Serato vs Virtual DJ and Videos....???

[DjBetta]

There is this music festival that I want to DJ. Just this year...they finally added video screens. I think for next year...they will still implement the video screens.

Gave me the idea to finally try out videos with my DJing.

1. Which DJ program currently has the best music and video integration...SERATO or VIRTUAL DJ...???

I know video DJing is primarily a mobile DJ kind of thing...but...

2. Would Serato video or Virtual DJ suffice in my situation...??? Any DJ's out there know or have seen DJ's use Serato Video or Virtual DJ at a big event such as a festival with success and no problems...???

I know mobile DJ's use the music video files but my performance and message would have a more profound effect if I made my own video.

3. Anyone know how easy or complicated it is to implement my own video with my DJ set in Serato or Virtual DJ....???

Thanks.

[BBD]

There is this music festival that I want to DJ. Just this year...they finally added video screens. I think for next year...they will still implement the video screens.

Gave me the idea to finally try out videos with my DJing.

1. Which DJ program currently has the best music and video integration...SERATO or VIRTUAL DJ...???

I know video DJing is primarily a mobile DJ kind of thing...but...

2. Would Serato video or Virtual DJ suffice in my situation...??? Any DJ's out there know or have seen DJ's use Serato Video or Virtual DJ at a big event such as a festival with success and no problems...???

I know mobile DJ's use the music video files but my performance and message would have a more profound effect if I made my own video.

3. Anyone know how easy or complicated it is to implement my own video with my DJ set in Serato or Virtual DJ....???

Thanks.

Serato dj can be used with mix emergency, which is arguably the best video mixing program in the market

[navydiver]

I use VDJ as my goto option for VJ-ing. No integration with other software necessary, it is all there in the software package. I like it for being able to make music videos on the fly with stock HD video material. It simply works reliably and effectively. No need to spend months figuring out a complex package especially since I am exclusively a PC guy. I am curious about this mix emergency but understand it is Apple only which can be a huge and very costly hardware shift if you are PC based like myself. I can't see myself ever going mac. That is really just my personal preference as I have been PC guy since the DOS era and Macs are frustrating for me because of their closed hardware/software architecture. VDJ swings both ways and works out of the box without needing hardware/software links between multiple products and was designed as a competant VJ tool....
If you are Apple-centric, it may well serve you better to go Serato/Mix Emergency (probably at a far greater cost) but I can't reall say which is better as I only know the one side so sorry for that. I am sure you will get lots of feedback from both camps....

[akswun]

I hear Mix Emergency is the way to go for VDJing. It was touted better than what Serato came out with.

[navydiver]

I hear Mix Emergency is the way to go for VDJing. It was touted better than what Serato came out with.

Hearsay perhaps? I do know for a fact and from first hand experience that VDJ 8 does works awesome for me regardless of what I hear about other stuff and VJ-ing is all I really do....
Then of course I only go with what I know and I know PC and VDJ very very well "but" I only really know only one side of the story. I have (perhaps) a bad habit of going with what works rather than exploring other options. For me cost and investment is a big part of my paradigm

[VJ LouNYC]

Virtual DJ is very good for the occasional VJ.

For the serious or pro VJ, Mix Emergency is MUST.

I have been on ME since the beginning and it's very stable and the Nick from Inklen updates program very often.

[navydiver]

Virtual DJ is very good for the occasional VJ.

For the serious or pro VJ, Mix Emergency is MUST.

I have been on ME since the beginning and it's very stable and the Nick from Inklen updates program very often.

