Oodj

[DJWilson]

Hi all,

Has anyone brought the OODJ Laptop?

I was thinking aobut it until i was the price tag!

[Dragonfly]

Hi all,

Has anyone brought the OODJ Laptop?

I was thinking aobut it until i was the price tag!

I wouldnt buy it either if you were the price tag :eek: :eek: :eek: i mean i'd have to kidnap you first in order to pay for the thing and that could get me in all sorts of trouble :D :D :eek:

[Shaun]

It seems a tad over-priced for what it is. You can have a cortex for 199 :D

[Royalblue]

Its a ridiculous price.

My laptop

Acer aspire 7720G - Higher spec than that = £630.00
PCDJ VJ - £169.00
Maya Soundcard - £60.00
Win XP downgrade - Free if you talk to Acer nicely

Total

:confused: :confused:

£859.00

Saving:

:confused: :confused:

£1400

You could get a very nice PA for that.

[DJWilson]

The thing what im wondering is how often does it crash and has it got internet access?

[djsteve10]

It seems abit of an over priced bit of kit if you ask me, ok it has a toughened case and touch screen and all that but apart from all the little extras what make you want to buy this machine is there really much point when you can either set up a laptop or a pc unit for half the cost if you know where to shop!

[Dragonfly]

The thing what im wondering is how often does it crash and has it got internet access?

if i paid 2k for a laptop and it crashed ..... ever........... i'd be mortified

as said mine is

compaq presario 2500 - £170 although i got it free
maya sound card - £70
cooler - £15
mouse - £20
mouse mat - £5
pcdj fx - £80
usb hub - £10

£370 quid .......... never let me down yet


and for those in the know the above is the one that didnt find a home under the bass bin!!!


I think its a hugely overpriced toy to be honest yes it looks awesome and shiney but for 2k .... no ta not unless im allowed to invite all the guests behind the disco at functions so they can wonder at its shineyness !!

[Adam_F]

The 00DJ is a different to a normal laptop, and not comparable to the above spec'd laptops.
I'm sure JamesH will no doubt add to this as he's just had one, so can shed some light on it.

[Spirits High]

When I was getting PCKJ installed on my laptop over at PCDJ HQ they gave me a demo of OOdj and yes it was impressive, twin cooling fans, two 500gb hard drives etc etc

but was it worth £2k + i dont think so

I was told there's a waiting list as they build 1 a week but i'm ok as I am for the minute at least

[Royalblue]

The 00DJ is a different to a normal laptop, and not comparable to the above spec'd laptops.
I'm sure JamesH will no doubt add to this as he's just had one, so can shed some light on it.

I really don't agree. Underneath all the gimmicks is a fairly basic PC running windows XP. The Acer has higher specs in every department except sound, touch screen and case. A good sound card is not expensive and touch screen is just a gimmick, I recently had a laptop with touch screen and it went back to the shop. The case, well if it does get damaged I can buy another one and it will still be cheaper.


When I was getting PCKJ installed on my laptop over at PCDJ HQ they gave me a demo of OOdj and yes it was impressive, twin cooling fans, two 500gb hard drives etc etc

but was it worth £2k + i dont think so

I was told there's a waiting list as they build 1 a week but i'm ok as I am for the minute at least

According to the specs I've found it only has 200GB

[Danno13]

I guess the selling point is the fact its custom built for the job and very high quality.. I mean you can have a cortex, or a Denon HD2500 and they both do pretty much the same thing, but one is 3-4 times more expensive.

Proper digital DJs use rackmounts anyway... :D

[Royalblue]

Ahh ok it has 500GB according to DJKit:o

[Royalblue]

I guess the selling point is the fact its custom built for the job and very high quality.. I mean you can have a cortex, or a Denon HD2500 and they both do pretty much the same thing, but one is 3-4 times more expensive.

Proper digital DJs use rackmounts anyway... :D

Yes but modern laptops will do the job better because they are faster. It doesn't even have a dual core processor as far as I can see. A laptop can be very easily configured to be good for DJing - Just get rid of Vista

[Dragonfly]

Yes but modern laptops will do the job better because they are faster. It doesn't even have a dual core processor as far as I can see. A laptop can be very easily configured to be good for DJing - Just get rid of Vista


just looked and it does now 1.8ghz dual core processor and seagate 500gb hard drive and ............. an ice blue keyboard ......... wooooooooooooo !

oohh no core duo processor????

biometric fingertip security ........ now thats a gimmick !!!!

[Royalblue]

just looked and it does now 1.8ghz dual core processor and seagate 500gb hard drive and ............. an ice blue keyboard ......... wooooooooooooo !

Ok so I'm still looking at the wrong specs :o

The acer has 2Ghz dual core;)

[Dragonfly]

but anyway surely when fx only needs somethng like 512 ram and a pentium 3 to run successfully , surely its like being given a farrari and told you can only drive it at 20 mph??

