Need Urgent Help - Otsav?

[DJ Mike 0]

I have three gigs this weekend - Saturday, Sunday and Monday two of which are weddings so very important.

 

I currently use Rane ScratchLive as my digital music interface but am having massive problems where I prepare a playlist and when I shut the program down and start it back up again more than half the music on the playlist has dissapeared and crates and tracks within the crates have re-arranged themselves.

 

I'm not the sort that can just go out with 20,000 songs and know the name of something to play next I NEED to prepare beforehand.

 

So I guess I need to buy another program, learn to use it and prepare my playlists in it before tomorrow night

 

Is this possible in otsAV DJ Silver or is the process more long winded than that?

 

Alternatively is there a program out there that is free or very cheap that will do the job until i've sorted my problems?

 

Oh as a side note I would not recommend Serato Scratch to anyone, this problem has been ongoing for about 6 months and I have tried everything to fix it alongside Rane support - it cost me £400 so is not cheap and I have lost countless hours of work on it.

[McCardle 1]

Why not contact the company who sold you the software directly, and demand a replacement because it isn't working properly. If they don't then contact your card company and file a chargeback. Simples.

 

Getting your £400 back would buy you OTS or indeed most other forms of DJ software out there - in fact it would buy you two or more other brands of software.

 

I believe that OTS has a free trial, so why not download it now, and evaluate it.

 

Problem solved.

Edited August 28, 2009 by McCardle

[UKHero 0]

Getting your £400 back would buy you OTS

:joe: :Thumbup:

 

Nik

[DJ Mike 0]

Why not contact the company who sold you the software directly, and demand a replacement because it isn't working properly. If they don't then contact your card company and file a chargeback. Simples.

 

Getting your £400 back would buy you OTS or indeed most other forms of DJ software out there - in fact it would buy you two or more other brands of software.

 

I believe that OTS has a free trial, so why not download it now, and evaluate it.

 

Problem solved.

 

I have owned the software now for over a year so not sure what the my legal entitlements are there?

 

I did download the OTS free trial to have a quick look but every few songs it plays a sound byte that says something like 'buy your OTS license online now' not a great look for when you're playing a wedding reception

[McCardle 1]

I did download the OTS free trial to have a quick look but every few songs it plays a sound byte that says something like 'buy your OTS license online now' not a great look for when you're playing a wedding reception

 

I hate to be seen stating the obvious to a fellow professional DJ, but buying a license magically removes that. Sign up, pay your license fee get a nice working copy of a software system which quite a few Dj's on here seem to recommend.

 

I recommended using the software trial purely so you could evaluate it at home, see if it plays your tracks in whatever format they are currently and get used to the features and make sure it answers all of the questions you've asked. Then buy it if you like it, ready for your next gig - tomorrow.

 

Alternatively is there a program out there that is free or very cheap that will do the job until i've sorted my problems?

 

You've already mentioned that these are important functions in your own post, so why take a gamble on free software. If they were 100% stable and anygood then the authors would be charging for them. You are getting paid for these functions aren't you? and intend to use it at these bookings and those in the future, so consider it a small outlay in return for re-assurance and keeping your business reputation intact.

 

I have owned the software now for over a year

 

If you've owned the software for over a year, then I would say that you've got little come back as most warranty / support agreements only last for this length. I hope you've got your £400 worth during the course of the year.

 

Like I said, there are quite a few DJ's here using software which is flawless, and most of it costs a great deal less than £400.

 

I probably shouldn't broach the subject about the importance of backing up your collection of software and music collection etc, so I won't.

Edited August 28, 2009 by McCardle

[DJ Mike 0]

I hate to be seen stating the obvious to a fellow professional DJ, but buying a license magically removes that. Sign up, pay your license fee get a nice working copy of a software system which quite a few Dj's on here seem to recommend.

