So… am I missing something? I totally don’t get it. This thing has a base price of £3600. That’s a pretty penny. Thinking about it in terms of what is arguably the most common DJing laptop, the Apple Macbook Pro, you could buy nearly THREE of the top spec 13" model for the same outlay. And what do you get? Well here are the hardware specs:
Not exactly mind blowing. And it weighs the same and is the same size as a Technics 1200. It’s pretty damn bombproof and stable, but is that worth it when you have to carry it around like a briefcase with the built in carry handle because it’s that damn heavy? Wouldn’t you rather just have an MBP or a HP envy and be a bit more careful with it? How often do you actually spin in a warzone! And in a crowded bar full of violent people, I think I’d rather play with a cheap laptop that didn’t matter to me than one that cost £3600 and could be used as a weapon against me.
My other problem is the soundcard. As a dedicated music laptop, the OOVJ has a high performance M-Audio 4in 6out soundcard. It’s what you’d expect. However, of course, this card is not useable with either Traktor Scratch or Serato Scratch Live, completely negating its usefulness for DVS. Therefore I question why it needs so many inputs and outputs if you’re going to have a run an SL-1 or Audio 4 anyway. Wouldn’t it make more sense to have an integrated card similar to an Audio 2 but with an input? As the reviewer (who in fact liked the unit) said,
So in summary, I don’t get it at all. Oh, and according to one of the photos, it has a ‘Compostie’ out port. Just reminds me that everything inside is ageing and unexciting, only really good for fertilising rhubarb.
The really cool thing is that you don’t HAVE to “get it”. No one’s forcing you to buy one. There is obviously a niche out there that wants this product, or it wouldn’t have been made. I don’t understand why someone would villify this product for being overpriced and underpowered, yet pay a premium for a MBP when it’s the same hardware made by the same factory on the same lines as computers by Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.
I would never own one of these, but I can see the value in it. And I’m savvy enough to know that building a stable and rock solid computer for audio work isn’t about using the NEWEST components - it’s about using the RIGHT components. Sometimes the right components are older than the current standard. And also keep in mind that this isn’t a laptop computer - it’s a desktop. That means no stupid power management issues, no overheating under load, easy replacement of components, and easy upgrades.
I think they are catering for the high end function/wedding/social event DJ that has a full rig and needs it to be flight ready and purpose built.
I think it looks terrible but, theres the rub. A DJ whos business is doing functions probably does not care about that.
Its a business mans DJ laptop. If that makes me sound un-pro so be it. I am a pro DJ but i am not a business man by any means and i dont want to appear as one or behave as one.
Like a Mac, i bet it ‘just works’ but unlike a Mac i bet the logic board does not crap out after 2 years of heavy use… and thats the selling point.
Massive and heavy but the touchscreen is a cool feature. Not that i’d use it.
Its built of normal pc components which I view as a waste, if the used laptop parts it would be a lot easier to handle.
My biggest gripe with it is, it states is waterproof & all that. But there are massive vents on the top just above the keyboard. When I questioned the rep about it he told me they had to cool it somehow. Bit of a stupid place to put a vent imo. A standard laptop with a waterproof cover over the keyboard would stand up better to your average drunk patron encounter.
And have worse performance. Power management functionality in laptops extends further than the CPU throttling and component sleep features you have control over on a given laptop. There are all kinds of concessions made to lower power consumption and reduce heat, and airflow around components is inhibited. These all effect bottom line performance.
Don’t want to start the old mac PC debate, but I feel I’ve got my money’s worth with my MBP. For one thing, I’ve had it for about 2 years now and it works fine which is a lot more than can be said for the VAIO I had before it.
Yeh I can see that you don’t want to use the absolute latest components if you’re going for reliability (look at the new MBPs carpping out for example), but in terms of desktops if that’s what we want to call it, 2GHz core 2 duo and 2GB of RAM was the high end standard about what, 4 or 5 years ago? And you’d want this thing to last you a few years, by which time I’d question its ability to run current software of the day. You could use the same money to buy a new solid laptop or whatever ever couple of years and have much better performance.
