Virtual DJ (also known as VDJ) is a range of
audio/video mixing software developed by Atomix Productions Inc. for use by
mobile and club DJs. The first version appeared in July 2003.
VirtualDJ is the successor of AtomixMP3, which was released for the first time
in September 2000. Development for AtomixMP3 stopped as soon as VirtualDJ was
released as its successor. VirtualDJ was released in 5 different versions:
VirtualDJ Home Edition (formerly sold at shops, now released as free edition),
VirtualDJ Broadcaster (available online and in shops), VirtualDJ Pro Full (only
available online), VirtualDJ Limited Edition (free with selected MIDI
controllers), and VirtualDJ Pro Basic (a budget alternative to VirtualDJ Pro
without MIDI control). In May 2014 VirtualDJ 8 was released, which was
completely rewritten. VirtualDJ is a DJ software for PC and MAC.
It is used by DJs to replace their turntables and CD players, and use digital
music instead of vinyl and CDs. It lets you "mix" your songs, by
playing two or more tracks at the same time, adjust their relative speed so
that their tempo will match, apply effects like loops etc, and crossfade from
one side to the other. It also lets you scratch your songs, set and recall
cues, and all the other regular features DJs expect to find to be able to mix. VirtualDJ
is plug-and-play compatible with most of the DJ controllers that exist on the
market. Just plug yours and you will be ready to go.
VirtualDJ is used by tens of millions of people every day,
ranging from bedroom DJs to international superstars.
Zones Overview
As you can see there are five zones in the interface:
1. At the bottom of the interface you have your Browser, Sampler, Effects, and Record. From here you can browse the hard drives on your computer for your music files, preview tracks, create, edit and save playlists, adjust audio and video effects, record and save mixes, and set up Internet Broadcasting.
2. On the left; you have Deck 1. Drag and drop your music to this virtual deck and you’ll see information about the track, such as Artist, Title, Beats Per Minute (BPM), Waveform, Counters, and Transport Control.
3. On the right; you have Deck 2. This is identical to Deck 1.
4. In between the 2 decks you have your Mixer, Video, and Scratch controls. Deepening on what panel you are on you have access to Crossfade, Gain, Volume PFL Controls, Video Controls, Video Preview Windows, Effect Controls, Timecode Scratch Interface.
5. And at the top; you have your Rhythm Window. This window shows the waveform of each track loaded on playing on a deck, it also features a Computer Beat Grid which is great for visual mixing and beat matching.
Decks Overview
1. Provides information about the currently loaded track; Artist, Title, Elapsed Time, Remaining Time, Gain level, Key of Track and the Current Pitch position.
2. Here you have three Hot Cue buttons that allow you to set cue points on your track.
3. Shows the Beats Per Minute (BPM) of the track, this will change as you adjust the Pitch.
4. This is the Waveform of the track which is loaded; it tells you the remaining duration of the track, and what has already been played.
5. Here you can select which effects you want to apply to your track.
6. This is your Loop Sampler where you can choose samples to play over your track
7. Here is your Loop Set / Control where you can set parts of the track to loop, and control and the length of it.
8. This is your Virtual Turntable where you drop tracks on, scratch using your mouse, and pause tracks.
9. Your Pitch Slider / Pitch Buttons allow you to control the speed / pitch of the track by moving the slider. To temporarily change the speed of the track press either of the + or - minus buttons. It's useful if the beat of the track your playing on deck 1, doesn't match the beat of the track on deck 2.
10. Here you have your Transport controls; Cue, Stutter / Play, Pause, and Sync.
Cue will set the track to the default cue point.
Stutter / Play will play the track. If pressed when a track is playing it will return the track back to where you last pressed Play causing a stutter effect.
Pause will pause your track.
Sync will sync the tempo (bpm) of the deck to the opposite deck's tempo.
Mixer Overview
1. This is your Panel selection buttons for you to toggle between Mixer, Video, and Scratch.
2. Here are your Master and Headphone Cue volume knobs.
3. This is the Channel Gain knob which sets the level of gain for the corresponding channel (deck).
4. Here are your EQ controls that let you adjust the Low, Med, and High frequencies of the song playing.
5. These are your Channel Faders that allow you to adjust the audio signal of the desired channel.
6. With your PFL and VU Meters you send the deck's prefader level of the sound to monitor using headphones through the cue section. The VU meter shows the output of the corresponding deck.
7. Finally we have our Crossfader. This blends audio or video between the two decks. In other words by sliding it left or right you will only hear the audio from the side you move it towards.
Settings Overview
Sound Setup - Choose your Input / Output devices, and your Sound Card.
