Numark iDJ for iPad review

[Lundmark]

I just got a word from the project manager of MixMeister and iDJ, Simon Bangs. I think it's great to see that they're really committed to this product and he also told me his intentions were to make the iPad apps community driven. I asked if I could post his thoughts here and he was very happy to let me do that. Here are his comments:


Hello,

I am the Project Manager for Mixmeister and iDJ.
Thanks for your email! I have put some comments in red below.

Kind Regards
_________________
Simon Bangs
Product Development

It definitely feels like beta. Right off the bat on a freshly rebooted iPad with iOS 4.2 GM and no other apps running, iDJ is really slow...

Comments: Unfortunately iDJ is currently pushing the iPad to the limit of its capability. It is important understand the iPad has the same specifications as an Pentium 3.
0.9 GHZ and 256MB ram. We are very excited with what we have been able to achieve with the hardware. The algorithms being used to detect key and BPM are very powerful and come from over 11 years of research. We suspect (and hope) that the next iPad hardware will benefit from a faster processor and an increased amount of ram.
Ram is very important for audio applications as audio is decoded and buffered in the ram on top of this the iOS device is using this for the OS. On average the iPad uses roughly 100MB of ram for OS purposes which leaves only 150MB or so for apps and other processes. If mail is set to push or bluetooth/wifi is on this also uses allot.

Comments: The iPhone 4 seems perform slightly better with audio apps in my personal experience as it has 512MB ram.
We have put allot of work into optimizing the engine and will continue to do so with updates.

It is very straightforward to load up tracks from the iPod library (though it takes time) and get started...

Comments: Unfortunately large imports can take a while to process this again is due to the specifications of the device. The hand off process is also something which apple provides in the OS.
We are unable to modify how it works in any way. You will notice it is the same import screen for all apps which can take advantage of the iPod database import.
We recommend for best performance importing in batches of 20 tracks if you are in a hurry and have been able to build in a mechanism for this. We have also built in a mechanism to continue your import process when you close the app. Unfortunately its not possible in the OS to background process these tracks when the app is closed. With the desktop versions of Mixmeister we are able to monitor music folders and update the database automatically.

Songs which are imported from the iPod database are not fully duplicated we save a plot file for them and file which allows us to use the song in the itunes database.
Songs which are imported via itunes are saved in local app storage.

I don't know exactly why iDJ is distributed by Numark - it's more or less a light version of the excellent desktop DJ DAW MixMeister Fusion, with the same MixMeister technology underpinnings...

Comments: Mixmeister is part of the Numark Industries company group. iDJ is designed to bring the technologies in our popular Mixmeister Express product to the iPad.
The engine is identical to the desktop version but has been optimized for the platform and touch interfaces.

The learning curve is almost non existent...

Comments: Good to hear you found it easy to use that was our intention. Regarding the response of the mix now function this is intended to mix you into the next track on the fly due to the processing power available there is a minor delay while the mix is setup and processed. The software does allot of calculation to make sure you get a smooth mix.


You can have up to four songs playing at the same time but I don't see much use for this feature given how busy the already petite timeline will get...

Comments: Many of our users use the option to mix up to four tracks at one time to add items such as a synth or base line to their existing tracks or drop in samples/voice overs.
When four tracks are mixed together the engine is designed to take over and manage it for you so that the mix remains in sync.

I put together a mix tape with 9 tracks in an hour right after purchase, but unfortunately the app crashed after the 5th track and I had to do it all over again...

Comments: Sorry to hear you had a problem with the latest 1.2 update the app now auto saves all progress automatically as you go along. We have made further optimizations to the engine also which should remove any crashes. Unfortunately drop outs or warped sound is an indication that your device is low on memory I would recommend turning off any background processes such as push email during performance.

On a less positive note, there is no way to control EQ or gain manually...

Comments: iDJ was designed to be as simple as possible for users so that any one could walk up to it and make a great mix.
By default the app is designed to automate tasks for users if uses want to see more information they are able to view the time line and the information section.
We are working towards making a range of apps one of our ideas is to make a remix centric version with a revised UI to allow for very easy manipulation of tracks.
We are currently looking into how we can best implement this. This may be something for iPad 2 as it is likely to require more resources.

Comments: To suggest tracks which will mix well together we have included the tempo-graph it looks at the changes in tempo between tracks and will show Green (Good Fit) Amber (Ok Fit) Red (Not Ideal) iDJ will always do its best to mix any tracks however.

Currently there's no way to export a mix from the software, so I had to record it from the line out...

Comments: We are committed to updating the app and are listening to users requests we added in V1.1 the ability to import from iPod database with iOS 4.2.
With 1.2 we added improvements to the engine and support for iPhone and iPod touch. Recording is something we do plan to add as a future update.
Its also possible now as long as the same music is on your device as your PC and Mac to open up your mix in the desktop versions of Mixmeister. Mixes in the desktop versions can also be opened in IDJ only the first four tracks will show however (you can mix up to eight tracks at once on Fusion)

[farhanashraf]

nice review!

[Lundmark]

nice review!

Thanks. Much appreciated

[Ando]

if you could manage to do color his comments in red your copied mail would be perfect

… and: nice review

[Lundmark]

if you could manage to do color his comments in red your copied mail would be perfect

… and: nice review

Didn't know how to... and now it's too late to edit thanks

[grfld]

I just checked the iDJ for creating promos on the plane or similar.
But I can't find a way to use the created "playlist" on my Mac, so the "as long as you have the tracks on your Mac / PC you can use the Mix with Mixmeister" doesn't seem to work?

I checked in iTunes my iPhone, but iDJ doesn't offer me any files to download and also on the iPhone I can't find any export / mail settings?

Any ideas?

[nem0nic]

Just a heads up for those of you that are following this app. It runs amazingly well on the iPad2. Really a night and day difference in performance.