Published 2024-12-01.
Last modified 2024-12-08.
Time to read: 3 minutes.
av_studio collection.
EuCon allows real-time communication between Avid control surfaces and DAWs and NLEs. Because it does not use MIDI, EuCon's bandwidth is much larger, and (I believe that) it has less latency than HUI and MCU. Avid provides a EuCon client for iPads that I have found to be helpful when it worked. There is a EuCon user’s group on Facebook.
Avid acquired Euphonix, the creator of the proprietary EuCon protocol, in 2010. EuCon is not supported by MIDI devices, just by Avid control surfaces and tablet apps. For many years, EuCon was rather unreliable; however, that improved in October 2024.
News
EuCon 2024.10
This release brings a major stability and performance upgrade with several new features. Download here.
EuCon 2023.06 worked fine from my iPad. After updating to EuCon 2024.10, Avid Control on the iPad no longer showed controls for Pro Tools running on Windows. However, the solution was easy.
My setup:
- Pro Tools Artist runs without other issues.
- Windows 10 (with latest updates).
- iPad 9th generation 10.2" model mk2p3vc/a
Setup / Peripherals / Ethernet Controllers tab / EUCON Control Surfaces is enabled. EuControl on Windows shows the surface. I noticed that EuControl / Assign, Lock to Application: Entire surface is no longer a visible option.
The solution: Under the Applications tab, set Last Focused Application to Pro Tools, then enable Lock to application: Transport and Monitor and Control Room.
EuCon 2023.06
History
Avid and friends developed two early protocols that allowed MIDI devices to be controlled by other devices. These protocols were called Human User Interface (HUI) and Mackie Control Universal (MCU). See HUI & MCU for more information.
Euphonix was a vendor of control surfaces for studios with MIDI devices. They were the original developer of the proprietary EuCon protocol, which worked with their Euphonix control surfaces. The EuCon protocol was more advanced than HUI and MCU, but MIDI devices did not use EuCon because of the licensing cost. Avid bought Euphonix in 2010. The name Euphonix lives on today, however:
- The origin story explains the name of the protocol that this article is all about: EuCon stands for Euphonix Control.
- The origin story also explains why you will see many MIDI drivers with names like Euphonix EuMidi1 [Emulated]. These MIDI drivers are installed when the EuCon client is installed.
Overview
The iPad Avid Control App provides soft keys. (download)
- Product description.
- Tech info and support.
- Creating Custom Post Macros
- EUCON Soft Keys Reference Material
- Avid EUCON 2021.6 Released - Custom Knob Assignments And More
- AVID Control for Pro Tools Explained ($12)
- Apple Store.
Installation
Installing on Windows
Enable EUCON in Pro Tools
Setup / Peripherals, select the Ethernet Controllers tab, then enable EUCON Control Surfaces.
The usual Windows Defender popup appears:
Defining Soft Keys for Pro Tools Macros
Practicalities
Only Launch Avid MC Client for One User
Avid MC Client can only run on one Windows account. By default, it tries to launch on all accounts upon login. Thus, the first Windows user to log in gets to use EUCON. (See page 37 of the Avid Control and Avid Control Desktop Guide.)
Only One Control Surface At A Time
I installed Avid Control on my Android phone. Only one control surface can be connected at once:
Lock Entire Surface
By default, Pro Tools must be the selected application on the DAW at all times. Otherwise, the Avid Control surface connected via EUCON does not display anything. To allow other programs to get focus without losing the connection, in EuControl / Assign, enable Lock to Application: Entire surface.
Swipe Up To Refresh iPad Screen
Sometimes it is the simple things that get you. If Avid Control on the iPad is not connected to Pro Tools, swipe down. I could not find any mention of this in the Avid Control Guide.
Support
References
