This is true. Traktor (and Windows/Mac OS) seem to be interrogating the audio files and showing the content of the audio tracks on screen even if the folder in question is not imported into the database.
Depending on the specs of the Prime, drive and the size of the folder this may work well or be too laggy in practice.
In any case I think this is not a bug but a feature request, as it’s clear to me that this is intended by design. Another thing is whether you like it or not, and if another systems make it better in this regard.
OK, here are 2 sides. I can understand what kirkmontreux wants because normally i worked the same way with virtual dj. Folderbased.
For me it is also hard to work with the new system cause it doesn´t update himself if i have a “new number” from the 90s and i put it in my “MP3\90s\black\rnb” folder, i have to read the complete file strukture again.
with the computer software i just add the complete MP3 folder, the system checks new files or recognize deleted files (moved to another folder) and then i “repair the database” and everything works.
The thing is when the system (prime 4) doesn´t analyse the file i load from the file view i think all informations are there. So the system has the information but it doesn´t show the information. This is what “kirkmonteux” mean that it is a bug.
In this point i agree.
But i understand that the prime 4 works in another way. Personally i havent the “perfect way” to manage my files. Cause there is no really good sync way like in “rekordbox does with itunes”. Also you cant copy one Crate to another usb device.
I see where you are coming from. I think coming from Pioneer I see the work flow differently.
The way Prime engine is desigend to be used you NEVER manually copy a track to your drive or even move files around on the drive etc, you import them in to Engine Prime on the PC then export collections/crates and playlists to the drive/prime 4 from within the Engine Prime software, you let engine prime totally manage the drive for you.
The work flow you describe of putting files on a USB stick in folders can be used but you are missing out on all the features having a Prime database brings such as album artwork, fast searching etc this way of doing things is totally out of date, it is only really useful if someone gives you a usb drive of tracks at a gig they want playing etc, its not really designed for your main collection IMO.
I am so old school that I keep calling folders directories…
This thing that iTunes does of abstracting the file system hierarchy into a logical “collection” is so millennial to me… but it has advantages and I understand every DJ software is going that way. It is much more powerful than a folder hierarchy, and it’s needed to search. Also, most DJs would be interested in preparing a playlist for tonight rather than navigate back and forth withing folders.
The easier way to mitigate this would be to have the option of automatically create a crate structure based on folder structure when importing… maybe you could suggest this as a feature request…
I think it makes sense “kirkmonteux” wants this to happen, and as said another programs do that - but it’s not a bug, it’s like that by design.
I 100% agree with this, but it’s another thing… I think the system should be able to observe directories previously imported so that if I copy a new song, that song will be automatically imported to the library without me needing to explicitly import it manually.
The way it is very inconvenient.
I wonder how does Rekordbox do this?
Rekordbox does this the same way that Engine Prime does, you either drag/import just the new tracks in to Prime and it imports them in to the DB or you drag the whole folder structure in (including stuff previously imported) and it just adds the new songs. Rekordbox does this 2nd option much much quicker than Prime currently does however, it seems that Rekordbox picks out the new tracks a lot faster, Enigine Prime chugs through all the tracks.
You are right though the ability to monitor a dir would be nice.
@kirkmonteux what you are asking for is indeed a feature request and not a bug so I’d suggest you put a new post in the feature request section and give details of what you’d like to see.
Possible that some guys have another workflow. Aslong engine prime software has no features like intelligent playlists like itunes has it is not possible to work this way without any double files on the drive. so i have to add files manually, this may work with dj´who play a short set but not with wedding dj´s who must have music history of the last 40 years in their collection.
Up to this day i had to have my music collection twice, one time for my computer and one time for my prime 4 and this is why we want to sync with other solutions. And at the moment i cant trust Engine Prime to 100%.
How will you explain this as a feature request. We need here a software developer who can sync in both ways engine Prime to Serato/VDJ/Traktor/Rekordbox and backwards.
This is what i am thinking. And believe me i love my Prime 4, but at the moment it is hard to work with the database if you want to sync it with another solutions.
Sorry for my bad englich, im from germany and school is long ago.
I wish Engine supported intelligent playlists/crates. It is lacking, and a really useful feature.
That said, I don’t think that has anything at all with this discussion. It is simply something different.
I’d say that current Engine approach based on a database instead folder hierarchy is the way to go for that kind of DJs with huge databases.
In regards of adding all the files manually, you can always drag and drop the root folder…
You actually don’t need to have your collection twice - you could have it just in your “master” drive, and use it as the drive of the Prime system. That said, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’d say it’s better to have another copy.
The current workflow of Prime comes from Rekordbox. Rekordbox was initially designed having in mind a master collection, and you would sync a set of this to a pendrive. Now, we users want to have the entire collection ready in the Prime system (as with Traktor and Serato), and IMHO this is not working very well at the moment.
I personally don’t have any trust in Engine Prime at all at the moment. It’s not very well designed and has implementation flaws everywhere.
Because it’s not a bug in the sense that something that should work one way does not. It’s simply different expectations from the users to how the system works by design. Hence a feature request, not a bug.
We cannot expect this from Denon. They would do their best to help users transition from other systems to theirs, but to the other direction.
I agree with you. I love my SC5000s but I hate Engine and how slow navigating big libraries is.
I personally have no need to transition from anything to Engine. I would happily recreate everything from scratch and commit to Engine if it worked better.
