Propellerheads

Remote is a protocol for handling communication between control surfaces (MIDI keyboards, remote control devices, etc.) and software applications (e.g. Reason & Record). It handles everything from delivering MIDI note data from a keyboard to the application to using knobs, faders and buttons on a control surface for tweaking synth parameters in the application, controlling transport, etc. Remote also supports two-way communication, in order to make use of motor faders, dynamic displays and LED indicators.

The Remote protocol was introduced with Reason 3.0, which provides Remote support for a large number of control surfaces. Support for new control surfaces can be added at any time, in many cases by the control surface manufacturers or even by users.

Tighter integration between software and hardware

While software audio applications can be immensely powerful, there's no doubt that physical hands-on control of parameters, transport and other functions is superior to clicking and dragging with a mouse. One of the goals of Remote is to provide a very tight integration between the control surface and the application — the control surface should feel like a natural part of the application rather than a separate, external device.

Ease of use

Historically, control surfaces have required quite complicated setup procedures — the user needed to program the control surface so that the knobs and faders sent the correct MIDI messages, switch between different templates on a control surface or set up manually which parameters should be controlled in the application.

If you use a Remote-supported control surface with Reason or Record, all you need to do is connect the control surface and set it up once and for all, typically by selecting a single factory preset — no programming or understanding of MIDI messages is required. In many cases, the Remote system can even identify the control surface and set things up automatically.

After that, the control surface is ready for use. All knobs and sliders will automatically and dynamically be mapped to sensible parameters in Reason and Record; the user never needs to switch presets or re-program controls on the surface.