1          Welcome
2          Introduction to mixing
2.1            Non stop music
2.2            Beats
2.3            Beats Per Minute
2.4            Cross-Fading
2.5            Beat-Matching
2.6            DJ Mix Pro features
2.7            DJ Mix Pro specific video features
3          Installing DJ Mix Pro
3.1            Files
3.2            License
4          Music files
4.1            DJ Mix Pro compatible file formats
4.1.1              Music and video file formats
4.1.2              Media list file formats
4.2            Searching and importing files
4.2.1              In the database
4.2.2              In the play list
5          Play list
5.1            Play list display
5.1.1              Media titles
5.1.2              BPM
5.1.3              Mix
5.2            Managing the play list
5.2.1              Importing from database
5.2.2              Directly adding files
5.2.3              Saving play lists
5.2.4              Exporting media information
5.2.5              Exporting sound to disk (registered users only)
5.2.6              Moving media in the playlist
5.2.7              Removing media from the playlist
5.2.8              Examining and setting media properties
5.3            Playing media
5.3.1              Starting to play a medium
5.3.2              Playing behavior
5.3.3              Stopping sound
5.3.4              Forcing transition now
5.3.5              Sending to Headphones listening mode
5.4            Mixing media
5.4.1              Mixing behavior
5.4.2              Mixing settings
5.4.3              Default mixing settings
5.4.4              Taking control
5.4.5              Taking more control
5.4.6              Taking more control with mouse
6          Sound and video outputs
6.1            One soundcard, no headphones
6.2            One soundcard and headphones (mono)
6.3            Two soundcards and headphones
6.4            One soundcard with 2 outputs and headphones
6.5            Tuning the sound output
6.6            Video output
6.6.1            Windowed video output
6.6.2            Fullscreen video output
6.6.3            Visualisation effects
7          Headphones listening mode
7.1            Objectives
7.2            Usage
7.2.1              Solo mode VS 2 media mode
7.2.2              Setting playing limits
7.2.3              Setting target volume
7.2.4              Setting lengths
7.2.5              Requesting beat matching mix
7.2.6              Setting target pitch
7.3            Trying the settings
7.4            Navigating from mix to mix
7.5            Advanced mix theory
7.6            Advanced mix using DJ Mix Pro
8          Database
8.1            Benefits
8.2            Database display
8.2.1              Database media titles
8.2.2              Database BPM
8.3            Managing the database media
8.3.1              Adding files to the database
8.3.2              Saving a database
8.3.3              Moving media in database
8.3.4              Resetting media order
8.3.5              Deleting media in database
8.4            Using the database media
8.4.1              Sending to play list
8.4.2              Sorting media
8.4.3              Finding media in a huge database
8.4.4              Examining media properties
8.4.5              Quick listening to media
8.4.6              Filtering media
8.4.7              Quick filtering media
9          Beatlock Analysis
9.1            Definition
9.2            Behavior
9.3            Control and options
10          Miscellaneous features
10.1            Equalizers
10.2            Secure mode
10.3            Statistics
10.4            Sound pitching
10.5            Transporting Beatlock data files
10.6            ID3V2 tags handling
10.7            Command line options
10.8            Autofix tags encoding
10.9            Playing jingles
10.10            Accelerator keys
10.11            Player keyboard commands
10.12            Media information in video window
10.13            Media history
11          Options reference
11.1            Media defaults tab
11.2            Beatlock options tab
11.3            Sound output options tab
11.4            Misc options tab
11.5            Prelistening options tab
11.6            Video options tab
12          Media properties reference
12.1            Mixing options tab
12.2            Tag infos tab
12.3            Beatlock infos tab
12.4            Video infos tab
13          Have fun

1   Welcome

Beatlock Technology is proud to present the DJ Mix Pro User Guide.
This document will help familiarize you with DJ Mix Pro. After reading this you will fully understand playing and mixing music files in a very easy and intuitive way. You should also be able to easily perform live DJing if you have the correct cables.
Before computer based music, you typically had to have a lot of equipment (several disc players, a turntable, plus amplifier and speakers) and had to operate many buttons.
Now you can perform similar mixes with just one mouse click.

2   Introduction to mixing

We are not claiming DJ Mix Pro performs the best mixes around. Professional DJs use their heart and feelings too.
But we think DJ Mix Pro handles “most” mixes better than a just random mix the way some players do, and performs rather good mixes if you give it a little help.
If you are not a purist, mixing is not really very difficult. You just have to sequence music in a pleasant way.
Here are basic rules.

2.1   Non stop music

The most important rule in mixing is non-stop music. You should have silence only if you want it, because you need a pause.
When you are doing a series of media, media should play continuously, at the same perceptual volume, overlapping at the boundaries.

2.2   Beats

Beats induce the music tempo. They are usually made up of regular patterns of drum hits, but can also be made up of the instrument’s notes themselves in the event there are no drums.
The beats can be very easily heard in most dance music like Disco, Dance, Rock, … It’s the BOOM BOOM BOOM in Techno or more discrete tching tching tching in Jazz.
One objective of mixing is to keep people dancing, thus not disturbing their rhythm any more than necessary. You have to work on clever media sequencing. This is “your” work, and DJ Mix Pro can’t replace you for that.

2.3   Beats Per Minute

BPM stands for Beats Per Minute. It is a measure that gives you the music tempo.
A song that BOOMs exactly twice per second will have a BPM around 120. DJs use BPM to sequence media that have similar tempo and organize clever sequencing.

2.4   Cross-Fading

When overlapping 2 media doing a mix, if the mix doesn’t occur at the first medium’s end, you will have to lower its volume gradually to zero, performing a fade out.
Similarly if the mix doesn’t occur at the second medium’s beginning, you will have to start it silently then raise the volume gradually, doing a fade in.
Fade in and fade out are important in the mix. Between fade in and fade out, the time during which both media are playing together is the mix.

2.5   Beat-Matching

Beat matching is a DJing technique that consists of having the beats of the 2 media occur at the same time during the mix. The audience then has the feeling it is the same medium.
The best DJs around do it, slowing or accelerating one of the 2 media (pitching) until the beats are in sync, then controlling the pitch to stay in sync for several seconds. Performing this manually requires a lot of technique, but gives very interesting mixes.

2.6   DJ Mix Pro features

DJ Mix Pro allows you to perform easy mixes, even beat matching mixes.
You can make real time mixes, quickly moving your mouse, doing all the work manually
But you don’t have to. We rather suggest that you prepare the mixes “offline” using ”headphones listening” mode, while other media are playing on the speakers.
Just let DJ Mix Pro do the tedious part (fade in, pitching, fade out) while you concentrate on the creative part (which medium to play next, how long to make the mix, the fades). You can try your mixes offline, using headphones. DJ Mix Pro will then reproduce the mixes you have created when the mix time has come!
This method allows you to feel more confident, mixing/playing your choices offline, letting the program do the difficult part. It helps you to become a successful home DJ.
Even if you don’t want to do live DJing, DJ Mix Pro is still great for playing music at home or in environments with no DJs, like bars, aerobics classes or public events. Letting the program mix using the default settings still gives reasonable results, sometimes surprising the audience by changing media without people noticing it.
The last popular usage is compilations production. DJ Mix Pro in its registered version is also very good at producing 75 minutes of mixed media that can be used to fill an audio CD (using an external CD burning program).

2.7   DJ Mix Pro specific video features

In addition to playing mixed songs continuously the way DJ Mix Pro does, DJ Mix Pro introduces these specific and unique video features :

• Display in a dedicated window or screen, the video output
• Mix the video output using the chosen video mix effect at the same time the sound mixes
• Optionnally produce a video effects video stream in sync with the music, for pure music without video files
• Optionnally replace the black border of video by a video effects video border in sync with the music, for videos files with ratio not fitting the screen ratio
• Optionnally show from time to time scrolling subtitles with the video metadata such as artist and title

3   Installing DJ Mix Pro

3.1   Files

The installation is pretty straightforward. Choose another location if the default location doesn’t please you.
Nothing is put in the Windows registry or in external subfolders, so un-installation is also really easy: either run the un-installation program or just delete the installation folder.
DJ Mix Pro distribution is composed of several files, please do not modify the original distribution. DJ Mix Pro cannot work as a standalone file.
The main files are:

• Cache folder: where Beatlock data files (.blk files) are stored
• Languages folder: internationalization files
• Plugins folder: visualization and dsp Plugins
• Htmldocs folder: documentation folder
• DJMixPro.ini file: DJ Mix Pro options (DJMixPro program options/settings are stored in this file)
• Autosave.m3v: DJ Mix Pro play list (Playlist is stored in this file automatically at application termination if this feature is enabled)
• Autosave.m3d: DJ Mix Pro database (a list of your music files “Mp3s,Wavs,etc.” are stored in this file automatically at application termination if this feature is enabled)

All data files (m3d, m3v, blk) are text files and are upward compatible. They cause no problem when upgrading the program.

