vdboc
VirtualDJ 8 is indeed an incredible accomplishment, containing many amazing improvements. It is a thing of beauty overall, and you can be proud. However…
Within minutes of using VDJ8, I immediately noticed three ways in which it works differently than previous versions, ways that render it unusable for me. I was able to figure out a work-around for one of the three, but two remain. Thus I ask for help in solving these two issues.
1. The settings pitch_lock and resetPitchOnLoad work differently together than in previous versions. In previous versions, with both these setting set to ‘on,’ the program worked effortlessly to beatmatch and not beatmatch various tracks. Sometimes you want to beatmatch, in which case play¬_sync or play_sync_onbeat functioned as they should with pitch_lock on. Sometimes you do not want to beatmatch, in which case using just play functioned as it should after loading the new track with pitch at 0%. However, in VDJ8, this setup does not work in a usable way. When resetPitchOnLoad is enabled, every time a new track is loaded, the program resets pitch_lock to off! In other words, pitch_lock does not stay on. Since pitch_lock is now removed from the default skin in VDJ8, one possible solution requires creating a custom button for pitch_lock (which is easy to do) and then REMEMBERING to hit that button EVERY SINGLE TIME you intend to beatmatch a track. Obviously, this is no good. I did find a work-around for this problem, however. Setting resetPitchOnLoad to permanently on, and then instead of executing a ‘play_sync’ or ‘play_sync_onbeat’ command to start a track, instead execute 'play_sync & pitch_lock' or 'play_sync_onbeat & pitch_lock' to start a track. Then when you load the next track pitch_sync will be reset to off, but it won't matter since, if you plan to beatmatch that track, you will be executing the play command with pitch_lock added. If you don’t plan to beatmatch the next track, then pitch is already at 0%, which is what you would want. This work-around solves this problem in VDJ8.
2. The deck waveform display in VDJ8 is functionally different than in previous versions. In previous versions, the waveform was shaded to indicate the location of the current play-point and the portion of the track that has already played. In VDJ8, the waveform is also shaded, but the play-point is shown with a bright-white shaded area, obscuring the wave itself. To the right of this white area is a dark shaded area, which also obscures the part of the wave right before the play-point. This makes it impossible to adjust the play-point accurately (for setting cues, etc.) and to see what is actually going on where the track is playing. I can find no setting that addresses this, nor can I figure out any work-around. Using VDJ8 with previous-version skins does not solve this problem; those skins display the waveform in the new VDJ8 manner. This new way of displaying the waveform is apparently hard-programmed into the program itself and not a function of any skin or setting. Please tell me if there is any way to remove this white/dark shaded area from the deck waveform and return the display to the way it was shown in previous versions of the program.
3. The way VDJ8 functions regarding play_sync and play_sync_onbeat is different from previous versions in a fundamental way, and fatally flawed, rendering the program unusable. In previous versions, play_sync and play_sync_onbeat functioned to align the beat of the new track to the NEAREST beat of the currently-playing track. In VDJ8, these commands function to align the beat of the new track to the NEXT beat of the currently-playing track. In practice, this means that beats are often misaligned when beatmatching. Typically, you listen to the track playing and then hit the play_sync or play_sync_onbeat command at the moment of the intended beat. In actual usage, the command will technically be triggered a tiny fraction of a second before or after the true beat. In previous versions of the program, slightly before or after did not matter; the new track would jump slightly ahead or back as needed to align with the intended beat, and the result would sound perfect every time. With VDJ8, before or after does matter. If you happen to trigger the play command a tiny fraction of a second before the intended beat, then the beats align and all is well. If, however, you happen to trigger the command a tiny fraction of a second after the intended beat, then the program delays the track and aligns with the next beat, which is wrong, and of course sounds wrong. This new way of program functioning requires the user to constantly strive to hit the command before the intended beat, which is counter-intuitive. Sitting in one’s home and practicing, a conscious effort can be made to accomplish this, but when deejaying an actual gig, where a lot is going on and many things are juggling in one’s mind, the requirement to be conscious of this unintuitive way of doing things every single mix is unacceptable, especially when all previous versions of VDJ function in a natural manner. In fact, one of the first things anyone notices when first encountering VirtualDJ is the ease with which beatmatching can be accomplished. That ease is now gone. I can find no setting that addresses this problem. I pray that there exists some way to return VDJ8 to functioning as all previous versions did regarding play_sync and play_sync_onbeat. Please advise me on this matter.
