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Forum: General Discussion

Topic: VDJ vs. OtsAV

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Hi Community,

In the 80s and early 90s I worked in a club in Hamburg Germany using vinyl only, for a couple of years then had a break for about 10 years before I started to DJ digitally.
In these days I’m only doing occasionally gigs, since I’m not active as a DJ anymore and don’t have to earn my money with it.
My digital DJ experiences began with OtsDJ / OtsAV and it served me great and never let me down in any gig.
I used OtsAV since then, but due to the lack of modern functionality like timecode , effects etc. I decided to give VDJ a try.
After my second gig with VDJ I’m totally amazed, how it performs and I love the “Sync” button although I’m perfectly bale to beat match without it.
Anyhow, there are two things I really miss from Ots:
The first thing is the perfect way of just playing songs automatically without any beat matching, It just knows perfectly when to start the next song due to analysis of the songs.
Second topic is the absolutely amazing sound. Ots sounds so obvious better than VDJ (on exactly the same hardware), that it almost hurts to switch.
So I would recommend, to have a look at these two features of OtsAV and try to catch up with them. In most other ways I see VDJ way ahead though …
What do you think?
 
Posted Tue 29 Nov 11 @ 10:21 am
OTSAV may "sound better" because it has a "Dynamics Processor" on the output, which is ON by default.

This comprises of an automatic gain control (AGC), compressor and limiter.

VDJ doesn't have this. With VDJ you hear the sound of the original track without any electronic tricks.

OTS statement of "all pro club DJs use one" is ridiculous too.

OTS say it's there so that you "Don't have to worry about manually adjusting anything".

I presonally think it's better for the DJ to decide if something needs adjusting.
 
Yes,

but like I said, it just sounds better, which I think, is just a good thing, most users wouldn't deny.
 
@ tieclaire.. i dont understand your position..youve just indicated why ots labs are below the radar...


I was messing with ots labs turntables in 2003..I was very impressed with their product..The interface was simple & the turntable scratching was fun & realistic..I thought they would expand & be a leading brand. But they never evolved to accomadate the incoming generation of controllers , midimapping, timecodes etc etc..I guess they were content being a niche product....

I think the market needs competition to encourage innovation....Ots labs created some fine products which originated from Australia of all places & they were well positioned but i think they missed it.....They never even had a user forum......

I can't see ots labs makin a dent now unless they were to ship software with a credible company & controller....
 
That's why I switched to VDJ!
I don't say, I prefer Ots, I just say It has a few essential features I'm missing in VDJ...
Actually they do have a privatly driven and still very busy forum on otsusers.com/forum.
 
@Tieclaire..

i was alluding to a user forum in 2003.. I & many more would have hacked the software to use with our diy controllers.. i think that would have inspired otslab to pay attention.... I have fond memories of that product..But ended up using mixvibes out of frustration...

I give kudos to virtual dj for its forums , contributors , user community & products.. But i would use otsdj in an instant in the studio if it met my needs.. As it was my 1st love & introduction to dj software..

Have you posted your suggestions in the wishes & new features section or checked out a vst plugin ( aural exciter ) to enhance the audio?
 
No, I must admit, I never heard about that.
Do have a download link?
 
tleclaire wrote :
Yes,

but like I said, it just sounds better, which I think, is just a good thing, most users wouldn't deny.

I would deny it..
1.) last thing i want is my software to being doing limiting and compressing without me know about it..
2.) any type of processing and control should be handled by the outboard system processor so the ENTIRE system is set the same..
IE: newbie DJ connects his system into a rack that already has a limiter/compressor and some funky effects will start to happen and will NOT sound good..
 
Then you are free to just turn it off...so what's the deal?
 
@ tieclaire ....

There are 1000's of vst plugins to enhance your audio & djing experience....I dont know what you play & what format you prefer.. But i would consider these freeware sites first.

http://www.kvraudio.com/

http://www.best-free-vst.com/plugins/effects/exciter-maximizer-enhancer-01.php

The studio terminology is....

vst maximiser .... For compression,limiting

vst harmoniser,VST aural exciter......For enhancing audio dynamics & harmonics

Youtube will have many demonstrations..........You could also type vst in googles advanced search engine & virtual dj.com as the domain to search the forum.To see whats popular.

I can't recomend a specific vst as i'm not a regular vdj user & prefer to use hardware effects.
 
Thanks, I'll check them out.
Will I be able to use the vst on the main signal, or are they tight to the decks?
B.t.w. Ots has just delayed it's new release a second time to january 2012 ... Hmmm
 
I remember using OTS (Still have a license)as far back as '03. Demoed a copy and tried crashing it...couldn't do it on a 333mHz processor and something like 200 megs of RAM - ROCK SOLID.

Phenomal software at the time, but as was said earlier, I think they really missed an opportunity to be on the leading edge of DJ software and how it interacts with hardware. The auto-mix was awesome...better than anything I've used, but the way it analyzed the files...ate up hard drive space, and back in 03, it didn't take much. Still used it for many years until a friend "brought me to the dark side". I say this because, at the time I loved OTS' functionality and stability so much I could have been a salesman for them. But after using VDJ and using VDJ with hardware controllers...I switched and never looked back!

I worked at a club that actually had OTSAV installed, but never used...only as "background music" until I took over for the night. I never used it...always used VDJ because I liked the "hands-on" approach to mixing dance music. I lost that with OTS, honestly. Now, VDJ is all I need or want in DJ software.
 
@ tieclaire........ can you provide details on your equipment......

I'm not sure how many ways your vst effects can be configured ..you would logically apply some strictly to the master outputs .But if you had 4 decks or extra audio outputs on your soundcard you could have fun in theory..

I know you can apply vst's for individual decks as standard... so a deck would have independance but i'm unsure about the other options...

Can someone please clarify virtual djs position with vst's as a stereo master effect or suggest how they utilise third party plug in effects on the most recent versions?


Thanks
 
I'm pretty sure effects can only be applied to the decks and not the master output.

Good Day
Huey
 
That might change in VDJ 8 :-)
 
Can anybody of you recommend a VST to enhance the sound...?
 
if you have a beefy processor try izotope ozone, it ain't free, my mate has it, and its the best I have used.. not sure if it's compatible with vdj though, download the trial and see if it works...

http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/ozone/
 
@ tleclaire

virtual dj will convert & simplify the vst's graphical user interface..so dont be distracted by appearances when choosing your vst.

Here's a before & after example on vdj 7 home version.


http://i.imgur.com/ukixI.jpg



Ive inverted vdj's image for clarity ...The vst is nomad factory master limiter lm25 ( not free ) it's evident that some functions may not be visible..

I'm a infrequent vdj user so i'm not fully familiar with the versions, privileges & updates... so please specify your equipment & hardware in future so others can help...


element.




 
Becareful that doesn't always work with all vst's. I have a few where I half to use the vst's interface because only half the controls show up in vdj.

Huey
 


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