 

I recommended using the software trial purely so you could evaluate it at home, see if it plays your tracks in whatever format they are currently and get used to the features and make sure it answers all of the questions you've asked. Then buy it if you like it, ready for your next gig - tomorrow.

You've already mentioned that these are important functions in your own post, so why take a gamble on free software. If they were 100% stable and anygood then the authors would be charging for them. You are getting paid for these functions aren't you? and intend to use it at these bookings and those in the future, so consider it a small outlay in return for re-assurance and keeping your business reputation intact.

If you've owned the software for over a year, then I would say that you've got little come back as most warranty / support agreements only last for this length. I hope you've got your £400 worth during the course of the year.

 

Like I said, there are quite a few DJ's here using software which is flawless, and most of it costs a great deal less than £400.

 

I probably shouldn't broach the subject about the importance of backing up your collection of software and music collection etc, so I won't.

 

Ok I can see your point I just didn't want to waste a load of time evaluating a program only to find it is too complicated to set up etc. in the time frame I have and have to try to move on to another one!

 

The important thing to me is to get up and running by tomorrow night so that i'm not letting the bride and groom down in any way shape or form!

 

I am currently making a massive fuss over on Rane's open forum with their in house support and am secretly hoping that they will give me some money back as a good will gesture.

 

If not I will maybe keep the product anyway as it is not just the software it's also a fancy pants ASIO sound card.

 

 

 

 

[McCardle 1]

Ok I can see your point I just didn't want to waste a load of time evaluating a program only to find it is too complicated to set up etc. in the time frame I have and have to try to move on to another one!

 

If you've already downloaded trial versions of software then you must surely be familiar with whether they work as you want them to by now. Regardless of the fact that it may play an annoying insert over the audio or the odd premium restriction, essentially it should operate as it would at a gig and give you a fair chance of deciding whether it will get you through the weekend and beyond?

 

So did OTS live up to these expectations, and will it play your tracks?. It seems to work for several other people, some of which, according to their post stamps have been using it for years, so it should work just as good for you.

 

Sorry, I can't help you with any support in relation to these products nor recommend any one in particular because I refuse to pay even more money to the dictatorship which is the music industry, so i'm still on CD. However, i'm sure that if you ask in the PC & DJ section of the forum you'll get all of the help you need. Once you've bought and installed the software you've chosen.

 

The important thing to me is to get up and running by tomorrow night so that i'm not letting the bride and groom down in any way shape or form!

 

Smart move and one which most people here will agree with. So I won't trespass any more on your valuable time. Just time enough to give you links to software which i've read more than once person recommend

 

http://www.pcdj.co.uk/

 

http://www.otsav.com/

 

http://www.virtualdj.com/

Edited August 28, 2009 by McCardle

[DJ Mike 0]

I only had a very quick play with otsAV and from that wasn't sure whether I could get it operation in the given timeframe.

 

Anyway thanks for the advise, like you say, I think I just need to get on with it!

[disco4hire 1]

 

 

Alternatively is there a program out there that is free or very cheap that will do the job until i've sorted my problems?

 

 

You can download Virtual DJ for free, it's fully functional but only has a 19 day trial lifespan, but since you only need it for 3 days that isn't a problem.

[UKHero 0]

I have used Ots since V1.0 and it is one of the easiest and best bits of kit out there.

 

For playlist creation its just drag drop and save

 

Nik

[DJ Mike 0]

You can download Virtual DJ for free, it's fully functional but only has a 19 day trial lifespan, but since you only need it for 3 days that isn't a problem.

 

That's exactly what i've gone for as it gets me out of a bind straight away, I then have two weeks off in which I can spend time sorting things out properly :yes:

[DJ Mike 0]

Virtual DJ seems to work well, I especially like the feature that writes the key and BPM to each track and then suggests tracks from your library that would go with the one currently playing.

 

It was interesting that tracks in certain keys seemed to make certain age groups dance i.e. the old ladies ONLY liked tracks in Am (I bet they don't know this though!)