Rockit 4

I shall be releasing my unsuspecting child upon the world, within the next few days.

Be kind to her, as she knows not what to expect from this world... :sqerr:

:sqbiggrin: :sqwink:

Gonna beat her like a rented mule....

Yer names in the credits Son :sqbiggrin:

Ya gotta scroll to the bottom though... ;)

Most excellent, Mr. Rick! :clap:

Looking forward to it. :)

Any idea on the street price yet Rick??

I maybe sending you a beer donation, in trade for some 'puter stuff:sqbiggrin:

Congrats boss! Care to divulge any details?

Booch

"will Dj For Software"

Congrats boss! Care to divulge any details?

Booch

Shoot Boss, I've been working on this thing sooo long, I forgot half the stuff it can do :sqerr:

It plays music :sqbiggrin:

It does a lot of stuff the old one didn't -- except I haven't figured out how to get it to do my dishes and laundry yet -- I'm still working on that...


Introductory street price will be $129.95. How long that lasts, is up to my sense of humor (or how badly I need that new tractor to cut my lawn) :sqbiggrin: :sqwink:

Gonna beat her like a rented mule....
I'll spank her like a monkey. :D

No, wait... :sqerr:

I'll spank her like a monkey.

I put special algorithms in her, to deal with folks like you... MUHAHAHAHA


If you treat her bad, she will email your wife with all the sordid details of your past, that you post on DJ boards :sqlaugh: :sqwink:

Programmer Extraordinaire! :sqerr:

Booch

I'm updating the website now Boss -- it should be hot as of about 8am tomorrow morning, with all the gory details and hype I can muster with a toothache :sqerr:

Couple things off the top of my sore head:

Full MIDI support for controllers.
Video jukebox - plays image slide shows too.
Incredibly cute skins I designed :)
Full communications for external client control programs.
Almost totally user customizable.

It runs on beer... :sqlaugh:

It runs on beer...

Sold!

Booch

okay but might one be able to adapt with a whiskey substitute if its Crown Royal?

If you know me, you know that pretty much any alcohol based fuel will work :sqbiggrin:

Rick I figured I'd just settle any confusion for those who didnt know you. AS IF LOL!!

Rockit 4

Such a pretty name for a girl.

It is now available on the website :)

Rockit Pro DJ V4.0 (http://www.rockit2000.com)


The websites are not totally updated yet, but I'll be working on them throughout the weekend. But the important stuff, like the downloads and payment options ;) have been updated :sqbiggrin:

Have fun, but treat her nicely, and she'll do the same for you :)

BTW, V3.x registration codes do not work with V4.0, and there is a new upgrade policy in effect. Check out the website Purchase page for all the gory details.

I've already gotten a whole shoot load of questions this morning, so I'll just post some stuff here, if y'all don't mind... :)


1) Rockit V4, uses a different library database format, so it cannot read the old V3.2 files. This shouldn't be an issue, since it's fairly easy with the new one to add all your songs, create playlists, etc.

If enough people complain, I'll make a conversion utility available :)


2) Version 4 and 3.2, can coexist just fine on the same machine.


3) Vista. Yes, it works fine on Vista. Do yourself a favor, and don't change the default install folder on Vista though, and try to put it in Program Files.

There is a reason it installs outside Program Files, and that is because Vista does not allow proper writing to INI files under Program Files, and Rockit 4 uses only INI files for portability.


The new operations manual is in PDF format, so you need Adobe Reader to view it.

Please feel free to read it, since it took me a week to write it, and paste all those cool screen shots in there :sqerr:



If you have any questions, feel free to post them here, instead of PM, as this way other folks can see the answers as well :sqbiggrin:

Yer names in the credits Son :sqbiggrin:

Ya gotta scroll to the bottom though... ;)


Yeah, but you have it as PapaDeuce instead of Papa Deuce! :sqwink:LOL, it was / is funny, though.

Damn, I'm gonna have to recall all the downloads to fix that Son :sqembarrassed: :sqwink:


Maybe I'll make a Papa {space} Deuce, super soaker skin :sqlaugh:

Damn, I'm gonna have to recall all the downloads to fix that Son :sqembarrassed: :sqwink:


Maybe I'll make a Papa {space} Deuce, super soaker skin :sqlaugh:

I'm gonna spiderman you.

For those of you who use Rockit 2000, I think you will be very nicely surprised by all of the nice changes. I've been playing with it and LOVE it! Now I will really love it when I can get it activated, eh Rick?

BTW, could be just my ears, but it even sounds better to me than the last version. Plus it has been TOTALLY stable. Not a single burp. Granted, I'm not pushing it to the limits, and I have made a few operator errors, but this is one heckuva a nice piece of software.

I love the remote request add on. Genius Rick.

Check's in the mail guys :sqlaugh:


You know what's funny...?

I go over and post an FYI to customers at another site, and all comments had to do with comparing to Virtual DJ.


Maybe it's against the rules to have Coke and Pepsi...?





It's a good thing I love this business :sqbiggrin:

This feature peaks my interest: Dual Hyper-Threaded DJ Mixing Decks

Does this mean it takes advantage of Dual core processors? Please explain.

If you want the high tech, late night specs: :)

V4, will have anywhere from 10-60 threads running concurrently. So yes, it takes advantage of multi-core, multi-processor systems.

We've tested on an AMD X2 4400+, and average less than 10% CPU with a video stream, and two audio streams running concurrently.

ok next question.... and I know your gonna hate it, but.

Can it display keysignature tags? I don't care if it can't scan and find a key just that it displays my tags...

You should already know the answer to that Rob -- I can't sing :sqlaugh: :sqwink:

No features yet, for the Karaoke folks. But, I haven't forgotten you.

Give me time, I'll try singing in the shower... :)

No you miss understood... I'm not talkin about karaoke...

I mean if I have a keysignature tag will it read it like MixMeister and VDJ do for display purposes... so I have a guestimate of the actual songs key for harmonic mixing.

No you miss understood... I'm not talkin about karaoke...

I mean if I have a keysignature tag will it read it like MixMeister and VDJ do for display purposes... so I have a guestimate of the actual songs key for harmonic mixing.


Sorry, it was late, and I had beer :sqbiggrin:


No. The library has no field for key signatures. Nobodies ever asked for it before...

I tried to keep the new library format as small as possible, so it would load and save quicker, and sort and search faster. The library database format, is listed in one of the appendixes of the incredibly high tech manual I wrote :)


I will put that on my list of possible improvements though... :sqbiggrin:

Rick - I'm downloading the trial now......parsing my library now.

I haven't read the manual so paerdon my possibly already answerd questions....

BPM's will it pick up the ones VDJ has assigned?

If I add files to a specific folder will Rock it see those automatically.

If I have an external connected do i need to scan each drive?

Playlist.....can i see what I've palyed during the event?

Can I save and print out a playlist? (from an event)?

See, I knew nobody would read my manual... :sqerr: :sqlaugh:


BPM's will it pick up the ones VDJ has assigned?

-If it writes the standard BPM field to the MP3 tags.
Rockit scans each song on load though, and tries to find the BPM (you can turn off that option in the Deck Properties, if you want to use the tags BPM).

If I add files to a specific folder will Rock it see those automatically.

-No, Rockit doesn't monitor specific folders.

If I have an external connected do i need to scan each drive?

Depends...

You can display and load files directly, using the My Computer Tree if you want. It's much easier if you add them to our library though.

Playlist.....can i see what I've palyed during the event?

Yes, click the History button. It auto saves the History to a playlist when it closes (unless you turn that option off).


Can I save and print out a playlist? (from an event)?

Yes. As above, Rockit's default setting is to save each session history as a playlist backwards, so you can easily play it again if you liked it.

To print it, go into the Library Manager Export tab, and you can export anything you want to a CSV text file, and import and manipulate in any program that can read them.

A couple of things I've noticed..

1) in the browser I see a large space between history and the MP3 folder...which forces me to scroll to see all folders listed (not a biggie)
2) Is there any way to edit what headings are seen in the file listing table? I don't need to see album, extended filename etc...
3) On the BPM I see it doesn't pick up the BPM. When I load the song it calculates same...How do I get that value into the library. How do I get BPM's for all songs?
4) the font seems inordinately large..any way to change?
5) Getting an error message when closing

AppName: rockitprodj.exe AppVer: 4.0.0.0 ModName: sjlib.dll
ModVer: 1.0.0.1 Offset: 000401d9

Lastly...when I go to other folders and come back to tp view the files in the folder I am playing from as the folder "sorts" I get 2 drop outs of audio.

