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Comparison of DJ software

2019-06-30T17:58:11Z

Ardak:

Very few folkdance sessions still use vinyl records, cassettes, or even CDs; virtually all have switched to some sort of DJ software on a laptop, tablet, or dedicated music device such as an iPod. On this page we compare the most popular DJ software systems, with emphasis on features most useful for typical harkadot.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left; width: 95%; table-layout: fixed;"
|-
! style="width: 12em" |
! [http://www.audioboxinc.com/amps/ AMPS]
! [http://www.megaseg.com/ MegaSeg]
! [http://www.djpower.com/ DJ Power]
! [http://www.winamp.com/ Winamp]
! [http://www.apple.com/itunes/ iTunes]
! [http://www.mixxx.org/ Mixxx]
! [http://njfolkdance.tripod.com/mitplayer.html/ MITPlayer]
! [https://getmusicbee.com/ MusicBee]

|-
| Platform
| Windows only
| Mac only
| Windows XP only (Win 7 version is "in beta")
| Windows, Mac, Android
| Unknown
| Windows, Mac, Linux
| Windows only
| Windows only, runs under WINE for MacOS
|-
| Cost
| $40 basic, $100 pro, $200 with VMM add-on package
| $99 basic, $199 pro
| Free
| Free
| Free
| Free
| $35 optional contribution
| Free, contributions appreciated
|-
| Multilingual support
| Yes (English, Hebrew)
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Unknown
| No
| No
| >15 languages
|-
| Video support
| Unknown
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Unknown
| No
| Yes
| Yes, using native player
|-
| Ability to slow/speed tracks
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes, by 3rd party plugin
| No
| Yes, and record
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| Database versus Live filesystem
| Database
| Live filesystem
| Live filesystem
| Live filesystem (but no removal)
| Database
| Live filesystem
| Database
| Live filesystem
|-
| Special features for folkdance sessions?
| (no information)
| (no information)
| (no information)
| (no information)
| (no information)
| (no information)
| "Teaser": plays a sample of next dance; indicator of already-played; 2nd display shows prior & upcoming dances & progress bar for current dance
| Secondary display using xml adjustable code to display info, saved or active playlists, history, configurable main screen.
|}

=== Database versus Live filesystem ===
The distinction here is whether the software is able to detect changes on a filesystem such as whether new files are added or removed automatically. Most database systems are only able to see files explicitly added by the user, whereas live filesystem based backends can find files in specified directories.

=== MP3 tags===
There is another distinction that has to do with mp3 tags. For example, in AMPS, if you edit the id3 tags, they will not be changed in the actual mp3 files, and if you change the tags in the actual files, they will not be changed automatically in AMPS--the tracks will need to be removed from AMPS and the mp3 file reloaded in order to see the changes. This is not the case with itunes, for example, where changes made in the music listings make actual changes in the tags.

Comparison of DJ software

2019-06-30T17:57:30Z

Ardak: Adding in MusicBee info

Very few folkdance sessions still use vinyl records, cassettes, or even CDs; virtually all have switched to some sort of DJ software on a laptop, tablet, or dedicated music device such as an iPod. On this page we compare the most popular DJ software systems, with emphasis on features most useful for typical harkadot.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left; width: 95%; table-layout: fixed;"
|-
! style="width: 12em" |
! [http://www.audioboxinc.com/amps/ AMPS]
! [http://www.megaseg.com/ MegaSeg]
! [http://www.djpower.com/ DJ Power]
! [http://www.winamp.com/ Winamp]
! [http://www.apple.com/itunes/ iTunes]
! [http://www.mixxx.org/ Mixxx]
! [http://njfolkdance.tripod.com/mitplayer.html/ MITPlayer]
! [https://getmusicbee.com/ MusicBee]

|-
| Platform
| Windows only
| Mac only
| Windows XP only (Win 7 version is "in beta")
| Windows, Mac, Android
| Unknown
| Windows, Mac, Linux
| Windows only
| Windows only
|-
| Cost
| $40 basic, $100 pro, $200 with VMM add-on package
| $99 basic, $199 pro
| Free
| Free
| Free
| Free
| $35 optional contribution
| Free, contributions appreciated
|-
| Multilingual support
| Yes (English, Hebrew)
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Unknown
| No
| No
| >15 languages
|-
| Video support
| Unknown
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Unknown
| No
| Yes
| Yes, using native player
|-
| Ability to slow/speed tracks
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes, by 3rd party plugin
| No
| Yes, and record
| Yes
| Yes
|-
| Database versus Live filesystem
| Database
| Live filesystem
| Live filesystem
| Live filesystem (but no removal)
| Database
| Live filesystem
| Database
| Live filesystem
|-
| Special features for folkdance sessions?
| (no information)
| (no information)
| (no information)
| (no information)
| (no information)
| (no information)
| "Teaser": plays a sample of next dance; indicator of already-played; 2nd display shows prior & upcoming dances & progress bar for current dance
| Secondary display using xml adjustable code to display info, saved or active playlists, history, configurable main screen.
|}

=== Database versus Live filesystem ===
The distinction here is whether the software is able to detect changes on a filesystem such as whether new files are added or removed automatically. Most database systems are only able to see files explicitly added by the user, whereas live filesystem based backends can find files in specified directories.

=== MP3 tags===
There is another distinction that has to do with mp3 tags. For example, in AMPS, if you edit the id3 tags, they will not be changed in the actual mp3 files, and if you change the tags in the actual files, they will not be changed automatically in AMPS--the tracks will need to be removed from AMPS and the mp3 file reloaded in order to see the changes. This is not the case with itunes, for example, where changes made in the music listings make actual changes in the tags.