Your opinions on Cortex HDC 3000 please!

[chrispeacock]

i have just ordered one of these and i have got a numark dds drive hard drive and cd player on the way to go with this.

whats your opinions on the cortex and dds and any tips on it would be great. what features do you usually use on the cortex. if i wanted to go to the toilet in a gig would i be able to have it on auto mix/continuos play etc.
keeping the dds drive as back up and take a few cd's just incase the hard drve cant be read for some reason

[Excalibur]

Chris, as a veteran digital DJ ( well the veteran bit is not in dispute, :D :D and I've been digital for nearly three years. )
I have a Cortex1000, and a Numark D2. Same as you, but different. ;) :D

Believe me, you'll soon be leaving the CD's at home. The easiest way ( maybe not perhaps the best, but certainly the easiest) is to shove half a dozen sets onto a memory stick, eg background, easy, chart, etc, and then when you want a comfort break, simply select the required set.

[hammy]

i have also just bought the cortex 1000 and am just getting my head around it and what a bit of kit it is, i have also just got from maplins for £39 a 3.5 external hdd box which you can open the end and just slide the hard drive into so i can take a spare hard drive should mine go faulty,its a 5 second change

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=261118

[chrispeacock]

thanks for the reply

will the cortex play a song on the memory stick and then play the next song without you doing anything, if you get the song ready like a playlist of some sort.

im looking forward to trying it out when it turns up now. the hard part is going to be putting my thousands of cds onto harddrive. not looking forward to that. any ideas what is best program to use for that

[WWDJ]

the hard part is going to be putting my thousands of cds onto harddrive. not looking forward to that. any ideas what is best program to use for that

Audiograbber is pretty good. Anything that uses the Lame encoder will serve you well.

[Excalibur]

thanks for the reply

will the cortex play a song on the memory stick and then play the next song without you doing anything, if you get the song ready like a playlist of some sort.
Yes. Again, it's simple. ( And easier than Denon/Numark ). You set one side to run from the stick, the other side to run from the HD, and bingo, away you go. That's the beauty of having, in effect, two completely separate players in one housing. :D



im looking forward to trying it out when it turns up now. the hard part is going to be putting my thousands of cds onto harddrive. not looking forward to that.
I feel your pain. :( Been there............................





any ideas what is best program to use for that

Oh yuss. The universal solution, Media Monkey. After you've tried it, shell out about £15 for the bells and whistles Gold version, it's worth it.

[Shaun]

im looking forward to trying it out when it turns up now. the hard part is going to be putting my thousands of cds onto harddrive. not looking forward to that.

Oh I don't envy you. I remember how long it took me. It's absolutely worth it though.

I used Audiograbber (http://www.audiograbber.org/download.html) for ripping the CD's. It's free. Many people swear by MediaMonkey (http://www.mediamonkey.com/trialpay) too.

[Excalibur]

Oh I don't envy you. I remember how long it took me. It's absolutely worth it though.

I used Audiograbber (http://www.audiograbber.org/download.html) for ripping the CD's. It's free. Many people swear by MediaMonkey (http://www.mediamonkey.com/trialpay) too.

Indeed. The poster before you just did. ;) :p :D :D :D :D

[Shaun]

Indeed. The poster before you just did. ;) :p :D :D :D :D

I noticed that after I posted. In fact, at the time I was posting I was going to say Excalibur will be along soon to explain the benefits of MediaMonkey. Glad you didn't disappoint me. :d#

P.s. I purchased that very software on your recommendation and it's been money well spent. :beer1:

[Excalibur]

I noticed that after I posted. In fact, at the time I was posting I was going to say Excalibur will be along soon to explain the benefits of MediaMonkey. Glad you didn't disappoint me. :d#

P.s. I purchased that very software on your recommendation and it's been money well spent. :beer1:
Frivolous mode: Thank :Censored: for that. I couldn't bear the thought of of being instrumental in wasting your hard earned. ;)


Serious mode engaged: I'm not too hot on software, and so I have to say that the reason I so love MM is that it's so easy to use, so versatile ( it's a ripper, a player, a database, can tag and edit MP3's, and probably some other things I don't know about).

I couldn't get on with Audiograbber at all, though some on here sing its praises.

[Creature]

send the cortex 3000 back and get the 1000 - the 1000 is far better than the 3000 which just has too much onit and save money at the same time

[chrispeacock]

i just tried audiograbber and it wont list the song names. i have to input them myself. that'll take forever to do. also when i rip a cd with these programs can they be ripped straight to the memory stick or external hard drive or do they need to be ripped to the pc first then transferred over

the cortex hdc 3000 cost me £193

[Excalibur]

send the cortex 3000 back and get the 1000 - the 1000 is far better than the 3000 which just has too much onit and save money at the same time

I didn't like to say that, particularly since I've never used a 3000. I strongly considered buying one to work with my 1000, but it didn't offer me anything useful over the 1000. I believe the 3000 isn't as robust as the 1000. I know of one member on here who has recently bought a very cheap 3000, and I will seek a progress report from them.


i just tried audiograbber and it wont list the song names. i have to input them myself. that'll take forever to do. also when i rip a cd with these programs can they be ripped straight to the memory stick or external hard drive or do they need to be ripped to the pc first then transferred over

the cortex hdc 3000 cost me £193
Make sure you're connected to t'interweb when ripping, cos that's where the data is stored. Otherwise you will have to input it manually.:(

When ripping, ( at least in MM ) you can select the destination for the rips. Send it wherever you wish.

[chrispeacock]

i have been told elsewhere that the 1000 is glitchy and the updates dont solve the problems as good as the updates for the 3000

i thought about it but managed to get the 3000 for cheaper than the 1000 so i took a gamble. i will let you know how good it is when it turns up. im suprised how many people use the cortex units to be honest as i had never heard of them until about a month ago

[Excalibur]

i have been told elsewhere that the 1000 is glitchy and the updates dont solve the problems as good as the updates for the 3000

i thought about it but managed to get the 3000 for cheaper than the 1000 so i took a gamble. i will let you know how good it is when it turns up. im suprised how many people use the cortex units to be honest as i had never heard of them until about a month ago

When I bought my first Cortex, the chap in the shop said they were outselling Numark 2:1.

Sadly, I suspect you may have fallen victim to a sales pitch. ;) As far as I know, the reverse is true. The 1000 is regarded as relatively bulletproof, whereas the 3000 is perceived as finicky and fragile.

Edit:Every update I've done on the 10000 has had a beneficial effect, one even being done mid-gig.

[DJ Jules]

i have been told elsewhere that the 1000 is glitchy and the updates dont solve the problems as good as the updates for the 3000

i thought about it but managed to get the 3000 for cheaper than the 1000 so i took a gamble. i will let you know how good it is when it turns up. im suprised how many people use the cortex units to be honest as i had never heard of them until about a month ago

The 1000 and the 3000 are quite different units. The HDC3000 is built around the same software as the HDTT500 (Cortex's poor response to the CDJ1000) so it has effects, hot cues, loops and sampling as well as waveform display and much much bigger displays which are great for building playlists, etc etc. The HDC1000 is built on the same software as the HDC500. I've been told the continuous play feature on the 500/1000 is a lot better than on the 3000 (bear in mind that the HDTT500's were designed to be single, stand alone decks so the 3000 kind of inherits this philosophy). As to which is more stable... the HDC3000 stopped being developed/maintained about 2yrs ago as the HDTT500 was a complete flop so there are probably about 5 HDC500/HDC1000 units out there for every HDC3000. However, once you get to know the unit, and you've built up a library taking Cortex's advice on directory structures, etc, and you've got a decent USB hub, keyboard and hard drive, and you don't try and press too many buttons while it's busy - it's generally very stable.