There are no drop outs viewing other "larger" folders, only the one where the selection is playing

Thanks

Manual - who reads the manual...The error upon closing isn't happening - I think....

Other than the non crucial issues...so far it looks good....

1) in the browser I see a large space between history and the MP3 folder...which forces me to scroll to see all folders listed (not a biggie)

They are two separate tree controls. Feel free to edit the particular skin you are using. :)

2) Is there any way to edit what headings are seen in the file listing table? I don't need to see album, extended filename etc...

Hide them. Basically, you can scrunch down a particular header to zero width. Rockit saves the sizes when it exits, so they will come back up the last way you left them.

3) On the BPM I see it doesn't pick up the BPM. When I load the song it calculates same...How do I get that value into the library. How do I get BPM's for all songs?

Yes, it does pick up the BPM, provided they are in standard MP3 ID3V1 or V2 format, and not UNICODE.

Our BPM ProScan is integrated into the new library manager, so you can go to the Utilities tab, and scan the entire library, if you so choose. That will overwrite any current BPMs in your tags though.


4) the font seems inordinately large..any way to change?

The skins are completely user customizable.


5) Getting an error message when closing

AppName: rockitprodj.exe AppVer: 4.0.0.0 ModName: sjlib.dll
ModVer: 1.0.0.1 Offset: 000401d9


I test for months on end, on multiple machines, without even a hint of errors.

Assume Murphy's Law ;)


Lastly...when I go to other folders and come back to tp view the files in the folder I am playing from as the folder "sorts" I get 2 drop outs of audio.


The whole purpose of the library system, is so you do not need to look through folders. You add all your songs once to our library, then manipulate them through the library interface. :)

That's in the manual too... :sqwink: :sqbiggrin:

The whole purpose of the library system, is so you do not need to look through folders. You add all your songs once to our library, then manipulate them through the library interface. :)

That's in the manual too... :sqwink: :sqbiggrin:

This is happening withing the Rockit library interface not windows explorer.

If you had Crank Dat the part where he Spidermans Ohhh fixes all the bugs in Rockit. Tell Him Rick!!!

BTW, is it Rockit which is creating these tiny files called oxmm? ( or something like that? )... or are the coming from Ots Demo I am also running?

OTS Papa

I've tried Rockit here and no extra files have been created...

I don't think Ots creates files for you unless you use Ots Studio to create Ots files which are nothing more than a data file wraped around your mp3 maybe that's what your seeing... I don't remember the file extention but I think it's .ots

Yes, Ots will create a file next to every single MP3 in it's library. It contains all the intro / outro info amongst other things. It can be altered in Ots Studio.

Yes, Ots will create a file next to every single MP3 in it's library. It contains all the intro / outro info amongst other things. It can be altered in Ots Studio.

I never realized it did that with the mp3's I've always used Ots Studio to create the ots albums so to speak.... well there you have it no extra fat with Rockit.

This is happening withing the Rockit library interface not windows explorer.

Steve,

Rockit has two navigation trees, and one is a subset of Explorer. I'm not sure which skin yer using, but the tree that has My Computer, is a direct replica of Explorer. It is not our Library.

The one that says My Library, is the one to use, for the easiest interface.

So, when you click a folder under My Computer, it is the same as using Window's Explorer, and our program has to read each tag, of each file, as it displays. Which is slow, but we put it there for folks who might want it. You can remove that tree from the skin if you want, as it is not really needed.

Our library is much faster, and only scans the tags, when you add them to the library the first time.


Edit to add: That's why there is a manual ;)

Here. this might help...

This is the DarkGray skin:

http://www.softjock.com/images/libexp.gif

Hehe, this is classic...


Guy calls me, and says he wants to know where the default pic that shows in the decks, comes from, seems familiar to him... Ok, if that's the only problem, fine with me :sqbiggrin:


That was a pic I took from my balcony, on my last "interesting" vacation to Montego Bay (I'm not allowed back, apparently, my stuff was better than theirs ;) ).


I never came to thunk that anybody would ask about that, but I can say, it was a nice view, and that was a fun night :)


Hence, Tip # 1:

You can change that to whatever you want. Let's say you want a pic of you and the little woman, the kids, blah, blah. You can either replace the file that we use (SJNoArt2.bmp), in the install folder, or change the skin (artwin section), to point to a different pic in the install folder. :)

Hey Rick! Is there a manual? :D (j/k)

One thing I learned / figured out.... media monkey places folders in your "my music" area. Amazon is placing them in the "my music" area as well, but NOT in any folders. So, in Rockit, if it finds music not in a folder, the "folder" on the Rockit side is yellow, and white if it is in a true folder.

Guess it's time for this old boy to upgrade his Rockit software and get to learning. :)

Ok, will we be able to upgrade or do I need to repurchase?

Sorry, I'm a bit buzzed and having a hard time reading the info on the site. :D

:sqeek::sqeek::sqrolleyes::sqerr:

This software is looking very cool...one question...maybe someone can help me.

I can't find the automix que or even the "auto" button unless I use the smaller screen resolution skins. I'm have 1280 x 800 and it's no where to be found on the larger skin. Any thoughts? I've gone into configuration and can't see how to show that.....

Kevin, I posted the answer on Ryan's board in the Rockit 4 thread, but I'll pop it here too (since I wrote it, I guess it's ok to do that :) ):

I think you're probably using the large BlueMetal skin...

If that's the case, you could just edit the skin (it's an XML text file), and make the deck queues visible.

For example, I don't use the My Computer Tree on my skin, so I would make that invisible, and put deck A's queue in that spot. For deck B, I would make the Request list half the size, and drop deck B's queue there.

You could shrink the search list, and put the AutoMix queue under, or over that as well.

BTW, if you right click on the CrossFader, you can turn AutoMix on and off from the menu, or just make the button visible somewhere.

The skins are fairly well documented, although I will be making a skinning tutorial available sometime within the next week or so...

So, in Rockit, if it finds music not in a folder, the "folder" on the Rockit side is yellow, and white if it is in a true folder.

You don't mean the little pics next to the artist in the track list, do you?

Those are yellow if the song has album art in the tag, white if no album art :)

Rick, hope you don't mind on this request.

Can someone do a test on the search engine? Go to The Rockit Library and sort by artist, find an artist where you have several songs. In my case I had an artist with 12 different song titles. Then do a search on that artist. I've not been successful in pulling all of the songs up in the search, only a partial list, in this case only 8 songs pulled up.

Just did a few - it works fine, and shows all :)

Possibly a tag issue, or not all the songs were added to the library...


Are you using the standard library search, or the advanced hard drive search?

I used the search that popped up upon ititial start up...followed the wizard.

If I do an individual search for the songs that don't pull in by searching for the artist, they pull in fine. I'll double check tagging, but I've had the issue with several artist.

It's technically not that big of deal for me, since I doubt I would do the search; I would just scroll down thru the artist sorted list, but thought I'd mention it here just in case.

It's technically not that big of deal for me, since I doubt I would do the search; I would just scroll down thru the artist sorted list

Randy,

Take it from the guy who wrote the algorithms, that is absolutely the slowest way to find anything. Searches are exponentially faster than sorts in Rockit.

Of course, I know everybody does things differently, and whatever is comfortable for you, is cool, but a few suggestions:


Here's what I do:

Search for an artist, let's say "rick" -- cool name :sqbiggrin:

Up pops Rick Springfield, Cheap Trick, Eddie Kendricks, etc., in the search list.

Then, sort the search list by artist, which has maybe 30-40 entries.


Much, much faster than sorting the main list. :sqbiggrin:

The other faster way, is to just click on the Artist button (on the DarkGray skin), or right click the library, and choose View Artists, and just highlight the one you want, and all tracks display.

Sorting the main tracklist, is the biggest bottleneck and resource hog in Windows, and the one most likely to bring about a skip in any music or videos playing. It rears it's ugly head, when yer tracklist contains 15000+ tracks.

I've tweaked the heck out of those sort algorithms, but the way Windows handles list controls, it still remains the worst possible case for speed and resources... ;)

Rick:

Just had my first "play-time" with #4....I had fun! :)

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Gonna spend some more time getting to know her...:sqwink:

Gracias!

After many questions over the last few days, I've noted the manual is still going basically unread :sqerr: :sqlaugh:

Hence, Tip # 2 :)

MENU's, MENU's and more MENU's!

Yes, Rockit has many features that you may not see on the skins, in terms of buttons, etc.

The key to the popup menus, is decided by where yer mouse pointer is at the moment.

For example, let's say yer mouse pointer is over My Library, right click, and this is what you will see:

http://www.softjock.com/images/mylibmenu.gif

As you can see, many of these features, are not on the skins, just because of limited desktop space. But, there are in fact, a few hundred commands available in Rockit.

