kotdb
Hi folks,
I wonder if you can help me. I am using a Hercules MK2 with windows XP laptop and virtual DJ.
From time to time when I alter the bass levels (and sometimes the high and mid) using the hercules (particularly on the right hand deck) the sound completely cuts out and comes back about 2 secs later. Makes it very annoying for mixing and I have had to stop really altering the bass almost completely in my sets as I just can't rely on it.
Anyone know if this is just a fault with the hardware or if I can alter a setting on the control panel or software?
Any help appreciated.
Thanks.
Bob
I wonder if you can help me. I am using a Hercules MK2 with windows XP laptop and virtual DJ.
From time to time when I alter the bass levels (and sometimes the high and mid) using the hercules (particularly on the right hand deck) the sound completely cuts out and comes back about 2 secs later. Makes it very annoying for mixing and I have had to stop really altering the bass almost completely in my sets as I just can't rely on it.
Anyone know if this is just a fault with the hardware or if I can alter a setting on the control panel or software?
Any help appreciated.
Thanks.
Bob
Posté Fri 29 Jun 07 @ 3:01 pm
spinnaJ
what is ur lappy spec?
N u could try this
At config> performances
make to fastest the preset
Latency auto
tick both safe mode n overclock
Hmm not sure if this the same in the console edition..
but in the meantime i sure somebody will help ya..
N u could try this
At config> performances
make to fastest the preset
Latency auto
tick both safe mode n overclock
Hmm not sure if this the same in the console edition..
but in the meantime i sure somebody will help ya..
Posté Fri 29 Jun 07 @ 3:10 pm
kotdb
Its a Dell Inspiron 510M
250MHz, 512MB RAM
250MHz, 512MB RAM
Posté Fri 29 Jun 07 @ 3:14 pm
sbangs
250mhz is that the ram or your processor because if thats the processor that is well well below the minium spec
Posté Fri 29 Jun 07 @ 5:31 pm
spinnaJ
how its going?? betta?.
Posté Fri 29 Jun 07 @ 6:24 pm
kotdb
"At config> performances
make to fastest the preset
Latency auto
tick both safe mode n overclock"
No i don't have any of those settings on my edition.
I don't have a performances tab but I have FAME settings and a general tab with a few options.
Reactivity I already had on fast (I presume this is the latency equivalent) as for the others can't really think of any that relate to safe mode or overclock.
:-/
make to fastest the preset
Latency auto
tick both safe mode n overclock"
No i don't have any of those settings on my edition.
I don't have a performances tab but I have FAME settings and a general tab with a few options.
Reactivity I already had on fast (I presume this is the latency equivalent) as for the others can't really think of any that relate to safe mode or overclock.
:-/
Posté Sat 30 Jun 07 @ 4:38 pm
spinnaJ
Sorry bout that as i did not use the DJC edition.. hmmm try updating the herc driver
ftp://ftp.hercules.com/pub/webupdate/DJMk2/2007_CMK2_2.exe
Hope this helps
ftp://ftp.hercules.com/pub/webupdate/DJMk2/2007_CMK2_2.exe
Hope this helps
Posté Sun 01 Jul 07 @ 12:20 pm
kotdb
I have the most up to date driver installed.
Its the bass control on the right deck that almost seems to build up a charge and then when it gets too high it cuts out the sound output for about two seconds when I try to use it.
It happens randomly but at least once every time I use the mixer. Its really annoying if I want to play out with it. As it generally happens when I want to mix in and out of tracks.
Could it be a hardware fault?
Its the bass control on the right deck that almost seems to build up a charge and then when it gets too high it cuts out the sound output for about two seconds when I try to use it.
It happens randomly but at least once every time I use the mixer. Its really annoying if I want to play out with it. As it generally happens when I want to mix in and out of tracks.
Could it be a hardware fault?
Posté Fri 06 Jul 07 @ 8:52 pm
spinnaJ
heya, sorry cant help u much mates.. But do u still get this when using with the more stable 2006 driver?
