This much-hyped update to 5.0.0 or 5.0.1 tells me just one thing.
If we’re going to mix regular users and Prime users here, then please include all inMusik users.
What really saddens me is the ever-present fact that we’re just beta testers. An update is released for a specific hardware and software combination, and who checks to see if it actually works? We do! What annoys me most is that “inMusik,” as a company, is rubbing its hands together because we find bugs for them and request new features.
That would actually be okay with me, because that’s just the game. But when we report bugs, the developers need to address them. For us, this isn’t just a hobby—no, our income and careers depend on that one gig or the long-term performance.
So I’m asking for a bug report section in this forum where we can and must discuss problems and, above all, issues that prevent us from using inMusik equipment.
I also don’t know why there isn’t a global inMusik forum? Where we can talk about integrating Akai and Denon into the DJ setup and other interactions.
I’m not a professional DJ and my opinion shouldn’t count. For me it’s just a hobby.
I see many bugs unaddressed. Bugs that clearly reproduce. Many bug reports waiting in an “under review” state. Just search the forums.
The community seems very active, which is nice. I ran into some mild bitterness, but that can be a healthy thing.
I don’t want to use this post to whine about some bugs I posted, but I know some features break under certain conditions (wich may be unique to me, but I’m not special). Some simple features are not implemented due to some people’s hard opinions on little things, even though many folks are asking for it.
I really like Engine OS and my Denon decks, the team is making a good job and are very innovative. I wouldn’t/can’t replace them with anything.
Yes we all are …. Microsoft users are beta tests for Microsoft , Apple users and beta testers for Apple , Samsung and beta testers for Samsung …. How long did you want that sentence to go on for ?
No one forces you to update. Thanks to this community you can easily find which versions are recommended as stable. If you stick to that version it probably covers 99% of your needs for 50% of the price compared with the competition. Competition which brings updates every…?
There are probably more people running successful gigs than people having issues.
If you’re income is at stake, make sure you use the rights tools. Just like contractors choose their preferred brand for tools. Denon would probably work fine the most jobs and if you feel the competitor is better, just buy that. Eventually, if it is your income, the ROI for the competition will be a bit longer, but if it helps you sleep better at night… go for it
so many companies do this now because pushing out fixes is so easy, Pioneer has done this for YEARS also, Pretty much every player i purchased from Pioneer, and there were a lot, had some bugs that could have easily been found and fixed before they shipped. One left me with brand new CDJ-2000nxs players in the box for 6 months while i used older players so this is just not Denon using us as beta testers unfortunately
I think the comparison with Microsoft is quite enjoyable, bugs come and go; however the major ones are reported in a message center, community questions are being answered by representatives etc. And yes, not everything is fixed right away.. If ever.. However there is roadmapping and communication of fixes etc.
Yes, no software is bug-free, but the way a company deals and communicates is a big part of a continious ongoing customer experience. EngineDj has managed the sweet spot with the stand alone which remain relevant over time, but seem to forget the sales potential of ongoing communication and customer bonding. Happy customers = more sales.
Take sonos as example. Months ago it couldn’t be in a much worse state, with a fully bugged app and outright bad publicity. They managed to win the hearts of the community by being present, acknowledge their mistakes and communicate.
Speaking of beta testers: Does InMusic actually not have any beta testers in this area? Quite a few people seem to be experiencing the stuttering issue, after all—and the connectivity problem with the players is something that could potentially have been detected beforehand.
I’m fairly sure that Denon DJ already has a wide range of testers for the different versions before they become official releases.
But fortunately/unfortunately, there’s no getting around the fact that the equipment is used in different environments — meaning that we all use the gear in different ways, and therefore different results can sometimes come from that.
And different elements has different influence on the gear, such as power voltage, WiFi stability, database, USB stick/ hard drive (HDD/ SSD) quality and so on…
It’s a lovely cozy perfect-world idea that so much beta testing happens that every single variation of usage is tested with every possible configuration …6 months of beta testing? 9 months? 12 months?
Given the level of abuse the InMusic “they” get whenever even a month (or less) goes by, without a new free firmware update, it’s no wonder than beta testing can’t try every usage situation and scenario.
I’m an IT consultant, but those “representatives” usually add zero. It’s certainly not enjoyable that a fundamental issue existed for the better part of a year: Windows clients completely lose their domain trust with Server 2025… So, the Microsoft comparison is valid.
No realistically achievable amount of beta testing will reveal every single bug.
If you want to beta test a balloon, it’s easy… does it allow air to be put into it? Does it hold the air for at least 72 hours? If we get a yes for both questions, super, the balloon passes beta testing !
But…
Take a Prime 4 - let’s try this
Load a track - press play - does it play - does the waveform look ok ?
But wait …. Load a track can be from 8 different sources , the waveform can be zoomed in or out to 6 different scales, it can be RGB or 3 colour trad, it can be daylight RGB or daylight 3 colour trad mode - suddenly that’s 7 x 6 x 4 that’s 168 things to test from that “one” thing to test …. Do all those 168 things work with soundswitch control active? Do all those 168 things work with soundswitch off? Thats 336 things to check - do all those 336 things work while play as playlist is running on 4th channel? And when it’s not running? Thats 672 things to check ….
So… that’s 672 things to check just to make sure loading a track and playing it works - now add in roll and slice affecting the waveforms , think of hot cue indicators and loop shading showing or not showing on the 4 waveform colours (trad, RGB, day mode trad, day mode RGB) in their 6 scales of zoom …. Ooooh and what about all the above when playing in reverse
And remember , all the above was just what would have to be checked for loading a track and pressing play.
A reasonable amount of beta testing (taking an amount of time that users will keep their patience for) won’t , indeed can’t, check every single thing
Intermittent faults are the bane of any complex engineering system. I would imagine that alph and beta testers are running in near perfect conditions for most of the time, so they’re only going to pick up the major faults, not the weird little quirks that snowball.