So, if yer mouse is over a deck area, you will get a deck menu, if it's over the CrossFader, you will get a menu, if it's over a list, you will get a menu specifically for that list, etc.

Play around -- you will find many things you did not know existed, and some that I just forgot to document :sqwink: :sqbiggrin:

Actually just spent my morning "flipping" through the manual...very nicely done.

And hey, as I was typing this FedEx showed up with my new Turtle Beach soundcards...time to set up my rig.

Actually just spent my morning "flipping" through the manual...very nicely done.

And hey, as I was typing this FedEx showed up with my new Turtle Beach soundcards...time to set up my rig.

Which TB cards did you get? I was thinking of ordering one...

Heck Wayde, I'd say I put at least 36 beers into that manual :sqlaugh:


That ain't chicken feed! Course, you appear to be the only person to have even opened it yet... :sqerr:

Appreciate that BTW :sqbiggrin:

Which TB cards did you get? I was thinking of ordering one...

I got the Audio Advantage Micro.
I liked the small size, and when looking at the larger ones, I didn't think I needed any of the additional features.

I got the Audio Advantage Micro.
I liked the small size, and when looking at the larger ones, I didn't think I needed any of the additional features.

That's the one I use....it's great!

BTW Rick...I did read most of the manual...it's great!

I have printed the manual out, so that I can take it to work and read it when I'm sober! :sqwink:

I'm working on one of those 5 Liter "mini-kegs" and don't think it would make much sense to me right now. :D

I'm working on one of those 5 Liter "mini-kegs" and don't think it would make much sense to me right now.

Actually, it might make even more sense... :sqlaugh:


Honestly, after two years of solid work, I'm not even sure what it can do :sqerr:

I know it plays well and solid, but I may have left some commands in there that do weird things... :sqeek: :sqwink:

I know it plays well and solid, but I may have left some commands in there that do weird things... :sqeek: :sqwink:


Kewl....weird is good, right? :sqembarrassed::sqwink::sqlaugh:

How shall I say it... :sqerr:

If you look in the comments in the skin and INI files, you may find some weird stuff............................................. ............................

Hey, I had beer, and played around a bit :sqbiggrin:


Most of the wiki-wiki stuff I played with, I disabled before release, but there might be some left in there. I wasn't satisfied with the results 100%, so that's why I disabled most of it.

That will come with the next upgrade.


Play if you like -- but the results may vary... :sqlaugh:


I'm already working on 4.1 -- Send the French Fries Packing -- WOO-HOO!

Tip # 3 - A Biggie Too!


I just spent about 5 hours debugging an issue with a customer's library.

Turns out, it was one of those MP3s available on the internet on peer-to-peer programs, that had an error put in purposely. Probably by the record company or the RIAA. The courts have allowed them to do this.

I'm a fairly nice guy, and certainly not a music cop. Where you get your music, is your business.

But, I will not waste time doing support, because somebody was too cheap to get their music from a reliable source... :sqwink:


The new version of Rockit uses a whole new library subsystem, and it complies with established standards. If you break it, because you downloaded some dubious files off Limewire, or one of the other peer-to-peer networks, it is your responsibility to fix it.



I will now climb down from my soapbox, and get back to building some cool new skins :sqbiggrin:

If you were referring to me and my library, you are so wrong! All my music has been bought and paid for, with blood, sweat and tears! I'm still working on the reason I can't seem to pull everything up, just because I'm curious, not because I need it.

No, not you Randy :)

It was a customer who is not a member here.


Give me a shout sometime, and I'll see what I can figure out... :)

I didn't think so, but I get very defensive about my library......it's cost me to much not to be in this day in age.

Are you having a problem when you add the tracks to the library initially?

I originally though you were talking about the search within Rockit, once the tracks were already added.


If so, does the exception button get enabled after the add?

Without it here in front of me, this all by memory...

Initially starting it up, I got a pop-up box that was for the library search engine (I think) that prompted me for a location to search. I went thru the prompts and started using Rockit. The library that it created looked accrurate and complete. I decided to do some testing of the search engine, so I looked down thru my list for an artist with several songs.....searched that artist, but not all the songs pulled into the search. It may be tagging, I haven't dug into that far.

Here's what I would do, when you have some time...

Go into the Library Manager, Library Manager tab, and create a new test library to work with, and switch to that library. Go to the Track Manager tab, and fire up the Wiz (he's the same guy you saw on initial load).

Do the add to the new test library, and see if the Exception button becomes enabled after it has added all the songs. If so, you will see any tracks that couldn't be added, and the programs best guess at why.

If the Exception button doesn't enable after the add, then it means that everything was added ok, and if you can't find the tracks yer looking for, then it probably has to do with the tags in those particular files, and you can find them in various ways, and then edit the tags with our Tag Editor. :)

What? No Rockit posts today?

Booch

Here ya go Booch!

I'm reading the Rockit manual that I printed out... :)

What? No Rockit posts today?

Booch


I thought I'd cut you guys some slack for a day or two :sqlaugh:


Actually, I'm taking a few days off, drinking lots of beer, and babbling nonsensically with the guys and gals here :)

Still have to take all the support calls and emails, and the usual stuff that goes with a new release -- but trying to take it easy at the same time...


I am working on and off on some new skins though -- hope to have one or two out next week... :sqbiggrin:

is the site moving too fast for ya now in your current inebriated state Rick?LOL

is the site moving too fast for ya now in your current inebriated state Rick?LOL

Stop typing sooo fast Jon -- yer fingers are flying like Angels... :sqlaugh:

Hey Rick, wanted to let you know that I did have some tagging issues. Got them all cleaned up and everything is working just fine now. Just completed the full purchase and if everything goes right, I'll be using RockIt for my Jan 4th gig. (Want to make sure I get some practice before going live with it!)

Put a new skin up on the website, if anybody wants to check it out :)

Looks like this (widescreen 1280x768). It has minimal controls on the player decks, and works well for folks who use the AutoMix a lot, and has lots of list room. Link to skin page: Rockit Skin Page (http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/dj-skins.htm). You may need to refresh yer browser cache if you've been to the skin page recently.

http://www.rockit2000.com/images/TwoToneThumb600.gif

Hey Rick,

What's the best way to update the RockIt library if you've already added your songs and then move them around in the folders afterwards.

I did some moving and now I have all these bad links.

It's probably something easy!

I think I found my answer. I'll need to run the 'broken link' and delete the bad links and readd with the new locations.

I did some moving and now I have all these bad links.

It's probably something easy!

The easiest way (at least for me), is just go into the Library Manager, and delete all tracks, and re-add them.

I keep a large library around for testing -- not something I would gig with, but has about 60,000 tracks, and I can add them back in, in the time it takes to feed and walk the dog. :)

Rockit, as most software does, uses the full path and filename as its key to finding a song, hence the broken links when you move them. If you only move a few songs, you can just re-add those, without trashing the lib.


As policy though, I no longer bother with trying to keep folders in any sort of order, I leave that to the software. I just have one Music folder in the root of each drive, then under that, the usual Artist\Album subfolders. I stopped trying to categorize them in folders myself ages ago, as the software does it on the fly.

The key in Rockit, is having good tags, so the software can do the work, and not you. Play around with the Multi-File tag editor in Rockit -- it's much easier than moving files around... ;) :)

Dammit! Am I gonna have to read the manual? :sqerr::sqrolleyes::sqlaugh:

Dammit! Am I gonna have to read the manual? :sqerr::sqrolleyes::sqlaugh:


YES! :sqwink:

Print out a copy and enjoy!

Actually, I only touch on the things Rockit's library can do in the manual -- it really deserves its own book, in my humble (yet biased) opinion... :)


I really want to write a book about DJ chat boards though -- far more drama :sqlaugh:

Rick will you mention me in the credits of that book?

Rick will you mention me in the credits of that book?

Credits? Shoot, yer the title! :sqlaugh: :sqlaugh: :sqlaugh:

Another question.

Is there an option that when you add new songs, that you can have RockIt look at the source and add the new ones?

For example, I store all my music on an external hard drive. And, let's say I spend a couple of days ripping/downloading new music onto the drive. I'd like to be able for RockIt to look at the drive again, identify the new songs added and then add them to the library.

Or, at least to be able to tell the 'search function' where to search --- whether it's the RockIt library or my external drive, without having to use the advanced search function.

I'd like to be able for RockIt to look at the drive again, identify the new songs added and then add them to the library.