Having used both the 1000 and the 3000 now, I'd definitely say that the 3000 is worth the extra dosh. While the effects, loops, samples, etc don't get used a lot, the waveform display is invaluable when playing out songs that you're not overly familiar with, the bigger screen is great for building playlists and song selection and the four assignable hot cues are great if you do want to try and be a bit more adventurous.

Julian

[Creature]

the 3000 is no were near as solid as the 1000 - it has been dogged with problems from day one and as far as i know has not really been resolved.

i have used and played with the 3000 extensively and wouldnt have one if you gave it to me.

as for the reported problems with the 1000

there was 2 issues a few years back and I got caught by both - but with some great help from Cortex the problem was resolved - altho it took me nearly 6 months to resolve as cortex say there wasnt a fault - it took one of there engineers to come out with me to see the fault as it would only happen under gigging conditions - the fix was so simple. Cortex not only replaced mine but gave me a refund as well.!

there was also an issue with doing the updates - I get called everytime my local disco shop gets these problems and its always been either the unit was turned off before update was ready or the updating procedure was not followed properly.

As Excaliber says the 1000 is the far better machine - yes its basic but it does what it says on the lid ! you wont find a better digital playout device out there for simplicity and usability. ( that will start a debate )

the only thing really missing from the cortex is an internal hard drive like the Denon - but then again its not really missed.

at the moment i use a 500 gig hard drive bit of a waiste really as only using just over 70 gig. but with using the keyboard everything is great (if you use internal file browser whilst other side is playing may temp freeze) this issue is not there with a mem stick - so its not a cortex issue but the fact im using a hard drive with multipul discs and heads.

I am keeping an eye out on the mem sticks as the 100 gig ones are slowly dropping in price.

if you keep it simple no problems i use the back USb for my hard drive lead stays fixed all the time - have a spare at home for connecting to PC and teh front one for my USB keyboard.

use a powered harddrive prefurably not a laptop one and you should have no problems at all.

the tagging is a real pain in teh butt and is probally teh most boring and longest part of teh job - get it right and it will reward you loads.

may tags are

Band
Genre
song title with band name and year
year

my hard drive index is done in decades till 2000's were currently I am using years until i sort out stuff i no longer need

[chrispeacock]

cheers again for the replies guys, interesting read. i havent bought the unit from a shop so had no sales pitch. i also read last week that the cortex 3000 was basically a paper weight until the updates as they froze all the time. but since cortex sorted out the updates they are virtually bullet proof. if i find i aint happy with it i can always get a hdc 1000 instead and sell the hdc 3000 but i doubt i will if its fine.

i have managed to get my head around audiograbber now but sometimes its slowing my laptop down big time

[DJ Jules]

the 3000 is no were near as solid as the 1000 - it has been dogged with problems from day one and as far as i know has not really been resolved.

As another guy has just said - when the HDC3000 was originally released it was hopeless, but the updates fixed the majority of issues early on. Can you elaborate on what problems you found?

By the way - Using the file browser can make either the HDC1000 or HDC3000 either pause or lock up if you store music in a hierarchy more than 2 folders deep. Cortex don't recommend using the File browser anyway, but then the majority of users will use the Manager software to index a drive, which means you shouldn't ever need to browse (just search using the keyboard).

Julian

[Corabar Steve]

will the cortex play a song on the memory stick and then play the next song without you doing anything, if you get the song ready like a playlist of some sort.


Yes. Again, it's simple. ( And easier than Denon/Numark ). You set one side to run from the stick, the other side to run from the HD, and bingo, away you go. That's the beauty of having, in effect, two completely separate players in one housing. :D
That wasn't what was asked (If I'm reading correctly, it is a completely different question to the one you answered & so far nobody has answered it)

[noris]

Hi Everyone

not heard about the HDC-1000 before but it sounds good just wondering what its like compared to the Numark Hdmix, DDS or Pioneer MEP7000

I want one but dont know which one to get has anyone had any of the above and if so what do they think its like compared to the HDC-1000

Thanks

[Corabar Entertainment]

That wasn't what was asked (If I'm reading correctly, it is a completely different question to the one you answered & so far nobody has answered it)I think I'm reading it the same as you Steve, and if we're reading it correctly, the answer is no... or at least we haven't found a way to do it.

[Corabar Steve]

Ssssssush!!!! We don't want anybody knowing we've got one. They'll all think I use it now! :sj:

[Creature]

As another guy has just said - when the HDC3000 was originally released it was hopeless, but the updates fixed the majority of issues early on. Can you elaborate on what problems you found?

By the way - Using the file browser can make either the HDC1000 or HDC3000 either pause or lock up if you store music in a hierarchy more than 2 folders deep. Cortex don't recommend using the File browser anyway, but then the majority of users will use the Manager software to index a drive, which means you shouldn't ever need to browse (just search using the keyboard).

Jules - even after updates some units still lock up at random. altho the last one I went to see was in aug last year.

to start with a lot f people probally wont have a keyboard, i know i didnt for a few months. and yes i used the cortex manager to create the database but the problem is still there on hard drives. as I said its not a cortex issue but a limitation of the hard drive. even with using teh keyboard tho it is possible to get slight pauses on teh deck thats playing - again as i have said its a limitation of the harddrives - and on mem stick teh issue is not there at all.

I stand by my comment wouldnt use a 3000 even if given to me !

but teh 1000 will never part with

[chrispeacock]

i have a keyboard. im going to stick a hard drive in the dds unit to see if that is any better than and external one. or as mentioned usb stick might be on the cards if i find it pausing at all

[chrispeacock]

the cortex hdc 3000 turned up today and looks great. is easy to use, and didnt quite fit in my box. so i went up the old mans who has a better spare box than mine. my dds numark dvd player and hard drive turned up from germany 2 mins later. tidy darts.

so i fitted these to the new box alone with the mixer and i also fitted the old dual cd mixer in there so i can use both in upcoming gigs until i am confident that i can do a whole gig with the cortex and single cd dds player

the dds and cortex matched up straight away. and can even play 2 songs off the same disc at the same time. never even knew that was possible.

the cortex wouldnt let me external hrddrive connect to it though and would crash straight away as someone suggested on here. but it worked perfectly off my 8gb ipod and 16gb phone for 2 hours without crashing at all.

im still waiting for my usb keyboard to turn up but its pretty easy without it to be honest

[sweetie]

glad to hear you are happy, best of luck with it

[chrispeacock]

im looking at getting a hard drive to go into the one built in the dds part. before i do buy anything though i would rather know that this would work and not crash like the external jobbie

[Excalibur]

thanks for the reply

will the cortex play a song on the memory stick and then play the next song without you doing anything, if you get the song ready like a playlist of some sort.



Yes. Again, it's simple. ( And easier than Denon/Numark ). You set one side to run from the stick, the other side to run from the HD, and bingo, away you go. That's the beauty of having, in effect, two completely separate players in one housing..


