Touch screen goodness baby!

[drzinc]

http://www.markways.com/detail/1155/...AS5738PG_6555/

My newest toy to my dj gear. With this and an external soundcard I can fully run VDJ without a controller. For small affairs that's exactly what I will do.

[DjDennis]

yeah so ?
been using one in the living room for 8x months

I will not use i at a show then you will have too many wanna touchy feeling

no thanks

[DJ Cam]

I think it is cool I have been looking at the possibility of moving to a all in one touch screen insead of a notebook.

[SoftJock Rick]

I have an MSI touch I use in the man cave. Two things I've found with it:

1) There's no easy way to mount the thing -- it doesn't have a VESA mount.

2) You need to use a skin that has larger controls, for it to be effective. I built a special skin for Rockit, that fills the entire screen, and has larger controls, that are a bit easier to use. I also had to make the text very large in the lists, otherwise it's a pain to double-click the right item, or grab it for drag and drop.


I still find myself using the mouse alot though, because certain things like sliders and scrolling work much better with a mouse -- YMMV...

[Ausumm]

Rick
I know there are threads regarding this subject...
but I'd like to get your thoughts on this subject.

I am thinking of going to a laptop system,
I am DEFINITELY gonna use your software...
but I need an idea of everything I will need.

computer:
really would like to go touchscreen.
not comfortable using keyboard/mouse for DJ work
assume I need lots of RAM, but I will use externals for the song library
upgrades to computer:
I assume I need TWO soundcards, one for each deck output? then use the mixer for cueing?
accessories:
don't really understand if it's possible to go straight from the soundcards to the mixer. I hear about interface units and such, but don't know the technology behind it

basically, I want affordable but not cheap. what I really don't want is to buy more computer accessories and extras that I won't be using.

PM me if you can help

Mike Foxx

[SoftJock Rick]

Hang on till I grab a shower Mike -- just got off the roof, and I'm sweating buckets...

[cclark65]

I wouldn't want to run my light show without a touch screen. I used a mouse for a short time before I bought the touch monitor, and it's WAY easier to select scenes.

However, I still keep a mouse hooked up as well for when I need finer control to run the music player or something like that.

[Scott Harris]

Originally Posted by SoftJock Rick

Hang on till I grab a shower Mike -- just got off the roof, and I'm sweating buckets...

Aw jeez, Rick was tanning naked on the roof again......

[Sounds To Go]

Originally Posted by Ausumm

really would like to go touchscreen.

I'm clueless

Originally Posted by Ausumm

assume I need lots of RAM

The more the merrier!

Originally Posted by Ausumm

but I will use externals for the song library

Actually, if possible/as much as possible, utilize your internal drive for your main performance library or the bulk of it, and use an external as/if needed for supplemental storage of more oddball stuff.

Originally Posted by Ausumm

I assume I need TWO soundcards, one for each deck output? then use the mixer for cueing? accessories: don't really understand if it's possible to go straight from the soundcards to the mixer.

http://www.softjock.com/rockitprodj-soundcardsetups.htm

Originally Posted by Ausumm

I hear about interface units and such, but don't know the technology behind it

You can use a controller if it floats your boat and if you prefer a more tactile approach to mixing/cueing, etc that more mimics an actual board, but it's not necessary. There are even some MIDI controllers that have built-in soundcards that can serve as your mains or monitor (cue/headphone) outs so you can get rid of the need for an additional/extra external soundcard if you went with one of those.

Originally Posted by Ausumm

I want affordable but not cheap. what I really don't want is to buy more computer accessories and extras that I won't be using.

If you can't go touchscreen right away, and based on what you've posted, I would look at some console-type midi controllers, and stay away from the rackmount hardware-type players/controllers, though they are excellent, they do tend to require more keyboard/mouse interaction/input.

I'm too new to digi-dj'ing to offer much more than letting you know what I recently got and am using - I'm using a hercules RMX which is a great little console-type midi controller that has a built-in soundcard so you don't *need* an external mixer, but you can just as easily run into one if you like. This unit avoids having to have extra/additional external soundcards at all.

I still haven't decided on a software, but am leaning towards Rockit over the VDJ because of the lower system/resources draw. The laptop I got to start dj'ing is a little bit older and used so I can't start off with software that is really resource-intensive.