3.2   License

If you bought a license you can unlock the demo version using the license file data.
Follow the instructions you have received and enjoy the full unlimited features of the program:

• Unlimited mixes
• Unlimited BPM analysis
• Saving sound output to file(s)

4   Music files

DJ Mix Pro works with music files on disk. The files can be remote (on a windows network computer, but not through internet) or on an ISO CDROM, but we strongly suggest you use files from your hard drives only.
DJ Mix Pro does not support reading audio CDs.

4.1   DJ Mix Pro compatible file formats

DJ Mix Pro handles many files types, and creates some too.
Here are the supported file formats:

4.1.1   Music and video file formats

Video files: most video formats are supported

• asf
• avi
• flv
• matroska
• mov
• mp4
• mpeg
• mpg
• mpegts
• ogv

Mp3 files: all mp3 files are supported
Ogg vorbis files: all vorbis files are supported
Mpc musepack files: all files are supported
Mp4 files: files are supported (experimental yet)
AAC files: files are supported (experimental yet). DRM protected files will not work though.
Wav files: simple wav files are supported (uncompressed, no loops). Most Wav files are like this.
Wma files: unprotected wma files are supported. Choice to make a Wma file protected or not is done at file creation time, so if your file is already protected, there is nothing you can do about it.
Other music file formats (voc, raw...) are not supported.

4.1.2   Media list file formats

M3u files: are winamp play list files. This file format has changed a lot and can still evolve, but DJ Mix Pro can load most m3u files.
M3v files: are DJ Mix Pro play lists files. This file format is used to load/save a DJ Mix Pro play list with all the mixing settings.
M3d files: are DJ Mix Pro database files. This file format is used to load/save a DJ Mix Pro media ( song or video ) database.

4.2   Searching and importing files

The first task of a DJ Mix Pro user will be to give the program some music or video files to play. This can be done either in the database or in the play list.

4.2.1   In the database

In the database you can directly use the Windows explorer and your mouse, drag and drop some media files or media lists into the database window.
You can also have the database search for files ( media ( music or video ) files or media list files ) under a given folder hierarchy.
Or you can have the database load specific files, either media (music or video) files or media list files .

4.2.2   In the play list

In the play list you can directly use the Windows explorer and your mouse, drag and drop some media files or media lists into the play list window.
You can also send selected items in the database window to the playlist.Or you can have the play list load specific files, either media (music or video) files or media list files .
Files loaded directly from the play list will be inserted in the database as well.

5   Play list

The play list is the core of DJ Mix Pro. It is the list of media which are queued to play and mix.

5.1   Play list display

The play list has 10 columns. Columns are simpler than in the database because no search information is needed here.
Note that the play list displays only 4 visible columns, but you can reveal the hidden columns by resizing columns. The visible columns are :

• Media title
• BPM
• Beatlock Mix indicator
• Artist

The hidden columns are :

• Genre
• Comment
• Length ( flil media length)
• Effective play length ( begin till end)
• Pitch
• Pitch difference

Columns resized will remember the column sizes.
The database displays 14 columns. Columns are taken from the ID3 tags, file name, time length , video presence and BPM once computed.

5.1.1   Media titles

The title is taken from the media title tag.
For mp3 media, if both ID3V1 and ID3V2 tags are present ID3V2 overrides ID3V1.
If no tag is present, title is taken from the file name.

5.1.2   BPM

DJ Mix Pro will try to compute the BPM for every media in the database (see Beatlock Analysis chapter).
If you are using the demo version, DJ Mix Pro will try to compute the BPM for the first 11 media loaded only.
Before computation occurs, the BPM displayed will be “???”
During computation occurs, the BPM displayed will be “…”

5.1.3   Mix

This column tells you if this mix (as currently defined) will be a beat matching mix or not. If no beat matching mix is possible you can see the reason by switching to ”headphones listening” mode.

5.2   Managing the play list media

5.2.1   Importing from database

Media can be imported from the database. See «Database: Sending to play list». Media imported from the database are considered new and take their mixing settings from the default mixing settings (See Mixing media: Default mixing settings)

5.2.2   Directly adding files

Dropping or opening a .m3v file appends to the current play list. Each medium’s mixing settings are also reloaded from the m3v file.
Dropping or opening m3u files or music files also adds to the play list. Files added this way are new and take their mixing settings from the default mixing settings (See Mixing media: Default mixing settings).
All files directly added to the play list are also added to the current database. It merges the media with the current database, adding the new music files to the ones already there.

5.2.3   Saving play lists

If you want to save the play list as is, including the mixing settings, save the play list in a m3v file.
By default the play list is not automatically saved to autosave.m3v when the program stops, but you can turn this on.
Be careful to save before playing because the default playing mode automatically removes the media from the playlist that have been fully played.

5.2.4   Exporting media information

If you want to save the play list media names, artist and length (to print it for example), export the play list in a txt file.
Again be careful to export before playing.

5.2.5   Exporting sound to disk (registered users only)

If you want to burn a mixed CD, here is how to proceed.
Burning an audio CD requires that you feed your burning software with 70 minutes or so of wav file(s).
Each file will be a track on the audio CD. You can have a single track, but it is generally much better to have one track per medium.
This section explains how to produce the wav file(s) that you need in order to burn, not how to burn them, because this is the responsibility of the burning software.

First you will need 800 MB of disk space.
Then you need to have the play list completely setup, mixes already defined and checked (using the ”headphones listening”  mode is a good idea). You might also want to check the playing length in the statistics, so that you don’t have more music mixed time than your CD can contain.
When this is done, and before playing the full playlist, you need to go to the options window, sound output tab.

· Check that the primary soundcard is mapped to both channels of any available soundcard on your system… “Default” is fine(you want to make a stereo CD).
· Check the “save sound to file box»
· Don’t check save as mp3
· Check save one file per medium if you want a separate file for each medium or leave unchecked for a single wav file containing the entire playlist mix .
· Enter the base file name. This is the tricky part, because base file name is not just a file name but rather the complete path and file name, possibly using metacharacters.
If you input just c:\mixedcd\track, wav files will be generated like this:

• c:\mixedcd\track_001.wav
• c:\mixedcd\track_002.wav
• c:\mixedcd\track_003.wav
• ….

You can use metacharacters to get intelligent file naming: %a for artist name, %n for track num, %t for title, %f for original file name, %n for track number, %% for percent.
If you input c:\cdtodo\song\%n - (%a) - %t, wav files will be generated like this:

• c:\cdtodo\song\1 - (toto) - africa.wav
• c:\cdtodo\song\2 - (police) - message in a bottle.wav
• c:\cdtodo\song\3 - (kiss) - I was made for loving you.wav
• ….

Now in the Misc options tab, you must turn off «Repeat mode». You might want to also turn off «Auto remove after play».
When done, hit OK to save the changes.
Then in the play list window, start playing (just hit play). Wave files will be produced while the sound is playing ( or faking playing in fast mode). Let the program play the play list entirely. If you stop the sound you will have to play from the start again.
When the entire play list has finished playing, go back to options and turn off the «save sound to file box» and hit OK. The wav files should be all created and ready to burn.

Warning!!!! before you burn your files to CD : you must remove the 2 seconds space before media for all media after the first medium (ie : second medium and the following media) when you burn the media to disc for the mix to play without a pause between tracks, as it is intended.


For example, when you have the tracks in order and ready to burn in Nero, click on one of the tracks to highlight it, then right click and selelect all. While holding down the CTRL key, click on the first track to deselect it. The first track MUST have a 2 second pause to begin a CD. Next, right click and choose Properties. Change the Pause of 2 seconds to 0 (zero) seconds. Again, this will remove the pause between media on every track except the first, and allow the CD to play continuously !

5.2.6   Moving media

Push the up or down buttons to move the media selected in the play list. Or just drag the selection up or down.

5.2.7   Deleting media

Hit the delete button (or shortcut defined for this action, by default control-D) to remove all selected media from the play list. This does not delete the actual medium file but removes its reference in DJ Mix Pro play list. This does not delete the medium reference in the database either.

5.2.8   Examining and setting media properties

Each medium has physical properties, like the mp3 ID3 tags, the length, the Beats information, …
Hit the properties button (or shortcut defined for this action, by default control-P) to open the media properties window.
You can modify the Beatlock data if you need to (double the BPM / divide by 2 the BPM, shift by ½ beat), clear the Beatlock data.
You can tag media files in this window. If you had selected several media, you can even tag multiple files (except for title tag). In this case, fields displaying “(multiple values)” will be left unchanged.
You can modify the mixing settings for the media in this tab. If you have selected several media, you can modify mix settings for all the selected media. In this case, fields displaying “(multiple values)” will be left unchanged.
This is not however the most convenient place to change an individual mixing setting. You should read the ”headphones listening” mode chapter to learn an easier way to setup an individual mix.

5.3   Playing media

5.3.1   Starting to play media

Just hit «mix with next» button and the first selected medium will start playing. If no medium is selected, the first medium will start playing.
You can also double click on the medium you want to play.