That wasn't what was asked (If I'm reading correctly, it is a completely different question to the one you answered & so far nobody has answered it)

OK Steve, on second reading, I agree that I misunderstood the question.:o However, I must be mising something here, because it's a doddle to get the Cortex to keep playing. Just give it a category, and off it goes. It's stopping the blighter that's the problem. :D

If I search for a genre, let's say Tamla Motown, and select it, and then press play, it will continously play every track listed. Simples. In fact it's so simples, I'm convinced that that isn't the question everybody wanted answering, either. :daft: :daft:

[Corabar Entertainment]

If I search for a genre, let's say Tamla Motown, and select it, and then press play, it will continously play every track listed. Simples. In fact it's so simples, I'm convinced that that isn't the question everybody wanted answering, either. :daft: :daft::confused: Without any gaps? I didn't think it could do that (and the Denon does).

If the Cortex does truly continuous play, please share the secret :D

[noris]

chrispeacock

Once you have had a little play with it can you let us know how is it

Thank you

[Booche]

I use the hdc1000 and have had no issues what so ever BUT i currently used a hdc3000 and had issues,

Firstly on the 1000 when you pess menu is goes back to the main folder etc but on the 3000 ive ben told its a glitch and on some of the models etc it doesn't so you have to reload the memory stick every time you play a track on that side :(

i feel the 1000 is better as i feel the 3000 is the same model with just more controls etc which it cant handle.

Ill stick with my hdc1000 as like i sy ive had no issues what so ever

If Peter can explain how to get "Continuous Play" from one stick ill be happy as sometimes (toilet break etc) i have to revert back to the laptop on auto dj lol

[Excalibur]

If Peter can explain how to get "Continuous Play" from one stick ill be happy as sometimes (toilet break etc) i have to revert back to the laptop on auto dj lol

RTFM. :p
p17, Single mode off. Unit runs continuously through the list of tracks available. For the posh version: P22, engage shuffle mode, so that if you have duplicates on, it doesn't play them back to back.

You lot must be asking something different to the question I'm asking, because it's too simple an answer for everyone except me to have missed it. :daft: :daft: :daft: :daft:

[Excalibur]

By the way, don't forget it's possible to have each side of the Cortex set differently, if you don't want it to run continuously.

[chrispeacock]

does the hdc 1000 have issues running from a hard drive aswel

[Booche]

does the hdc 1000 have issues running from a hard drive aswel

Mine doesn't and i run a 500gb hdd in a external caddy but i shall be swapping soon to either a 500gb or 1tb passport hdd

[Corabar Entertainment]

does the hdc 1000 have issues running from a hard drive aswel
What hard drive are you trying to run, because we've had no problems running hard drives with the 3000 (the only problem we had was a power issue as the result of a break in the lead on the transformer which was sorted by shortening the lead)?

[Excalibur]

does the hdc 1000 have issues running from a hard drive aswel

No. None whatsoever. I don't know where you've got hold of that idea, because it has absolutely no problems whatsoever running one, two, or three simultaneously. I know, cos I've done it. You must however follow Excalibur's Three Golden Rules:-

Rule1) Power everything.
Rule2) Power everything
Rule 3) Power everything.


What hard drive are you trying to run, because we've had no problems running hard drives with the 3000 (the only problem we had was a power issue as the result of a break in the lead on the transformer which was sorted by shortening the lead)?
Pound to a penny, it's a portable drive, ie unpowered.;) :( :(

[chrispeacock]

its a 250gb seagate freeagent.

it goes to load up then freezes the whole machine before i can do anything with it. didnt do this at all with the ipod or my phone.

trying to decide which hard drive to put into the caddy for the dds drive

by the way its powered aswel

[Corabar Steve]

Just a thought, have you tried defragging it?

[chrispeacock]

im a computer noob. so wouldnt know how to defrag it

[Corabar Steve]

If your PC is like mine, attach it via a USB port to your computer.

On your start menu go to all programs accessories > system tools > disc defragmenter.

Choose the letter assigned to the drive you want to defrag & hit the defrag button

[Excalibur]

its a 250gb seagate freeagent.

it goes to load up then freezes the whole machine before i can do anything with it. didnt do this at all with the ipod or my phone.

trying to decide which hard drive to put into the caddy for the dds drive

by the way its powered aswel

Errr, I don't like to quarrel, but on the Seagate site I found,

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent/
the only 250Gb Freeagent is unpowered.

I have not had any unpowered drive work with a Cortex.

[hammy]

If it is unpowered and its a 3.5 inch sata rip it out of the casing and look at post 3 and buy one of them in the link

[Excalibur]

If it is unpowered and its a 3.5 inch sata rip it out of the casing and look at post 3 and buy one of them in the link

Granted this these aren't fast swap, but at half the price, you could buy two.
http://cpc.farnell.com/newlink/cdlsb-805/enclosure-3-5-ide-usb2-0-hdd/dp/CS18449
http://cpc.farnell.com/newlink/cdlsb-806/enclosure-3-5-sata-usb2-0-hdd/dp/CS18450

[chrispeacock]

i will try a defrag now then if its that easy

the external hard drive has a power lead which needs to be plugged in to the wall for it to work. im assuming that is powered

[Excalibur]

i will try a defrag now then if its that easy

the external hard drive has a power lead which needs to be plugged in to the wall for it to work. im assuming that is powered

It is indeed. I apologise, for I could only find unpowered ones of the size you described.
For comparison, I would suggest trying another similar drive, and see what happens.

[chrispeacock]

no need to apologise. you were trying to help. thanks anyway. its defragging now. says i have never defragged it

[Excalibur]

Another left of centre thought. I presume you created the Hard drive with a Windows PC, and not a Mac, because the Mac can create a file system which the Cortex can't read. HTFS+

[chrispeacock]

i created it on windows. the cortex recognises the hard drive now but only half the songs can be found on the cortex. and they are only popping in in file browser. i havent got a user manual with it

[Creature]

I refure the honerable gentlemen to my previous posts in this thread about harddrives and the 3000.

but a couple of things worth trying which i have had some success with.

go thru your mp3 folder on your computer and make sure everything is only 1 directory deep !

1. destroy the partition on the harddrive
2. reformat it to NTFS (not the quick version but the slow full format)
3. re copy your files accross
4. using the cortex database manager
5. create your database
6. once that has finished
7. in teh cortex database browser select "create Database"
8. click on "create playlist"
9. name teh playlist ( I use teh date)
10. from right window double click on the harddrive letter for external drive ( so it expands)
11. click n hold the external drive letter in right window and drag it to the middle window ( it may take awhile)
12. once it has finnished
13. shut down the cortex manager and close windows.
14. once computer shut down remove external harddrive
15. connect to cortex 3000 unit BUT DO NOT TURN hardrive on
16. fire up teh Cortex
17. when it asks for harddrive turn it on and wait
18. using the buttons on teh unit
19. scroll down and select playlist option
20. load up teh playlist you created
21. may take afew seconds depending on how many tracks you got on there.
22 try it out

hopefully it should now work. I have had about 70% success rate doing teh above and in fact do it all the time with my 2 1000's as well.

[chrispeacock]

thas a very detailed description. thanks for taking the time to write it out. great help. will try it now. only bit confusing me is the reformat part

[Creature]

ok windows allows 2 option to format harddrives a quick option and a full option

1 the quick option only formats the boot sector leaving the old info there recoverable altho you cant see it.

2. the full option takes a lot longer but physically formats the whole harddrive

you need to use option 2

[chrispeacock]

it says my default is NTFS

[Creature]

thats right :)

[chrispeacock]

think i have figured it out from your description now. will create a few playlists and have a go of it later

[DJ Jules]

What hard drive are you trying to run, because we've had no problems running hard drives with the 3000 (the only problem we had was a power issue as the result of a break in the lead on the transformer which was sorted by shortening the lead)?

