Engine DJ, Denon’s flagship DJ software, is opening up its music library capabilities with its newest update, Engine OS v1.5. The revision comes with a swath of new features, including a Quick Source Menu, a newly installed BPM detection algorithm, and –arguably the most significant update –the ability for artists to access two major streaming services directly on your DJ hardware: SoundCloud Go+ and Beatport LINK.
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Streaming With Soundcloud Go+ and Beatport LINK
Engine previously allowed access to stream from TIDAL, which was a step in the right direction –but in reality, how many DJs regularly use TIDAL for their music curation? The inclusion here of Soundcloud Go+ and Beatport LINK is a huge step for Engine. Seeing as Soundcloud and Beatport are naturally two of the (if not the most) commonly used platforms for artists finding and purchasing music for their sets, this is a massive gateway to a virtually endless library for users.
Jason Stout, a Product Marketing Manager at Engine DJ, explains:
“DJs have never had access to such a vast and diverse array of music on standalone DJ gear… A DJ can literally show up to an event, connect and play virtually any track on the planet without any physical media or computer. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come from the days of carrying crates of vinyl and books of CDs. We’re excited to lead the industry into the next chapter of music medium playback history.”
SoundCloud Go+
The SoundCloud Go+ integration lets artists access their entire SoundCloud library. That includes not only their own tracks and playlists, but any tracks, albums, or playlists that they’ve liked and saved to their account as well. The possibilities here are endless, as Soundcloud’s platform features over 25 million artists.
Let’s talk quality and logistical performance. The integration promises that you can now save the BPM, key, and even loops and hot cues for SoundCloud tracks onto your drive, which will be saved anytime you use the track in the future. There are also two options for playback: 128 kb/s MP3s on the lower end, and a higher-end choice of 256 kb/s AAC.
Beatport LINK
Beatport’s LINK service is relatively newer to the scene –it launched just over a year ago. Providing access to the platform’s 9 mil+ tracks, LINK deemed itself the “most powerful record collection on the planet.” Its new connection with Engine OS’ v 1.5 brings the platform onto any DJ gear that hosts Engine’s gear, so you can access their massive library without needing to link to your computer.
Similar to the SoundCloud Go+ integration, Beatport LINK’s connection with Engine OS comes with two playback options: optimized (128kb/s AAC) and advanced (256kb/s AAC). It will also let you save performance data here as well.
One thing we really dig with this connection is the ability to see track BPM and key information as you’re browsing. Obviously with the size of Beatport’s library, we’d imagine that browsing through its endless artist lists, playlists, and genres can get tricky – so this is a key part of allowing artists to seamlessly use the service.
BPM Detection & Quick Source
Two brand-new additions to Engine OS’ v1.5 upgrade are a BPM detection algorithm and a Quick Source Menu.
The BPM algorithm claims to be “lightning fast” and offers the ability to analyze tracks on any Engine OS device. It provides the BPM and beat grid placement in a more accurate version than previous Engine OS versions, according to the company. If you try this out for yourself, let us know what you think.
The Quick Source Menu lets you easily move through sources – including both streaming service options and any devices you have plugged in. That means you could hop from a track on Beatport LINK, over to another track from your USB, and end on a release from SoundCloud Go+.
Other Updates
It’s worth mentioning a few other updates that come with v1.5:
- Ability to control Microphone Gate Threshold level (on Denon’s PRIME 4)
- Ability to record microphones (on Denon’s PRIME 4, PRIME 2, PRIME GO)
- Ability to disable crossfader (on Denon’s PRIME GO)
- Added Split Cue functionality and the ability to swap Split Cue channels (on Denon’s PRIME GO)
All in all, this is a powerful update that comes at no cost to the user (yep, it’s free –check the link below to update your Engine). Though we have yet to try out the streaming connections with SoundCloud and Beatport for ourselves, we’re curious to see how well it work with standalone gear, and excited at the possibility of these new library capabilities.
Engine OS v1.5 is out now, and can be downloaded as a free update. Read more about the latest release notes and grab it here.
Author: DJ TechTools