I know it’s a niche product. Sorry, I guess I just read the review and wanted to vent a little on how unsuitable it was for MY needs
Panasonic Toughbook’s* work out £1000 cheaper for a more rugged (and faster) machine! … if I was in the market for a purely rugged lappie thats the route i’d take.
Be that with a smaller screen, for £1000 you could get onehellofa controller / soundcard etc etc …
BTW A friend of mine used to be a sales agent for these and used to demo their durabilty to potential customers by throwing them against a wall!
Apart from looking flashy and basically being a portable desktop, what are the real benefits ?
Wish they didn’t discontinue the 17’ imac, it was a great size IMHO … add a detachable stand it’d be be pretty awesome in a road case
For me it’s not about “hating”. I’m sure this is the right machine for a fairly small market.
…that market doesn’t include me though (& by rights it should, as a lot of my work is large scale corporate do’s etc).
Here’s an idea. Make a “light” version of this for all the DJ’s who do top of the market gigs, but don’t need the unneccessary stuff.
I use a Xone DX, but this would work for S4 / any itch controller / Denon 6000 owners as well.
Lose the soundcard (not needed by owners of the above controllers)
Lose the touchscreen (if your controller mapping’s done properly, you’re hardly touching the computer)
Add some way powering the thing if the mains power goes (either batteries or a small UPS).
That last point is a deal breaker for me. A large chunk of my work is a series of Christmas gigs in a large 1500 capacity marquee. It uses very good quality gear, but it’s all run off generators. Ninety nine % of the time, the power’s fine, but power problems aren’t unheard of. (last december, the really cold weather caused the diesel to freeze in the generators fuel tank). …the last thing I want is my computer having the plug pulled on it without being shut down properly!!
ahhhh i was searching for that but I thought it was made by HP.
I thought the coolest thing about it was this though:
[quote]We have heard of U.S. soldiers taking a bullet for a fellow soldier, but now a new friend took a bullet for a U.S. soldier in Iraq.
The CF-M34 Toughbook laptop you see in the photo above has a bullet hole which shows just how tough it is as it took a bullet for a U.S. soldier in Iraq.
The BULLETPROOF laptop from Panasonic was the constant companion of one soldier and was taken through the mountains of southeastern Turkey and into the war of Iraq.
The need for rugged laptops is growing, used by the U.S. armed forces (the 82nd Airborne Division) and it was one of these laptops that saved a soldier’s life,
An estimated market of $858 million in 2007 is expected for the need of the toughest laptops, people want toughness and the need is growing.
And that’s the easiest way of keeping up with rising specs. But well built systems with intelligently chosen components have a tendency of hanging in there. I can tell you that a Lenovo Thinkpad T42 (ages old) can still run Traktor Pro as well as anything out there if it’s given a little love. I would own them exclusively if they weren’t so ugly, because they run like champs.
Do you know how well Toughbooks run audio applications?
If I were DJing a gig from a generator and using something like this, I would be sure to have a small UPS in the rack. But if you do lose power, the laptop being able to run off batteries isn’t going to save the gig.
[quote]Do you know how well Toughbooks run audio applications?
[/quote]
No, but I have worked long enough in IT and audio industry to know how a computer of that spec SHOULD run audio applications if the OS is set up correctly. I look forward to hearing what Paka Ono has to say about his one.
I have never seen any1 dj with the oovj or dj. I know loads of mobile djs aswell and they have no interest in such a product at that price.
They do use high quality parts in it. Im a bit confused at there choice of using 64x windows 7. that 2tb sas drive aint cheap aswell. the specs are so low on the pc it makes the price very questionable. they should be using ddr3 ram these days without question.
This is deffently not aimed at the dj tech tools sort of crowd. Mobile djs is who its for, not sure i know of any with 3.5K to throw at a laptop tho. they are not selling many looking at there turnover, at the price tho for company size they would only need to sell about 10 a month.
There is alot of pretty unsavvy mobile djs in the uk who would buy this. if i was guna get my pants pulled down id buy a mac, i think around the 1500 price is far more sensible for this product, but they probly cant sell it for that cuz they simply dont make enuf
I honestly don’t see the value for mobile djs at that price point.
I would use this more for a live ableton set. Something where the power of a laptop just doesn’t cut it. I would also be much more interested if they were just selling the case without a mobo etc in it.