I've been running with a hard drive on the HDC3000 since day one and I've never had a problem (I've had problems because of a dodgy keyboard and dubious MP3's, but not because of the hard drive). If your hard drive can't keep up, then there's a chance that a) you're using a very slow hard disk, b) your hard drive is badly fragmented or c) you're not adhering to Cortex's advice on directory structure, number of files, hard drive format, etc etc. i.e, Is the hard disk formatted in FAT32 (not NTFS)? Do you have more than 1000 tracks in a single folder? Are your organising your folders more than 2 deep?

EDIT : Sorry - just read a few more posts and realised that the majority of this advice has already been given. Note that Cortex recommend FAT32 - the drive I use came formatted as NTFS and the drive would read on the Cortex for a few seconds after I plugged it in, and then the unit would reboot - the HDC units really don't like it at all and you also can't save cue points, playlists, waveform files, hot cue points, loops, etc back to the drives while you're using it. It's also slower for the unit to read... which could explain your problems with stuttering.

Formatting a large drive using FAT32 is difficult though as windows will only let you format up to 32Gb using FAT32. There's a bunch of other tools available for formatting large FAT32 drives though (contact Cortex and they'll send you one).

Julian

[Excalibur]

i created it on windows. the cortex recognises the hard drive now but only half the songs can be found on the cortex. and they are only popping in in file browser. i havent got a user manual with it

Aha!:D Now we're getting somewhere. Am I right in assuming you've not run Cortex Manager on the HD? The symptoms sound exceedingly like that.
Start here. http://www.cortex-pro.com/
Your model is this one.
http://www.cortex-pro.com/hdc_3000.php?t=2

And this is your manual.
http://www.cortex-pro.com/upload/HDC3000%20Manual%20wBPM.zip

Download Cortex Manager 2.0, run it on your drive, and all should run like clockwork. It's way faster to create the database with a PC than the Cortex, though one famous resident here does just that.

Edit: Cortex won't read WMA files, by the way. Only MP3, WAV, and CD-Audio.

It will however read HFS+ drives, so can be used with a Mac, my mistake.

2nd Edit: 1000's don't mind NTFS in the slightest. I run all mine this way. 3000's, well I don't know.

[chrispeacock]

this is only letting me search for songs on the cortex through the file browser section and wont let me use the keyboard in file browser.

i have managed to us the keyboard once, but came up as zero results even though the album i was looking for was already playing

[chrispeacock]

actually managed to get some of the songs working that it wouldnt pick up earlier. but when the drive connects to one side, i can now use the keyboard, artist, genre, song, string etc. but the other side automatically goes to file browser mode so i cant use the other features that i can use on the first side

[Creature]

in that case one or 2 options

1.try another keyboard - to eliminate possible faulty keyboard wire

2. if still faulty try in other usb socket - if it does the same in one or both you have a faulty unit.

may be worth checking the bios version at www.cortex-pro.com - if newer bios available the follow the intructions carefully.

I am suspecting tho that you have brought a faulty unit - hence why it was cheep. if no luck with any of the above and you brought from a shop then take it back and get a refund and go buy a 1000 from somewere else.

If you brought privately then you could be stuffed.

[chrispeacock]

i have got it working much better than it was. but it has crashed twice in last 5 mins. the keyboard is new. but the screen looks different with a k in the right hand corner. it wont let me go back to the screen where is has search albums, search bpm, search genres, search string etc. is there a way of going back to this. other than that im getting the hang of it. keyboard works in search by string

[Creature]

you should still be able to get to the set up menu

with keyboard you dont need the search options just type in the artist or track name and it should bring them up.

you can still search via the keyboard - just type in genere or teh year

but remember the end result is only as good as the tagging. time spent here will save a lot of headaches later down teh line.

whilst your checking the tagging make sure there are no VBR (Variable Biterate ) mp3s as these can cause problems especially freezing of the unit.

when you rip your audio cds make sure VBR is unticked for best results rip at 320 bit rate and 441000MHZ (cortex dont reconise higher NHZ)

[hammy]

the keyboard is new. but the screen looks different with a k in the right hand corner.

And if you press the TAB button the K should move to the other screen,the k is there to tell you which side the keyboard is using K= keyboard

[DJ Jules]

i have got it working much better than it was. but it has crashed twice in last 5 mins. the keyboard is new. but the screen looks different with a k in the right hand corner. it wont let me go back to the screen where is has search albums, search bpm, search genres, search string etc. is there a way of going back to this. other than that im getting the hang of it. keyboard works in search by string

RTFM? :D Actually, that was a bit premature, I remember the manual doesn't contain the keyboard shortcuts! A little known fact though, if you press "EDIT" to bring up the settings menu and then press the INFO button, it'll bring up a list of all the keyboard shortcuts. A Help menu item might have been better, but there you go...

CTRL+S on the keyboard to return to your last search results anyway.

On the FAT32 vs NTFS debate, even if the 1000's can use NTFS, they still can't write to the file system, which means you still can't save playlists, cue points, Hot cue points, loops, etc out to the disk for the next time you play out (possibly one of the most useful features I've found on the unit).

Julian

[Excalibur]

RTFM?
I posted a link to it, since he doesn't appear to have one. Sadly, he doesn't appear to have read it either. :(


On the FAT32 vs NTFS debate, even if the 1000's can use NTFS, they still can't write to the file system, which means you still can't save playlists, cue points, Hot cue points, loops, etc out to the disk for the next time you play out (possibly one of the most useful features I've found on the unit).

Julian

Agreed without any argument, but: That's advanced. Can we just get it running properly first, and then move on to advanced? Unless of couurse it's FUBAR, in which case we're struggling. :daft:

[chrispeacock]

i have read he link but it just confuses me that it works great on the ipod and and android phone but only works with all menus on one side with the hard drive. i know its probably something i have done or havent done yet.

sometimes it comes up as analysing vbr so i may have some of these songs on the hard drive. im getting somewhere with it with all your advice and i thank you again. hopefully will figure it out soon. if not i will ring cortex for advice as people have said they are helpful

[Excalibur]

i have read he link but it just confuses me that it works great on the ipod and and android phone but only works with all menus on one side with the hard drive. i know its probably something i have done or havent done yet. sometimes it comes up as analysing vbr so i may have some of these songs on the hard drive. im getting somewhere with it with all your advice and i thank you again. hopefully will figure it out soon. if not i will ring cortex for advice as people have said they are helpful

Have you run Cortex manager on the HD? Until you do this, I think serious progress is unlikely. Also, before running any system like Cortex manager, or Numark librarian, always remember to empty the recycle bin. Honest.

[chrispeacock]

my cortex manager is saved on the laptop but i have been using it to sort out the files on the hard drive. do i actually have to save the cortex manager on the HD aswel. and i havent emptied the recycle bin yet

[Excalibur]

my cortex manager is saved on the laptop but i have been using it to sort out the files on the hard drive. do i actually have to save the cortex manager on the HD aswel. and i havent emptied the recycle bin yet

You don't save it on the HD, you run it on the hd to create a database. This database is what allows the Cortex to find the tracks by searching. Without this, it can only find them in file search. Can you not find someone with a spare HD full of nice mp3's, run Cortex manager on it, plug it in and see if it cures your Cortex? Substitution is always the answer. Change HD, and it works, HD faulty. Change HD for a known good one, and no change-Cortex faulty. Simples.

