Hi, I am thinking of using my PC for my mobile, what hardware/software do I ned to be able to DJ using the PC?

You will need a decent multi channel sound card to start with. I have heard the soundblaster 5.1 has been recommended a few times. Anything that has a couple of outputs really, as you need to be able to have a headphone output aswell as a master out.

Then you will need the software to work with. There are loads out there but the a couple are PCDJ, Traxtor or DSSDJ (as advertised on this site). Try some of the free demos and see which you like.

If you have not done so already you will need to put all your cds onto your pc in mp3 format. Again there are a load of different programs to try. I use Windows media player or Audiograbber. Make sure you encode the mp3's at a bitrate of at least 192kbps or you will lose too much quality. And when you encode them, make sure you name them properly (using the id3 tags) as it will make life easier when searching for files later on.

HTH,

Johnny B.

A lot of the feedback given on here regarding software comes from personal choice, so its important that you maybe try each package suggested, first, to find out which has the features you need and is best for you . Luckily, most of the software mentioned on here have free 30 day evaluation downloads, so it makes it very easy to do this.

DSSDJ, has been found to be a little bit buggy by some members who have downloaded it, but i'm sure that the author is working on these problems and any new release will have addressed the issues.

I am in the process of transfering some of my CD's to laptop - simply because i'm in the postion where I'm getting fed up with lugging several boxes of CD's to every gig, and then spending hours looking for "That" difficult request . I chose OTSDJ which is an excellent package abeit one of the more expensive ones . However my first impressions is that it seems very stable, and so far has run without any glitch. OTSDJ is also highly spoke of by several other members, which is how I reached my decision, its also one of the ones which gives you a time limited FREE trial.

I'm running OTS on a P3 700MHZ Laptop with a 20GB HD and 128mb of memory. I am considering upgrading the memory to 256mb since the program does seem to use quite a lot of Memory. It's also important, if you are thinking of using this combination for your roadshow, that you only use Windows and your chosen software package on the machine doing the music. A fresh install of Windows is also advisable and never connect it to the 'net. This way you avoid cluttering up your HD with temp files and other rubbish which can cause conflicts, or use valuable resources. I believe that OTS will run on any machine P2 and above.