5.3.2   Playing behavior

Once playing has started, media will be played in sequence. A mix will occur between every medium after the first.
By default, once a medium has completed playing, it is removed from the play list, but you can change this behavior in the options.
You can also choose (under options) to have a repeating play list, mixing the last medium with the first one.
If you hit pause, there will be a fade out then the play will stop, keeping the current position.
Unpausing will produce a fade in and resume at the current position.
Note that hitting stop will do same as pause plus reposition to start.
Note that hitting play will do same reposition to start then unpause.

5.3.3   Stopping sound

If you close the medium currently playing, it will stop the sound with no mix.

5.3.4   Forcing transition now

You can force media transition in 2 ways:
If you double click another medium while playing, it will immediately stop the currently playing medium and start the new medium. This is not a graceful way to force a transition but it is the quickest way. You can also force a mix to occur immediately, which is nicer but longer. See «Mixing medium with next» and «Mixing medium with selected».

5.3.5   Sending to Headphones listening mode

All media in the play list can be heard in headphones, and mix can be heard offline, while speakers are playing.
Select the first medium to mix in the playlist and hit the «Send to headphones» button .

5.4   Mixing media

The real power behind DJ Mix Pro resides in its easy mixing capabilities.

5.4.1   Mixing behavior

Whenever a transition between media occurs, either because you triggered it or because the mixing time has come, the following events occur:

• The second medium is loaded and displayed in a new window a few seconds before the mix. Playing position is set to the begin position in the new medium.
• The new medium starts playing and performs its fade in.
• The old medium performs its fade out and disappears.

Now, if a Beatlock mix was possible and requested, during the time where the mix occurs, the program changes the tempo of the new medium and slightly moves the begin position so that the beats of both media matches. Tempo of the new medium will then smoothly go back to normal.

5.4.2   Mixing settings

All mixes are controlled by a few parameters taken from the properties of the 2 media (see Play list: Examining and setting media properties):
First medium properties:

• Mix at
• Fade out length
• Mixing length

Second medium properties:

• Start at
• Fade in length
• Pitching length

Advanced properties also control these behaviors:

• Use volume normalization
• Perform a beat matching mix
• Perform or don’t perform fade in / fade out

5.4.3   Default mixing settings

New media added to the play list (except media loaded from a m3v file) will take their properties from the Options window, Media default tab.
You can change the medium’s default before adding new media, but once in the play list, you have to use the media properties window or ”Headphones listening” mode to modify the mixing settings.

5.4.4   Taking control

You usually have to do nothing to perform the mix. Everything is time event driven and the mix will occur when the playing position reaches "mix at".
But you still can decide to start a mix immediately if you want to.
Just hit «Mix with next now»  and the next medium in the play list will popup. The mix will occur within a few seconds.
You can also force a mix with another medium: select it in the play list and hit «Mix with next now» while pressing the key.

5.4.5   Taking more control

Now, some people like to take full control of a mix.
It is possible to take control of the volume, pitch in a medium using the mouse. In this case, all automatic events (fade in/out, pitch moving) will be removed and the rest of the mix is up to you!
However it is hard to control both media with one mouse. So we introduced some keyboard shortcuts to be able to completely override the automatic mixing. Here are the keys and what they can do.
Warning : some commands will turn off the default automix behaviour. See Toggling automix for details.

5.4.5.1   Choosing a medium as next medium

First thing when you only see one medium playing is to choose the medium with which you will mix. This is done by selecting in the playlist the next medium.
If you want you can also do it with the keyboard : use control+PAGE UP/PAGE DOWN to move the selection in the playlist.

5.4.5.2   Loading next medium

Now you must load on screen this selected medium. Use control+INSERT to load the second medium. Use control+DELETE to unload the second medium if you made a mistake.
The medium loaded will NOT start, it will just wait for you to start it. It is still time to move the start position of the second medium if the current starting position doesnt please you.

5.4.5.3   Starting mix manually

When the second medium it loaded, you can start it using control+BEGIN. It will engage a beatlock mix by default (fade in, pitch set on second to match tempo of first). You can let the mix play, it will beatlock for the duration initially set. The beats might shift somehow afterwards.
Notice : The normal "mix at" cue point is not set at the normal place. Instead is is placed at "extreme end" in the medium, you can let the mix live as long as there is music.
This is what we call turning automix off.

5.4.5.4   Controlling mix pitch

If the beats shift you will have to fix it by using the pitch control. You can alter pitch of first medium using control+F2/F4, reset slowly the pitch using control+F3. Or you can alter pitch of second medium using control+F9/F11, reset slowly the pitch using control+F10.

5.4.5.5   Controlling mix volume

You have full control of the volume too. There are 2 different controls : individual controls, not contrained to a normalized volume, and a crossfader, constrained to each medium normalized volume (maybe easier).

Individual controls

You can alter the volume of first medium using control+NUM7/NUM1, reset slowly the volume to the normalized volume using control+NUM4. Or you can alter volume of second medium using control+NUM9/NUM3, reset slowly the volume to the normalized volume using control+NUM6.

Crossfader

You can alter the volume towards first/second medium using control+LEFT/RIGHT , raise/lower both media using control UP/DOWN.

5.4.5.6   Ending mix manually

And when you want the first medium to disappear gracefully (fade out and bye bye) just hit control+END

5.4.5.7   Toggling automix behaviour

Whenever you hit control+SPACE, you will toggle the automix behaviour of the program.
Automix means it will perform a fade out and disappear at the defined Mix At position. No automix means that the automatix mix would occur only at extreme end of the medium.
Hitting control+SPACE again several times will restore the automix behaviour.

5.4.6   Taking more control using the mouse

If you want to use the previous features ( live DJing, manually taking control over the mix) using the mouse, you must activate the advanced mix control widgets.
To enable them, select the action , show advanced controls option menu.

The advanced mix control widgets are the ones on the bottom of the main window.

The trackbar (1) is the cross-fader. It becomes active whenever 2 or more player windows are shown.
The buttons from left to right are :

(2) : Fade out : will trigger the fadeout on first playing deck(thus ending the mix).

(3) : Fade in : will start the mix, fading in the first paused deck.

(4) : Unload : will unload the last deck. The button becomes active whenever a deck is paused.

(5) : Load : will show a new player windows, paused, with the selected medium. The button becomes active whenever a non loaded medium is selected.

(6) : Toggle automix : will toggle automix on playing deck(s).

6   Sound outputs

DJ Mix Pro is designed to work with one or two soundcards. It is recommended that you use headphones when doing live DJing, although this is not mandatory.
In the options window, sound output tab, you can choose the soundcard for the play list output (Primary soundcard) and the soundcard for ”headphones listening” mode output (Secondary soundcard).

6.1   One soundcard, no headphones

In this mode, everything played in ”headphones listening” mode will play on the speakers. This implies you don’t use headphones while DJing.
Map both primary and secondary to both channels of your soundcard (this is the default).

6.2   One soundcard and headphones (mono)

In this mode, the soundcard output must be split in 2 mono channels. This will require you to make or buy an audio “doohicky” (a Stereo Y-Adapter).
This device is composed of a male stereo 3.5mm jack you plug into the soundcard on one side, and of 2 female stereo 3.5mm jacks on the other side. On these 2 jacks, one is the left channel of the soundcard and one is the right channel.
You plug your headphones into one and the hi-fi cable into the second.
Map the “primary soundcard” to the left OR right channel (your choice) and the “secondary soundcard” to the remaining channel.

6.3   Two soundcards and headphones

This is the preferred mode. You have one soundcard dedicated to the (hi-fi) speakers and one to the headphones.
Buying a 2nd soundcard is not really expensive and is worth it if you plan to DJ a lot.
Map the “primary soundcard”to the first soundcard on your system and “secondary soundcard” to the other soundcard on your system.

6.4    One soundcard with 2 outputs and headphones

This is also the preferred mode. Using a 5.1 soundcard you have one output dedicated to the (hi-fi) speakers and one to the headphones.
Map the “primary soundcard”to the FRONT output on your soundcard and “secondary soundcard” to the REAR output on your soundcard.

6.5   Tuning the sound output

The soundcard plays continuously, buffers, that are built and sent by DJ Mix Pro.
Buffers are prepared in advance, covering by default ½ second of sound.
If your machine is slow and attempts another parallel activity, the soundcard can run out of buffers before DJ Mix Pro gets enough CPU cycles to prepare and send more buffers. You then hear glitches.
You can overcome this by playing with the sound output options. Increasing the buffers will make DJ Mix Pro less responsive but more tolerant to CPU bursts of activity.

6.6   Video output

6.6.1   Windowed video output

The video media beeing played displays the video in a classical window that you can drag anywhere, across screens if you have multiple screens, resizable.

6.6.2   Fullscreen video output

If you maximize the video window it will go fullscreen without borders. You can do that on any of your screens if you have multiple screens, and this is the preferred way of broadcasting the video : on a dedicated large public screen, while the playing window remains on another screen private to the DJ.

