The Prime series will be truly standalone the same day that we could manage our library (download tracks, delete tracks, move tracks between media files, etc…), edit the beatgrid directly from the players, add names to hotcues and loops, add star rating, etc… from the players. Hopefully this day will become reality anytime soon.
BUT, right now, I am completely F***ed off by the fact that I should depend on Windows or MacOS (both propietary and cosed OS’s) to DJ, and even worse, I hate to manage my library through Engine while I could do it directly from the players (as I think it should be), or at least let the user choose if he wants to manage the library from the players or from the computer.
Until then , for me this is not a standalone DJ system.
it’s essential when users run into it after a short while and would expect it to be there. and that’s exactly what the linked request demonstrates.
also see below …
this is one of the best posts i’ve seen here. brief and exactly on point.
You misinterpreted his post. He is saying it will be nice if they add it, not that he needs it to play the music. You really don’t see the difference here… ehh…
Well, the original post definitely going for “essential”
in his sarcastic (eg: 27th streaming service) and impatient (same thing every few weeks where there hasn’t been any firmware with features to interest him) post of 11day ago
What’s an OS “catch up” anyway ? Nothing we say, in a “catch up” a few weeks or months before a release is going to sway things. Such posts are just breeding grounds for sarcasm and ops way of adding a downer on the many years of hard work already out into the firmware
Personally I believe we will never abandon the laptop - thats fine to me.
The name says it all - Standalone player - so It plays music without a laptop.
Even with a ‘perfect’ GUI and workflow, a laptop will always be better to manage music - big screen, keyboard will always be better.
Playing only lossless music files I would need a browser to download music directly on prime units so a ‘laptop free’ ecosystem is an ilusion anyway.
Engine Prime could be better but is good enough for me, it doesn’t impose any limitations for my use.
Engine OS is very nice, I would love some minor modifications to suit my personal tastes, but for me it is already very very good. .
I think there is a huge misconception of the word “standalone” here.
A standalone DJ device allows a user to use the kit on its own when performing the act of DJing Preparation is not DJing, but some small bits might be included for convenience. A Traktor or Serato user MUST have their laptop at a gig but a Prime 4 user CAN leave the laptop at home, making the Prime 4 a standalone kit.
We should not confuse prep work for DJing! Although related, they are not the same.
I don’t have a proper laptop anymore. I bought the new iPad Air because it edits 4k video better than any laptop put before me so far. Now I want to get into the prime ecosystem what do I do now?
I’m grabbing popcorn and looking forward to your suggestions.
Dear @Wyley1, Honestly your reply doesn’t even warrant a response but I will humour you and give you one…
Here is what I read from your post:
You chose to buy an iPad over a laptop because it suited yourvideo needs. Now you want to get to the prime ecosystem, but you have a problem with having to use a computer to do prep work. So in essence you have come to the Denon DJ Forums to complain that you expect your Denon gear to work in a way so that you don’t have to make a purchase just like the iPad purchase you made for your video needs in order to satisfy your DJ needs. And I am assuming you’re here complaining about this because you know that the same complaint about the video editing needs would go on deaf ears in any other forms such as Apple’s.
The fact of the mater remains, the Prime setup is standalone and one CAN DJ with it without a laptop present. As stated earlier, you seem to think standalone DJ console means something else.
P.S. If you don’t hear pops every 5 seconds, you’ve burnt the popcorn
Buy a laptop, if you want to prep before, you’ll need one to be on any DJ ecosystem Rekorbox, Engine, Traktor, Serato.
Or play from straming services - apart from Engine OS, the only ecosystem you won’t need a laptop is playing vinyl.
I bought the new iPad cause pound for pound it is superior to the current mainstream laptops.
What I posted was more to present a case, not to complain, because engine os without the hardware integration is way beyond basic.
The rane 12 mk2 already works with iPad software in hybrid mode btw as well as other things in which laptop software are starting to adopt that originated from apps.
What you are wanting is a standalone preparation and DJ consoleall in one unit which is not and never was the point of the Prime series I could say because they introduced it with EP when they came out with it.
I don’t even understand what you mean by this. Engine OS is the operating system used by the hardware it comes with so are we now extracting the OS from the hardware and comparing it to a DJ software? If you are thinking like that, then I understand your train of thought but can’t agree with you as again it goes back to the fact that the Prime series which comes with an OS to make it operable is a standalone unit. You can’t compare the software in the decks to a DJ software, they are different products.
This is exactly what was discussed above which is some people think a standalone unit means it should be equivalent to Traktor/Serato/VDJ and that is not the case.
Honestly I am confused by your case. Is your argument that standalone means you even prep on it and shouldn’t need a laptop or tablet? Or is your argument more for not having iPad compatibility for you to do your prep work on that? If none of those, then what is it you believe the Prime standalone kits should do in order to be worthy of being called standalone?
On a laptop/controller system you get to prep and play and practice at the same time. The prime series is the analog of that system and for this day and age one should be able to this on deck by now. Denon’s so close yet still far.
Well then as I said earlier, your interpretation of the standalone DJ system is different than mine and Denon’s (based on what they developed, advertised, and sell).
A standalone DJ kit should let me DJ without the use of a laptop connected. How I get my music and manage comes BEFORE I actually DJ.
I agree, the only true laptop free DJ setup is a Tech 1200 or equivalent with vinyl. If one is to prep music, i wouldn’t attempt to even try to deal with that on anything other than a laptop or typical desktop computer. I have a few ipads around but a touchscreen interface is designed for content consumption and makes any real work tedious. Yes you can add keyboard and mouse control to an iPad but at that point why not just get a new Macbook air. The requirements for backing up a library and keeping it organized, using external storage is all better managed on a laptop.
impatient and sarcastic because after more than 3 years there still is basic stuff missing and the highs are junk? well in that case yes, definitely
oh yeah, i can see that. well actually not at all. after being in the IT industry for 2 decades myself i can tell quite well what can be expected and how long certain things take. and i can assure you that engine os is not the result of “years of hard work”. more like a low number of months if at all.
as mentioned i’m not asking for anything fancy here. maybe not the highs but all the other things i listed above are easy to add. i.e. all of them can be done in 1 day. not for each but all together.
Well, that’s funny bold statement.
We are testing beta versions here and we see how long it takes to get some bugs smoothed out. What You are saying is a complete dream. If it would be that easy, make an OS yourself.
Preparation is not DJing, but some small bits might be included for convenience. A Traktor or Serato user MUST have their laptop at a gig but a Prime 4 user CAN leave the laptop at home, making the Prime 4 a standalone kit.
