DJ-1800 is a long-time favorite of gigging DJs on the Mac. It’s just gotten an update that adds more DJ controller support and the ability to play songs directly from an iPhone or iPod Touch. “DJing” for most readers of this site involves a strictly no-request policy (and, very often, all-glitch). But it does reveal some of the direction digital music is going – and we were able to find out a little more about the iPhone development scene.
The big news is, the DJ-1800 is the first software to support playing music from the iPhone and iPod Touch into a computer DJ set on the Mac. The advantage: instant requests. DJ-1800’s Dave Addey tells CDM:
The thinking behind the iPhone integration in DJ-1800 is that very often, DJs will have a request for a track they don’t own themselves. If the person making the request has the track on their iPhone – and the great thing about the iPhone is that people take them everywhere – then the DJ can just plug in the iPhone, and play the track from there. No more failed requests.
So, what about a DJ app on the iPhone? Addey tells us don’t bet on it – at least in the short term:
We have investigated creating a DJ application for the iPhone, but unfortunately the hardware isn’t quite up to the job just yet. There’s also the problem of the iPhone only having one stereo output, and digital DJs really need two (one for live, one for headphones.)
We are considering making the iPhone be a wireless remote for DJ-1800, but our only option to do this is via a WiFi network connection, and Mac OS X has some issues (especially on Tiger) when running live audio applications alongside an active WiFi connection. Additionally, there would be an inevitable latency with a WiFi controller. Nonetheless, this is still a possibility, and one we will be investigating further!
We unfortunately can’t go into greater detail because development issues on the device itself are covered by an Apple NDA (much to the recent frustration of press and developers). But that should give you a basic idea. And in the meantime, people can now make requests by plugging in their device. Just make sure they don’t come anywhere near your MacBook Pro with a drink in their hand.
The Mac software remains a strong choice (and probably more practical than DJing from a phone ever will be). The newest release adds new support for Denon, Numark, M-Audio, and other DJ controllers.
Details on DJ-1800, including a free trial:
The complete version is a bargain at US$80.