One of the most used features for me was using two channels connected to my laptop (VDJ, Serato) and two channels for Engine (USB key).
I know we lost that functionality with the Prime family. Please add it back in! (Having the ability to play off the internal SSD that I added and the computer at the same time is critical!)
As denon have already said that playing from both a laptop and the prime in the same mode is a hardware limit, not a firmware limit, then it can’t be added to the prime 4 mark 1. Maybe a prime 5 or a prime 6 might have that option.
What we can do right now is to take an audio signal out from the laptop and feed that into the RCA inputs of a spare Audio channel on the prime 4
There you go
Hello @DJ_Sontag
I like the new version of you. Your responses to posts have been different compared to what I’m accustomed to 
Long May it continue 
Is everything ok? Or is someone else posting on your behalf 
I would really want to question how it’s a hardware limitation since the unit is essentially a computer. I’m a software developer myself and it’s hard to believe this limitation is not artificially added via software.
I’d like to challenge this…
Challenge away…
I’m not a software developer nor engineer so I am keen to read whatever solution you are going to propose
I was going to say perhaps it requires hardware switches but then I remember that Pioneer CDJs don’t have physical switches (USB to PC) and can swap between software and usb with ease.
Most sound cards can be accessed by one computer at a time.
The Serato / traktor laptop is a computer
The prime (inside) is a computer, much more so than any other mere “controller” has been in the past.
Above… that’s two computers
Most sound cards can be accessed by one computer at a time.
I wasn’t saying to challenge you… I was saying to challenge the idea of the WILL_NOT_IMPLEMENT.
I’d like for someone at Denon to tell me why this is impossible to implement. If the unit can do both, there’s no tangible reason why it couldn’t do them both together. Again, this is a software-driven computer-based controller.
What I should have added to my previous post is… of the standalone part of prime4 (computer) has seized control of the sound card, the sound card is then dedicated solely to standalone. If you power off the prime 4 and power it up in computer mode (not standalone mode) then the standalone part doesn’t try to seize the soundcard, it lets the laptop seize it instead.
Before someone yells “ah wait, the mc7000 could let two laptops seize the mc7000s soundcard”… take a look at the specs and advertising for the 7000 … it says it features dual sound cards (plural)
And the 8000 being able to let the soundcard be seized by laptop for a couple of channels and let standalone use two others? The standalone bit inside an 8000 wasn’t a computer and may (I’m guessing ) have had it’s own “standalone” method of getting audio to its audio channels
Understood. I’ve written device drivers for PC-based sound applications for both Windows and Linux. I’m sure I could figure out a way to isolate access. (I may be making it sound more trivial than it is, however I can’t see how the discrete audio couldn’t be accessed by two different devices at the same time especially if it’s software controlled.)
Don’t know why I got attracted to this unit…I traveled from Barbados to Florida to Purchase my Unit online , hoping i could also attach a Mac Pro to it and use 2 channel for the Mac and 2 Channels for USB Drive…I had so much Problems with my MCX 8000 and decided to buy Prime 4 and its even worse, at least with the MCX 8000 i could use the MAC and use USB…Sorry Denon you have lost me as your customer…I even attach my Harddrive to Prime 4 and tried to do a search for a track in different folders …its not showin…so it means I cannot do a fast search for the Track…i first have to find the folder that the track is in then select…Geeze.I am so disappointed, Can anyone help me?
You need to let engine prime create a database. It’s what it does, it’s how it works. It’s what everyone else does and likes
I would like to use the Prime 4+ as a central unit in a club for both Laptop and Flash drive DJ’s, but It’s really inconvenient to use them at the same time. For all these occasions with multiple DJ’s they all ask for XDJ-XZ. It’s a shame, Prime/Engine can’t support fast swapping between Standalone & Computer Mode.
Just use a second music source for the handover time period, such as the laptop playing through a 30 buck usb to RCA soundcard or even the laptops headphone socket at a push
Yes, I have an iPhone 6 attached and it works, but it’s not as seamless as XZ. It’s another obstacle to get DJ’s to choose Denon.
Less of an obstacle now than a few years ago. A lot more DJs now have chosen their “route to DJ” instead of flitting back and forth between one music source and another.
There used to be a lot of “I do my background/warm up from laptop and my main DJ set standalone” but most have migrated to mastering a specific playout method/format for their entire performance. .
Product segmentation. There is a specific Denon DJ product meant for exactly that purpose, your problem is that you don’t want to spend that money.
No, I want to spend that money! What product are you talking about?
SC6000 decks X1850 mixer
Yeah, I figured. Actually, you only need one sc6000 attached to Prime 4+ for this. It’s a shame they’re not designed to align.
I know you have probably already solved this issue, but for anyone else, the line outs stay active while switching to computer mode. I just did it with a turntable attached to channel 3 there was a slight momentary dip in the audio, barely noticable not a pop or anything like that. Crossfader and upfader, EQs all stay active. You can complete the switch well within the length of a track. I did it both into computer mode and back to standalone.