Me again. I tried to give VDJ another try.
When I asked about a crash on my laptop running VDJ, SoundSwitch and Ecamm tech support at VDJ said I was expecting too much from my laptop's bus. I have a MBP 16" and though I had a lot of devices connected I didn't expect it to be an issue. But maybe it was.
Since then I got a 2019 MBP 15" and I connected my 3 decks, 1 mixer and SoundSwitch device via powered USB. While playing 3 decks on this laptop I experienced my 2000NXS2 screen not able to keep up with what I saw on the laptop.
I feel like I'm always posting about how something doesn't consistently perform as expected using VDJ. And I'm usually met with blaming my hardware, or configuration or something other than VDJ. I'm not trying to be rude here but I just don't understand why my experience always seems to include a hiccup. Even with using a SECOND MBP dedicated to only running VDJ.
I previously posted that perhaps I'm not the target user for VDJ but I wanted to try again. My other option is Serato. These are my only two options if I want to use SoundSwitch and my Pioneer decks. My last option is to replace my NXS decks for Denon SC6000. But not optimal. Then last night I considered trying on the XDJ-1000MK2. I thought maybe VDJ paired with 3 of those decks would work. But after this hiccup of the screen not being responsive, I'm not sure any of these solutions should rely on on using VDJ.
Has anyone else experienced unexpected behavior between VDJ and NXS decks? Or the XDJ-1000mk2? Am I the only one?
When I asked about a crash on my laptop running VDJ, SoundSwitch and Ecamm tech support at VDJ said I was expecting too much from my laptop's bus. I have a MBP 16" and though I had a lot of devices connected I didn't expect it to be an issue. But maybe it was.
Since then I got a 2019 MBP 15" and I connected my 3 decks, 1 mixer and SoundSwitch device via powered USB. While playing 3 decks on this laptop I experienced my 2000NXS2 screen not able to keep up with what I saw on the laptop.
I feel like I'm always posting about how something doesn't consistently perform as expected using VDJ. And I'm usually met with blaming my hardware, or configuration or something other than VDJ. I'm not trying to be rude here but I just don't understand why my experience always seems to include a hiccup. Even with using a SECOND MBP dedicated to only running VDJ.
I previously posted that perhaps I'm not the target user for VDJ but I wanted to try again. My other option is Serato. These are my only two options if I want to use SoundSwitch and my Pioneer decks. My last option is to replace my NXS decks for Denon SC6000. But not optimal. Then last night I considered trying on the XDJ-1000MK2. I thought maybe VDJ paired with 3 of those decks would work. But after this hiccup of the screen not being responsive, I'm not sure any of these solutions should rely on on using VDJ.
Has anyone else experienced unexpected behavior between VDJ and NXS decks? Or the XDJ-1000mk2? Am I the only one?
Inviato Sat 29 Aug 20 @ 11:57 pm
PhantomDeejay
I'm using a complete Nexus2 system here without any latency issues at all.
But I am using a 6 years old Windows laptop.
Some remarks:
As a first test, try to use the devices without soundswitch. Does the latency improve ?
As a second test, if your mixer is DJM-900NXS2 try to use LINK to connect the CDJ's with the mixer and then use only the mixer in your USB hub (the option to use LINK has been added recently, so make sure you are using latest VirtualDJ 2021 version with factory default mapping for DJM-900NXS2 mixer)
As a third test, try to use a different USB hub. We have some reports from users that not all USB C hubs out there perform the same.
Finally:
When you say that your CDJ screens don't follow the software do you refer on the scratch waveforms ?
Are you using the latest factory default mapper ?
Is your CDJ firmware updated to latest version ?
Keep in mind that scratch waveform is sent "as a whole" when you load a song. Then CDJ itself moves the waveform via it's firmware based on elapsed time sent by the software.
When you load tracks, a busy USB bus could perhaps delay some packets, that's true. However if all decks are loaded and just play, the information traveling through the bus is not sufficient enough to cause any delays on any packets.
Of course, that's without knowing what kind of information travels via SoundSwitch box, and how much bandwidth it demands.
I'm giving you this info to help you find your bottleneck on your system and troubleshoot it. Not as a solution or excuse of the behavior.
Let us know your findings.
But I am using a 6 years old Windows laptop.
Some remarks:
As a first test, try to use the devices without soundswitch. Does the latency improve ?
As a second test, if your mixer is DJM-900NXS2 try to use LINK to connect the CDJ's with the mixer and then use only the mixer in your USB hub (the option to use LINK has been added recently, so make sure you are using latest VirtualDJ 2021 version with factory default mapping for DJM-900NXS2 mixer)
As a third test, try to use a different USB hub. We have some reports from users that not all USB C hubs out there perform the same.
Finally:
When you say that your CDJ screens don't follow the software do you refer on the scratch waveforms ?
Are you using the latest factory default mapper ?
Is your CDJ firmware updated to latest version ?
Keep in mind that scratch waveform is sent "as a whole" when you load a song. Then CDJ itself moves the waveform via it's firmware based on elapsed time sent by the software.
When you load tracks, a busy USB bus could perhaps delay some packets, that's true. However if all decks are loaded and just play, the information traveling through the bus is not sufficient enough to cause any delays on any packets.
Of course, that's without knowing what kind of information travels via SoundSwitch box, and how much bandwidth it demands.
I'm giving you this info to help you find your bottleneck on your system and troubleshoot it. Not as a solution or excuse of the behavior.
Let us know your findings.
Inviato Sun 30 Aug 20 @ 5:44 pm
Thanks for the response.
Although I did have the SoundSwitch device connected (really an entec dmx interface) I did not run the software during my test. Only VDJ was running.
I did not know about the support for link. I’m using 2 2000nxs and 1 2000nxs2 and 1 v10 mixer. I could try it without connecting the USB of the 3 decks since they are connected to an Ethernet switch that goes to my other laptop. I still need Rekordbox connectivity in export mode.
The screen that experiences latency is the browser. This has happened a few times before. I’m scrolling through tracks and then the CDJ freezes for several seconds. Maybe after 10 seconds or so it “unfreezes” and catches up.
I uninstalled VDJ from both my laptops yesterday and cancelled my sub after feeling a bit frustrated with these quirks. None of which I experienced in Serato. Not that Serato is any better, just haven’t experienced any unpredictability just yet. If I decide to troubleshoot this anymore I’ll circle back.
Thanks for your help :)
Although I did have the SoundSwitch device connected (really an entec dmx interface) I did not run the software during my test. Only VDJ was running.
I did not know about the support for link. I’m using 2 2000nxs and 1 2000nxs2 and 1 v10 mixer. I could try it without connecting the USB of the 3 decks since they are connected to an Ethernet switch that goes to my other laptop. I still need Rekordbox connectivity in export mode.
The screen that experiences latency is the browser. This has happened a few times before. I’m scrolling through tracks and then the CDJ freezes for several seconds. Maybe after 10 seconds or so it “unfreezes” and catches up.
I uninstalled VDJ from both my laptops yesterday and cancelled my sub after feeling a bit frustrated with these quirks. None of which I experienced in Serato. Not that Serato is any better, just haven’t experienced any unpredictability just yet. If I decide to troubleshoot this anymore I’ll circle back.
Thanks for your help :)
Inviato Sun 30 Aug 20 @ 6:55 pm