[Corabar Steve]

Might be a daft question, but you have actually verified the database haven't you?

[Excalibur]

Might be a daft question, but you have actually verified the database haven't you?

I've never found that necessary, but perhaps the 3000 needs it. :confused: I'm convinced that the problems here are related to the database ( or lack of it ).

[chrispeacock]

the cortex doesnt ask me to verify the database when the hard drve is connected but it does ask me to verify the data with the android or ipod connected


i have also taken out my hard drive from my old sky box because i have been told i can use this in my dds drive but the connections are different

[chrispeacock]

like you say in previous post i think this needs to be a process of elimination

[hammy]

well if the cortex isnt asking you to verify the hard drive but is on anything else then just a guess i think i know which part is going wrong hmmmmm hard drive perhaps????.
Are you using the same usb port each time you connect something???

[Excalibur]

well if the cortex isnt asking you to verify the hard drive but is on anything else then just a guess i think i know which part is going wrong hmmmmm hard drive perhaps????.
Are you using the same usb port each time you connect something???

I tend to get that question with USB sticks, rather than hard drives, but your view is logical. I'd like to see a known good drive connected in, to see what happens, much as in your post.

[fidsey]

Hi I formatted my seagate 500gb hardrive by downloading a program to format to FAT32. The formatting takes seconds and theres no restrictions on size of drive, just click on which drive you wan't to format and away it goes. My 3000 works fine with the harddrive but using the keyboard does tend to make things freeze a bit.:confused: Apart from the freezing the cortex runs like a dream even when selecting filebrowser it does'nt effect the sound when one side is playing. I downloaded itunes to compile my harddrive with excellent results.:)

[chrispeacock]

i dont actually know anyone who has got a cortex to use their hard drive.

i definately think its the hard drive. looking for an IDE hard drive as my sky box one was 300gb but SATA, there is no room for an adaptor in the dds caddy

[Excalibur]

i dont actually know anyone who has got a cortex to use their hard drive.


It doesn't need to be from a Cortex. Laptop, family member, nearby DJ, total stranger, whatever. As long as it's full of nice shiny mp3's, and you run Cortex Manager on it to create a database, it's fine. It won't affect the drive for any other purpose. I once had a drive which was indexed for VDJ, Media Monkey, Cortex, and Numark, all at the same time!! :eek: :eek: :D :D

[chrispeacock]

i will look into doing it to FAT32. works fine with file browser but cant search through one side with the buttons other than file browser/playlists. only with the hard drive. maybe the database hasnt created properly

[DJ Jules]

Agreed without any argument, but: That's advanced. Can we just get it running properly first, and then move on to advanced? Unless of couurse it's FUBAR, in which case we're struggling. :daft:

Agreed - but in my case I found I couldn't get up and running without using FAT32 on a HDC3000... hence my suggestion ;)


the cortex doesnt ask me to verify the database when the hard drve is connected but it does ask me to verify the data with the android or ipod connected

If it's not asking you to verify the DB, then there's no DB to verify - so it hasn't created it properly. If you look on the hard disk you should have two folders called .db and .pl in the root of the drive which contain the database (db) and playlists (pl). If you haven't got these, then you don't have a DB and you need to use the Cortex Manager software to create the DB (run the software, plug in the hard disk, select the drive from the list on the left hand side, click on "Create DB").

Julian

[chrispeacock]

yes i have done this but im going to delete it and try again, i got a feeling it got interupted last time the database was created

[hammy]

and i would also stick with a SATA not ide as they are slowly being fazed out

[chrispeacock]

i have picked up a 160Gb IDE hard drive and its fitted in the caddy. but when the dds is linked to the laptop its recognises it but wont let me format it and i cant access it to send music files over to the hard drive.

any ideas or knowledge are welcome

[Corabar Entertainment]

Chris

God knows I'm not the most technically-minded person on here, but I am getting very confused by some of the things you are saying.

At one point, you're saying you're using an external 250GB powered Seagate FreeAgent hard drive, now you're talking about a completely different (what I assume to be) internal drive that you appear to have fitted into a casing yourself (despite being a complete newbie to computers in general).

Are you saying that you've got this second drive to try and determine if it was the Seagate at fault? People suggested trying a hard drive that you KNOW works, because otherwise you're not eliminating anything.

Also, early on in this thread, you said...
the hard part is going to be putting my thousands of cds onto harddrive. not looking forward to that. any ideas what is best program to use for thatSurely you cannot have ripped your CDs already, so where has this database of music come from? Or have you just ripped a few for testing purposes?

Can I suggest a re-cap, starting from the beginning with what you've done; what you've tried; what works; what doesn't (maybe using bullet points) to try and see where you are.

[chrispeacock]

i have ripped about 100 cd's so far using audio grabber as suggested onto my 250gb external hard drive.

i have downloaded cortex manager and created database onto 250gb external hard drive.

i have linked this up to the cortex using usb port.

i have organised my files on the cortex manager.

i have tried my ipod and my android phone on the cortex and they work fine.

i have linked up my Numark DDS drive to the cortex and the cd drive of it works.

i have bought an internal 160gb HDD to go into the DDS unit and the PC shop fitted this for me. this is why i wanted the DDS unit so i could store music in one unit neatly.

i am trying to find and access the 160gb HDD through my laptop but it only finds it but i cant access it. i want to try this to see if it runs better than the external.

at present i have deleted the created database on the 250gb hard drive but kept the music on there so i can try to create the database again and it seems to be taking much longer this time as the first time it took 5 mins but was interupted as my laptop crashed

[sweetie]

have you tried formating the 160gb drive?

[chrispeacock]

it shows up as its there but doesnt say how big the drive is and doesnt give me the option to format it. can i manually find an option to format the drive. this will be a big help

[hammy]

Yes go into control panel (on your laptop) make sure hdd is connected. once in control panel go into Administrative tools, from there double click computer managment, Then click on tools and find it in there and format it.

Or a quicker way might be to right click and format it but dont use quick format.

[chrispeacock]

just got home from wor.k so i will try that tonight. cheers. learn something new everyday.

[chrispeacock]

when in control panel i get given a list of hard drives and what space is left on them except the 160gb unit from the dds. the harddrive is in the dds unit and locked in place. the usb cable comes out of the back and goes into the laptop usb port. this cable is the only usb port at the back of the dds. so im assuming the cabel takes both dvd drive and HDD info to and from the dds to the laptop.

the laptop picks up 2 devices both named the same, but doesnt say how big they are or whether i can format them. not many options to do anything with them.

also the cortex picks them both up but wont let me access the HDD part yet as it got no music on it and has not been formatted yet

[DJ Jules]

when in control panel i get given a list of hard drives and what space is left on them except the 160gb unit from the dds. the harddrive is in the dds unit and locked in place. the usb cable comes out of the back and goes into the laptop usb port. this cable is the only usb port at the back of the dds. so im assuming the cabel takes both dvd drive and HDD info to and from the dds to the laptop.

It sounds like the hard drive probably needs to be partitioned. Attach it to your laptop. Then go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer management, then click on "Disk Management" in the left hand pane and look for an entry which says something like "Disk 1 Removable" and then come back and tell us what it says to the right of that line (in the image below, look for something which looks like the bit circled in Red, and tell us what the bit in Blue says).

