txltxl
Hi all,
I'm about to sell the Pioneer DVJ 1000s and take the digital route as I feel laptops have finally caught up what I want to do. I'm a bit fed up of carting them and the AVM02 around in a huge coffin-sized flightcase!
I'm thinking hard about which software package to buy and it looks like I may well go for VDJ Pro, although MixVibes VFX looks extremely promising and has some AMAZING FX, what puts me off is lack of hands-on demo.
Anyway, I am looking for your thoughts and experiences on DVJing with pop videos on your kit with VDJ Pro. How often does it crash, what are your backup plans when it does, what rigs and setups do you use, who makes the best laptop for video DJing (apart from OOVJ of course, looks like I'll be going for Alienware M11x or M17x thuogh).
Any answers, thoughts, feelings, advice, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
I'm about to sell the Pioneer DVJ 1000s and take the digital route as I feel laptops have finally caught up what I want to do. I'm a bit fed up of carting them and the AVM02 around in a huge coffin-sized flightcase!
I'm thinking hard about which software package to buy and it looks like I may well go for VDJ Pro, although MixVibes VFX looks extremely promising and has some AMAZING FX, what puts me off is lack of hands-on demo.
Anyway, I am looking for your thoughts and experiences on DVJing with pop videos on your kit with VDJ Pro. How often does it crash, what are your backup plans when it does, what rigs and setups do you use, who makes the best laptop for video DJing (apart from OOVJ of course, looks like I'll be going for Alienware M11x or M17x thuogh).
Any answers, thoughts, feelings, advice, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Inviato Sun 23 Jan 11 @ 6:46 am
Moretta
I wrote this in another thread but I feel it's applicable to your sitution, My two cent,
I've been using Virtual On PC since 2000 back then is was call "Atomix", ya member! LOL. The reason I went from PC to MAC was bacause of bad audio Latency/ audio drop. I DJ @ a Club with 1000s of People and one of the most embarrassing things that can happen to you is audio drop!; that sec or two of silence you get went the music cut out because of some program running in the background of some PCs. So I thought to myself maybe it my Toshiba, so I bought another PC; A DELL with a 2.93 duo Core process. 6gb of ram and a 128Soild State Drive, whoa! tell me about it pretty penny, @ the time it cost 3500 bucks :'( and nope! same glitches; audio Latency/ audio drop program freezing etc, etc. and sometime your midi controller depending how much juice the unit is pulling via USB. My DJConsole worked like a Champ on my Toshiba! but my RMX not so much. the data rate of transfer on my Toshiba wasn't good enough to suppose the RMX, and it said it at the Back of the RMX manual, "May not work well on some computers" now they tell me... So I bought Macbook Pro Core i5 processor 2.53 Ghz, 4Gb of Ram up'ed to 8Gb (Cheap upgrade and recommend) and 500Gb HDD @ 5400rpm (too Slow! up'ed that too!) 128SSD. you asked will it handle your Midi ? flawlessly! iMac??? are you planning to move around a lot ? Laptop are just more mobile. Oh and if you're gonna get a Macbook Pro, I read in a article a while back to plug in you Midi control to the USB closest to you! better all around performance! Yes! you do lose a lot of video effects vs having a PC but the Pros. are so much sweeter! Sound Quality, reliability, Rock solid Performance! and as far video goes transfer rates matter a lot there too! you need fire-wire or better! and for ExHDs goes look for 7200rpms or better!
Maximus Moretta Out! \m/
P.S. if you're wondering why I wrote so much, I'm deployed, I'm Boarded and DeeJaying is My Obsession!
I've been using Virtual On PC since 2000 back then is was call "Atomix", ya member! LOL. The reason I went from PC to MAC was bacause of bad audio Latency/ audio drop. I DJ @ a Club with 1000s of People and one of the most embarrassing things that can happen to you is audio drop!; that sec or two of silence you get went the music cut out because of some program running in the background of some PCs. So I thought to myself maybe it my Toshiba, so I bought another PC; A DELL with a 2.93 duo Core process. 6gb of ram and a 128Soild State Drive, whoa! tell me about it pretty penny, @ the time it cost 3500 bucks :'( and nope! same glitches; audio Latency/ audio drop program freezing etc, etc. and sometime your midi controller depending how much juice the unit is pulling via USB. My DJConsole worked like a Champ on my Toshiba! but my RMX not so much. the data rate of transfer on my Toshiba wasn't good enough to suppose the RMX, and it said it at the Back of the RMX manual, "May not work well on some computers" now they tell me... So I bought Macbook Pro Core i5 processor 2.53 Ghz, 4Gb of Ram up'ed to 8Gb (Cheap upgrade and recommend) and 500Gb HDD @ 5400rpm (too Slow! up'ed that too!) 128SSD. you asked will it handle your Midi ? flawlessly! iMac??? are you planning to move around a lot ? Laptop are just more mobile. Oh and if you're gonna get a Macbook Pro, I read in a article a while back to plug in you Midi control to the USB closest to you! better all around performance! Yes! you do lose a lot of video effects vs having a PC but the Pros. are so much sweeter! Sound Quality, reliability, Rock solid Performance! and as far video goes transfer rates matter a lot there too! you need fire-wire or better! and for ExHDs goes look for 7200rpms or better!