Gotta ask - are you speaking from first hand knowledge of the latest version of VDJ (8) or are you going back to prior experience with earlier versions of VDJ when you chose to follow your particular path and subsequently dismissed it as an option from that point forward? By doing that you naturally would not have been fully keeping up with the improvements on the other side of the competition....
I only ask this because VDJ 8 in the hands of a very experienced user can do some highly powerful stuff that earlier iterations could not hope to achieve and really, will the guests at a gig actually be able to tell the difference from their viewing/listening vantage point? Is it possible that there is more than one player in the game that can do a fantastic job when you compare this against something like the high end car industry where there are more than one brands I would not kick out of my driveway? I hate to say it but the computer/software side of things is not your only concern when VJ-ing as I'm sure you all know. Other issues can more dramatically affect outcome like the media you use, monitors in use and the video signal distribution hardware/software/pathway. A great back end system displayed on a bad front end monitor will look plain bad so it is all a balance especially in the mobile game. Once you are left behind in this game on any side and don't keep up you are merely citing opinion rather than fact is my belief. What you are saying might be true for earlier versions of VDJ you may have used compared to a newer version of Serato/ME that you have likely kept updated but "may" be way off the mark for a head to head comparison of the most up to date iterations of both. Internet reviews/comparisons (what few I have found) are rife with differences of opinions depending on whether you reside in the MAC or PC Camp or Serato vs VDJ camps yet I have not seen anything like a truely unbiased comparison when comparing all facets including budget, technology, sound, processing, practicality, convenience, ease of use, Human Interface differences, interchangeability, flexibility to name only a few things besides just mere preference...
I am really only seeing an Apples (excuse the pun) vs Oranges comparisons in most cases instead of Oranges vs Oranges comparisons and very little of the meat described above. For a PC invested user/owner (like myself and others I am sure), going to Apple/MAC may be entirely cost, learning or time prohibitive based on mere conjecture. I am sure there are many very successful VJs within the ME camp but I am equally sure that other MAC based VJs are just as successful with VDJ in its MAC form and/or a PC solution like VDJ so "MUST" is entirely relative I would think. Beta Video was clearly better technologically speaking (loosely based on the professional U-Matic standard) yet VHS won out based on the masses and marketing before both met their demise by something even better that snuck in the mix so I say to all - careful what you read, it may not be the whole truth. The masses still numerically side with PC and unlike Beta vs VHS, MAC is not a clearly a better product in many peoples eyes (and vice versa) so it will be interesting to see how this one pans out down the road. And no, this shouldn't morph into a PC vs MAC argument because I have seen to many in other forums to know the outcome of that after the venom gets out - MAC believers will continue to be believers and PC Believers (well, you get the picture)...
In the mean time I love my VDJ 8 solution and won't jump over anytime soon unless I see hard empirical proof that one is far far far superior to the other since it means too much of a massive change cost-wise for someone entrenched in the PC camp. Had I started with Mac in the early days I might be saying the opposite but I didn't. ME is probably just as good and may or may not be better - who really really knows?

[DjBetta]

Virtual DJ is very good for the occasional VJ.

For the serious or pro VJ, Mix Emergency is MUST.

I have been on ME since the beginning and it's very stable and the Nick from Inklen updates program very often.

Just did some researching and reading up on Mix Emergency.

Apparently...it is touted as being the "premier" platform for video DJing. And as a result...has more positive reviews than serato and virtual DJ combined.

I am currently using Serato DJ. So upgrading to Serato video is the easier choice. I would just like more info on Mix Emergency or Virtual DJ.

I have tried virtual DJ once (not for video) but just for regular DJing and I did not like it that much compared to Serato and Traktor. The GUI, workflow, sound and quality was just not there for me and I stopped using it after only a few days.

Some questions:

Mix Emergency can be setup as "standalone". Standalone...meaning...its going to be running along side my DJ software.

1. Does this mean I can use it with "ANY" DJ software...even ones like Traktor or Rekordbox...???

2. Wouldn't that require a separate monitor/screen for the Mix Emergency window/program...?? Or is the window small enough to where I can have a DJ software and Mix Emergency running on one display/computer/laptop...??

3. How hard is it to "juggle" between a DJ software and Mix Emergency in standalone...??

4. Is Mix Emergency advanced enough to where I can set it up beforehand and have it run flawlessly in the "backgound" so to speak and never have to open it up...??? Thereby just leaving me to just concentrate on my performance. Can the same thing be said about Serato Video or Virtual DJ...???

If the setup and workflow for mix emergency is too complicated. I will probably go with Serato Video instead.

I hope more mobile or VDJ's can chime in and help a bro out.

Thanks for the info, tips and suggestions guys.

[MrMoonPie]

I've used VDJ for VDJing, granted I rarely do video stuff, but when I do VDJ is fone for it!

[DjBetta]

Also...

Music files are MP3, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, AAC and so on.

Video files are MPEG, M4V, AVI, MOV and so on.

The 'ONLY' format with both "video" and "audio" is MP4. (at least that I know of)

So...

1. Your supposed to buy or get the MP4 version if you want to VDJ right...???

Thanks.