So would I -- you feel like coding it... :sqlaugh: :sqwink:


Actually, Rockit doesn't work that way by design, otherwise we'd get all the complaints those other companies do, that use record cases that take 3 days to refresh, skips yer music, etc. :sqwink:

The old version of Rockit had a duplicate checking feature on the ADD, but I removed it from that section, because it would become exponentially slower as it progressed, and had to check each new song added, against every single record in the entire database -- not very good for robustness :)

So, you can do it 3 ways now:

1) If there are not a whole lot of new folders, just add them folder by folder.

2) Have it search and add the entire drive, then do a Duplicate Scan in the Library Manager Utilities. Then just click remove all dupes. That effectively adds only the new songs.

3) My favorite :) -- Delete all tracks, and re-add the drive.


Which way you do it, will depend more on what makes you comfortable, and also the number of tracks in your library...


Or, at least to be able to tell the 'search function' where to search

Shsssh -- he gets mad when you try to tell him things... :sqlaugh:

The two types of searches are totally unrelated. The drive search (Adv Search), is similar to the search function in Windows, and is threaded to run in the background, because it is very slow to recurse through drives and folders.

The regular search can only function on the library, and contains lookup tables, which is what makes it so fast :)

Thanks Rick!

Even though I thought you were the coding guru! :sqwink:

Here's my set up.

I use a lappy for the gig rig. I have my desktop where I like to do my music work -- upload, catergorize, update, etc. I use a 300 gig external hard drive for my music (with back up to another).

I think I'm finding it easier for me to just put my playlist folders together within my external hard drive and not thru RockIt's playlist and library feature. This became very apparent when I had created some playlists within RockIt and then moved some songs around on the hard drive, thus causing broken links and useless playlists.

And, I don't care to have to worry about making sure I get the right folders or songs that I might have added to current folders added into the library each time or updating broken file links when I move a song.

I know you encourage the use of the tags, but I like to keep things organized and visual. That works best for me.

Even though I've had to tweak some things for my liking with the software, it's by far the best dj software that I have sampled, for my needs. :sqbiggrin: :sqbiggrin: But, that's a good thing to me. It's very easy to tweak. I really liked that I was able to change the skin to set up things the way I wanted them. That's an awesome feature!!

I think I'm finding it easier for me to just put my playlist folders together within my external hard drive and not thru RockIt's playlist and library feature.

That's cool :)

That's why the My Computer Tree is there, for those who like to do it that way, and for example only use the library for its search functionality.

Since I still have much of my older stuff organized into folders, I find it easy just to highlight a folder, and add it as a playlist, this way I can take advantage of the Playlist Editor for moving things around. Just right click a folder under My Computer, and Create Playlist from Folder :)

BTW, I'm working on a new skin right now -- sort've a brushed aluminum, rack mount type thing -- looks pretty cool so far... :)

I liked that last look, just wrong resolution for me. I need 1024 x 768. I'm to busy thru Jan with my school accounts, but I'm hoping to take a stab at creating a custom skin in Feb.

Me again Rick. :)

When creating new skins, do you have something handy that gives you the X,Y,Z numbers or is just trial and error until you 'just know'?

Funny you ask that, since I'm doing one right now :)

Somewhat trial and error...

BTW, I use Paint Shop Pro for all my graphics (I don't like Photoshop's interface).

First thing I do is design the basic background screen, which is the width and height I want, give it a name, and create a folder under Skins with the same new name.

Then I use one of the same size XML templates I already have, copy it to the new name.xml in the Skins folder.

Then save the image above into the new folder under skins, and I usually copy all the graphics from the old skin in there as well, to have something to work with.

Go into the new template with any text editor, and basically make everything invisible except a couple buttons or something (the close button is helpful :) ).

Then it basically all becomes trial and error, and as I get things on the skin visible, I generally take a screen shot every so often to use for coordinates.


I'd say on average, I have to start and shutdown Rockit 400-500 times in the course of building a totally new skin (no existing skin to work with) :sqerr: -- which is why, I'm writing a skin designer program :)

Basically, the skin designer won't do anything fancy, as I really don't want to reinvent the wheel and do a whole Front Page like deal, but just a simple program that will display the skin exactly as Rockit does, and you can just hit the refresh button to redisplay after you've made changes to the XML file and graphics.

I'll make that program available on the website as soon as I finish it... :)

Next question? :sqwink: Let me know if you're getting tired of me! :sqcool:

I took your grey background and placed my company name onto the sides of it, where you have your RockIt name. But, I can't seem to get it to pull into the skin. I saved it in the same folder the grey background image is in, with the same file name'v2' and updated the XML file with that file name, but I only get a black background. What am I doing wrong?

I succesfully resized several boxes to accomodate the My Computer tree, but I can't get this to work! :sqerr:

What am I doing wrong?

The first mistake, was removing Rockit Pro DJ from the image :sqlaugh:


Actually, I'm not sure, as I just did a test, doing the following steps:

1) Opened the background image, added a little V2 text on one side, and saved it as DarkGray1024x768v2.bmp, in that skin folder.

2) Opened the XML, and changed the background image to that name.

It worked fine... :dontknow:

Tip -- when tweaking the XML file, save a copy of the original file. Just in case you really screw things up! :)

You'll get the hang of skinning it Randy -- I have Faith :sqbiggrin:


As I work on the skin program, I'm putting together a tutorial on how it all works together. It was a little deep for the Rockit manual, and I didn't want to turn folks off by putting too much technical jargon in.


I look forward to seeing what others can do with it, as my skins always seem to look kinda bland to me...

New skin available :)

This is my Bright Silver creation :sqerr:

Please note, the About, Help, Minimize and Close buttons are on the bottom right, since I put a slider on the top right. I sorta like this one, as it has all the stuff I need, and none of the stuff I never use (like Pitch controls). You also get to see how Rockit works when the search list isn't showing, but the search box is...

It's available at Rockit Skins Page (http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/dj-skins.htm)

Enjoy :)

http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/images/BrightSilverThumb600.gif

I love the large library section many of the other softwares I've liked over the yrs didnt have as much library playlist area.

Very nice!

One wish, can I take the standard search box out and place the advanced search box in it's place? And, still get the pop up box? I only use the auto-que box, so I'm using deck A que as the request music library holder.

Yes Sir :)

Rockit essentially has 3 searches.

The little search box, that says Search Library, interfaces with the on-screen search list. If the on-screen list is not visible, it will pop up another box with the search results, or a message that no matches were found.

There is also a button for another library search (works similar), plus the Advanced HDD search.


I have not tried every possible combination at once, so feel free to experiment, and let us know which setup works best for you... :)

Man, now I got more work to do before tomorrow night.........damn you Rick! :)

Taking some ideas off of Rick's latest creation, I was able to customize the Grey skin to my liking, except for getting the library search box replaced with the advanced search box.

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/talkdc/CUSTOMGREY2.jpg

Ahhh, the Advanced Search needs its own box -- sorta like its creator :sqlaugh: :sqwink:

It's a inter-thread comm. thingy, that would potentially deadlock if I put it on the main screen, and it would then act like other software... ;)


Me, I like the keyboard shortcuts for that:

Map a key or key combo (I use Ctrl+Alt + A ), and just pop it up, type in what yer looking for, then close it while it does its thing. Come back when you get a chance, and whatever it found is waiting for you.

Life is simple, time is short, and desktop space is valuable... :sqlaugh: :sqbiggrin:

[QUOTE=SoftJock Rick;124798]Ahhh, the Advanced Search needs its own box -- sorta like its creator :sqlaugh: :sqwink:

It's a inter-thread comm. thingy, that would potentially deadlock if I put it on the main screen, and it would then act like other software... ;)[QUOTE]

We can never confuse you with someone who likes to be like the others!! :sqwink: :sqlaugh:

Btw, I decided to put the test to the RockIt and the lappy last night. Turned it on and opened up almost everything on the lappy....Excel, Word, Explorer, MsPaint, RockIt 3.2 and then did an Advanced Search on top of all of it. Not a glitch in playback!! I go live tonight for it's first gig debut.

I go live tonight for it's first gig debut.

The suspense is killing me!

Booch

please no (having nightmares of TRON) Randy Come Back please
Randy NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Wow, is all I can say! Going digital has been one of the best and most fun things I've done in 15 years of djing. I'll start a new thread later (with pics) about my first digital gig, but it was just awesome!

RockIt performed like a champ.

(BTW Rick, I'll be putting everything back into the RockIt Library. Adv Search is too darn slow and cumbersome......ok, I'll say it -- "You were right!!")

Oh Mr. RockIt ---- I have a question for you.