6.6.3   Visualisation effects

When resizing ( or maximizing) the window, the video aspect ratio will always be respected and unless your window exactly matches the video aspect ratio there will be an "out of video" zone in the window ( on top and bottom, or left and right). This border zone is black when playing a video medium and the video option is “Visualization on when no video” ( which is the program default ).
But this border could be filled by some visual effects if you choose “Visualization always on”

For media without video ( pure music files) the visual effects fill the full window, unless you have chosen “Visualization always off”

7   Headphones listening mode

7.1   Objectives

The term “headphones listening” mode can be misleading because the sound is not in headphones if you choose the «One soundcard, no headphones» configuration.
The «headphones listening mode»  mode is designed to see, listen to and modify individual mixes.

7.2   Usage

Once you have defined the playlist order, you can see and control all the mixes using the ”headphones mode” windows.
Select the first medium to mix in the playlist and hit the «Send to headphones» button .
Not all buttons are available if you have two media loaded in ”headphones mode”, because you are restricted to the mix between these two media.
You can then go from mix to mix forward or backward.
Close the ”headphones mode” windows when finished.

You have visual information of the beat awareness of the program in the bar drawn on the bottom of the black zone.

• Green zones are beat aware zone corresponding to the BPM displayed in the main window list.
• Purple zones are zones with BPM different to the BPM displayed in the main window list. Look at the local BPM info (in red) to know the local BPM.
• Red zones are zones with no beat detected.
• A black thin line shows the mix zone.

7.2.1   Solo mode VS 2 media mode

The solo mode ( prelisten with only one medium window) is useful to setup the fade in and fade out. The prelistening to the fade in/out will be done precisely on the fade in and fade out durations.
The 2 media mode ( prelisten with 2 media window) is useful to setup and quicklisten to the mix.
The prelistening to the fade in/out will be done precisely on full mix zone duration(but without the 2nd medium).
If needed, pause the medium using .

7.2.2   Setting playing limits

You can set the points where the first medium will start mixing and the second medium will start mixing.
If needed, pause the medium using .
You can have fine control on the playing position cursor on a paused medium using the rewind and forward buttons :
Once a medium BPM is known, what we call the interval unit is exactly one beat. Otherwise, this interval unit is half a second.
Clicking, you move the position 8 interval units.
Clicking while the or key is pressed, you move the position 1 interval unit


Move the playing position cursor to desired start position and hit the «Start here» button .
Move the playing position cursor to desired mix start position and hit the «Mix here» button . By default this position is bound to beats (if options are set to «lock to beats»), but you can unlock it using shift key.

If you’d rather specify the desired mix end position, hold down the key when hitting the «Mix here» button

7.2.3   Setting target volume

You can set the target sound volume for the 2 media. That means the volume that will be set at the end of fade in. Just adjust the volume cursor. This is directly connected to the 'Using volume' property.

Beware : changing the volume manually overrides the automatic target volume and is remembered in the playlist.

7.2.4   Setting lengths

You can set the fade out length and mixing length on the first medium and the fade in length on the second medium. Just play with the cursors. By default this duration is bound to beats, but you can unlock it using shift or control key.
Note : You cannot set a mixing length longer than the time between mixAt and medium end. So if you want to setup a longer mixing length and the cursor is blocked, you first must set an earlier mixAt point.

7.2.5   Requesting beat matching mix

You can request the mix to be a beat matching mix or not . Toggle the behavior clicking on the star button . If this is possible, the icon will display a smiley face. Otherwise the icon indicates that a beat matching mix is not possible.

7.2.6   Setting target pitch

You can set the target pitch for a medium. That means the medium will be played with an altered BPM and the pitch will stabilize to this value after mix. This is directly connected to the 'forced pitch' property. This is also in relation with the 'forced BPM' property.

Beware : changing the volume manually overrides the automatic target volume and is remembered in the playlist.

7.3   Trying the settings

Hit «Listen to fade in» (left ) in the second window to listen to the mix fade in only.
Hit «Listen to fade out» ( right ) in the first window to listen to the mix fade out only.
Hit «Listen to mix with next» in the first window or «Listen to mix with previous» in the second window to listen to the full mix between the 2 media currently displayed.

If you want the playing to stop when the mix is complete, you must press or while hitting «Listen to fade out» or «Listen to mix with next». Another option is to check the «Let playing after fade in» option.

Retry your mix until you’re satisfied with it. The mix will happen on the primary output exactly the same way you heard it on the secondary output.

It might happen that beatlock mix is not possible. Look at the status icon to know why.
If BPM differ too much, you might have to change your playlist order if you still want a Beatlock mix.
If the icon says there are no beats in one of the medium, you will have to move the fade in or out in the green zone
Retry your changes until the icon changes to happy face
Here are Beatlock mix statuses :

	One of the 2 media failed to beatlock, so no beatlock mix
	One of the 2 media is not beatlocked yet
	Okay, Beatlock mix ready
	Wew, BPM differ too much
	No beats around ending pos of left medium
	No beats around starting pos of right medium

7.4   Navigating from mix to mix

You can navigate from mix to mix, in the order defined by your playlist.
If you hit «Listen to mix with next» in the second window, you will hear the next mix (second medium becomes first and and the following medium in the play-list is loaded as second).
If you hit «Listen to mix with prev»  in the first window, you will hear the previous mix (first medium becomes second and and the previous medium in the play-list is loaded as first).

7.5   Advanced mix theory

Now that you have mastered the mechanics of using DJ Mix Pro to create beat matching mixes, let’s take time to discuss what can make you mixes come alive and sound natural.

In order to create "club ready" dance mixes you must consider the musical context of each mix as a medium in itself. The concept of "musical phrasing" will help you to understand how to be creative with your mixes and keep everyone dancing without losing a beat. This section will give you the basic theory you need to understand natural sounding mixes and the next section will help you understand how to do it in DJ Mix Pro.


Each medium, whether dance, rock, jazz, R&B, rap, or hip-hop is composed of "musical phrases" that keep everything moving nicely throughout the duration of the medium. Typically these phrases are organized into groups of 2,4,8, or 16 bars. Most "musical phrases" are made up of 2 or 4 bars for mixing purposes. A group of 4 beats/intervals can be considered a bar(in most cases). So 8 beats, 16 beats, 32 beats, or 64 beats can make up a "musical phrase". Typically musical beats or contents express some musical idea or expression then it repeats or goes to the next phrase.

When creating a mix it is important to match not only the tempos and beats of the two media, but more importantly you must consider the musical phrasing of the two media as well. If the phrasing sections aren’t matched the mix will not sound like one newly created medium, but rather like two unmatched beasts and worse yet, it will throw your dancers off beat when the mix moves fully to the next medium.


Let’s look at an example of two media and how their "musical phrases" can be analyzed and beat matched to create a natural and seamless mix. For the pusposes we’ll use Medium A and Medium B to represent the first and second medium respectively. The numbers represent the beats in each bar.





Let’s think about matching these phrases in this way. If you have a recording(medium) of a person counting to 4(1,2,3,4) and repeating that over and over again and you wanted to mix that recording of a different person counting the same way, you would have to make sure that they were on the same number before mixing them in. In other words, you would match the tempos and the actual numbers they were on before doing a fade. That is how matching "musical phrases" works. You have to listen to each medium and sync the start points of the "musical phrases" of the two media to get a good mix.

In the next section, we’ll discuss how to make all of this theory come to life in your mixes.

7.6   Advanced mix using DJ Mix Pro

Now that we understand the basics of creating good mixes, let’s use DJMixPro to do it. There several steps to setting up a good mix using DJMixPro. We’ll use the Medium 1 and Medium 2 example for clarity.

Mixing Steps(must be done in headphones mode)

• Set the Mix Length
  
• Set the Start point for Medium 2
  
• Set the Mix point for Medium 1
  
• Set the Fade in value for Medium 2
  
• Set the Fade out value for Medium 1
  

7.6.1   Set Mix Length

Use the mix length controller at the bottom of the Medium 1 dialog. The mix length is set to the default mix length you have in the default mix options. Remember, mix length is the amount of time your media will spend playing together. In essence, the mix length is the length of the new "medium" you will create in your mix. For smooth transitions longer mix lengths are better than shorter ones. Usually for media with a strong beat and moderate vocal content( dance, rap, techno, etc) a mix length of 32 beats is a good starting point. This gives enough time for a smooth fade in and the media to play together before moving on to the next. Later you may want to adjust the mix length based on what sounds good musically. Make sure and change the mix length by some increment of 4 beats. The helps to preserve the "musical phrasing" you have set up earlier. Example: Mix length 32 beats. It is easier to make adjustments to 36 beats or 28 beats to preserve the musicality of the mix

7.6.2   Set the Start point for Medium 2

Setting the start point for Medium 2 makes listening to the mix rehearsal easier and also makes setting the mix start point easier too. The best place to set a mix start point is at the beginning of a "musical phrase." Often DJ Mix Pro will have already found the first beat it can recognize and will have set the start point there by default.