Plus I like Rockits library management features, skinning options, and the jukeboxes both video and audio are awesome!

[DJ JohnThe1]

Originally Posted by SoftJock Rick

Hang on till I grab a shower Mike -- just got off the roof, and I'm sweating buckets...

The Roof huh! Up there peeking at the hot chicks tanning on the Hudson?

[SoftJock Rick]

Originally Posted by DJ JohnThe1

The Roof huh! Up there peeking at the hot chicks tanning on the Hudson?

Nah, actually had to do work -- sucks

Granted, while I was up there fixing the hatch, I did install a new camera that gives me a better river view. Just a cheapie, but I got the cable run done, and once I put the new PTZ up there, I should be able to give you folks some interesting shots of the lovely ladies on the boats...


Anyway, back to touch screens...

You don't really need any extra memory to handle a touchscreen -- Win7 does a pretty nice job, but...

You need to develop a feel for these things. Scrolling is not easy, but pushing a button is. Using sliders or knobs is not easy either.

The biggest problem I've found, is that the skin controls have to be huge, otherwise you risk hitting the wrong thing with your finger, and mucking up your show! That means you lose a lot of screen real estate, just to make them workable.


I prefer keyboard shortcuts and a mouse, but a controller is also a decent option, although you still need a keyboard and mouse for certain things.

BTW, Rockit will run audio just fine, on any machine that runs Windows. I would get a machine with a discreet video card though, as that is the major slowdown of the whole system on cheapie machines. You can have the fastest processor in the world, and gobs of RAM -- but if the video subsystem is slow -- it all suffers.

Sound cards -- check out this sample setups page:

http://softjock.com/rockitprodj-soundcardsetups.htm

BTW, I no longer recommend the Audio2DJ -- too many problems, that weren't fixed on the last set of drivers I tried. Works great when it works, but when it decides to start making noise, only a machine reboot will fix it.

The Behringers have been the most reliable sound cards I've ever used.

[Scott Hanna]

Totally agree with Rick on the button size. A few years ago, I hooked up a touch screen to my computer. It was really cool to be be able to control the software with the touch screen.....for a few minutes.

Things didn't drag well.....it was 1000% easier just to hit a physical key to start or stop a player than to touch a little button on the screen.

[Hank Davidson]

I don't care for touch screens. It takes the same amount of time to jog my trackball to the button as it would my finger ....and the screen stays clean!

[Scott Harris]

I'm waiting for the price on VR glasses and the magic gloves to come WAY down.


Scott

[DjDennis]

and thats why I wont buy one - its all a Gimmick!

[SoftJock Rick]

Originally Posted by DjDennis

and thats why I wont buy one - its all a Gimmick!

Not totally Dennis...

They're awesome for a jukebox, which is what mine is basically used for

I think you'll see more and more apps coming out that are designed to work well on a touch -- right now, there's just not that much out there...

[Big Dan]

Originally Posted by SoftJock Rick

Not totally Dennis...

They're awesome for a jukebox, which is what mine is basically used for

I think you'll see more and more apps coming out that are designed to work well on a touch -- right now, there's just not that much out there...

Yup. Lots of folks have already gotten used to touch screen on their phones, ATMs, and higher end vending machines. It's only a matter of time before it starts creeping into more consumer stuff.

Personally I think the touch model can only go so far it's great for simple stuff like a juke box, ATM, etc but I wouldn't want to type this post on a touch interface even if I had a full size virtual keyboard.

[Scott Harris]

In case anyone from Apple marketing is reading this, please ship Dan a promotional iPad.

P.S. Send one my way too!


Scott

[DjDennis]

thats why racing out to buy things as soon as its released you will end up hating it

I have learnt to WAIT till bugs are broken
the screens get better and you then know that
what you buy wont break in 3x weeks after you buy it

I dont care waiting 12 months after its released

at least I know that what new developments have been made the one with the problem is fixed and then I see if its worth buying

look at the antenna situation with the iphone lol

my mate just bought an Android version that works better than the iphone

sucks when you can see how technology will be like from the horses mouth at times

but you guys keep spending all your hard earned money and i'll be using gear long after you have bough 3x or 4x of the same thing because of damage/breakage