If I have song in the AutoMix Que and want to move it around, is there a keyboard shortcut that does the trick? Right-clicking and selecting was getting old. In fact, is there a way you could make it grab-and-drag-and-drop to where a user wants it played? Dragging within the Que box only makes your song disappear. If I send you a keg? :)

Currently, those commands are not in the keyboard mapping table.


It has gone into my notebook, and will be in the next release... :sqbiggrin:

BTW, that won't be long, as I've found a few other things I would like to add, and a couple minor "undocumented features" ;)

Probably next month sometime...

[QUOTE=SoftJock Rick;124798]
Btw, I decided to put the test to the RockIt and the lappy last night. Turned it on and opened up almost everything on the lappy....Excel, Word, Explorer, MsPaint, RockIt 3.2

Just my opinion, but I suggest that you remove those things from your laptop. I removed everything from mine that had nothing to do with DJing. Lappy also has never been on the internet ; it's sole purpose is for DJing. All of those other programs take up valuable hard drive space and could possibly cause a slow down or crash...just my thoughts...thx

You are right, going digital several years ago was the best thing that has happened to my business hands down.

[quote=Randy A;124905]

Just my opinion, but I suggest that you remove those things from your laptop. I removed everything from mine that had nothing to do with DJing. Lappy also has never been on the internet ; it's sole purpose is for DJing. All of those other programs take up valuable hard drive space and could possibly cause a slow down or crash...just my thoughts...thx

You are right, going digital several years ago was the best thing that has happened to my business hands down.

With other software, I would hands down agree with you, but I don't think that's the case with RockIt. But, I'll monitor it very closely and adjust if needed.

Probably next month sometime...

Ah, a Valentine's gift!! Could you send the update with a rose on the zip file? :sqwink:

With other software, I would hands down agree with you, but I don't think that's the case with RockIt.

That would be correct :)

Rockit is tested with more junk running, then you would care to know about, on purpose. Very few things effect it, due to the amount of threading we do.

Browsers can effect it, and cause it to skip, if they are running CPU intensive pages, like stuff with lots of Flash or JavaScript running. For example, if you load CNN.Com's home page, and take a look in Task Manager, depending on the ads displayed, the browser can eat anywhere from 30-100% CPU cycles. :sqerr:

Anything is gonna skip once you start approaching those higher levels...

Just sent in our request to upgrade to 4.0. :) :sqcool:

You won't regret that move!

You know it's funny that a couple of years ago when I first started looking at software, Rockit was the first one that I picked as the one I should go with.

Later, after may others offering their recommendations and advice on what they thought I should use (and after trying them all out) I found myself right back where I started from.....Rockit!

This is not some "butt-kissing" but a true and honest opinion.

Stability, ease of use, awesome price is what made me finally come back home to the "mother-ship".. :sqwink:

I have created a new masterpiece... :sqlaugh:

This is called the Twilight Zone skin. Why, I have no idea, but I needed to call it something :) This is my favorite so far, and it works well for what I do, which is fairly basic drag and drop to the decks, no AutoMix, no queues showing, and lots of space for the main list. Buttons are color coded in groups, and the remaining time is real big (for those with eyes like mine).

You can find it on the Rockit Skins Page (http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/dj-skins.htm) :sqbiggrin:

http://www.softjock.com/images/TwilightZone600.gif

Rick, I can't wait to actually show my first creation. It's just now in the design phase, but I think it will turn out pretty cool. Although, this one isn't for me, it does give me some additional ideas. lol :)

Looking forward to it Randy :)


Once you get it all done and set, I can give it an install and put it on the website, if you want...


I'm getting ready to get into working on 4.1. Since Rockit has a lot more commands available then you see in the skins, I'll be adding those in, so they can be put on the skins as buttons or menu items.

Also, I'll probably be skinning the various players, such as the Jukebox, Video, Effects and CD player, so you can make those the way you want as well.


Plus, some new surprises...? :sqwink:

I couldn't help myself, after getting some flack on another board from a certain "software" company, soooo...

I bring you Ol' Red :sqlaugh: :sqwink:


Actually, it's just a red version of TwilightZone. :)
It's available on the skins page here: Rockit Pro DJ Skins Page (http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/dj-skins.htm)

http://www.softjock.com/images/TwilightRed600.gif

I like those two new skins... hell I might even consider getting Rockit... now that otsav has screwed me on price for the product I wanted... but those two skins would be tight if they had the autodj screen.... but it would need to be a bigger than what the standard skin had.... meaning it needs to display at least the next 10 to 20 songs... makes it easier to build a playlist if ya can see what's in it without having to scroll down a bunch... that's one thing i liked about ots av you had your music library on one side and a playlist on the other... maybe divide your new skins in thirds put the ML tree to the left the music library in the middle and the autoplaylist on the right... and make them scaleable so that if ya wanted to collapse one and expand another you could... know what i mean?

Thoughts?

If you can do that and come up with a midnight blue with oh... green LED style readouts... at 1280 x 1024 or maybe something scaleable between that and something smaller... a toggleable size that way if I want the skin to take over the screen it can and if I want to see my desktop for other purposes I could also... without much delay in changing skins...

If ya can do that I'm buyin'... at the end of February, maybe sooner just depends on funds.

I know since I'm not a Rockit owner... yet my thoughts probably mean squat... but just think about it and let me know.

OK, I didn't read the manual - :sqwink: - but how did you get an amazon downloads playlist? :sqbiggrin::sqerr:

Joker - customization is so simple. It's based off X & Y axis points on the screen and you just change the coordinates to put everything where you want it. The time consumer for me is creating the actual background, because that's where some of the skin wording/labeling takes place.

You can place your playlists anywhere and at any size you wish.

In fact, I'm working on tweaking the Bright Silver skin right now to increase the size of the autoque holding tank. I hope to have it done early this week.

Papa - he labeled it as such.

OK, I didn't read the manual - - but how did you get an amazon downloads playlist?

That was yer first mistake :sqlaugh:


Anyway, I downloaded some songs to a folder called Amazon Downloads. I then opened that folder under My Computer, right-clicked, and selected Create Playlist from Folder :)

Now that it is a playlist, I can right-click on it, AutoMix it, Edit it, play it in the jukebox, etc., all with a click...


Use yer interface Son... ;)

See, I would actually print out the manual and read it, but my printer is giving me a hard time...

Joker - customization is so simple. It's based off X & Y axis points on the screen and you just change the coordinates to put everything where you want it. The time consumer for me is creating the actual background, because that's where some of the skin wording/labeling takes place.

You can place your playlists anywhere and at any size you wish.

In fact, I'm working on tweaking the Bright Silver skin right now to increase the size of the autoque holding tank. I hope to have it done early this week.

Papa - he labeled it as such.

Sound simple enough but I suck at computer graphic and programing...

I wouldn't even know what to use to do all that in...

And if I did it would take me forever and a day to do...

I'll ask again once I'm an owner.

I know since I'm not a Rockit owner... yet my thoughts probably mean squat... but just think about it and let me know.

Not at all Rob. Just like you treat a potential client, so do I -- I charge less though :)


As Randy mentioned, you can modify Rockit 4 to your hearts content. Some things you mentioned, are not feasible with a fully user skinnable design though...

For example, making windows scalable, is virtually impossible, when the user has full control over the interface design. It's doable, but the overhead of keeping track of the users choices would be way too much, and mess up Rockit's stability.


The whole reason I made it totally user customizable, was so that I wouldn't have to do all these skins, and that other people would use their imaginations to develop them to fit their needs.

You can take any skin I've already done, and tweak it the way you want. All that is required is a knowledge of English, as the skin files are just XML text files.

Every function in Rockit is still available, even if not shown on the skin, so you can hide things, make them visible, etc.

Try it -- it's a lot of fun doing a skin, or just modifying one... :)

Dude... you have New Orleans in the "A" player..... warms my heart....

I wouldn't even consider it programming....you open up a file, change some numbers and see where you moved the parts and pieces. Trial and error is how I'm doing it. I save a good copy and start tweaking. Mess it up, save the good copy back over the top of my goofs and try it again.

Rick has done a good job of labeling things so you easily identify them and his instructions within the XML file is pretty self-explanitory.

Not at all Rob. Just like you treat a potential client, so do I -- I charge less though :)


As Randy mentioned, you can modify Rockit 4 to your hearts content. Some things you mentioned, are not feasible with a fully user skinnable design though...

For example, making windows scalable, is virtually impossible, when the user has full control over the interface design. It's doable, but the overhead of keeping track of the users choices would be way too much, and mess up Rockit's stability.


The whole reason I made it totally user customizable, was so that I wouldn't have to do all these skins, and that other people would use their imaginations to develop them to fit their needs.

