Muse Research has announced that its highly anticipated UniWire audio and MIDI networking technology is now available to the public in beta form (for registered Receptor owners), along with version 1.5 of the Receptor software. If you are heading to NAMM you can also check it out in booth 1109.

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UniWire allows you to connect your Receptor hardware plug-in player directly to your laptop or desktop computer using only a single Ethernet cable, and get complete integration of MIDI, audio, and remote control data to and from the Receptor. In doing so, UniWire allows you to run your plug-ins on Receptor but control them as if they were running inside your host computer. UniWire is a free upgrade to all Receptor customers, and is compatible with most VST hosts on Mac OS X and Windows.

NOTE: The UniWire beta is initially available in VST instrument and effect formats for Windows and Mac OS X - the final VST version is expected to be released in February. AU and RTAS versions are planned.

UniWire consists of a host computer plug-in created by Muse Research and a software upgrade to Receptor that enables the UniWire networking capabilities of Receptor. UniWire provides you with 32-channels of audio between your computer and Receptor using a standard 100baseT network connection, as well as providing each plug-in with its own MIDI port (16 channels). Additionally, Receptor's Remote control software lets you view and control Receptor's graphical user interface over Ethernet using your host computer.

To enable UniWire on your computer, simply install the UniWire plug-in and then connect a Receptor to your Ethernet network. The plug-in will automatically recognize all the Receptors on the network, and once assigned, all you need to do is either assign MIDI data or audio tracks to that plug-in with your host software. The UniWire plug-in will transfer the audio or MIDI data over to Receptor where it is processed or created, and the audio results are sent back over Ethernet and delivered just as if it were a native plug-in running inside your computer. Since most audio / MIDI sequencers provide automatic plug-in delay compensation, the audio results will come back perfectly in sync with the rest of your project.

Computer animation companies have long used the notion of distributed processing where high-load CPU tasks are shared among multiple CPUs in a network. With Receptor and UniWire, it is possible to use a network of Receptors as a computational array, dividing the plug-ins among the various Receptors and having the results all returned to the host over Ethernet. And UniWire is completely network aware, meaning that you have access to all Receptors throughout a production facility, allowing you to access any units that are idle for use in a central location.

White Paper Explains It All
For those that haven't read it yet, a white paper is available for download from the Muse Research website.

The Public Beta version plus the Receptor 1.5 release notes and UniWire documentation are available here.