You will probably have to move the pointer forward a few beats to find the next phrase start, by using the or or key plus or buttons. Remember, you aren’t looking for the beginning of the medium, just the beginning of the section you want to mix in. Also don’t forget to set the start point by pressing the button before rehearsing the mix. Most often this point will be the intro part before singing starts.

To check your start point press «Listen to fade in» (left ) in Medium 2 dialog. Medium 2 will come in and you will listen to Medium 2 (only) for the full mix duration. Listen carefully to see if Medium 2 starts right on the beat you wanted. Do this several times to make sure it is right. Don’t worry right now about when ( in Medium 1 ) Medium 2 starts, we’ll adjust that later.

7.6.3   Set the Mix point for Medium 1

What is important here is what you hear. Use the «Listen to fade out» (right in Medium 1 dialog) to get a feel for where you hear the music start playing. What you hear is medium 1 (only) for the full mix duration.
You can directly use the «Listen to this mix» in the medium1 dialog to get a feel for the full mix.
The music will start to play at the actual mix point. Remember in step 2 when we took so much time to set the start point for Medium 2 ? Well now it will pay off, because once we get the mix start point set, our basic musical mix is done.

7.6.4   Set the Fade in value for Medium 2

Although we you have your media synced together in a nice smooth mix, a fade in is usually necessary. Just because Medium 2 comes right in at the perfect spot in Medium 1 doesn’t mean it will sound smooth. Usually the entrance of Medium 2 will be on the first downbeat of the phrase and will have some sort of bass drum hit or vocal hit. If this comes in un-faded it sounds too abrupt in it’s entrance and takes away from the overall mix. Try a medium fade in time to start; Around 16 beats in a 64 beats mix. This will give the listener time to begin to notice the new medium coming in gradually. It sounds much nicer this way.

7.6.5   Set the Fade out value for Medium 1

Typically you will want Medium 1 to be completely faded out by the time Medium 2 starts its main chorus or verse or "musical phrase". You will have to adjust this value until you get something pleasing to the ear. Be careful not to set this value too short. If it is too short your fade out will be abrupt rough if Medium 2 has not gotten up to full volume and rhythm.

7.6.6   Extra Tips and Hints

• A break-down or chorus repeat in Medium 1 is often a good spot to start a mix.
• If I medium has a section that does not have the complete instrumentation and vocal started yet is a good place to start Medium 2 to mix in.
• Be creative ! Any mix can work if you take to time to sync the "musical phrases" of both media
• Have Fun !

8   Database

The database window is not mandatory. You can close it if you don’t want to use it. But it is a very useful tool when live DJing.

8.1   Benefits

The database window is used to manage your music files. It is designed to handle many of them (several thousand media can be put there) and quickly sort or find the media you are looking for.

8.2   Database display

The database displays 10 columns. Columns are taken from the ID3 tags, file name, time length and BPM once computed.
Columns can be resized (thus hidden) to suit your needs and the program remembers the column sizes.

8.2.1   Database media titles

The title is taken from the ID3 tag.
If both ID3V1 and ID3V2 tags are present ID3V2 overrides ID3V1.
If no tag is present, title is taken from the file name.

8.2.2   Database BPM

DJ Mix Pro will try to compute the BPM for every file in the database (see Beatlock chapter).
If you are using the demo version, DJ Mix Pro will try to compute the BPM for the first 11 files loaded.
Before computation occurs, the BPM displayed will be “???”
During computation occurs, the BPM displayed will be “…”

8.3   Managing the database media

8.3.1   Adding files to the database

Dropping a .m3d file or music files into the database window appends to the current database. It merges the media, adding the new music files while leaving the ones already there.
Searching for files takes all supported files (m3d, m3u, m3v, wav, mp3, ogg, wma, mpc, mp4, aac) in the folder hierarchy you select and adds the files to the database.
Using «Open a database» you can add all selected files to the database. You can add .m3d files or music files directly by dragging and dropping them into the database window. You can add one file or several files at a time.

8.3.2   Saving a database

You can save the current database to a m3d file. By default the database is automatically saved to autosave.m3d when the program stops, but you can turn this off.

8.3.3   Moving media in database

Push the up or down buttons to move the media selected in the database. Or, just drag the selection up or down.

8.3.4   Resetting media order

Hit the «record this order» button to renumber the database lines. This is useful for saving a custom order after sorting.

8.3.5   Deleting media in database

Hit the delete button (or shortcut defined for this action, by default control-D) to remove all selected media from database. This does not delete the actual medium file but removes its reference from the DJ Mix Pro database.

8.4   Using the database media

8.4.1   Sending to play list

The purpose of the database window is to send media to the play list queue.
Hit the «Send to play list» button (or shortcut defined for this action, by default control-B) to append the selected media to the play list.
You can also drag media and drop them in the play list to send them to the play list.
Media enqueued in the play list will be played in order, but you can change this order and the way the mix is performed until that particular mix is executed.

If you wish to send in the play list, but not at the end of the playlist, just select the position in the playlist after which you want media to be inserted, hold down the key and click the button . When dragging, , holding down the , or key allows you to drop the selection at the cursor position .

8.4.2   Sorting media

Click on any column title to sort the media in the database. The first click will sort ascending but a second click will sort descending.
If you want to sort using several keys (for example by BPM then by title) click on the columns in reverse key order (for the example, click title then click BPM)

Note: since build 48, the sort is done in respect to the language.
Accents, punctuation, cases are ignored.
For example in french, Claude François and claude francois will sort identically.

8.4.3   Finding media in a huge database

If you want to look for a medium, you can open the search pannel, type your search string and hit search.

Search will show you the cell matching the input string. Hitting next will search down the column, then the next column, top to bottom and so on, until next match is found.
When searching for a match, only letters and numbers are significant. It is not useful to type spaces and characters because they are ignored.

A quicker way to search is to put the input focus on the list (click in the list once).
Then directly type your search string (you dont need to type spaces or punctuation or symbols. They are just ignored). The selection will move to the next match. Hit the return key to go to next match.

8.4.4   Examining media properties

Each medium has physical properties, like the mp3 ID3 tags, the length, the Beats information, etc…
Hit the properties button (or shortcut defined for this action, by default control-P) to open the media properties window.
You can modify the Beatlock data if you need to, (double / divide by 2 the BPM, shift by ½ beat), or clear the Beatlock data.
You can tag media files in this window. If you had selected several media, you can even tag multiple files (except for title tag). In this case, fields displaying “(multiple values)” will be left unchanged.

8.4.5   Quick listening to media

If you hit the quicklisten button , you can listen to the selected medium in the headphones. This allows you to identify a medium if tag information or file name are not explicit, without having to stop the sound from the speakers.

8.4.6   Filtering media

If you want to show less media in the list, without removing them from the database, you can apply a filter.


A filter can be a inclusive filter ( if selecting «include one» or «include all» ), which means you will keep the media that match the selected criteria.
A filter can be an exclusive filter ( if selecting exclude ), which means you will not keep the media that match the selected criteria.

A criteria match means that the words of the filter phrase are found in the selected columns.
If «include one» is selected, one word from the filter phrase is enough to have a match.
If «include all» is selected, all words from the filter phrase must be found to have a match.
You can also match against a phrase by putting double quotes around your phrase.
When applying a filter over an already filtered list, the filters are additive.

You can name filters, and save them. When done, it is easy to reload a filter by selecting it in the «filter name» combo.

8.4.7   Quick filtering media

If you right click on any database cell, you can choose the 'filter using this cell value item' and it will automatically perform a filter on the columnn using the value. By example you can quickly select media only from an artist you see.

9   Beatlock Analysis

9.1   Definition

DJ Mix Pro computes in the background the beats and BPM of all media files it meets.
This task is called Beatlock analysis or beatlocking.
This is done automatically in the background, you do not have to bother about beating on your keyboard.
Beatlock mix (beat matching mix) becomes possible whenever one medium and the next medium in a row are succesfully Beatlock analysed, and are BPM compatible (10% of tempo difference or less, configurable in the options dialog) as well. This what is shown in the mix column.

9.2   Behavior

DJ Mix Pro will take all files in the order they were loaded and check if there is already a Beatlock data file (blk).
If yes, it will load data from this file. Otherwise it will perform a full file analysis. The analysis takes some time (let’s say about one minute per medium), but when completed the results are stored permanently in a blk file.
The BPM column shows the activity being done on files. If “…” is displayed, file analysis is being done. If a BPM or “BAD” is displayed, analysis or data load occurred and nothing more will be done on the file, unless you delete the Beatlock data.

