Hallelujah - Disklavier app for my Mark IV working again!

I noticed an update to the Disklavier controller app for iPhone and Mark IV today.  This update notification came on a version  I had loaded on my MacBook Pro with M1 chip.  When I checked on my iPhone the app wasn't listed as an update. So, I deleted the app from my iPhone and then searched for it on the application app for iPhone and reloaded it. 

I was excited that the app loaded with the screen to allow for searching for my piano.  Unfortunately, the search didn't work after a minute or so.  

I then re-booted my piano and that didn't work either. 

Then I noticed that the AirPort Express connecting my piano to my router was blinking yellow. So I unplugged the AirPort Express and waited a few minutes. and replugged it in.  It turned green.

I then shut down my Mark IV and restarted it so it could connect.

That worked!  I now can control my piano again from my iPhone.

 

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How to Reset DKVBrowser FromTo PC folder on a Mac running Ventura 13.1

After updating my Mac to the latest system Ventura 13.1 - It did not appear that I could see my FromTo folder or DKV###### network for the Disklavier.

Here are the steps to access the To/From PC using a Mac with the new system:

1:  Open a finder window

2:  Click on Network, under locations on the lefthand sidebar.

3:  Goto the menubar and select the “Go” Menu and the “Connect to Server” option in the pulldown menu

4:  Type in smb://dkv###### that corresponds to your piano

Select Guest and hit return.

The FromTo PC option should also be selected.  Once selected, you will see any files or folders that you have stored on your piano in the FromTo folder in the finder directory. You can drag midi files from your Mac directory to that area. Once they are transferred to the folder on your piano, use Refresh PC option in DKVBrowser to see the files on your piano's FromTo folder.

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Adding New Midis to My Mark IV Disklavier Piano

 Over the past few years it has been hard to add midis to my Mark IV Disklavier.  The music store that was accessible using the PRC (remote) and internet connection was not working.  Yamaha decided to move their Musicsoft store online.  The store is accessible on my Macintosh laptop at Yamaha Musicsoft Store  

 

I had tried in 2019 to download a free album from the store using my Macintosh laptop. The download went okay, but the file was compressed as a .PSX file and the album and included midi files had to be extracted. There was no available software for my Mac that would extract the file.  So, after 2 years I decided to pursue this problem and also figure out why the albums I was seeing on my Mac were not available on my piano's internet store (from PRC).

 

Result:  After talking with knowledgeable and helpful staff at Yamaha MusicSoft support, I have found out the following:

* The original Mark IV's that have not been upgraded with new controllers do not have viable access to the store using their piano's PRC.

* But recently the .PSX file type has been eliminated and a new zipfile protocol allows for easy download and unzipping of files on my Mac laptop. 

* Once files are unzipped on your computer, you can transfer to a USB stick (thumbdrive) and use the USB connection under your Mark IV to load the files to your piano.  

* Using the piano's remote or PRC, you can access the USB and then select album or midi file, click on Function and select Copy to place a copy of new songs into your piano library.

I did have one problem with the online purchase and a call to the support fixed an error in my account info.  I was able to enter my new credit card info and purchase an album. (There are phone numbers on the website to direct you to support)

 There is a nice selection of albums online.  Nice to be able to buy some Piano only - again -- thanks to Yamaha!

The "sound of music" playing on my piano has put me in a better frame of mind.  

Support staff, reminded me that any thing purchased in the store is easily downloaded again.  I was able to redownload my free album which had been changed to midi format instead of .PSX

NOTE:  USB stick should be initialized as FAT 32

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Update to DKVBrowser 3.0.2 for use with Mark IV Disklavier Piano

 

UPDATE 2/19/2021:  The DKVBrowser discussion groups are now being conducted at Google Groups.  You can search by "DKVBrowser" to find a place to join for current information. 

The DKVBrowser software written by Kevin Goroway has been revised to meet the needs of users for their Disklavier Mark IV pianos recently.  The software had not worked on my latest Mac laptops due to system updates that were not supported by DKVBrowser.  The software had recently not worked on the latest Windows computers due to changes in system and other updates.  At some point the underlying architecture of DKVBrowser (Eclipse RCP) became unsupported/incompatible.

A new version is currently being tested by members who are part of the Google Group who post info about DKVBrowser and Disklavier.   

I was successful in loading the new DKVBrowser 3.0.2 onto a Mac laptop running High Sierra and one running Catalina.  I have been testing the Mac version of this software and find that it is running successfully for most functions.  It is nice to have the DKVBrowser to run playlists, play tunes at scheduled times and to have all the easy editing techniques and features that Kevin has shared with us.  I certainly hope many will consider the Donate button to show appreciation for his generosity and talents in keeping a means to play our beloved Disklavier Mark IV.

Note as of 2022:  DKVBrowser 3.0.2 is also running on my MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) with M1 Chip running OS Monterrey 12.5

A series of commands from Terminal were used to get DKV3.0.2 to successfully run with newer Mac systems.  An installation of later version of Java was also necessary.  Contact Google Group for links to this version and instructions or help. 

Original Article for reference:  https://grannyjoans.blogspot.com/search?q=virtual+prc

 "The Many Avenues to Controlling My Mark IV Disklavier"

 

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