XDJ AERO Questions
Two things I have heard about the XDJ AERO:
Hi - not 100% on question 1 but I’ll check tonight (only had mine a while and still getting used to the may different ways of working), but you can use the rotary/push selector to navigate down through your mobile device and use the back button too, tho as I usually always look at my mobile device am not 100% sure whats going on in the little mini screens on the unit off the top of my head.
As for the lack of hotcues and the many forum rumours, sadly I think they’re not happening (especially with the release of the R1 with it’s dedicated 3 hotcues). When the unit first came out people were hopeful about them being added in firmware just as those 4 FX buttons above the platters seemed ideal to use them with a shift press or something similar, but all that was added were a memory cue based on the first one set in record box software which tbh is a big help.
I don’t know if it’s tech reasons or sales strategy why the hotcues haven’t happed on the AERO, and am guessing if just Tech maybe as the device takes a while to buffer tracks via wifi from streaming it would make being able to jump to various points technically difficult when first loading. If that’s the case, am hoping maybe they work a feature that would allow you to do this if you’re using a USB directly plugged in rather than wifi device. But I’ve got a feeling it’s likely there’s sales marketing reasons they’ve not brought out this feature.
Honestly, I still think if they managed to sort some hot cues and a simple progress bar on the wifi device wave, and also managed to do a lo res wave/progress bar in the unit’s mini screens, this unit would have so much more appeal to many DJs and am sure they’d sell a hell of a lot more. I absolutely love mine - have a great time mixing on it and the jog drum platters are a nice fun addition (and I don’t have to hammer my cue button as much).
You can use hot cues tho if you use the Traktor TSI with Pro 2 (which I think is very well done and as an ex S4 user I don’t really miss those extras I’m loosing with the S4 too much). I’ve never used it other DJ software, but tbh that’s not it’s main strength or focus, but it is a nice extra that I use on occasion. But I much prefer mixing just using rekordbox as I prefer the FX on the unit (even though they’re just 4 of them)
Hope that’s a help
Hi Jane, thanks for the reply. I am not sure if I got your point on the hot cues. You’re saying: Shift + 1,2,3 or 4 is some kind of a general cue point, which is usually setup within rekordbox. Is that correct?
Just to be sure on cue vs. hot cue: More specifically the hot cue is for setting a cue while the song is playing whereas the cue can only be set when the song is stopped. As for play back, hot cue will play from the cue point and cue will only play as long as you hold the button down.
Thanks!
Hi and sorry for the late reply (been quite a week!)
and sorry too about any confusion with my reply about the hotcues matter. Just to hopefully not confuse any further, the AERO does not have hot cues - my above was just about the various rumours and suggestions and hopes people were making online when it first came out which sadly didn’t appear, though they did in the XDJ-R1 which just came out.
(But if you use the Aero as a midi controller, not as a standalone unit, with Traktor pro 2 you can fire the hotcues in traktor via midi)
But as a standalone AERO unit, Pioneer in one of the last firmware updates did give us the ability to set a (single) memory cue point in rekorbox which works by activating Autocue on the Aero unit. So if there’s a track you really wanna start 3 mins in, rather than having to search with the jog like when the Aero first came out, now you can preset that in the rekordbox software. It’s not hotcues, but it’s still pretty handy for me 
Regarding your original question - i’ve fired up the aero with my iphone rekordbox app, and yes, there is a limited but symbiotic nature to how they work the screen infos.
Once you’ve connected your phone app via wifi, the aero deck mini screen just says ‘rekordbox control’., and then lists the various streaming options (you can have up to 4 phones/tables/laptops that can stream).
Once you select the device you want, you can then use either the device, or the aero’s rotary push/back button to navigate through the screen info on your device (the info isn’t on the aero’s mini screen), so you need to have your device close to see where you’re going.
But once you’ve picked your track, the aero’s mini screen has all the various track info (time/track name/bpm/tempo % offset/auto cue etc)
You can also view this info on your device to by exploring further on the touch screen (also has key info, a very small but more detailed wave form/album artwork and you can also pick which decks to load into too)
So it’s got quite a varied but unusual and specific to itself workflow.
I’m still kinda getting used to it and discovering new ways of working with it, but have to say this though it has some limitations, what it does do it does great and I absolutely love it - having that portability, not needing a laptop, putting together sets I can work on on club CDJ systems, and also I can still use my traktor pro2 to quite a good extent whenever I need (certain heavy request gigs it’s MUCH easier just to use traktor) - but tbh the much prefer not using traktor at the moment.
AERO to me feels a little like a Fender Telecaster. It def doesn’t do everything and initially seems quite limited (well, limited compared to say an S4 setup or 4 CDJ/DJM mixer etc), but that limitation is actually kinda forcing me to be more creative with what fewer things I do have. It sounds great, the controls and filters sound ‘musical’, and love mixing on it even though it’s just two channels, and my mixes are def getting better I feel.
Plus - I love the simplicity of just having the record to USB option. Tbh - when the R1 came out I really REALLY had to think long and hard as to which to go for, as that’s got so many wonderful features (love the app with the kind of DJM 2000 X/Y graph functionality). But have to say am very happy with what I’ve got, and hopefully in the next year I can save and get a CDJ/DJM setup again (sadly had to sell all mine a few months back)
Hope this reply makes a bit more sense Sorry for the confusion (and delay getting back) and please ask anything else if you want more info