...	doing Beatlock analysis
---	medium does not need/use Beatlock analysis
BAD	analysis of medium failed
???	medium not analysed yet

9.3   Control and options

You may turn off the Beatlocking if you think you do not need it.
You can stop all analysis (if any) by selecting the «Stop beatlocking» menu item.
Resuming will occur when you select «Start beatlocking» menu item.
You may also turn the «Do beatlock analysis on media» off in the global options dialog before you actually load media.
The BPM search is done between lower and upper BPM limits found in the options. Avoid giving BPM ranges that are too large because DJ Mix Pro can confuse BPM and its double or half.

10   Miscellaneous features

10.1   Equalizers

There are 2 levels of equalizers in DJ Mix Pro. The master equalizer is global and is used for all media. You can access it in the action menu.
Even if you close the window, it is still used until you reset all track bars to 0 Db.
Each individual medium in the play list can also have a local equalizer. Local equalizer settings are stored in the m3v files as well as mixing settings.

10.2   Secure mode

There is a special playing mode in DJ Mix Pro (Secure Mode) that asks for a confirmation anytime the user selects on option which can cause the sound to stop. It can help avoid catastrophic glitches caused by accidental actions on the part of the user. This is especially useful with mouse pads.
Try it and use it if you like it.

10.3   Statistics

The statistics window computes the playing time. If there is a selection in the playlist, total length of that selection is reported. If no selection, total length of on all media in the playlist is reported. It also computes the total playing length (which is different since there is overlapping when mixing).

10.4   Sound pitching

Pitching digital sound is not easy. We have tried 3 different algorithms for pitching, none of which is perfect.
You have the choice between

• «Classic sound stretching», that doesn’t eat much CPU but changes the tonality. Plus introduces a slight perturbation in very high frequencies.
• «High quality stretching» does the same but consumes more CPU and fixes the high frequencies problem.
• «Pitch scaling» doesn’t eat much CPU, doesn’t change the tonality, but produces some reverberation effects with slow tempos.

We left the choice up to you.

10.5   Transporting Beatlock data files

If you wish to use DJ Mix Pro on several computers and want to share Beatlock data and music files, you must leave the blk files next to the music files.
You can then copy the blk files ( or access via network share) as well as the music files.
To do this, check the “Laave beatlock data near mp3 files» option

And if you decide to install DJMix pro on an external support ( USB key, External disk, Network disk, etc ...) you must use the nomad mode. Nomad mode puts the application files next to the program files. Dont use the nomad mode when the program is installed in the regular program location on vista and 7 ( c:\programs), security checks prevent the program to store data files in this location when not running as administrator.

Summary

Nomad mode	yes	yes	no	no
Blk next to mp3	yes	no	yes	no
Program installation dir	location 1(1)	location 2(1)	location 3(2)	location 4(2)
Program exe and dlls	location 1	location 2	location 3	location 4
Program help files	location 1	location 2	location 3	location 4
Program language files	location 1	location 2	location 3	location 4
Autosave files location	location 1	location 2	allusers(3)	allusers(3)
Key mapping files	location 1	location 2	allusers	allusers
Database cache file	location1/cache	location2/cache	allusers/cache	allusers/cache
Beatlock files	same as mp3 file	location2/cache	same as mp3 file	allusers/cache

Notes:
(1) : this can be anywhere, except the regular programs dir ( ie not in c:\program files or c:\programs )
(2) : this is inside the regular programs dir ( ie c:\program files\... on XP or c:\programs\... on windows vista or 7 )
(3) : this is the standard application data dir ( ie C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\beatlock technology\djmixpro\3.0 on XP or C:\users\All Users\Application Data\beatlock technology\djmixpro\3.0 on windows vista or 7 )

10.6   ID3V2 tags handling

ID3 V2 tags are something newer, more complex and more fragile that ID3V1 tags.
It takes also more time to read them.
This is the reason why we choose to turn this processing off by default.
If you want to use these tags, turn the option on.

10.7   Command line options

You can run the program with command line arguments (on the DOS prompt).
The most commun usage is to give file names as arguments. The program will load them in the playlist.
You can also use these options to control the program from a script.
Some options are designed to override the options of the options window.

Usage : DJMIXPRO [ options ] [mp3_file1] [mp3_file2] ...


If files are provided on the command line, play will start immediately.
Options :

• --play
• --noplay
• --nodbscreen
• --dbscreen
• --noautoload
• --exitwhendone

--play : Will force the player to start.

--noplay : prevent player from starting.

--nodbscreen : Will prevent Database screen from showing.

--dbscreen : Will force Database screen to show

--noautoload : Will prevent autosaved playlist to load and save. (overrides the «Options dialog» value).

--exitwhendone : Program will exit after all media have played. (but beware , will not work if «Loop mode» option is enabled)

10.8   Autofix tags encoding

PRODUCT_SPEC is designed to respect tags encoding standards. There are situations however where some files have tags not respecting the standards, either using Windows locale encoding or inversed UTF16 encoding.
PRODUCT_SPEC tries to detect these issues and transparently fix the broken strings to display them as expected.

10.9   Playing jingles

There is an item in the database and playlist windows menus allowing to mix in immediately the selected medium. This medium will be played in "Jingle mode" and will not interfere with the defined playlist.
The way the jingle is played depends on the "raw jingles" option :
When selected, the jingle will play at position 0 till real end, with no fade at all. When not selected, the jingle will play like other files, using the medium settings for start position, fade in.

10.10   Accelerator keys

Many actions are pre-defined with keyboard control+key sequence, called accelerator because they work when any of the program window is active. ( but not if another application is active ...)

This mapping is configurable using a text editor in the file keymapping.txt ( created when accessing the key help menu item)
The principle here is to map accelerator keys to actions.


Syntax :

optionalmodifier key : "action" "optionalparam"

optionalmodifier is

• nothing
• VK_CONTROL+
• VK_ALT+ ( not a good idea ... )
• VK_SHIFT+ ( not a good idea ... )

and optionalparam is

• nothing
• : paramvalue

It is not a good idea to map any key not using the VK_CONTROL modifier.


The list of actions to match is :

• "Raise volume of first"
• "Lover volume of first"
• "Reset volume of first"
• "Raise volume of second"
• "Lover volume of second"
• "Reset volume of second"
• "Reduce pitch of first"
• "Augment pitch of first"
• "Reset pitch of first"
• "Mix with medium" (requires fixed file name parameter)
• "Reduce pitch of second"
• "Augment pitch of second"
• "Reset pitch of second"
• "Crossfade to first"
• "Crossfade to second"
• "Raise volume of both"
• "Lower volume of both"
• "Load second"
• "Unload second"
• "Move selection up"
• "Move selection down"
• "Start manual mix"
• "End manual mix"
• "Don't automix / Reset automix"
• "Focus to prelisten first"
• "Focus to prelisten second"
• "Focus to quicklisten"
• "Focus to playing first"
• "Focus to playing second"
• "Focus to playlist"
• "Focus to database"

The list of keys is :

LBUTTON RBUTTON CANCEL MBUTTON BACK TAB CLEAR RETURN SHIFT CONTROL MENU ALT PAUSE CAPITAL KANA HANGEUL HANGUL JUNJA FINAL HANJA KANJI ESCAPE CONVERT NONCONVERT ACCEPT MODECHANGE

PRIOR NEXT END HOME LEFT UP RIGHT DOWN PRINT EXECUTE SNAPSHOT INSERT DELETE HELP LWIN RWIN APPS NUMPAD0 NUMPAD1 NUMPAD2 NUMPAD3 NUMPAD4 NUMPAD5 NUMPAD6 NUMPAD7 NUMPAD8 NUMPAD9

SELECT SPACE F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 F13 F14 F15 F16 F17 F18 F19 F20 F21 F22 F23 F24

MULTIPLY ADD SEPARATOR SUBTRACT DECIMAL DIVIDE NUMLOCK SCROLL LSHIFT RSHIFT LCONTROL RCONTROL LMENU RMENU LALT RALT LBUTTON RBUTTON CANCEL MBUTTON BACK TAB CLEAR RETURN SHIFT CONTROL

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Predefined mapping :

Key sequence	Action
CONTROL + NUMPAD7	Raise volume of first
CONTROL + NUMPAD1	Lover volume of first
CONTROL + NUMPAD4	Reset volume of first
CONTROL + NUMPAD9	Raise volume of second
CONTROL + NUMPAD3	Lover volume of second
CONTROL + NUMPAD6	Reset volume of second
CONTROL + F2	Reduce pitch of first
CONTROL + F3	Augment pitch of first
CONTROL + F4	Reset pitch of first
CONTROL + F5	Mix with medium : None
CONTROL + F6	Mix with medium : None
CONTROL + F7	Mix with medium : None
CONTROL + F8	Mix with medium : None
CONTROL + F9	Reduce pitch of second
CONTROL + F10	Augment pitch of second
CONTROL + F11	Reset pitch of second
CONTROL + LEFT	Crossfade to first
CONTROL + UP	Crossfade to second
CONTROL + RIGHT	Raise volume of both
CONTROL + DOWN	Lower volume of both
CONTROL + INSERT	Load second
CONTROL + DELETE	Unload second
CONTROL + PRIOR	Move selection up
CONTROL + NEXT	Move selection down
CONTROL + HOME	Start manual mix
CONTROL + END	End manual mix
CONTROL + SPACE	Don't automix / Reset automix
CONTROL + 1	Focus to prelisten first
CONTROL + 2	Focus to prelisten second
CONTROL + 3	Focus to quicklisten
CONTROL + 4	Focus to playing first
CONTROL + 5	Focus to playing second
CONTROL + 6	Focus to playlist
CONTROL + 7	Focus to database

10.11   Player keyboard commands

When a player window is active ( player windows can be prelistener windows ) some actions are pre-defined with keyboard sequence, called shortcuts because give a quick access to a functionnality inside the window.
The difference with the accelerators in the previous paragraph is that these keys are local to the active player window, while accelerators are globals to the DJ Mix Pro program.

