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Post by andyh on Oct 5, 2014 0:38:36 GMT
I just bought MidiVision because the other MIDI monitors I've tried don't work well on the iPod Touch - they all cut off most of the information, and clearly only work well on an iPad.
MidiVision seems good, but could we have an option to show the raw data in the compact view, instead of the event timestamp?
I don't care when the event happened, so that's just wasted screen space, for me. I want to see the raw data, and as much of the descriptive version of the data as possible, but ideally all on the same line.
If I was looking at events from my EWI4000s wind controller, I wouldn't get very far trying to use the detailed view, because it sends a lot of breath and pitch bend information. For things like a keyboard, without any aftertouch data, it's okay, but I'd still like more events on the screen, and less information I'm not interested in - i.e., the timestamp.
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nic
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Post by nic on Oct 6, 2014 10:32:03 GMT
Hi andyh, I'm going to come clean here in that there may not be any future updates to MidiVision for a few reasons: - The number of downloads for MidiVision is very modest and it is hard to justify maintaining an app with low sales purely in economic terms. The App Store model forces developers to provide updates without compensation. This is a wider issue but does result in apps being 'abandoned'. - There are now quite a few similar MIDI monitoring apps, many of them for free. - It took me a week to bring MidiBridge up to spec. to submit to Apple. MidiVision is even older and right now won't even compile under the new XCode which must be used to submit apps. Right now, the released version of MidiVision still works under iOS8 (and 7) except for switching to landscape mode. I realise this is a pain for some but fixing this for the low number of users out there isn't practical for the reasons above. The only thing I can suggest right now for you is to use the filtering settings to filter out the events you are not interested in (controller/pitchbend) which will result in less events being displayed. Regards, Nic. |
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Post by andyh on Oct 6, 2014 14:16:58 GMT
Unfortunately, I've been told that a lot, by iOS developers, Nic.
The problem with iOS apps, as I see it, is there's no way to try one, other than buying it, unless you know someone else who has it, which I don't. They're often cheap, but it feels a lot like gambling, with quite low odds of winning - i.e. actually getting something that's useful to me, for the money.
I've tried all the free MIDI monitors I could find, and none of them work on an iPod Touch, as I see it (so presumably not on an iPhone either). They may run on one, but they're not useful, because the size of the screen wasn't taken into account properly. I could take more chances on buying none free ones, but I'd just be gambling with little hope of winning, again.
I expect the main reason you've been able to sell MidiVision is because people have tried all the free MIDI monitors they could find first, and didn't find them useful.
I bought MidiVision because I already have MIDI Bridge - which confuses and frustrates the hell out of me, but I do find it useful, with enough persistence. In other words, I bought it based on my experience of another product you sell, and having seen that that's still actively supported.
The same could apply to someone who buys MidiVision - if they like it, they're more likely to buy more of your apps. If they don't, they're not. In other words, while it might not make you much money directly, it might well increase sales of your apps in general, if people like it enough.
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nic
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Post by nic on Oct 6, 2014 16:10:20 GMT
Yes, the lack of 'try-n-buy' is a definite problem, although you can get a refund via iTunes if you download an app that doesn't suit.
I completely understand what you are saying and agree that cross-pollination of app sales does happen. The problem is that the quantities and per-unit income for a 'less successful' app are very small compared to the effort required to keep updating it. To quantify this, I could earn 10 times as much in 1 week of contracting than what an app like MidiVision generates in an entire year. I enjoy creating apps, but you cannot ignore those numbers when the family bills come in the letterbox.
The whole update ecosystem for iOS is very much a 'stick' (reputation damaged if apps not given free updates). It really needs to move to a 'carrot' scenario, but I think iOS users (myself included) are just too spoiled with where we can pick up complex software for peanuts with gratis perpetual updates.
Regards, Nic.
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rossf
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Post by rossf on Oct 8, 2014 19:41:13 GMT
this is sad state of affairs for developers-do some developers get around this by introducing version 2 say as a separate app? ie beat maker versus beat maker 2... I don't use midi vision per se but say in regards to midibridge I would gladly pay the same each year to have an app stay in development-I mean there is a distinct difference between 'entertainment' apps that makes fart noises and apps that make it possible to do on a mobile device what previously required a powerful laptop at least. I've bought a lot of music apps over the years and a large percentage of them have gone by the wayside due to being abandoned.I wonder if this bundled app idea is gonna further decrease the amount people expect to pay for an app.The most expensive app I've got is Cubasis which was $50-but for what it does (especially in conjunction with midibridge) I think it's still very good value.I never had midi timing this good on all the desktop boxes I've had in the past. my two cents..
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nic
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Post by nic on Oct 9, 2014 9:13:49 GMT
Yes, the BeatMaker model is what some developers do but that irritates customers who have purchased version 1 and get no discount to get version 2.
A number of developers have (or are going to) use the new app bundle system to provide a discount to existing customers by bundling version 1 and 2 together for less than the 2 apps combined, so if you already have v1 you can get v2 for less and if you don't have v1 then you purchase v2. I wonder if Apple will clamp down on this as I suspect it is not how they thought it would be used...
Regards, Nic.
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