10428

Julian

[chrispeacock]

the 160gb internal drive is doing a full format as we speak thanks. had to find it a different way as those options werent on my screen.
it gave me the option of ntfs and exFAT. i chose exFAT

i have deleted the created database on the 250gb so i can re-create it. it gets to 93% and crashes out everytime saying there was a problem encountered by cortex manager and it switches off. it would cause the cortex to not read the drive properly experiencing a problem when it was created

[Excalibur]

the 160gb internal drive is doing a full format as we speak thanks. had to find it a different way as those options werent on my screen.
it gave me the option of ntfs and exFAT. I chose exFAT
I don't know if that's a good idea. :confused: I don't see that format as being supported in the handbook. :confused:


it gets to 93% and crashes out everytime saying there was a problem [/COLOR]encountered by cortex manager and it switches off. it would cause the cortex to not read the drive properly experiencing a problem when it was created

I've encountered that sometimes myself. I can't give you a cast iron reason for it, but as I said before, I'd make sure you empty the recycle bin before attempting to create another. Don't forget that you'll have to empty the bin after you delete the database, and before you create the new one.

[DJ Jules]

I've encountered that sometimes myself. I can't give you a cast iron reason for it, but as I said before, I'd make sure you empty the recycle bin before attempting to create another. Don't forget that you'll have to empty the bin after you delete the database, and before you create the new one.

This is going to sound like a bit of a crazy suggestion, but it's worth downloading the Denon Music Manager and running it against the hard disk. It actually weeds out a lot more problems with MP3's than the Cortex manager which will hopefully give you some protection against the decks crashing when you're playing out (and it doesn't crash either). You can turn off the Recycle bin on the removal disk, by right clicking on the recycle bin on your desktop, locating the tab which relates to the drive letter you're using, and checking off the enable box.

exFat is something else again, and I don't think the Cortex will recognise it (though I've never tried). Get in touch with Cortex's tech support and they'll send you a utility to format the drive as FAT32, or just google for 3rd party utilities to do it.

Julian

[Corabar Entertainment]

May I ask another stupid question? ....why, when every time formatting has been mentioned in this thread, the person giving advice has suggested formatting to either NTFS or FAT32, would you go ahead and format the disc to something else entirely?

:confused: :daft: :confused:

[Excalibur]

May I ask another stupid question? ....why, when every time formatting has been mentioned in this thread, the person giving advice has suggested formatting to either NTFS or FAT32, would you go ahead and format the disc to something else entirely?

:confused: :daft: :confused:

So many possible answers. So few suitable, serious, relevant or permissible ones. :zip: :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[chrispeacock]

the laptop only gave me the option of ntfs and exfat. if it dont work then i will have to format it to fat32 with appropriate program from cortex

[chrispeacock]

i have now formatted to fat32 and added a small amount of music to it just to try out but it crashes out randomly after about 10 mins. sometimes the screen goes blank and other times the screen has a skull and bones on it as if i have pulled the usb cable out without making it safe to do so. but i have folowed the correct proceedures

[chrispeacock]

i have had it on for about 1-2 hours now and its been working great. search functions working fine and finiding it easy enough to use.

[DJ Jules]

i have now formatted to fat32 and added a small amount of music to it just to try out but it crashes out randomly after about 10 mins. sometimes the screen goes blank and other times the screen has a skull and bones on it as if i have pulled the usb cable out without making it safe to do so. but i have folowed the correct proceedures

That sounds like either bad MP3's or a dodgy USB cable/drive?

Having seen your follow up post, I'm assuming you've got it working now? Did you change anything?

Julian

[Excalibur]

That sounds like either bad MP3's or a dodgy USB cable/drive?

Having seen your follow up post, I'm assuming you've got it working now? Did you change anything?Julian

Yeah, do tell. We're on tenterhooks. Often the breakthrough is blindingly simple.

It's unlikely, but when I got my D2 after being a committed Cortex fan, I was ready to send it back after two days!! :eek: Suddenly I saw the light, and it's now a valued part of the kit.

[chrispeacock]

i disconnected the cable. fitted it back in the laptop and re-verified it. then inked it back up to the cortex and worked fine. fingers crossed it has sorted it but if it is dodgy mp3 files then it could be that. i wouldnt know how to check them for that. they are mostly ripped through audio grabber from genuine discs and some are from itunes

[Excalibur]

i disconnected the cable. fitted it back in the laptop and re-verified it. then inked it back up to the cortex and worked fine. fingers crossed it has sorted it but if it is dodgy mp3 files then it could be that. i wouldnt know how to check them for that. they are mostly ripped through audio grabber from genuine discs and some are from itunes

Well I hope you converted them to MP3 then, because as far as I'm aware, the Cortex won't accept AAC files. ( Apple's lossless format, I believe. ) ;) This may perhaps be one reason for the difficulties. :confused:

[Vectis]

AAC files. ( Apple's lossless format, I believe. )

You believe wrong, sir.

AAC is a lossy format.

Apple Lossless, is, as it's name suggests, lossless.

[Excalibur]

You believe wrong, sir.

AAC is a lossy format.

Apple Lossless, is, as it's name suggests, lossless.

Alright, Smartarse. :o :o Now bog off, this thread's for Cortex users. :p :D :D :D :D :D

AAC is the standard form for itunes though, isn't it? :confused: :confused:

[chrispeacock]

this may be the problem then.

is there a way for me to search the hard drive for any AAC files and change them to mp3 format from there

[Excalibur]

this may be the problem then.

is there a way for me to search the hard drive for any AAC files and change them to mp3 format from there

Errrr, yes, and no. Windows explorer wlll let you spot the AAC files, and delete them. You can then convert them to mp3 in itunes itself, and put them back on the hd safely.


.

[chrispeacock]

looking at alot of my files and they are mpeg-4 audio m4a

[Corabar Steve]

For the sake of everybody's sanity, http://planetsmilies.net/sign-smiley-507.gif (http://planetsmilies.net)

Half of your problems could have been avoided
:sj: :sj:

[Excalibur]

For the sake of everybody's sanity, http://planetsmilies.net/sign-smiley-507.gif (http://planetsmilies.net)

Half of your problems could have been avoided
:sj: :sj:

RTFM? :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: Why oh why didn't anyone suggest that earlier? :confused: :confused: :confused:


Oh hang on,somebody did, in post #58.;) :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Corabar Steve]

It's getting to the point that it needed reiterating :sj:

[chrispeacock]

very true. i have learnt a lot from you guys. the manual is very basic. i have a lot to learn about these.

im trying this out on friday in an 18th birthday with dual cd players as backup. but the way its going this wil be staying in the house

[Booche]

Using a cortex hdc whether its the 3000 OR the 1000 is sooooo easy lol

I have only ever used the 1000 before i used Corabar's 3000 and i must say it was just the same apart from a few more buttons etc

Stick a memory card in with mp3's on and off you go lol ive never let my hdc make a playlist or anything i just select browse files and choose that way.

If in doubt take a lappy backup if possible and use that if in dire need BUT have a play at home mate before taking to a gig as the worse thing is to "try" it at a live gig just incase it goes wrong

If you can use a cd player you can use a cortex :D

[Excalibur]

It's getting to the point that it needed reiterating :sj:
Well you could have just said so again? :confused: :confused:


very true. i have learnt a lot from you guys. the manual is very basic. i have a lot to learn about these.

Basic it may be, but it has nice big piccies, and clear rules. I have been reading mine on a regular basis just lately, and all the necessary info is there to enable anyone to get the thing running.