You can take any skin I've already done, and tweak it the way you want. All that is required is a knowledge of English, as the skin files are just XML text files.

Every function in Rockit is still available, even if not shown on the skin, so you can hide things, make them visible, etc.

Try it -- it's a lot of fun doing a skin, or just modifying one... :)


are there any graphical xml editor's that can take that text file and turn it more into a drag and drop type setup... like building a web page?

I've screwed around with xml before and css too.... just curious.

Did ya notice I did the VU meters in Red, White and Blue :sqbiggrin: :sqwink:

"When I get to New Orleans someone gonna treat me right.
Yeah in a town like New Orleans someone gonna treat me right.
And I'm gonna party like the devil if the Neville brothers play tonight..."

:sqbiggrin:

I wouldn't even consider it programming....you open up a file, change some numbers and see where you moved the parts and pieces. Trial and error is how I'm doing it. I save a good copy and start tweaking. Mess it up, save the good copy back over the top of my goofs and try it again.

Rick has done a good job of labeling things so you easily identify them and his instructions within the XML file is pretty self-explanitory.

I'll have to look at that... later right now I'm at work so I can't jump into it... so to speak.

If it's labled good then I might be ok to setup things.... the way i'd like em'

hmmm... another project that will take my time and piss my wife off.... o well sounds like fun!

Ooohhh! I'm getting all giddy, like a little school girl! :sqerr:

Doing my "Rockit 4.0" upgrade tonight! :sqbiggrin:

I spent the past hour tweaking the Bright Silver skin. I still have some final options to add and move around, but thought I'd share it with everyone before I called it a night.

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/talkdc/DJ%20Stuff/brightsilverrockit.jpg

Ok I toyed with it a bit.... using paint to modify the size of the Darkgray version I could only get it 1280x917 with out making the circles into ovals... asside from that I can live with 1280x917 at least it would fill my screen from left to right....

How are you determining the X's and Y's for positioning decks and so forth... also what are you using for editing or creating the graphics... ms paint sucks as it pretty much screws with the text already there so I'm looking to probably build my own background.... but pain sucks for shadowing and such...

Bare in mind I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a graphics editor just to get this done on my own.

Would something like Photshop Elements get the job done or is there something much much cheaper that would work as well?

Keep in mind I'm artistically challenged... I like the Darkgray skin just want to modify it to be wider and have a bigger autoplaylist area.... and have the library section double as a search area... or is that not possible?

I want to tweak before I buy just so that I know I will like the outcome... know what I mean?

Randy, ya know ya can get rid of all those dupes... :sqwink::sqlaugh:

This looks like fun.

I already make my own skins for flash audio players. Hmmm?

Yeah I definately need something more powerful then MS Paint to do this right... something that does higher resolutions and is good with shading... I really want it to look like virtual gear rather than some child like set of blocks...

The graphic editing is way more advanced than what MS Paint can do.

I'll make a beer themed one with bottle caps for knobs and stuff. Maybe, I don't know if it's worth all the work.

Hey Rick,

How come no pitch correction like VDJ? Or did I miss that? I'm not seeing much that sets this apart from the PCDJ Red I'm running. The URL thing is cool, but I wouldn't use it out at a gig.

I'll make a beer themed one with bottle caps for knobs and stuff. Maybe, I don't know if it's worth all the work.

...then I'd HAVE to buy it!

Booch

Randy, ya know ya can get rid of all those dupes... :sqwink::sqlaugh:

On my to-do list!

How come no pitch correction like VDJ? Or did I miss that?

Yeah, it has pitch control, as well as pitch bend -- they are on 3 of the original skins. I don't use it, so I remove them from the skins I do for myself.


I'm not seeing much that sets this apart from the PCDJ Red I'm running.

The biggest difference, is Rockit actually works, and keeps on working :)

There's tons of stuff it does, that isn't available on other software. You have to play around with it, and read the manual to find much of it though... ;) :)

I want pitch correction. I have the same bender and control in what I'm using. I hate VDJ, but love the fact that when you increase the tempo, the pitch auto adjusts.

I have played around and I do like it. I wish I could say more, but my 8 year old program hasn't "stopped working" yet. The fact that I can tweak the skin is a big bonus, but only on a "user" level. Who's really going to see my custom skin?

All my woes in the beginning of going digital were machine related, not software. If I were going in to this today, I would choose Rockit over PCDJ. It's just not that alluring (for me) as a cross-over.

I love you though.:sqwink:

I love you too Hank :love3::love4:

Do you do dishes and laundry...? :sqlaugh: :sqlaugh: :sqlaugh:

I just noticed that you can't re-arrange the automix playlist.... if you try to move tracks around or change the order they dissapear from the list and when you drag a track into the list it's always to the end.... can't this list be modified in that way?

Not even the request list allows for this type of modification..... hmmmm, this is not good for me.. I sometimes will change my mind when putting songs on a playlist.... sometimes on the spur of the moment...

thoughts?

I had mentioned that before, so hopefully, Rick will have a fix in 4.1, preferably drag-n-drop function, but I could handle a hot key set-up.

But, you can always drop it in the list and right-click, and move accordingly.

I had mentioned that before, so hopefully, Rick will have a fix in 4.1, preferably drag-n-drop function, but I could handle a hot key set-up.

But, you can always drop it in the list and right-click, and move accordingly.

Your saying that once in the autoplaylist if I right click I get an option to move the track up or down in the list?

That's cool with me if that's the case... but it would be simpler to be able to grab the track and drag it up or down... just what I'm use to.

Yep, right click, and there are several options on moving the song...

In fact, right clicking in most areas of the RockIt skin gives you many options!

Also, don't forget the Playlist Editor... ;)


Neat little trick:

Let's say you dropped 50 songs into a queue, and you think it's good, but want to make some changes fast. Right click on the queue, Save as Playlist. It will then show under Playlists. Right click on it, Edit Playlist, and make whatever changes you want and save it. Trash the queue, then just drag your nice ordered playlist into the queue. :)

Or......give us drag-n-drop feature. :sqwink:

Make our changes, right-click and save as a playlist --- seems a whole lot easier to me. :sqerr: :sqlaugh:

while playing with things I came accross an unchecked item ACG with a numeric setting below it of 80 i think....

so I checked this and thought this would adjust the gain as new songs start to match some magical gain setting therby keeping the music level and consistant from track to track

but....

this is not what happens I played a few songs and as it got to some elvis music there was a noticeable dip in audio output and required manual adjustment of the gain to bring it up to the same level of the previous song...

Is there a better way or good setting for AGC that keeps music level and keeps me from havng to ride my faders and gains? this is something that I love about OtsAV. And one of the things keeping me from buying Rockit over spending more money on OtsAV Pro.... which is the upgrade to my current player Ots DJ Boombox.

As I see it right now the only true feature that Rockit has over Ots DJ Boombox is the display of BPM

Believe me I like the Rockit product ... I'm just trying to justify one way or the other which product is going to be the one I go with....

So sell me O'Bi Won Kanobie... yur yung Paddiwon is in need of guidence...

The AGC (Auto Gain Control), is off by default on Rockit, because with the short sample time we use on the pre-processor, it doesn't always return a value that I thought was good enough for what people would expect it to do. That's not to say it doesn't work properly though...

What it does, is average out the samples we decode on pre-process, and measure against a known delta value, not the previous song playing. So, it could care less what the volume of the previous song was, and does not try to match them.

If for example, you have all your songs normalized or gained, it should do a relatively good job of making minor adjustments that are needed.


One thing I should mention...


Rockit is not designed to DJ for you, it is designed to make it easier for YOU to DJ your average wedding or party :)

OTS is a great program (although the interface sucks IMHO :D ), but its focus is totally different from ours. They are (IMHO), more focused on beat mixing and sound manipulation, whereas Rockit is focused on quickly finding songs, user scalability, remote control, etc.

I guess that's why they are from down under, and we are from up above -- and I don't mean that in a bad way... :sqbiggrin:

that explains the vast change in the gain from song to song... even though all of my mp3s have been normalized using compression.... they should be exactly the same overall average level... which is why the pedulum (sp?) like swing in the gain using AGC was astounding to me....

I turned it off and all is right with the world again...

Really I don't need the compressor/limiter that Ots has simply because my mixing software has that and does a better job anyway... thru PatchMix

One thing I should mention...


Rockit is not designed to DJ for you, it is designed to make it easier for YOU to DJ your average wedding or party :)

....whereas Rockit is focused on quickly finding songs, user scalability, remote control, etc.




That's exactly what brought me to choose RockIt!

I didn't need all the bells and whistles that I didn't need or want, that also required me to upgrade my system just to run their software.