Maximus Moretta Out! \m/
P.S. if you're wondering why I wrote so much, I'm deployed, I'm Boarded and DeeJaying is My Obsession!
Inviato Mon 24 Jan 11 @ 9:13 am
Moretta
I use this information in another Thread; Far as videos go, how are your videos formatted what's there FPS ??? (frames per second) what's there resolution ??? I think Serato put it best on there FAQ : http://serato.com/search?js=1&q=Video+FAQ&go.x=0&go.y=0 bump your videos again that information and let me know if it doesn't help ??? i.e. I have all my video formatted like this: 25 FPS, 1280x720 Resolution, not to exceed 40-60 mbs per video 3-5 mins long and one thing if you have all you media on external Hard drive double check on the rpm (I'd recommend 7200 rpm or better) and if you're using a USB cable to transfer the data I would recommend using a fire cable or better depending on your computer system. My Macbook pro has a Firewire 800 cable and my PC uses a eSATA cable.
Inviato Mon 24 Jan 11 @ 9:17 am
txltxl
Hi Moretta,
Thanks for all the info on your experiences. I'm glad to hear you're having such a good time with your Mac. I am a professional video editor by day and use FCP, etc. so have got a good grounding in the Mac for video scene. It is good to note that you recommend Firewire HDDs for your videos.
Obviously, beause I've spent the last 3-4 years DVJing with DVDs all my promos are either on DVD as video DVD or extracted VOB /MPEG2. I'm currently ripping and renaming my entire DVD back catalogue (some 500+ DVDs) and am also experimenting with MPEG4 encoding to see/hear what I can get away with in a club environment. Most of my DVJing is with old skool type material so outputting HD or near HD isn't an issue for me anyway. I'm also having a PVR and video mixer on standby (just in case it all goes worng...)
I'll keep an eye out for the USB issue you mentioned though. Mac may be the way to go, but that Alienware M17x does have a truly amazing spec.
Many thanks for your replies on this - I;m looking forward to not carrying a coffin/casket-sized box with me at my next few engagements.
TXL
Thanks for all the info on your experiences. I'm glad to hear you're having such a good time with your Mac. I am a professional video editor by day and use FCP, etc. so have got a good grounding in the Mac for video scene. It is good to note that you recommend Firewire HDDs for your videos.
Obviously, beause I've spent the last 3-4 years DVJing with DVDs all my promos are either on DVD as video DVD or extracted VOB /MPEG2. I'm currently ripping and renaming my entire DVD back catalogue (some 500+ DVDs) and am also experimenting with MPEG4 encoding to see/hear what I can get away with in a club environment. Most of my DVJing is with old skool type material so outputting HD or near HD isn't an issue for me anyway. I'm also having a PVR and video mixer on standby (just in case it all goes worng...)
I'll keep an eye out for the USB issue you mentioned though. Mac may be the way to go, but that Alienware M17x does have a truly amazing spec.
Many thanks for your replies on this - I;m looking forward to not carrying a coffin/casket-sized box with me at my next few engagements.
TXL
Inviato Mon 24 Jan 11 @ 5:30 pm
djgunnie
Im running alienware mx17.9000+ music videos, Love it. No issues at all.
I've read the newer ones (dell) may not be up to scratch but I dont know anyone with one so... who knows?
The only 'problem' is when using automix there is a small video freeze as the track starting to play loads up to the track playing window (deck), audio keeps paying fine. I've read thats an issue with virtual dj7 not the alienware as others seem to have the same thing happening on all sorts of systems. No big deal, the crowds dont notice anyway just abit annoying as a user
I've read the newer ones (dell) may not be up to scratch but I dont know anyone with one so... who knows?
The only 'problem' is when using automix there is a small video freeze as the track starting to play loads up to the track playing window (deck), audio keeps paying fine. I've read thats an issue with virtual dj7 not the alienware as others seem to have the same thing happening on all sorts of systems. No big deal, the crowds dont notice anyway just abit annoying as a user
Inviato Mon 14 Feb 11 @ 4:13 am