If all fail, i think it betta u email to herc for more support as maybe it could be faulty. ur console is still under waranty for 2 yrs from the date u purchased:)). But i still think it something with ur setting.. Have u try to tweak ur system a bit such as off any unused program that is running in the background as it is possible that is the main cause of ur problem with the herc. As u mentioned that ur processor or maybe i wrong is only 250 mhz, i think it wise u do an upgrade as it below par for the requirement to use VDJ even for a djc edition. N check that the Usb power is always on:)))
If all fail, i think it betta u email to herc for more support as maybe it could be faulty. ur console is still under waranty for 2 yrs from the date u purchased:)). But i still think it something with ur setting.. Have u try to tweak ur system a bit such as off any unused program that is running in the background as it is possible that is the main cause of ur problem with the herc. As u mentioned that ur processor or maybe i wrong is only 250 mhz, i think it wise u do an upgrade as it below par for the requirement to use VDJ even for a djc edition. N check that the Usb power is always on:)))
Posté Fri 06 Jul 07 @ 11:51 pm
Andrew87
I've had this before with v3.4 and below (on a considerably higher spec machine than your own), it may have been when I was using the Hercules I'm not sure. I didn't find a remedy other than to use an external mixer but it was probably to do with me attempting low-latency mode with 3.4. I believe the problem occurs because the processor cannot deal with all the realtime audio adjustments being made, e.g. having two songs playing, pitched at different tempos with master tempo and having equaliser adjustments to add to that. Therefore it lags and you get either a pop, crackle or gap. With VirtualDJ v4 there are performance adjustments which can be made and safe mode which attempts to stop pops, crackles and other artifacts before they happen. If you really are running VirtualDJ on a system with only a 250mhz cpu then there may be very little you can do to remedy the problem.
Posté Sat 07 Jul 07 @ 12:17 am
kotdb
I've looked again at my laptop properties:
Intel (R) Pentium (R) M Processor 1400MHZ, 1.39 GHZ, 512MB RAM
No idea where I got that last figure.
:-/
Sorry I'm not a massive geek about these things.
Intel (R) Pentium (R) M Processor 1400MHZ, 1.39 GHZ, 512MB RAM
No idea where I got that last figure.
:-/
Sorry I'm not a massive geek about these things.
Posté Sat 07 Jul 07 @ 12:24 pm
kotdb
"I believe the problem occurs because the processor cannot deal with all the realtime audio adjustments being made, e.g. having two songs playing, pitched at different tempos with master tempo and having equaliser adjustments to add to that. Therefore it lags and you get either a pop, crackle or gap."
This sounds right I reckon.
So with my revised processor figures do you still reckon I need to upgrade to version 4 so I can tweak things a bit? I've only just got this version mind you and would be reluctant to do that. Maybe I could try not using any other programmes on my laptop during a mix. Bit annoying as I need to be on the net during broadcast...
How does using an external mixer work then? I kind of thought the Herc was an external mixer. So if for example I was in a club I would have my laptop and Herc and cue up and mix the track with the herc but use the clubs mixer for EQ'ing output track?
This sounds right I reckon.
So with my revised processor figures do you still reckon I need to upgrade to version 4 so I can tweak things a bit? I've only just got this version mind you and would be reluctant to do that. Maybe I could try not using any other programmes on my laptop during a mix. Bit annoying as I need to be on the net during broadcast...
How does using an external mixer work then? I kind of thought the Herc was an external mixer. So if for example I was in a club I would have my laptop and Herc and cue up and mix the track with the herc but use the clubs mixer for EQ'ing output track?
Posté Sat 07 Jul 07 @ 12:37 pm
Andrew87
Your processor in terms of performance is better than a 2.2ghz Pentium 4 chip so should be able to deal with VirtualDJ. You can download the demo for v4 for free over here. This way you can play about with the performance settings to see if it helps you solve your problem. It's recommended not to use other programs whilst using VirtualDJ and you'll find the professional version has it's own Shoutcast/Icecast broadcasting capabilities.
