ROLAND MPU 401 MIDI PROCESSING UNIT :* NO cable includedThe Roland MPU-401 MIDI Processing Unit is designed using a CPU and custom LSI hand-shake controller for the MIDI bus system. The MPU-401 connects to a HOST computer via the DATA bus and uses handshaking and interrupts. The MPU-401 may be used as a memory-mapped or I/O mapped device.Roland recognizes the difficulties and weaknesses of using a simple UART or 'DUMB' interface to the MIDI bus and has decided to set out on a program to development this 'intelligent' microprocessor based MIDI interfaced. This led to the development of a special LSI handshaking controller which drastically reduces the parts count in the interface. Connection to almost any kind of personal computer is now possible due to the simplicity of this hardware interface. The use interrupts as opposed to polled port techniques greatly adds to the potential of MIDI software applications.____________________________________________________________________________________