A Look Ahead | Major Upgrades Are Coming In DEX 3.8
A glimpse at what’s next for our top DJ and video mixing software solution for pro DJs and VDJs
As a leading-edge DJ and video mixing software creator it’s often critical you remain ‘hush-hush‘ on unique features and improvements coming in future updates; your competition is always listening. Not today, as we’ll pull back the curtain to take a peek at what’s in store for DEX 3.8, an upcoming major (free) upgrade to our top DJ program.
Yesterday we sat down with our development team in the PCDJ lab for a few minutes to discuss what game-changing features and improvements will be included in DEX 3.8, and we left feeling geeked-up to get our hands on the update. After you read the bullet pointed teaser below we’re sure you’ll agree a certain new ‘core feature‘ upgrade will help you perform better and more efficiently than ever before.
Here’s a look at what’s in store for DEX 3.8. Yes, this is still a teaser and we’re not delving into specifics TOO much — not yet, anyway:
DEX 3.8 will include two main, major upgrades: A new ‘always-in-sync‘ beat-lock engine and updated skins (including a day time version that will be easier to view in high-contrast light environments) that will include access and on-the-fly controls for Text, Image and Video Overlays.
There are four critical code components to the new ‘always-in-sync’ feature, all of them working together to achieve the greater goal:
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An improved BPM and beat detection implementation
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The beat-lock engine itself
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An advanced way to edit the BPM / beat grid for problematic/difficult tracks (if not properly analyzed – which won’t typically be a concern)
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Saving and loading the data so that a track will only need to be analyzed once (this change/update will also greatly improve deck loading times)
All four of these items work in symphony and all are major changes to DEX 3’s core code. Other key DEX 3 features, such as beat-aware effects and samples, rely on the beat-grid/sync engine as well – thus those components are being re-worked to support the new ‘always in sync‘ engine. ‘
Because this is a major core upgrade to the DEX 3 DJ and video mixing software platform, version 3.8 will likely be released late this month (November) or sometime early next month (December). Yes DJs, that means you will have a longer wait for the update than is usually the case, but we assure you the wait will be worth it…
Once 3.8 is available as a free update, DEX 3 DJs will be able to enjoy a new level of freedom and flexibility while mixing. Imagine having two or three tracks always in sync without any user interaction. Image triggering and playing samples that also remain stay in sync. DEX 3 DJs will then be free to get creative with loops and/or effects without worry — your tracks and mix will always be on beat, and on point.
As always, we’ll email DEX 3 customers as soon as the 3.8 update is ready as a public beta. Until then, keep mixing!
Have questions about our DJ and video mixing software? Please leave them in the comments section below!
There are few things I would like to see included,
1. The ability to play cdg discs through the the software
2. The ability to update library live, so if I am at a gig and a customer ask for a request I don’t have, I can download it from say iTunes and it will be there instead of having to shut the program down then open it again before it is added.
3. The ability to scale the panes where the playlist and library are, at the moment they cannot be resized
Hello John, thanks for the input!
To touch on those:
1) I don’t think direct CDG playback will be added due to a number of reasons – but one main one is that many CDROM drives are not able to properly decode/play CDG discs in real time. We wouldn’t want to release a feature that will require only specific CDROM drives. We’ll see what the future holds regardless.
2) If you nest your iTunes MEDIA folder directly as a “favorite” those folders can update in real time while DEX 3 is open. The iTunes LISTS are only read on startup – but folders you nest from your HD directly dynamically update on the fly. iTunes stores it’s media in Music > iTunes Media. Add that to Favorites in DEX 3 for direct access. However, a great alternative to using iTunes (since you’re already online) would be to subscribe to Pulselocker streaming (streaming only is $9.99) – the library has over 44 million tracks and pretty much everything known to man. I rarely if ever get stumped using it.
3) Yes, that will most certainly be added and is already on the every growing ‘to-do’!