Numark Virtual Vinyl vs. Serato Scratch Live?
3 02 2007
Numark Virtual Vinyl - Release date 12/29
If you haven’t noticed, Numark is starting to turn out some innovative new DJ products in recent years. I remember back in the day when Numark DJ gear was one step above Gemini. In fact, my first pair of turntables were Numark Belt-Drives and I still have one of my first Numark mixers, I believe it is a DM2002. Now, if you take a second to visit their website at http://www.numark.com/, you will see a lot of new equipment for both the DJ and VJ (Video Jockey.) One such piece of equipment is Numark’s Virtual Vinyl DJ software.
It’s no secret that many DJ’s simply cannot give up their vinyl records, and I am one of them. There is something about the hands-on mixing experience with vinyl that connot be duplicated with modern DJ CD players. In recent years we have seen a few software packages that make an attempt at bridging the analog/digital divide. Stanton Final Scratch, Serato Scratch Live, and more recently PCDJ Scratch. Now Numark Virtual Vinyl is a new player in the game, and it might have a slight advantage over its predecessors. You see, Virtual Vinyl can play and mix video files as well as audio!
Numark Virtual Vinyl Screenshot
Numark’s Virtual Vinyl has all of the features standard in other DJ software programs and some that are not. Master tempo, seamless looping, instant pitch matching, automatic beat-matching, BPM-aware effects, hot-cues, sampling, and more. Another advantage of Numark Virtual Vinyl is its ability to play a wide variety of file formats including MP3, MP3Pro, WAV, AIFF, direct CD, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, MP4, iTunes (non-DRM), DVD, VOB, DIVX, MPG, AVI, Karaoke (CDG), and more. Numark Virtual Vinyl is also compatible with most online music services like Yahoo! Music Unlimited, Virgin Music, Napster Music, and others. This is another big advantage that Numark Virtual Vinyl will have over Serato Scratch Live.
Numark Virtual Vinyl is due out in a few days (Dec 29th, 2006) and will carry a price tag of $499. I plan on giving Virtual Vinyl a test drive at our local Guitar Center as soon as possible.
Can Numark Virtual Vinyl keep up with the big boys of the digital DJ revolution? I guess we will find out after the reviews start rolling in. I do know one thing, Serato Scratch Live has been so successful due in part to its great support network at http://www.scratchlive.net/. If Virtual Vinyl plans on making a serious attempt at our hard-earned DJ money, the better have some sort of Numark Virtual Vinyl Forum to quickly handle all of the issues.
Numark Virtual Vinyl Video
Below are a few retailers that offer Numark’s Virtual Vinyl:
Pro Sound and Stage Lighting: Numark Virtual Vinyl $499
zZounds: Numark Virtual Vinyl $499
Sam Ash: Numark Virtual Vinyl $499
