MIDI 2.0 extends MIDI 1.0 rather than replacing it, so existing devices and messages stay valid

MIDI 2.0 is a backward-compatible extension of MIDI 1.0, not a replacement: it ‘builds on the core principles, architecture, and semantics of MIDI 1.0.’ None of the four core MIDI 2.0 documents are stand-alone — they are extensions of MIDI 1.0, and implementers must thoroughly understand MIDI 1.0 first. Consequently existing MIDI 1.0 devices keep working and a MIDI 2.0 device must interoperate with MIDI 1.0 infrastructure, falling back to the MIDI 1.0 protocol when the other end cannot do 2.0. The common misconception this corrects is that MIDI 2.0 obsoletes MIDI 1.0 hardware and software; in fact MIDI 1.0 messages can even be carried inside the new packet format.

Examples

A MIDI 2.0 controller plugged into a MIDI 1.0 DIN interface simply runs the MIDI 1.0 protocol. MIDI-CI features can be added to old gear over unchanged MIDI 1.0 transports.

Assessment

A producer asks whether their MIDI 1.0 controller will work with a MIDI 2.0 DAW. What do you tell them, and why is MIDI 2.0 designed so that this is true?