PVDJ's Digital Audio Interface Remixes Audio in Real Time

(Click for a close-up)

PVDJ introduced the new Digital Audio Interface (DAI) at this year's Winter NAMM show, a hardware and software package to allow DJs to remix in real time.

The DAI will play and mix .MP3, .WAV and .CDA audio files and includes all the controls needed for real-time remixing, including jog wheels on either side of the controller that can be used to create scratching-type effects. In addition, the DAI will automatically find the nearest beat when setting a cue point or mixing tracks.

The DAI controller is separated into two players, with a touch-sensitive screen between them that shows the current track playlist with track progress bar and BPM counter. Tracks can be sorted by artist, title or BPM (ascending and descending order). The on-screen keyboard allows quick song retrieval by automatically narrowing the search field as you type.

Built-in "Grabbing" technology allows one-button-push looping, with adjustments for moving the loop backward and forward one beat at a time. The user can also lengthen or shorten loops on the fly, allowing for true real-time remixing. This grabbing function always exits the loop at the end of the measure unless the user tells it otherwise.

The DAI also includes an Auto Pilot feature with fully automated mixing and tempo matching. This acts as a helping feature and eliminates dead air between songs. Auto Pilot detects the end of the currently playing track and mixes in the next song automatically, aligning the beats and matching the tempos. Auto Pilot only kicks in during the last 15 seconds of a track and can be left on as a safeguard without interfering with the unit's other controls.

The DAI controller works in tandem with its companion PVDJ software package, which is built around a 56-bit audio engine. The software requires no additional drivers--it runs using existing Windows or Mac OSX drivers. The DAI is a true "plug & play" interface; if either the USB or power cord is unplugged, the DAI will pick up exactly where it left off once the cord is replaced, without rebooting.

The PVDJ Digital Audio Interface will be available in Q2 2004.

Features

• Four XLR balanced outputs
• Microphone input
• U.S. MSRP $1499.99