Simultaneous USB sources for b2b play?

SMART CONSOLES PRIME 4
#1

Hi! First post here, from a Traktor DJ looking to switch over to Denon Prime, and run events with this as the main kit.

It seems like the Prime 2/4 are absolute winners and I’m super keen to switch over, but the big concern that could be a deal-breaker is whether or not the Prime players support simultaneous access to USB sources.

I’m pretty sure I encountered some posts saying that you cannot access 2 USB devices at the same time, which seems ridiculous/insane when there are 3 or 4 USB device ports on the unit. This is a total dealbreaker for b2b play, and the other artists I’ve spoken with agree that this is mind-bogglingly ridiculous if this is actually the case.

But since this would be such a big problem, if it’s really the case I’d expect to see more people complaining about it in the forums. So maybe I got the wrong impression, and you can simultaneously browse/load/play from 2 USB devices on the Prime players?

For what it’s worth, we’d generally be planning to use Rekordbox-formatted USBs, and will need to be able to access 2 of those at once.

Also, if you can’t access 2 USB sources at once, can you simultaneously access a USB drive and an SD card?

Thanks in advance for any clarification!

#2

What do you mean with simultaneously?

If you connect two usb sticks, you can choose from which you want to play from. Works good for b2b sets.

#3

Excellent, thanks for the reassurance that it works well! I’ve not had the chance to try out Denon gear before buying, because pandemic, but I had just seen a few forum posts implying there was an issue with this and that you had to flip an annoying setting to pick the active USB source, or some nonsense like that. Good to hear it’s working pretty seamlessly for b2b though. :slight_smile:

I made a Reddit post about this as well, and one thing that came up there is that there’s been a long standing request to have each source default back to it’s last used playlist/crate/etc, which seems like it would make things much less clunky navigation-wise for b2b work. Like I said, I have no personal experience with Denon yet, but I hope they respond to that request because it sounds straightforward to implement and very helpful!

#4

You have to select the source to view it’s contents. Just like selecting a folder to view it’s contents. You can only look in one source at a time.

#5

And to select the source is super simple. I suppose if u were playing tracks feom usb to another it could get annoying, but if i were playing out, that mode of playing music makes no sense to me. I would pick my source and play off of the one like ive always done. So in general i personally dont see how having to switch between sources would any sort of an issue.

#6

Furthermore, why not play back2back using 1 player each. No need to change sources.

#7

Well, for b2b sets you’d typically be switching between the USB sources every couple tracks, and that’s a standard comon use case. So switching between sources that frequently does seem like it could get annoying.

A friend with Pioneer XDJ kit tells me that when switching browsing between the USBs each source will remember its last playlist/search/etc. That would really help to smooth out the process on the Primes, if a firmware update would allow this capability.

In any case, I just bought a Prime 4 last night that should arrive tomorrow, so I suppose I’ll find out for myself soon enough! :slightly_smiling_face:

#8

He wants to do it on a Prime 4, not on a SC6000. If the function you write were possible to do it on the Prime 4 it would be great, but for now it is not possible to differentiate the USB source based on the deck in use. :cry:

You have fallen into temptation! You will see that you will be happy with Prime 4, there are some things to improve but overall it is a great console that is worth all the money spent.

#9

Ah my bad…

#10

This might be a nice feature request. Ability to assign source to deck/side. Something in those lines.

#11

Yes, a nice function, but impossible to do on the P4 that has a single display: it becomes impossible for it to understand if you want to load a track on deck 1/3 or deck 2/4 and therefore show you USB1 or USB2 ( for example).

Maybe a simple step could be done if switching from one source to another was faster and if the displayed crate / playlist and its position in the list were kept in memory.

Currently (v 1.6) after changing source this happens: you will be asked if you want to load the preferences from USB2, you have to click NO, then it will show you the root of the library and you will have to click the various crates to return to the point you left earlier, then you will have to scroll through the entire crate / playlist and return to the song to be played.

And all this you will have to do every time the two DJs swap on the console: a real pain in the ass!

In my opinion the P4 is not suitable for B2B use. The only solution would be to make a crate / playlist shared between the two DJs and use only a USB stick with a library with a single crate / playlist: but at this point it would not make sense to do a B2B :joy:

#12

People keep trying to buy cheaper things and expecting it to have the same features as the more advanced/expensive models.

1 Like
#14

I’ve seen B2B on DDJ SB’s

Perhaps an Engine OS view to combine all plugged in databases just like the Main collection view of Engine Prime.

I know serato does this. A guest dj shows up with a crates set up on USB, plugs into the residents laptop and the guest DJs crates shows up below the residents.

#15

The Prime 4 is not a cheap bit of kit, and while a b2b would be smoother on separate dedicated players, it’s not exactly asking a lot to be able to grab tracks from multiple USB sources quickly/painlessly, when there are multiple USB sources on the unit.

Also, Denon aims to provide better functionality for less money compared to Pioneer, and with competing Pioneer products making it easy to grab tracks from multiple USB sources without menu diving, this is one area the Denon seems to fall short.

Pioneer standalone units remember your last playlist/search/etc on each USB, making b2b easy. It seems really easy for Denon to implement in a firmware update, so I really really hope this is improved soon.

Also, @DjAj mentioned that you have to decline loading preferences every time you switch USB sources, and if that’s correct then that should also be improved so you don’t need to decline that every time you’re switching source.

…

Yeah, this would be ideal to combine all sources into one view. Would require a big update though, which is why I at the very least want to see the source switching being more seamless and not require menu diving to get back to where you left off on that source.

#16

It costs less than an XDJ-XZ but does more things, so it’s worth it.

Are you sure that a Pioneer XDJ-XZ or RX2 allows you to simultaneously use two different USB sources matched to the two sides of the console? That is, are you aware that they allow a comfortable b2b?

If this is possible then the solution is simple: Denon DJ can copy the same logic for selecting USB sources :wink: :grinning:

#17

On the Pioneer kit I don’t believe the USB sources are specific to decks on either side, but they really shouldn’t be anyway. Either DJ on either deck should be able to grab a track from either USB source, and because each USB remembers its last playlist/search, it’s easy to flip between the sources without re-navigating/re-searching. And my friend that owns the XZ (I think) has confirmed that it makes for comfortable b2b.

And yes, I would love to see Denon copy this navigational behaviour. :crossed_fingers:

#18

No, they are independent on the RX and above and can be browsed and used at the same time on either deck. The Browse is quite snappy on the RX2, which I used a few weeks ago. Will be interested to see the speed of the P4 when mine arrives.

#19

Having a single display it would be interesting to understand how the console decides which USB to display: if that of the DJ1 instead of that of the DJ2 as both access the same display with the same keys.

#20

I gave it some thought, and I do not think having a good b2b experience is impossible on a device with a single screen.

prime4_b2b
prime4_b2b3416×2153 1.93 MB

Something like this could work. Having 2 playlists loaded, one on each side. Back and forward on device in this mode could be used to switch between the lists, and touch ofc. And if each list could be from a difference source, tada :slight_smile:

But seriously, trust me, the problem is not unsolvable with available screen real-estate, but it would would need carefully considerations, and some ingenuity :slight_smile:

And I think Engine OS needs to mature a bit more in order to be able to support something like this.

#21

Graphically it’s nice, but what if one of the two DJs decides to use the other layer as well, so 3 or 4 tracks would be visible?

Also I don’t think the Denon DJ team will want to implement such a thing, considering all the other more urgent things that there are to be implemented and which are much more important. However you can enter a function request in the appropriate section.