2 file" to have VLC attach. Turns out the answer is almost simple for an XP machine -- the WINDOZE driver archives (CAB) at C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache\i386\driver.cab\ has the .sf2 file '2gmgsmt.sf2' [XP machine]. It just needs expanded and put where VLC can find it:
[XP machine]
1- Just Paste C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache\i386\driver.cab\ into the 'Start -->Run' applet pane THEN when the folder opens, find 2gmgsmt.sf2 (view details, sort alphabetically on names, read, right click it, expand to...!)

2- Just Open that (expand) by right clicking it, tell it to save to 'where' [Suggest my solution, '\WIndows\Media' folder] which is conveniently nearby in the folder tree.

3- Then return to the VLC's Tools --> preferences -->(ALL) and navigate by browsing from that horribly designed 'All' applet's dropdown (No consideration for LARGE FONTS needed by we visually impaired users there, VLC geeks! UGGGH!) Despite my editorializing about insensitive programmers and their supervisors... Expand that drop down pane's width so can be read in extra large fonts!) TO CONNECT THE .SF2.

4-When I did that, my 'error filled' list of MIDIs came alive in the VLC I'd had open and immediately started playing.
[Windows 7 machines]
Afraid I Can't help you with finding a SAFE i.e. WINDOWS 7 *.sf2 file for Windows 7 boxes -- my various quick and dirty WINDOWS 7 searches all failed to locate any, which makes little sense. Backwards compatible design criteria suggests I missed them somewhere/somehow. (Importing the forgoing XP file cross machines will likely work fine. OTOH,You're on your own on the internet. If you don't pays your nickles, youse definitely taking your chances!

@fabartus:
Confirmed! Thanks for the tip. I am the lucky user of XP
C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache\i386\driver.cab/2gmgsmt.sf2
VLC can play all various formats but *.mid by default.