I have only ever used the 1000 before i used Corabar's 3000 and i must say it was just the same apart from a few more buttons etc Dave, you silly person. :p That can't have been a Cortex, it must have been the Denon. That would be why it had extra buttons. ;) Honestly Dave, do you really think Steve would buy a Cortex, after all the comments on here? :whistle: :D :D :D



Stick a memory card in with mp3's on and off you go lol ive never let my hdc make a playlist or anything i just select browse files and choose that way.
Absolutely. You can have it working from a stick minutes after you take it out of the box. Don't try to run before you can walk.



If you can use a cd player you can use a cortex :D

So true. They even look the same. But no MP3 player will work if you haven't prepared the hard drive correctly, and used correct hardware.

[chrispeacock]

I am new to all this computer stuff but trying my best. Got to learn sometime. I have defrqgged the hard drive and. Searched for bad sectors and it says its fine.

[Corabar Entertainment]

do you really think Steve would buy a Cortex, Steve didn't. :p

[Corabar Steve]

Beat me to it.

I would also like to point out, that Steve doesn't use it either. :sj:

[Excalibur]

I would also like to point out, that Steve doesn't use it either. :sj:

Afraid you might like it too much? :whistle:

[Corabar Steve]

er....................


























































Nah! :sj:

[Excalibur]

er....................
Nah! :sj:

I'm saying nothing. :zip: My friend might though. :whistle:

[chrispeacock]

my 16gb memory stick turned u today and i have added just mp3 files to this and it seems to be working as it should. hasnt crashed yet. will try it out a bit more tomorrow.

if this works then i will be doing the same to the 160gb hard drive

[DJ Jules]

if this works then i will be doing the same to the 160gb hard drive

Doing the same what? What did you do to it?

:confused:

Julian

[Corabar Entertainment]

Doing the same what? What did you do to it?

:confused:

JulianClearing out all the non-MP3 files

[chrispeacock]

as above. no itunes music on this now.

i would like to figure out if i can convert all my itunes music to m3 format so i can use the itunes music and my mpeg music aswel

[chrispeacock]

i tried this out last night. system crashed once but luckily i was using a cd at the time. much easier to use in a disco especially for requests. once i can stop the random crashing issue this will be a big help in my disco work.

the crash happened when i was skiping through the search menu's

[chrispeacock]

i used this last night and was lucky i had my cd player with me as the cortex crashed 3 times within 30 mins about 2 hours into the gig.

thinking of selling it as it bugging me now. only mp3 files present on the memory stick aswel

[DJ Jules]

i used this last night and was lucky i had my cd player with me as the cortex crashed 3 times within 30 mins about 2 hours into the gig.

thinking of selling it as it bugging me now. only mp3 files present on the memory stick aswel

Were you trying to get at the same MP3 each time it crashed?

Have you tried running the contents of the Memory stick through Denon's Music manager to root out any nasty MP3's which might upset the Cortex?

Were you searching by typing words into the keyboard (i.e. have you run the Cortex management software over the memory stick), or were you just browsing files on the drive?

Is the memory stick now formatted as FAT32 or NTFS?

Are you storing files in directories more than 2 levels deep (i.e H:\Music\Blah\Something.mp3?)

I think you've mentioned this already, but is the unit on the latest version of the firmware?

Julian

[chrispeacock]

latest version of firmware is running on the cortex
memory stick formatted to FAT32
directories no more than 2 deep
cortex manager used to create and verify the memory stick

it crashed in the middle of playing a song 3 times. different songs, no warning, just music stopped and back the the main menu it went. luckily it was a mates engagement party and i managed to cover it up with some mic work and had a cd loaded in the cd player anyway just incase. just dont look professional really does it cutting out at will whenever it feels like. just cant relax with it. on edge constantly

other than that it is much easier to use than the usual dual cd player setup but is a pain when it wants to be.

[Corabar Steve]

Were you doing anything with it when it "crashed"? (other than just playing a track, for example, were you searching on the "other" deck?)

When you say main menu, what exactly did the screen display?

[Excalibur]

If I were a betting man, I'd look at some form of interruption to the power somewhere. Unplugging something or similar. Also, I've forgotten the answer, but if there's a hub involved anywhere, make sure it has its own power supply.

I've never had a song stop playing like you describe, but I have known the units fail to load or search properly.

Also, using file browser is a good way to induce hiccups. Use string search instead.

[chrispeacock]

i wasnt doing anything else at the time and yes i was using file browser mode.

no hubs being used.

the main menu screen i meant to say was where it says search abum, search artist etc.

[Excalibur]

i wasnt doing anything else at the time and yes i was using file browser mode.
no hubs being used.

the main menu screen i meant to say was where it says search abum, search artist etc.

Why anyone ever does that is beyond me!:eek: :eek: :eek: :daft: :daft: :daft: :daft: :daft: :daft:

Only time I've ever needed to do so, is to locate a track that hasn't been picked up by the Manager software. (Usually when I haven't actually run it.;) ) I can see no reason to routinely search/browse using this method.

[chrispeacock]

i see your point but if its a feature of the unit surely it should in theory work fine.

at one point in the gig i had one song playing, another one loaded and with 30seconds left i get ready to fade one out and start the other but the loaded song had gone and the screen just showed the menu again.

[DJ Jules]

i wasnt doing anything else at the time and yes i was using file browser mode.

I'm starting to give up here as I'm sure I've said this before. Do not use the file browser - it is almost guaranteed to crash the unit (despite Cortex's assurances).

As the man says, surely it's easier to just type the first part of the song or artist name in and press enter anyway?

You're right - it Should just work, but it doesn't and never has and a number of people on here have you told you it doesn't as well - I'm guessing that Cortex have never bothered fixing it because the majority of people just search as the search facility is so good!

As for returning to the menu - pressing the edit or search buttons by accident will do this (or having a stuck button or dodgy keyboard), but hitting the 'Play' buttong (up with the edit button - not to be confused with the Cue/Play controls) will take you back to the play screen.

Something else to watch out for by the way - for some reason the units (and keyboards/USB cables especially) seem to be susceptible to radio interference. If I leave my mobile by my keyboard when the phone rings I get a long string of c's come up on the screen!

Julian

[chrispeacock]

i have downloaded the denon music manager to try to route out any dodgy files as you have suggested. how do i go about searching for these files on the denon music manager

[Excalibur]

i have downloaded the denon music manager to try to route out any dodgy files as you have suggested. how do i go about searching for these files on the denon music manager

May I respectfully suggest that you find someone near you who is an HDC user, and take your kit to him, so that you can run on a known HD to check your player, and run your HD on his player to check your HD. a process of elimination using known components is really the only way forward. As we stand here, you still don't know what is the source of your problem.

[ppentertainments]

Hope you get it sorted, have just bought one of these blighters :D :D

Have 3 HDC1000 and never had any problems with any of them, so would heed Peters advice and try the process of elimination.

BTW I can also se the file browser without any problems but the overall consensus is that it should be avoided.

[Excalibur]

Hope you get it sorted, have just bought one of these blighters :D :D

Have 3 HDC1000 and never had any problems with any of them, so would heed Peters advice and try the process of elimination.

BTW I can also use the file browser without any problems but the overall consensus is that it should be avoided.

Even with a good drive, and a powered hub, using File Browser usually makes mine hiccup a bit. And you don't necessarily need to find another Cortex user, even a D2 or 2500 should prove useful to test for faults.

[DJ Jules]

BTW I can also se the file browser without any problems but the overall consensus is that it should be avoided.