This mapping is configurable using a text editor in the file shortcutmapping.txt ( created when accessing the more keys help menu item)


The principle here is to map keys to actions in listener windows.

Syntax :
optionalmodifier key : "action" optionalparam

optionalmodifier is

• nothing
• VK_CONTROL+
• VK_ALT+
• VK_SHIFT+

optionalparam is

• nothing
• : "paramvalue"

The list of keys is :
Same as in previous paragraph.

The list of actions to match is :

• "Play"
• "Stop"
• "Pause"
• "Fast Forward"
• "Rewind"
• "Focus to position scrollbar"
• "Focus to pitch scrollbar"
• "Focus to volume scrollbar"
• "Position at zero"
• "Position at start"
• "Position at mix"
• "Position at end"
• "Listen to fade in"
• "Listen to fade out"
• "Set start at position cursor"
• "Set mix at position cursor"
• "Listen to mix with previous"
• "Listen to mix with next"
• "Toggle local equalizer"
• "Focus to equalizer band 1"
• "Focus to equalizer band 2"
• "Focus to equalizer band 3"
• "Focus to equalizer band 4"
• "Focus to equalizer band 5"
• "Focus to equalizer band 6"
• "Focus to equalizer band 7"
• "Focus to equalizer band 8"
• "Reset bar having focus"

Predefined mapping :

Key sequence	Action
F4	"Play"
F3	"Stop"
F2	"Pause"
F	"Fast Forward"
R	"Rewind"
BACK	"Focus to position scrollbar"
F5	"Focus to pitch scrollbar"
F6	"Focus to volume scrollbar"
Z	"Position at zero"
S	"Position at start"
M	"Position at mix"
E	"Position at end"
F7	"Listen to fade in"
F8	"Listen to fade out"
F9	"Set start at position cursor"
F10	"Set mix at position cursor"
F11	"Listen to mix with previous"
F12	"Listen to mix with next"
9	"Toggle local equalizer"
1	"Focus to equalizer band 1"
2	"Focus to equalizer band 2"
3	"Focus to equalizer band 3"
4	"Focus to equalizer band 4"
5	"Focus to equalizer band 5"
6	"Focus to equalizer band 6"
7	"Focus to equalizer band 7"
8	"Focus to equalizer band 8"
0	"Reset bar having focus"

10.12   Media information in video window

This feature Is optional, stt the video options.
It allows the audience to know current medium and next medium to come by displaying scrolling subtitles in the video window.

10.13   Media history

DJs that want to keep a trace of the played media ( with a timestamp ) can use this option. Il will record the media history in a file named

11   Options reference

Here are a lot of interesting options plus default values that are applied to media loaded in the playlist.

11.1   Media defaults tab

Do beatlock analysis : new media will have their «Try Beatlock Mix at end» property set to this. Means they will be Beatlock analyzed and Beatlock mixed if possible.

Do volume normalization : new media will have their «Use normalization» property set to this. Means that media will be all played at the same perceptive volume.

Do fading detection analysis : new media will have the «use fading detection» property.

Do fade in : new media will have this «Fade at begin» property set to this. Media will perform a fade in when starting to play

Do fade out : new media will have the «Fade at end» property set to this. Media will perform a fade out before stopping.

Do pitching done on both media : new media will have this value for «pitching done on both media» property.

Fading in length : new media will have this «fading in length» property.

Fading out length : new media will have this «fading out length» property.

Pitching length : new media will have this «pitching length» property.

Default start at : new media will have this «Start at» property.

Default mix at/Default stop at : new media will have this «Mix at» or «Stop at» property. This field accepts negative values, that are relative to the end of the medium.
Note : «Mix at» means the mix will begin at the specified position, while «Stop at» means it will end at the specified position. The difference it that you define the start or the end of the mix, with the mixing length in between.

Mixing length : new media will have this «mixing length» property.
Note : if default mix at is negative (relative to the end of media), you cannot set a mixing length longer than the default mix at absolute value.

All time length text controls accept this syntax :

mm:ss.xxx

where mm are minutes, ss are seconds and xxx are milliseconds.
valid inputs examples follow :

or xxx Beats

valid inputs examples follow :

100	100 seconds
1:40	100 seconds
100.	100 seconds
1:40.00	100 seconds
.40	40 ms
12b	12 beats

11.2   Beatlock options tab

Use smart limits : allow media start and stop limits to move (in the limit defined by the smart limit maximum) while trying to perform a Beatlock mix.

Smart limit maximum : maximum move of start or stop of a medium when allowing smart limits.

Limit BPM detection to : upper and lower bounds of BPM search. Limiting BPM width search avoid some BPM bad guesses and helps DJ Mix Pro to Beatlock better.
Tip : it’s a good idea not to let upper limit be greater than ( lower limit * 2 ) since BPM detection easily mistakes with half or double BPM.

Allow tempo adjustment of percent : here you define the pitch change limits. See a mix occurs for more details.
Tip : Allowing changes more than 8 % usually leads to ugly results.

Leave beatlock data near mp3 files : instructs the program to store the beatlock analysis files in the same folder as mp3 files.
Tip : Use this mode if you are organizing your files and you want to be able to move them without recomputing the beatlock analysis.

Log media history : records the time and media played in an history file.
Tip : Use this mode if you want to keep a trace of the history of your party.

Media history retention (hours) : media already played within the last specified hours will appear in the database with last played time. After this time, media will not appear in the database
Tip : This value set for 12 hours will help you to avoid to play the same medium several times.

11.3   Sound output options tab

Sound out options : Many of the items on this tab will be grayed when sound is playing. You can change them at silence time only.

Use Direct Sound : sound output will use DirectSound instead of the WinMM module. If DirectSound is not available on your machine, the item will remain grayed.

Soundcard updates per second : number of times per second the soundcard receives sound buffers. If you choose too many times per second (more than 12 for example) your sound system will become CPU stress sensitive and may play dirty sound, but having many updates per second makes the program more reactive because you reduce the commands delay.

Number of soundcard buffers : choose the number of buffers the program uses. If you choose too few buffers, the program might become out of buffers if another program uses much CPU, but having few buffers makes the program more reactive because you reduce the commands delay.

Primary soundcard : soundcard to use for media in playing mode. It can be any of your system soundcard.

Primary mapping : channels of the primary soundcard to use for the primary output.

Secondary soundcard : soundcard to use for media in headphone mode. It can be any of your system soundcard.
Tip : a second soundcard to add in the system or a 5.1 soundcard to replace a one output soundcard is less than 40 USD on a standard PC ...

Secondary mapping : channels of the secondary soundcard to use for the secondary output.

Save sound to file : when checked, sound played on primary card is saved to .wav files. This button will be grayed if sound is already playing or if you are using the demo version.
Beware : this will work well only if you have mapped primary soundcard on BOTH channels.
Also note that if you have mapped secondary soundcard on the same physical soundcard as primary, you’ll save everything playing in headphone mode as well. In this case you should turn on saving only when you’re finished setting up your mixes and not use headphone mode while saving.

Base file name : this is not just a folder name but rather complete path and name used when saving to file. Program automaticly adds _001.wav, _002.wav, etc ... if not using metacharacters. You can use metacharacters to get intelligent naming : %a for artist name, %t for title, %f for original file name, %n for track number, %% for percent.
Example : basename c:/cdtodo/song will produce c:/cdtodo/song_001.wav, c:/cdtodo/song_002.wav while basename c:/cdtodo/(%a) - %t will produce c:/cdtodo/(artist) - song.wav

Save fast (but silently) : force saving to file to use the maximum possible speed. Sound will not play while saving.

Encode file into MP3 : force saved files to be MP3 files (not recommended). Requires that you copy the Lame encoder dll (lame_enc.dll) or Blade encoder dll (bladeenc.dll) in the DJ Mix Pro folder.

Make one file per medium : if not checked, sound is saved in one BIG file until sound stops. If checked, sound is saved to many wav files, each finishing in the middle of each mix.

11.4   Misc options tab

Work in secure mode : special mode designed to prevent b any mistake leading to sound stopping without mix. Shows a confirmation window for every dangerous action.