There are number of lesser issues I find undesirable about VDJ8, but either they are not that bad or I have been able to work around them in various ways. For example, the rhythm and deck waveform areas are reduced in size, making use more difficult, but this can be corrected through skin modifications. Another example: the little rectangular beat-grid indicators are shaded in VDJ8 (not in previous versions) making seeing and differentiating them more difficult, but this is not a fatal problem and is tolerable. One more example: Although the BPM editor is vastly improved, the buttons to nudge the position of the beat grid have been removed. Now a user needs to expand the waveform and struggle to adjust the little marker manually, which is much more cumbersome and a pain in the neck, but tolerable.
Again however, the matter of play_sync and play_sync_onbeat aligning to the next beat instead of the nearest beat is NOT tolerable. It is a deal-breaker for me. If this cannot be fixed, then I cannot use VDJ8 and must continue to use version 7.4.1. Please help.
Thank you.
[ Posted in the Tech Support Forum a few days ago. Got no replies. Re-posting it here in the dedicated VDJ8 Bug-Report Forum, which seems more appropriate. ]
Within minutes of using VDJ8, I immediately noticed three ways in which it works differently than previous versions, ways that render it unusable for me. I was able to figure out a work-around for one of the three, but two remain. Thus I ask for help in solving these two issues.
1. The settings pitch_lock and resetPitchOnLoad work differently together than in previous versions. In previous versions, with both these setting set to ‘on,’ the program worked effortlessly to beatmatch and not beatmatch various tracks. Sometimes you want to beatmatch, in which case play¬_sync or play_sync_onbeat functioned as they should with pitch_lock on. Sometimes you do not want to beatmatch, in which case using just play functioned as it should after loading the new track with pitch at 0%. However, in VDJ8, this setup does not work in a usable way. When resetPitchOnLoad is enabled, every time a new track is loaded, the program resets pitch_lock to off! In other words, pitch_lock does not stay on. Since pitch_lock is now removed from the default skin in VDJ8, one possible solution requires creating a custom button for pitch_lock (which is easy to do) and then REMEMBERING to hit that button EVERY SINGLE TIME you intend to beatmatch a track. Obviously, this is no good. I did find a work-around for this problem, however. Setting resetPitchOnLoad to permanently on, and then instead of executing a ‘play_sync’ or ‘play_sync_onbeat’ command to start a track, instead execute 'play_sync & pitch_lock' or 'play_sync_onbeat & pitch_lock' to start a track. Then when you load the next track pitch_sync will be reset to off, but it won't matter since, if you plan to beatmatch that track, you will be executing the play command with pitch_lock added. If you don’t plan to beatmatch the next track, then pitch is already at 0%, which is what you would want. This work-around solves this problem in VDJ8.
2. The deck waveform display in VDJ8 is functionally different than in previous versions. In previous versions, the waveform was shaded to indicate the location of the current play-point and the portion of the track that has already played. In VDJ8, the waveform is also shaded, but the play-point is shown with a bright-white shaded area, obscuring the wave itself. To the right of this white area is a dark shaded area, which also obscures the part of the wave right before the play-point. This makes it impossible to adjust the play-point accurately (for setting cues, etc.) and to see what is actually going on where the track is playing. I can find no setting that addresses this, nor can I figure out any work-around. Using VDJ8 with previous-version skins does not solve this problem; those skins display the waveform in the new VDJ8 manner. This new way of displaying the waveform is apparently hard-programmed into the program itself and not a function of any skin or setting. Please tell me if there is any way to remove this white/dark shaded area from the deck waveform and return the display to the way it was shown in previous versions of the program.