Edit: Well, that was one of the many reasons! :)

Not to make this a OTS or Rockit thread Rob but you need to look at the ability to talk to your software people and get satisfaction as well as look at the potential for timely updates. Rick has demonstrated his devotion here to update assist and even sponsor the forum. These are things I would consider first.

Not to make this a OTS or Rockit thread Rob but you need to look at the ability to talk to your software people and get satisfaction as well as look at the potential for timely updates. Rick has demonstrated his devotion here to update assist and even sponsor the forum. These are things I would consider first.

Agree which is why I started a different thread.... to hash out my decision.

I believe Rick has done a wonderful job here and I'm gaining more and more confidence in the product as I play with the demo... I wish the demo would run longer than 40 minutes though so that I could use it in a live show to help make my decision... I did that with VDJ and have almost ruled that one out on price alone... since I can get simular features in a less expensive yet equally as good of a product such as Rockit...

I did manage to modify an existing skin to my likeing, well sortof anyway.... I'm not a programer or graphics artist so these things come hard for me... not impossible but they take me longer considering I don't have the proper tools to do it right.... nor the experience like Hank... his Sam Adams skin is awesome...

Back to topic

Rockit 4 is starting to edge to the top of the heap for me too. But, alas I wont have the money until the end of February or when I get booked next whichever comes first before I can buy.... so topics like this are helping me hash out my needs and my wants...

I did manage to modify an existing skin to my likeing, well sortof anyway.... I'm not a programer or graphics artist so these things come hard for me...


Have Faith Rob... I do ;)


I live the old way...

Give a man a fish, and he eats once -- teach him how to fish, and he eats
forever -- that is Rockit in a nutshell :)


As it progresses, I give it more and more options and functionality (and personality), and the user becomes the developer... ;)


How'd Bruce say it...

"From small things Mama, big things one day come"

Pretty well completed the tweaks to my new skin. I may add a few more things, but this is for me. Not any information cluttering the screen for me. I may move the remaining time over to the left and place the album art back up in the right hand corner, just to add some eye-candy.

I actually use the two deck que's as holding tanks for requests, but you could easily take them off and place the search list in that area. I don't mind having the search list pop up when I use it.

I can view the next 9 songs in the auto que, but I could shrink the main tracklist down and lengthen the automix que even further.

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc220/talkdc/DJ%20Stuff/rockitptskin2.jpg

Damnit...you people are going to make me have to buy this...

Booch

I'm no Hank, but if anyone would like help in getting their skins tweaked, I'll be glad to help out. Just shoot me a pm.

I really gotta stop on the tweaking and get to creating the custom one I want to do. :)

Same here Randy. Let me know if you need any bases, buttons or knobs.

(hee hee, I said knobs)

you guys are awesome thanks for helping Rockit become one of the hottest new items on my list.

New skin available :)

This is now my new favorite. It's sorta modeled after the Denon HC4500 controller (which Rockit supports, of course :)).

It's called -- Rockit4500 (original, huh)...

I actually took a high-res picture of my 4500, and grabbed the buttons off it to make it look more authentic, then modified the heck outta 'em.

This is a fairly easy one to modify, as it has a solid black background, and the lines and text on it are hex code A0A0A0. It's 1024 x 768, as most of mine are. Have fun... :sqbiggrin:

Link: Rockit Skins Page (http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/dj-skins.htm)

http://www.softjock.com/images/Rockit4500700.gif

I Love it Rick now if it only had the HD2500 ID and my logo LOL.
Hank???

Rick - I've meant to ask, what do the different color music notes mean?

(maybe it's in the manual)

Blue note = MP3 file

Red note = WAV file

Yellow Exclamation point = Bad Link (file deleted, moved, or Windows decided to give your external drive a different drive letter :sqerr:).

:sqbiggrin:

I know that crazy yellow explanation point all to well!! :)

Rick - can you give me a little tutorial on how to set up the rectangle boxes for drag-n-drop? I'm pulling what's left of my hair out.

Rick,

Some things I would like to see:

1. Index to 100ths of a second

2. Drag, scroll, click cue points on "wav" view (like VDJ)

3. Scroll wheel function in all windows

4. Sample effects buttons like BPM studio. (for drops and soundbites)

Randy,

Those are pretty simple Randy...

Any graphics program (including Windows Paint), will show you the mouse coordinates as you move it over an image.

So, for this example, load the skin background file into MS Paint, and find the top left area where you want say Deck A's drop zone to be. The coords will display on the bottom, and that becomes the x and y values (x=left, y=top).

Move to the bottom right of the area you want, and those become the r and b values, respectively.

Remember not to have those values go over a list control, such as a deck queue, otherwise when you drop a file, they will compete, and you will get what we in the programmer business call, "Undefined Results"... :sqerr:

What that means, is I have no idea who will get the drop, if anybody :sqbiggrin:

Rick,

Some things I would like to see:

1. Index to 100ths of a second

2. Drag, scroll, click cue points on "wav" view (like VDJ)

3. Scroll wheel function in all windows

4. Sample effects buttons like BPM studio. (for drops and soundbites)


Lots of things I'd like to see as well, but my contacts are dirty from too much partying last night... :sqlaugh:

1. Maybe... The ability is in the code, I removed it before release, as it eats CPU.

2. Possibly... Rockit has a couple different modes of operation that allow that, but again, I removed prior to release for the same reasons.

3. Capability is already there, just not as a knob. I set it up for shortcuts and controllers, but not as a control on the screen.

4. See # 3. The first six effects in the effects sampler, have commands to play them.


Wooo, now I'm tired after all that typing -- is it beer time yet... :sqbiggrin:

Is there something in MSPaint that I need to turn on? I have a background in there right now and don't see any coordinates.

Is there something in MSPaint that I need to turn on? I have a background in there right now and don't see any coordinates.

Make sure that the Status bar is checked in the View menu, and you should see the coords on the bottom right. :)

Got it!!

I bet a guy could use this little trick when customizing the skins too!!

Got it!!

I bet a guy could use this little trick when customizing the skins too!!

Don't trust the coordinates MS Paint gives you entirely.... there's still a need for fudge factor... that's what I learned anyway.

Just get me in the close area and I can tweak it from there. :)

Are the fonts used in the xml based on what is loaded on the computer or based on something in Rockit itself... what I'm wondering is can I use system fonts like I would in Word as a font for say the Time remain, elapse, total... I'm thinking of a font that looks like a digital clock instead of Arial

Are the fonts used in the xml based on what is loaded on the computer or based on something in Rockit itself... what I'm wondering is can I use system fonts like I would in Word as a font for say the Time remain, elapse, total... I'm thinking of a font that looks like a digital clock instead of Arial


Sure can :)


I only used standard fonts in the XML (Arial and Verdana), this way it will work on any system, without me having to install fonts. You can use any installed True Type fonts you have though.


If you wanted to make a skin that others could use, you would have to include the fonts in the installer, and register them with Windows. Me, I don't like to clutter folks machines up, so I stick with the basics on the skins I do :)

Ok one more question;

How do I make things like the tracklist transparent? where does the trans="1" go and do I need to remove the bkground="000000"?

The XML tells me I can do it but not the how.

The lists are the only thing that cannot be transparent (at the moment).

As I mentioned to Hank, that's a lot of work on our end, we have to completely rewrite the code for Windows List Controls.

Since I'm halfway there already, I might just do it... :sqerr:

The lists are the only thing that cannot be transparent (at the moment).

As I mentioned to Hank, that's a lot of work on our end, we have to completely rewrite the code for Windows List Controls.

Since I'm halfway there already, I might just do it... :sqerr:


rats.... cause i found a really cool Eddy to use....

Getting away from the skins for a sec...I've gotta tell you that I'm really enjoying testing this software. It's making me second guess some of the purchases that I've already made...

Kudos Rick!

Booch

Hey Rick,

How tough would it be to add a widget for a clock? I don't like watches.
They smash on things. lOL

It would be on your taskbar if you leave that up.

It would be on your taskbar if you leave that up.

But that would dirty up my pretty skin. :sqwink:

Who needs a task bar if everything you need is in front of you? That's what
minimize buttons are for. :sqrolleyes:

Hey Rick,

How tough would it be to add a widget for a clock? I don't like watches.
They smash on things. lOL

I was going to do that... The old, old versions of Rockit had it, but I took it out because it runs on a timer, and timers use CPU cycles.

It's in my notebook, and I will make it an optional control on V4.1, so if yer a low CPU freak like myself, you can turn it off :sqbiggrin:


All the clocks in my house, are set on 5 o'clock anyway :sqbiggrin: :sqwink:

Rick,

Have you ever tried running Rockit on a laptop with all of the music stored on a 2.5" portable drive (rather than an internal or a external that requires power? Just curious as to whether I can eliminate a power cord...