Auto remove after play : remove medium from playlist when done (incompatible with repeat mode).

Repeat mode : automaticaly play first medium again after last medium. This is the endless mode (incompatible with auto remove after play).

Save playlist at exit : automaticaly saves the playlist on exit. Automatically load playlist on program launch (playlist is saved in autosave.m3v).

Save database at exit : automaticaly saves the database on close. Automatically load database on opening (database is saved in autosave.m3d).

Use database cache : cache the database media info in order not to scan all files id3 tags every time you open the database (registered version only). Enable to load the database at lightning speed.

Display spectrum analyser : for nostalgics, allows to show old display (spectrum analyzer) in players instead of volume enveloppe.

Show more timing info : adds more time related fields in player windows.

• Start at position ( distance to Start at position )
• Mix at position ( distance to Mix at position )
• Stop at position ( distance to Stop at position )

Use nomad mode : Instructs the program to put all data files in the program folder. Useful for external drive installations.

Show mute button : for nostalgics that want to have a mute button in players windows.

Check duplicates when inserting in playlist : displays a confirmation window before adding a medium already present in the playlist.

11.5   Prelistening options tab

Pre-load delay : amount of seconds before mix the next medium is loaded.


Prelistening delay : is the duration played before and after the mix.

Lock to beats : indicates weither the cursor commands will stick to beats positions or not.

Also store position in beats : indicates weither the position set in the prelistener window must be stored in beats ( instead of in seconds by default).

Let playing after fade in : Indicates if the play will go on after fade in (prelistening to fade in) or after the first medium’s fadeout (prelistening to mix).

Show mute button : Option to display a mute button on the playing windows.

Autofade everything : Option to put an automatic fade out when stopping or pausing.

Unique auto fade length value : Use the specific value below. Otherwise use the medium fading settings.

Autofade length : The value for fadeout length when option above is checked.

Raw jingles : Play the jingles without startAt, fadeIn, ... Just play it raw from start till end.

11.6   Video options tab

Display Video to : here you can chose a windowed mode or a specific screen fulscreen mode

(Default) Play Video : new media will have this value for «Play Video» property.

Visual plugin behavior : new media will have this value for «Visual plugin behavior» property

Songs information behaviour : select when the songs information will be shown, among "alway" ( continuous) , "every" ( timed) , at "begin and end" and "never"

Songs info every : when Songs information behaviour = every, the number of seconds between information repetition

Show title in infos : media title will appear in songs information subtitles

Show artist in infos : media artist will appear in songs information subtitles

Show year in infos : media year will appear in songs information subtitles

Show next song in infos : next media infos will appear in songs information subtitles

Default Video mixer : new media will have this value for «Video mixer» property

Default Visualization plugin : new media will have this value for « Visualization plugin» property

12   Media properties reference

Here is the most complex window of djmixpro. Do not be scared by the many fields in the window, as it will become clearer very soon.

12.1   Mixing options tab

Note : the next two fields do not appear when properties of several media are displayed at the same time.

Title : the medium’s title if the file provides a mp3 title tag.

Length : the medium’s length.

Note : the following fields appear even when properties of several media are displayed. In such a case, if all media have the same property value, the value is displayed. If media have different property values, no value is displayed. Modifications apply only on properties that are set (not in indeterminate state).

Try Beatlock mix at end : this medium is going to be analysed by the Beatlock routines. At the ending position, djmixpro will try to perform a Beatlock mix between this medium and the next in the list.

Use normalization : at Beatlock analysis time, the medium perceptive volume will be computed. The medium volume will be adjusted at play time so that every medium (having this property set) has perceptualy about the same volume.

Use fading auto detection results : this medium is going to be analysed by a fading search routine. If fading in/out already occurs within the medium, no fading in/out is performed by DJ Mix Pro. If not checked or if not starting at pos 0/stopping at end of medium , the «Use fade in/out» are used to determine if djmixpro has to perform fade in/out rather than the »Use Fading auto detection results« .

Fade at begin : make medium volume rise smoothly from 0 to about 100% when medium starts. Note that when use fading detection is checked and medium starts near position 0, this property is no used (auto detection results is used instead). A fade in is done if no fade in was detected in the medium.

Fade at end : make medium volume smoothly fall to 0% when medium stops. Note that when «Use fading detection» is checked and medium stops near the end, this property is no used (auto detection results is used instead). A fade out is done if no fade out was detected in the medium.

Pitching done on both media : if checked, both media will change their pitch when mixing. If not checked, only the new one will. Changing pitch of both media, you will be able to mix more media togeither since the 2 media allow about 16% pitch change instead of 8% with a single medium.

Using volume (percent) : If set to something bigger than 0, target volume after fade in (default 100%) . If set to 0, then the normalized volume is used, or 100%. Is overridden if you touch the playing medium’s volume control.

Fading in length : length of fade in ( time to rise from 0 to used volume)

Fading out length : length of fade out ( time to go down from used volume to 0)

Pitching length : length of pitch change for Beatlock mixes ( time to go from 100 to target pitch or from target pitch to 100%)

Forced Pitch : permanent pitch applied to the medium when playing ( in percent). If set, it means that the medium is played with an latered BPM

Forced BPM : BPM applied to the medium when playing. If set, it means that the medium is played with a forced pitch to match the requested BPM. You can set either a 'Forced Pitch' or 'Forced BPM' according to your preferences.

Start at : position within medium where mix starts. This doesn’t apply for media not started by a mix.

Mix at : position within medium where mix starts. Can be a negative value if relative to the end of the medium. You have to choose weither you are setting the 'Mix at' or 'End at' property.

End at : position within medium where mix ends. Can be a negative value if relative to the end of the medium.

Mixing length : total length of mix. (length between beginning of next medium’s fade in and end of current medium’s fade out)
Note : if mix at is negative (relative to the end of the medium), you cannot set a mixing length longer than the time remaining after the 'mix at' position.

12.2   Tag infos tab

Note : the following fields do not appear when the properties of several media are displayed. In such a case the window is empty.

File name : the medium’s file name and location.

Note : the 6 following fields can be edited to change the tags of the medium.


Title : the medium’s title tag.

Artist : the medium’s artist tag.

Album : the medium’s album tag.

Year : the medium’s year tag.

Genre : the medium’s genre tag.

Comment : the medium’s comment tag.

Length : the medium’s length.

12.3   Beatlock infos tab

Note : the following fields do not appear when properties of several media are displayed at the same time.

Title : the medium’s title .

Length : the medium’s length.

BPM : this medium’s BPM. Available only if Beatlock status is STATUS OK

Volume when normalized : medium computed volume level for automatic volume match.

Number of beats : the number of beats collected during the Beatlock analysis. Available only if Beatlock status is STATUS OK

Coverage of file : percentage of file containing beats detected by the Beatlock analysis.

Beatlock status : the medium’s Beatlock status. Is may be any one of the following statuses :NO STATUS (YET), BEEING BEATLOCKED,NOT USING BEATLOCK,STATUS OK, STATUS FAILED, BLK NOTALLOWED.

NO STATUS (YET) : this medium has not been analysed yet by the Beatlock routines.

BEEING BEATLOCKED : this medium is currently analysed by the Beatlock routines.

NOT USING BEATLOCK : this medium doesn’t have the use Beatlock mix property.

STATUS OK : this medium was successfully analysed by the Beatlock routines.

STATUS FAILED : the Beatlock routines failed to analyse this medium.

BLK NOT ALLOWED : Beatlock analysis is currently down (you selected the Action->Stop Beatlocking menu).

Has silence in : (indicative) tells if medium starts with a silence.

Has silence out : (indicative) tells if medium ends with a silence.

Has fade in : (indicative) tells if medium starts with a fade in.

Has fade out : (indicative) tells if medium ends with a fade out.


Erase beatlock files : deletes the selected media cache file(s), which contain beat position, BPM, and fading information. This is useful to recompute the cache file.

Divide BPM by 2 : You can use this to fix the BPM and beats if you feel automatic detection got a wrong BPM. Use right click on this button to fix just a section of the medium.

Shift by 1/2 beat : You can use this to fix the beats if you think automatic detection used the opposite beats (snares instead of drums for example). Use right click on this button to fix just a section of the medium.

Double BPM : You can use this to fix the BPM and beats if you feel automatic detection got a wrong BPM. Use right click on this button to fix just a section of the medium.

12.4   Video infos tab

Note : the following fields do not appear when properties of several media are displayed at the same time.

Has video : displays wether the media contains some video content .

Note : the following fields can be edited to change the settings of the medium.

Play video : uncheck to disable video content display.

Visual plugin behaviour : chose when to display visual effects , among "use plugin when no video", "always use plugin", "never use plugin" .

Video Mixer : chose which mixing effect to use for next mix .

Visual plugin : chose which visual plugin to use when playing this medium .

13   Have fun

By now you must know everything useful about DJ Mix Pro.
So have fun and a good party!

Beatlock Technology crew