An external mixer gives you a benefit which most technological devices take after, i.e. what can be done in hardware is generally much quicker and of better quality than what is done in software. If you added an external mixer to your setup you would do EQ'ing and fading with the external mixer. The Hercules is more of a mixer controller, VirtualDJ itself is actually doing all the mixer events in software. Some external mixers also have kill switches which allow you to effortlessly kill whichever frequency you want very easily and allow adjustable crossfader curves for beatmatching/scratching. Of course VirtualDJ lets you do all these things in software, but it comes at a price in terms of processor. Doing it on an external mixer quite possibly could be of higher quality but if not that, then at least it will free you some resources on your computer.
You could also try updating your DirectX, which may or may not help with performance issues.
If you press CTRL+SHIFT+ESCAPE you will be in Windows Task Manager. In the bottom left hand corner it will tell you how many processes you are running. On my machine there are currently 32, and that's with at least 5 processes I don't need. If possible, you may want to disable antivirus/antispyware programs or anything which may scan memory in realtime. Symantec Norton products have a notorious reputation of being resource hogs. However, if you don't have a hardware firewall, then don't disable that particular feature. If you have around 50 processes then that could be another cause of your problem.
An external mixer gives you a benefit which most technological devices take after, i.e. what can be done in hardware is generally much quicker and of better quality than what is done in software. If you added an external mixer to your setup you would do EQ'ing and fading with the external mixer. The Hercules is more of a mixer controller, VirtualDJ itself is actually doing all the mixer events in software. Some external mixers also have kill switches which allow you to effortlessly kill whichever frequency you want very easily and allow adjustable crossfader curves for beatmatching/scratching. Of course VirtualDJ lets you do all these things in software, but it comes at a price in terms of processor. Doing it on an external mixer quite possibly could be of higher quality but if not that, then at least it will free you some resources on your computer.
You could also try updating your DirectX, which may or may not help with performance issues.
If you press CTRL+SHIFT+ESCAPE you will be in Windows Task Manager. In the bottom left hand corner it will tell you how many processes you are running. On my machine there are currently 32, and that's with at least 5 processes I don't need. If possible, you may want to disable antivirus/antispyware programs or anything which may scan memory in realtime. Symantec Norton products have a notorious reputation of being resource hogs. However, if you don't have a hardware firewall, then don't disable that particular feature. If you have around 50 processes then that could be another cause of your problem.
Posté Sat 07 Jul 07 @ 1:20 pm
kotdb
Great. Thanks a lot.
Thats a big help.
I'll try updating the Direct x.
I think it may just be that I have been caning the processor. A quick check there and I had 52 processes. Need to trim it all back.
I will also look into the external mixer situation. I have previously taken my output from the herc and gone straight into an external mixer in a club, but only on one line in so I could control the output volume and frequencies of the total output from the herc and EQ that.
Can I take an output from each "deck" of the herc and use two line inputs on the external mixer so i can for example fade in and out the bass on each channel? To be honest although it would be a little more complicated you are right that it would provide much better performance. Would just feel more robust and give me much more chance to use kill switches etc.
Thats a big help.
I'll try updating the Direct x.
I think it may just be that I have been caning the processor. A quick check there and I had 52 processes. Need to trim it all back.
I will also look into the external mixer situation. I have previously taken my output from the herc and gone straight into an external mixer in a club, but only on one line in so I could control the output volume and frequencies of the total output from the herc and EQ that.
Can I take an output from each "deck" of the herc and use two line inputs on the external mixer so i can for example fade in and out the bass on each channel? To be honest although it would be a little more complicated you are right that it would provide much better performance. Would just feel more robust and give me much more chance to use kill switches etc.
Posté Sat 07 Jul 07 @ 2:45 pm
millsmobile
Definitely trimming the processes will help, but I think your best investment (time and money) for that machine would be some more ram : )
Posté Sat 07 Jul 07 @ 6:05 pm
spinnaJ
More ram is definately good:))
Posté Sun 08 Jul 07 @ 8:46 pm