Booch

Rick,

Have you ever tried running Rockit on a laptop with all of the music stored on a 2.5" portable drive (rather than an internal or a external that requires power? Just curious as to whether I can eliminate a power cord...

Booch

Yeah -- I have one of those little bitty 20 GB drives, and it works fine :)

I prefer using the internal if possible though...

Rick,

Me again. Do you happen to have a "blank" XML? Everything set to "0", no X,Y and sizes.
I could do it myself, but before I go blind, I thought I'd ask.

I think it makes it easier to design the skin by doing just one section at a time.

Thanks

Rick,

Me again. Do you happen to have a "blank" XML? Everything set to "0", no X,Y and sizes.
I could do it myself, but before I go blind, I thought I'd ask.

I think it makes it easier to design the skin by doing just one section at a time.

Thanks

You'd think I would have one, but I don't... :sqerr:

That's a good idea though, as I usually go through and zero everything out first. Let me know when you have it done... :sqbiggrin: :sqwink:

I do, I do......if you can wait until tomorrow, I'll send it to you. I created a blank one with everything turned off. But, I didn't do anything with the X,Y or sizes. I adjust those as I turn them on!!

Can you 'turn on' buttons? Probably as well as I can 'turn on' my wifey! :)

I do, I do......if you can wait until tomorrow, I'll send it to you. I created a blank one with everything turned off. But, I didn't do anything with the X,Y or sizes. I adjust those as I turn them on!!

Can you 'turn on' buttons? Probably as well as I can 'turn on' my wifey! :)


Post it here too.... I could use it as well.... although I usually just zero out the options just to turn them off but not the x,y stuff


which brings me to a question

What is this and what does it do?

<!-- --------------------------------------------------------------------- -->
<!-- Positions for main window drag/move with the mouse. -->
<!-- --------------------------------------------------------------------- -->
<windowmove x="353" y="001" r="667" b="035"/>

which brings me to a question

What is this and what does it do?

<!-- --------------------------------------------------------------------- -->
<!-- Positions for main window drag/move with the mouse. -->
<!-- --------------------------------------------------------------------- -->
<windowmove x="353" y="001" r="667" b="035"/>


That's the rectangle where can can drag the entire main window :)

Again, remember that moving the main window, will make the deck drop values go askew...

At present, the deck drop values don't "follow" the main window -- although I put it into the notebook. :)

That's the rectangle where can can drag the entire main window :)

Again, remember that moving the main window, will make the deck drop values go askew... This part I understand

At present, the deck drop values don't "follow" the main window -- although I put it into the notebook. :) This part I also understand

What do you mean by the entire main window?

Is that the entire skin is only moveable within that tight area? or

Are you talking more specifically like the Tracklist window?

Yes, the entire skin moves.

The rectangle is the area where the mouse needs to be to move it. Try it... :)

Yes, the entire skin moves.

The rectangle is the area where the mouse needs to be to move it. Try it... :)




OOOOOOOOoooooooooooook I get what your sayin....:sqwink:

Ok, I made a somewhat blank skin template. :)

All controls are set to invisible, all coordinates are zeroed, and all bitmaps point to dummy.bmp.

Just put in the Skins folder, and rename to whatever you want.
Create a folder under Skins with the same name.
Put your background, and a dummy.bmp file in it (dummy.bmp, can be any silly little bitmap -- I use a 10x10 red blob).

Then have a blast :sqerr: :sqbiggrin:


My eyes are buggy after editing that whole thing... :sqeek:


Right click the link below, and do a Save Link As. If you click it, it will open the XML in yer browser :)

Skin Template (http://www.rockit2000.com/v4skins/SkinTemplate.xml)

To boldly go, where no man has gone before... :sqerr:


I bring you...

Rockit Holodeck - LCARS Entertainment System

I designed this for my office jukebox (the one I haven't built yet, because I'm too busy making skins)... ;)

Skins page link: Rockit Skins Page (http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/dj-skins.htm)

Live long, and prosper... :)

http://www.rockit2000.com/images/RockitHolodeck700.gif

Now, now Rick ---- you aren't neglecting that notebook are you? :) ;)

Rick: We talked about the AGC and the magic number is 80... the Pre-process is only 40 seconds long.... by extending that out to 60 seconds the pre-processing seems to get a better sample to set the AGC to...

For example at 40 seconds AC/DC - Hells Bells the gain goes all the way up do to the long intro.... I changed it to 60 seconds and the change in the gain isn't so dramatic and seems to be more logical....

Thoughts?

Now, now Rick ---- you aren't neglecting that notebook are you? :) ;)

Absolutely -- I'm only writing in it at the moment, not reading it :sqbiggrin:


There is, however, a method to my madness. The upgrades so far, are fairly easy from my standpoint, and I could probably do the whole notebook in a week.


Big issue, is Vista SP1.

As most know (or for those that don't), Vista has a totally different audio stack, then any previous version of Windows. And although a great thing, it has its issues with the changes.

It is rumored that MS will tweak the new stack for the SP1 Full Release.

So, I will wait to see what they do, before I start getting my hands dirty in the code (which works just ducky right now :)).

Shouldn't be long before they release it, and then I can delve into the innards of Rockit... :)

Rick: We talked about the AGC and the magic number is 80... the Pre-process is only 40 seconds long.... by extending that out to 60 seconds the pre-processing seems to get a better sample to set the AGC to...

For example at 40 seconds AC/DC - Hells Bells the gain goes all the way up do to the long intro.... I changed it to 60 seconds and the change in the gain isn't so dramatic and seems to be more logical....

Thoughts?


My first thought -- Beer is good for you... :)


Actually, you'll always get better results with a longer sample of samples. You can set that to whatever you like (if the song is shorter, Rockit will only continue to the end of the song).

Problem is, it increases load time.

I set it at 40 for the general populace, because it seemed like a good balance of speed, and decent readings.


You are welcome to play around with the values, and I would certainly appreciate any feedback on your results. :)


None of my beta testers were interested, so I set it based upon my testing here... YMMV

Hey Rick does the 4.0 have instant faqde to next song? Its a nice touch when a song is bombing?

Hey Rick does the 4.0 have instant faqde to next song? Its a nice touch when a song is bombing?

You can use the Mix Left/Mix Right buttons to do that.

The speed at which it works, is the Fader Speed, under AutoMix Props. If you set that higher, for example 10, the max., it's almost an instant slam/fade.

The settings are read everytime you do something with the Crossfader, mix buttons, AutoMix, etc., so you can update them at anytime... :)


Also, what I normally do, is set a shortcut key combo to do a fadeout out for each deck, and a fade in for each deck. I use the F-Keys, so only one key to press.

So, F4 fades out deck A, while F11 fades in deck B.

Hit them both at the same time :)

New skin :)

While doing my accounting crap, I need to take a break once in awhile, so I did this so I could work on my accounting program, and listen at the same time.

This should work good for those that want to run other programs alongside Rockit (although, I'm sure you don't need to :)).

It's called Rockit Sidebar, and is 300x734, and docks on the left side of the screen. You could easily modify it for the right side though...


BTW, that's the Hudson River out front :sqbiggrin:

Skins page link (it's at the bottom) Rockit Skins Page (http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/dj-skins.htm)

http://www.rockit2000.com/images/RockitSidebar700.gif

New skin :)

While doing my accounting crap, I need to take a break once in awhile, so I did this so I could work on my accounting program, and listen at the same time.

This should work good for those that want to run other programs alongside Rockit (although, I'm sure you don't need to :)).

It's called Rockit Sidebar, and is 300x734, and docks on the left side of the screen. You could easily modify it for the right side though...


BTW, that's the Hudson River out front :sqbiggrin:

Skins page link (it's at the bottom) Rockit Skins Page (http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/dj-skins.htm)

http://www.rockit2000.com/images/RockitSidebar700.gif

that DEFINATELY clinches it.. My next two paydays are spoken for, but after that I'm getting your software!

This is EXACTLY what I needed..

-James

New skin, just in time for your Superbowl listening pleasure :)

I call this MixMaster. Why, because Reflex was already taken :sqlaugh:
Although, I wonder if it will ever release...

This is a widescreen skin, 1280 x 768, and is really easy to use.

Rockit Skins Page Link (http://www.rockit2000.com/DJSoftware/dj-skins.htm)

http://www.rockit2000.com/images/MixMaster700.gif

Just curious...does anyone really use the Low?Mid/High equalizer?

Booch

I don't, but it looks pretty on the screen! :)