18 replies to this topic

[djbzentertainment]

Hi all, need a bit of advice. Am starting up Karaoke along with my Mobile disco business, have bought a laptop etc etc etc. Am now ready to choose some software to run both the karaoke and the disco. I will still use my cd's etc alongside until i get really slick with using the program. Its true, the older you get the slower you learn technical stuff. Have had a go with PCDJ, and find it a bit complicated (i am a very simple person!) but i think i have hit on a very simple program that i have had a play with called Virtual DJ studio v5. (and its main selling point is it works with windows vista which is important to me! Oh, and its fairly cheap.) I have downloaded the trial version and i must say i really like it and find it easy to use.
So, the big question, has anybody else used it, what do you think, and please note with your comments that i am after something very simple and easy to use!

Thanks in advance everybody.

Bob

[Reverandfunk]

Hi Bob, all i use personally is windows media player with the cross fade turned on and to date 100 plus gigs with no probs.

I did try virtual dj and quite liked it but it froze a couple of times whereas media player is so basic it justs runs and runs.

[gezzy]

Hi Bob, all i use personally is windows media player with the cross fade turned on and to date 100 plus gigs with no probs.

I did try virtual dj and quite liked it but it froze a couple of times whereas media player is so basic it justs runs and runs.

Bob,

I have the old PCDJ Red, PCDJFX, Tracktor 3, and Virtual DJ V5.

Having used all of them I found the virtual DJ easy to use and will do whatever you want . Easy to set up and easy to use.

[AndyBristol]

Hi Bob.
I suppose I should have introduced myself on the newbie thread first but here is my first post.

I had PCDJ red with the dmc1 controller for a while until I wanted software to run music videos and karaoke.
PCDJ was great and did what it said on the tin.
I moved onto virtual DJ and bought the DAC3 controller, It's a great piece of sofware and it is as complicated as you want to make it. Loading files easy, playing files easy, finding files easy. switching from karaoke or music or searching both easy.

As its a computer programme it may crash occasionally, mine has twice in the 4 years of using it. This was due to a dodgy music file.
On the whole its a great programme. PCDJ VJ is a reskinned VirtualDJ and Numark Cue is a reskinned VirtualDJ so it must be doing something right.

But like all software people have their favorites this just happens to be mine

Andy

[UKHero]

Hi Bob

I have to put forward Otsav it does the lot music, video and karaoke all in one package..

I love it would not use anything else now. There is a free demo on there site.

Nik

[Bolan-Boogie]

Hi Bob, all i use personally is windows media player with the cross fade turned on and to date 100 plus gigs with no probs.

I did try virtual dj and quite liked it but it froze a couple of times whereas media player is so basic it justs runs and runs.

How do you find a cross fader in windows media player ? ive never seen it, does it have a auto dj feature ?

[UKHero]

How do you find a cross fader in windows media player ? ive never seen it, does it have a auto dj feature ?

I dont think it has a visual CF i think it just fades from one file to the next...

Nik

[Bolan-Boogie]

Cant even find it Nik Lol

[Robster]

In windows media player

To crossfade between songs (music only)1.In Windows Media Player, click the View menu, and make sure that Full Mode is selected.

2.On the View menu, point to Enhancements, and then click Crossfading and Auto Volume Leveling.

3.In the Enhancements pane (near the bottom of the Player), click the Turn on Crossfading link. If the link text says Turn off Crossfading, then that means crossfading is already turned on.

4.Move the slider to set the length of the overlap.
Note

It is not possible to crossfade songs if you are playing a CD that was burned by using Windows Media Player. For more information about crossfading issues in Windows Media Player, see Why can't I crossfade my music?

to be honest i just googled this and tried it and its really poor and not fit for DJ use in my "for what its worth" opinion but hey peace each to there own , if it works for you don't fix it. one love.

[UKHero]

I agree if it works and all that, But thats like saying that we dont need mobile phones cause there is a phone box down the road, There are products available some free that would do a much better job than windows media player... But thats just my opinion...

Nik

[Robster]

Hi Nik i see you use Otsav ,
i am interested in this program as it looks really good .the only concern i can see for me is that i believe it changes the file format for karaoke tracks to one only otsav can use.
if i then want to use anything else to play my files i will have to again put all my discs on the drive
As i really specialise in karaoke that's a heck of a lot of discs!! can you tell me if there is an option to convert but keep the original files?

How have you found this program in general with karaoke files?
I really appreciate real world users of programs points of view and would be grateful for any advise you can give

many thanks
Rob

[~Upnorf Cr3w~]

Hey all i am having a few probs too with Virtual DJ.

I just can't get on with it as easy as i would like.

First the auto mix is hit and miss. It works better and sounds better with dance and club tracks, But with any slow songs and stuff it sounds horrible.

Second i can't get my headphones to work with it. I have 2 headphone jacks for my laptop on the front, I have one going to the mixer and i plugged my headphones into the other one. After i change the output to headphones the master is left chan/headphones right chan. But all i get is one song coming out of the right speaker and headphones and another song coming from the left speaker and headphone. Any help please ?

Someone told me i need a sound card but im not sure about this.

If i do will a simple sound card do the job ?

Thanks again....

[djbogie]

hi folks just trying to work the karaoke on virtual dj, i can get it playing fine but when i connect an external monitor i get the same screen again, how do you set it to get just the lyrics?


graham

[supersound dj]

you have to activate the 2nd graphics card in the video window.

[dj.silver]

I've got Virtual DJ and Ots. I don't do Karaoke but I would go for Ots any day of the week, it's a lot more stable than VDJ. I do not like VDJ I cannot use it live even using a PC instead of a laptop as it keeps stalling and freezing for up to 30 seconds or so when I try and load photos to do a slide show. I couldn't recommend it to anybody.

Yes you do need to convert your tracks to Ots files but converting does not wipe out your existing files, it simply makes an extra Ots file. You can also convert basic tunes back to mp3s if you want. You cannot at the moment convert videos back, so I guess that would be the same with Karaoke tracks.

There is a very helpful forum here .... http://www.otsusers....forum/index.php Ask anything you like and you'll get an answer.

So yes I'd go for Ots as Nik says, it really is a top drawer product.

[djbogie]

you have to activate the 2nd graphics card in the video window.

sorry for being stupid is that through the config setting or the small screen that comes up


graham

[Mick H]

I have just downloaded the OTS AV trial to have a play with, looks good.

[dj.silver]

I have just downloaded the OTS AV trial to have a play with, looks good.

Go for it, you won't be disappointed. Yes, there is a lot of prep work needed but once it's done it's done. It is just so stable too. I've got Virtual but I couldn't use it live as I have no confidence in it. I've tried playing videos with it on 4 different computers and every time it froze and then crashed. I can only speak through personal experience.

[Hoopy]

To be able to use headphones with vdj you need a seperate sound card. You can get a usb sound card off ebay for a couple of quid so its not expensive but definitely worth it.

anyone use club dj? I have version 2 and think its alright any thoughts on it?