3. The way VDJ8 functions regarding play_sync and play_sync_onbeat is different from previous versions in a fundamental way, and fatally flawed, rendering the program unusable. In previous versions, play_sync and play_sync_onbeat functioned to align the beat of the new track to the NEAREST beat of the currently-playing track. In VDJ8, these commands function to align the beat of the new track to the NEXT beat of the currently-playing track. In practice, this means that beats are often misaligned when beatmatching. Typically, you listen to the track playing and then hit the play_sync or play_sync_onbeat command at the moment of the intended beat. In actual usage, the command will technically be triggered a tiny fraction of a second before or after the true beat. In previous versions of the program, slightly before or after did not matter; the new track would jump slightly ahead or back as needed to align with the intended beat, and the result would sound perfect every time. With VDJ8, before or after does matter. If you happen to trigger the play command a tiny fraction of a second before the intended beat, then the beats align and all is well. If, however, you happen to trigger the command a tiny fraction of a second after the intended beat, then the program delays the track and aligns with the next beat, which is wrong, and of course sounds wrong. This new way of program functioning requires the user to constantly strive to hit the command before the intended beat, which is counter-intuitive. Sitting in one’s home and practicing, a conscious effort can be made to accomplish this, but when deejaying an actual gig, where a lot is going on and many things are juggling in one’s mind, the requirement to be conscious of this unintuitive way of doing things every single mix is unacceptable, especially when all previous versions of VDJ function in a natural manner. In fact, one of the first things anyone notices when first encountering VirtualDJ is the ease with which beatmatching can be accomplished. That ease is now gone. I can find no setting that addresses this problem. I pray that there exists some way to return VDJ8 to functioning as all previous versions did regarding play_sync and play_sync_onbeat. Please advise me on this matter.
There are number of lesser issues I find undesirable about VDJ8, but either they are not that bad or I have been able to work around them in various ways. For example, the rhythm and deck waveform areas are reduced in size, making use more difficult, but this can be corrected through skin modifications. Another example: the little rectangular beat-grid indicators are shaded in VDJ8 (not in previous versions) making seeing and differentiating them more difficult, but this is not a fatal problem and is tolerable. One more example: Although the BPM editor is vastly improved, the buttons to nudge the position of the beat grid have been removed. Now a user needs to expand the waveform and struggle to adjust the little marker manually, which is much more cumbersome and a pain in the neck, but tolerable.
Again however, the matter of play_sync and play_sync_onbeat aligning to the next beat instead of the nearest beat is NOT tolerable. It is a deal-breaker for me. If this cannot be fixed, then I cannot use VDJ8 and must continue to use version 7.4.1. Please help.
Thank you.
[ Posted in the Tech Support Forum a few days ago. Got no replies. Re-posting it here in the dedicated VDJ8 Bug-Report Forum, which seems more appropriate. ]
Posté Wed 28 May 14 @ 2:30 am
RobRoy
the dev team is extremely busy and hard working at the moment. be shure you post will be read and noticed, even if you don`t get a reply right away....
Posté Wed 28 May 14 @ 2:54 am
vdboc
RobRoy, I appreciate your advice to be patient and wait for a reply. However, I have still received zero replies, and it has now been about a week since my original post and this post is now on page 12 of the forum, and falling fast. How much longer do you suggest I wait? It seems obvious now that I will never hear anything on this matter without further action. Point # 3 above makes version 8 unusable. Hopefully, there exists a fix in settings or execution or some other way. Without a fix, it will be version 7.4.1 forever. Surely, I'm not the only one who has noticed this...
Posté Sun 01 Jun 14 @ 4:44 pm
Sonido Alto Voltaje
vdboc wrote :
RobRoy, I appreciate your advice to be patient and wait for a reply. However, I have still received zero replies, and it has now been about a week since my original post and this post is now on page 12 of the forum, and falling fast. How much longer do you suggest I wait? It seems obvious now that I will never hear anything on this matter without further action. Point # 3 above makes version 8 unusable. Hopefully, there exists a fix in settings or execution or some other way. Without a fix, it will be version 7.4.1 forever. Surely, I'm not the only one who has noticed this...
Please fix or add on option for this. Smart play behaves the same way.
Posté Fri 20 Jun 14 @ 3:06 am
AsTheDJ
Try remapping your controller for VDJ-8 from the default then rename the new controller that you just remapper (you will have two controller 1 & controller 2 ) In VDJ7 there a NEw commands and may not be the same in VD-8,turn off all the Smart's in the setting before you remapp it
Posté Fri 20 Jun 14 @ 9:57 am
Sonido Alto Voltaje
asthedj wrote :
Try remapping your controller for VDJ-8 from the default then rename the new controller that you just remapper (you will have two controller 1 & controller 2 ) In VDJ7 there a NEw commands and may not be the same in VD-8,turn off all the Smart's in the setting before you remapp it
The issue here for me is that VDJ8 aligns to the next beat instead of the nearest beat. As far as I know there is no way to change this via mapping. If there is please let me know.
Posté Fri 20 Jun 14 @ 2:45 pm