The HDC3000 is a bit of a different beast (different hardware and software) from the HDC1000's so despite looking a lot like it's smaller version on the surface it suffers from different problems under the hood. All of the HDC units have suffered from File browser issues, but on the HDC1000's it manifested as stuttering whereas the HDC3000's just reset themselves when the USB media can't keep up.


i have downloaded the denon music manager to try to route out any dodgy files as you have suggested. how do i go about searching for these files on the denon music manager

Install Denon Music Manager on your PC or laptop. Then connect your USB drive (hard disk or memory stick) to your computer and start Music Manager. Then select the USB drive from the list of drives in the top left hand corner, right click on it and select "CREATE DATABASE". It'll then go off and index your USB drive and at the end of the process it'll tell you about any issue's it has found with your MP3's - make sure you Save this list, then go and investigate what it's found and either re-encode, re-buy or remove the MP3's with problems (if any).

I'll put money on this just being a file browser problem though.

Julian

[chrispeacock]

my mate has offered me his numark dss which he isnt using to try out. but he has not got a hard drive formatted for the dds to try on my unit

[DJ Jules]

my mate has offered me his numark dss which he isnt using to try out. but he has not got a hard drive formatted for the dds to try on my unit

Why would you put a hard drive formatted for a DDS into a Cortex anyway? :D

Um.

Julian

[Excalibur]

Why would you put a hard drive formatted for a DDS into a Cortex anyway? :D

Um.

Julian

In all seriousness, why not? Most of mine carry Numark and Cortex databases at the same time, and seem to suffer no ill effects.

If you mean formatted only for Numark, I agree entirely, but would point out that there should be no problem adding a Cortex index as well.

[DJ Jules]

In all seriousness, why not? Most of mine carry Numark and Cortex databases at the same time, and seem to suffer no ill effects.

If you mean formatted only for Numark, I agree entirely, but would point out that there should be no problem adding a Cortex index as well.

True - my hard disks carry indexes for both Cortex and Denon.

I was kind of hinting that maybe introducing a new hard disk with possibly new format/index/MP3 issues might not be the way to get to the root of the problems... :D

Julian

[Excalibur]

True - my hard disks carry indexes for both Cortex and Denon.

I was kind of hinting that maybe introducing a new hard disk with possibly new format/index/MP3 issues might not be the way to get to the root of the problems... :D

Julian

Totally, utterly and completely correct. I apologise for overlooking that subtle element of your post. :o I stand by the idea of using a known safe/proven/reliable HD to check the operation of the HDC.

By the way, that was very interesting about the different results of certain actions on both machines. I knew they were different under the bonnet, but that made it clear and obvious just how much.

[chrispeacock]

i tried out my mates numark dds last night and i prefer it to be honest so i will be selling this now. so expect some more newbie questions on the dds instead soon sorry guys

[Excalibur]

i tried out my mates numark dds last night and i prefer it to be honest so i will be selling this now. so expect some more newbie questions on the dds instead soon sorry guys

Then let us fervently hope, and even offer up a little prayer that we may be blessed with greater success in that endeavour than we've had in this. ;)

[chrispeacock]

cheers for all the advice guys. he hadnt even formatted his drive to the dds and it has worked perfectly for months for him. he used to have the god awesome new jersey media player that looks very much like the cortex. he said they were rubbish.

has anyone used both the dds and the cortex before. if so, which was better in your opinion

[Excalibur]

has anyone used both the dds and the cortex before. if so, which was better in your opinion

Cortex every time. :sofa:

[Creature]

agree 1000000000000000% with Excalibur

[chrispeacock]

seriously. that has shocked me a little. the dds seemed much simpler to use especially with the crate facility. are you guys using the hdc3000 or hdc1000

[Excalibur]

seriously. that has shocked me a little. the dds seemed much simpler to use especially with the crate facility. are you guys using the hdc3000 or hdc1000

I can't speak for young Creature, but I'll give you a reasoned answer in the morning, with pros and cons, when I'm not working.

[chrispeacock]

cheers for that.

i just aint had much luck with this cortex, but maybe its just me. i asked cash generator how much they would give for the cortex. they replied about £30-£50 we give for these like as if they knew what it was by name of product alone

[DB Entertainments]

Cash Generators - What a JOKE!

Best thing is people with not a lot of money shop there thinking they are getting stuff cheap!

[Creature]

i have 2 hdc1000's

[DJ Jules]

has anyone used both the dds and the cortex before. if so, which was better in your opinion

Cortex every time, based on spending some considerable time playing with a DDS in my local shop. I looked very hard at buying a DDS a year or so ago but I was put off by the very plastic feel of the jog wheels and the controls and the very limited functionality.

Big things which make the Cortex better from my point of view:

1. Waveform display (on the HDC3000) - very very useful for seeing the track structure in advance, especially if you haven't had a chance to listen through the track before playing it!

2. Stores and recalls the Cue points automatically.

3. Loops, Samples, effects and up to four Hot Cue points (again all on the HDC3000)

4. Twin independent screens and playlist functionality (like the Numark Crate but independent on each deck).

5. Extremely powerful, very simple, very quick search functionality straight from the keyboard.

If you do buy the DDS, do us a favour and RTFM before you post? :D

Julian

[DJ Jules]

cheers for that.

i just aint had much luck with this cortex, but maybe its just me. i asked cash generator how much they would give for the cortex. they replied about £30-£50 we give for these like as if they knew what it was by name of product alone

Yeah, like they knew anything about it. Standard Cash convertors pricing strategy - Find the lowest new price you can - Sell for 50% of that price, and buy for 50% of that! If you're selling the HDC3000, put it on eBay - you'll get £200+ easily.

Julian

[Excalibur]

Cortex every time, based on spending some considerable time playing with a DDS in my local shop. I looked very hard at buying a DDS a year or so ago but I was put off by the very plastic feel of the jog wheels and the controls and the very limited functionality.

Big things which make the Cortex better from my point of view:

1. Waveform display (on the HDC3000) - very very useful for seeing the track structure in advance, especially if you haven't had a chance to listen through the track before playing it!

2. Stores and recalls the Cue points automatically.

3. Loops, Samples, effects and up to four Hot Cue points (again all on the HDC3000)

4. Twin independent screens and playlist functionality (like the Numark Crate but independent on each deck).

5. Extremely powerful, very simple, very quick search functionality straight from the keyboard.

If you do buy the DDS, do us a favour and RTFM before you post? :D

Julian
Do me a favour please, young Sir. Pop up to the thread I've just started and cast an eye over it, and then pass on your thoughts. Ta. :beer1:

[chrispeacock]

to be honest im not after all the flashy features like samples etc. from the cortex. just after something to find and play my songs from easily

[Excalibur]

to be honest im not after all the flashy features like samples etc. from the cortex. just after something to find and play my songs from easily

If you decide you like the DDS, then fair enough. It will do all you need and more besides.

What you have expressed a desire for however, is a Cortex 1000. ;)

[chrispeacock]

the hdc1000 seem to be going for more money than the hdc3000 at the moment

[DJ Jules]

Do me a favour please, young Sir. Pop up to the thread I've just started and cast an eye over it, and then pass on your thoughts. Ta. :beer1:

I'm planning to :)

Chris - The HDC3000 has always done that, and plus I've found the waveform display absolutely invaluable (and it's feature you won't find on any other unit other than the top end Denon/Pioneer range (unless you use a laptop).

Julian