Skins - Change the appearance of Virtual DJ by selecting a new skin.
Mappers - Map your external controller to functions in Virtual DJ.
Video - Set your Video settings
Options - Set all your Virtual DJ options including Crossfader, Pitch Range, Jog Wheel settings, Auto Pitch Matching, Auto Gain, Auto Cue etc.
Internet - Log in to VirtualDJ.com to use NetSearch and MusicGroups features.
iPhone/iPad - Set your Iphone/iPad options.
Codecs - Tell Virtual DJ what file types should use which decoders.
Performance - Change settings to optimize the performance of your computer.
Browser - Change the way the Browser window looks.
Info - Shows current version, who it's registered to, reset to factory settings, check for updates, download plugins.
Zones Overview
As you can see there are five zones in the interface:
1. At the bottom of the interface you have your Browser, Sampler, Effects, and Record. From here you can browse the hard drives on your computer for your music files, preview tracks, create, edit and save playlists, adjust audio and video effects, record and save mixes, and set up Internet Broadcasting.
2. On the left; you have Deck 1. Drag and drop your music to this virtual deck and you’ll see information about the track, such as Artist, Title, Beats Per Minute (BPM), Waveform, Counters, and Transport Control.
3. On the right; you have Deck 2. This is identical to Deck 1.
4. In between the 2 decks you have your Mixer, Video, and Scratch controls. Deepening on what panel you are on you have access to Crossfade, Gain, Volume PFL Controls, Video Controls, Video Preview Windows, Effect Controls, Timecode Scratch Interface.
5. And at the top; you have your Rhythm Window. This window shows the waveform of each track loaded on playing on a deck, it also features a Computer Beat Grid which is great for visual mixing and beat matching.
Decks Overview
1. Provides information about the currently loaded track; Artist, Title, Elapsed Time, Remaining Time, Gain level, Key of Track and the Current Pitch position.
2. Here you have three Hot Cue buttons that allow you to set cue points on your track.
3. Shows the Beats Per Minute (BPM) of the track, this will change as you adjust the Pitch.
4. This is the Waveform of the track which is loaded; it tells you the remaining duration of the track, and what has already been played.
5. Here you can select which effects you want to apply to your track.
6. This is your Loop Sampler where you can choose samples to play over your track
7. Here is your Loop Set / Control where you can set parts of the track to loop, and control and the length of it.
8. This is your Virtual Turntable where you drop tracks on, scratch using your mouse, and pause tracks.
9. Your Pitch Slider / Pitch Buttons allow you to control the speed / pitch of the track by moving the slider. To temporarily change the speed of the track press either of the + or - minus buttons. It's useful if the beat of the track your playing on deck 1, doesn't match the beat of the track on deck 2.
10. Here you have your Transport controls; Cue, Stutter / Play, Pause, and Sync.
Cue will set the track to the default cue point.
Stutter / Play will play the track. If pressed when a track is playing it will return the track back to where you last pressed Play causing a stutter effect.
Pause will pause your track.
Sync will sync the tempo (bpm) of the deck to the opposite deck's tempo.
Mixer Overview
1. This is your Panel selection buttons for you to toggle between Mixer, Video, and Scratch.
2. Here are your Master and Headphone Cue volume knobs.
3. This is the Channel Gain knob which sets the level of gain for the corresponding channel (deck).
4. Here are your EQ controls that let you adjust the Low, Med, and High frequencies of the song playing.
5. These are your Channel Faders that allow you to adjust the audio signal of the desired channel.
6. With your PFL and VU Meters you send the deck's prefader level of the sound to monitor using headphones through the cue section. The VU meter shows the output of the corresponding deck.
7. Finally we have our Crossfader. This blends audio or video between the two decks. In other words by sliding it left or right you will only hear the audio from the side you move it towards.
Settings Overview
Sound Setup - Choose your Input / Output devices, and your Sound Card.
Skins - Change the appearance of Virtual DJ by selecting a new skin.
Mappers - Map your external controller to functions in Virtual DJ.
Video - Set your Video settings
Options - Set all your Virtual DJ options including Crossfader, Pitch Range, Jog Wheel settings, Auto Pitch Matching, Auto Gain, Auto Cue etc.
Internet - Log in to VirtualDJ.com to use NetSearch and MusicGroups features.
iPhone/iPad - Set your Iphone/iPad options.
Codecs - Tell Virtual DJ what file types should use which decoders.
Performance - Change settings to optimize the performance of your computer.
Browser - Change the way the Browser window looks.
Info - Shows current version, who it's registered to, reset to factory settings, check for updates, download plugins.