[Royalblue]

but anyway surely when fx only needs somethng like 512 ram and a pentium 3 to run successfully , surely its like being given a farrari and told you can only drive it at 20 mph??

It seems to be being bundled with VJ now, I would definitely recommend a little extra power for that

[jamesh]

The 00DJ is a different to a normal laptop, and not comparable to the above spec'd laptops.
I'm sure JamesH will no doubt add to this as he's just had one, so can shed some light on it.

Sorry only just seen this thread!!!! so thought i'd reply... better late than never :P

I've put on my tin hat and ready for the bomb of replies too :P One thing i will say is that is it very nieve to just day it looks like a posh laptop there for it is just more expensive... The 00DJ isn't just about the hardware and it's NOT a laptop at all!!!!


I really don't agree. Underneath all the gimmicks is a fairly basic PC running windows XP. The Acer has higher specs in every department except sound, touch screen and case. A good sound card is not expensive and touch screen is just a gimmick, I recently had a laptop with touch screen and it went back to the shop. The case, well if it does get damaged I can buy another one and it will still be cheaper.

According to the specs I've found it only has 200GB

No the 00DJ MK III has a dual core processor, 1gb DDR Ram (upgradable - i have 2gb in mine as do Vjing too) and a 500 GB Drive...



Yes but modern laptops will do the job better because they are faster. It doesn't even have a dual core processor as far as I can see. A laptop can be very easily configured to be good for DJing - Just get rid of Vista

WRONG.... as mentioned the 00DJ has a dual core processor, DDR ram, 500gb sata harddrive, pro soundcard, standard soundcard, touch screen, fingerprint security, metal rugged case AND a supurb cooling system that keeps it cooler than most laptops and even desktops on the market.... (so one of the mag reviews said when they did tests)...

There are a number of points often overlooked by people regarding the 00DJ and i think it's something the marketing people at computer DJ really need to address...

Yes it's expensive and YES you can get more powerful laptops for the money BUT it's not all about the hardware although agree that plays a part.

The 00DJ is built by hand specifically for being out on the road in the DJ and VJ industry.... It has far superior cooling than any laptop on the market and runs cooler than some desktops even when running music videos with text overlay and other effects... Not to mention it's metal case which will withstand life of the road (much like the Toshiba tough books which also cost a pretty penny!)

It's built to high standards with support second to none with everything to do with the machine.

Before you get it it's fully optimised for Music and Video with all the rubbish in XP taken out and a few bits tweaked and changed to increase performance... It quite happily runs VDJ, OTS, VJ and most other DJ/VJ software.

Time and time again i hear on the various forums of my computer crashed and did this, how can i cool my laptop down, what system will work best with that.... With the 00DJ you KNOW it's all going to work as it's been crafted and installed by professionals in the industry. AND if you cant get something working and they cant solve it on the phone they'll take it back to look at it and get it up and running!

Another reason i got the OODJ is that fact that everything is built into one case... and it really is as simple as open connect and play... Plus space wise it's no bigger than a standard laptop but the fact everything is secure and safe in it's metal case makes it 100% better and not that much heavier than a normal laptop.

The finger print security might be a bit of a gimmick but it does give you that extra security and if you pop off to the loo at a gig you just press you finger on it and it locks the system while still playing the music/videos - and if you are running short of time on the way back rather than typing in passwords it's a case of putting your finger back on the scanner and away you go. Nice and simple...

One of the only downside i have found so far is no mouse... it does take a bit of getting used to only having a touch screen but you adapt after a while and it's usable without.

Anyway anyone wanting to have a look at one... pop over to the NADJ interactive Broadcast area in the same room as the seminars as i'll have mine with me...

[jamesh]

So here goes... My attempt at a review of the OODJ now i've had a bit of time to use it....

Well having looked at the oodj’s for a while there was always one BIG thing that put me off.... the price. On first glances no matter which way I looked at it I just really couldn’t justify it... Not when you can buy a good spec desktop or laptop to run the software for half that price. So what changed...? Well a nice deal on a second hand OODJ if I’m brutally honest but since owning one I find I kick myself I didn’t do it sooner.

When you first look at it, either in person or via the website/printed material it just comes across as a shiny laptop look alike with a few extra gadgets that can play music and videos and makes a big dent in your wallet but it’s only when you own one and start to use it you appreciate how good a piece of kit it really is. It does get you thinking wow ... how did I manage before....

Its looks alone are simply stunning and nothing comes close to it and that’s without even diving down into what it offers. The brushed shiny silver frontage, silver monitor surround and gold phono connections really do make it look classy and upmarket and worth every penny! Having only used it at a handful of gigs so far I’ve had nothing but positive comments when guests have come up to request tracks or the organiser has been hanging around ready to make a speech – that’s on looks alone before they even find out it’s touch screen... The downside to it’ shiny glitzy looks is that you find after every gig you need to clean off the finger print marks and it takes people a while to realise it’s a touch screen and on one occasion so far I’ve had someone accidently touch the screen and cause the music to stop/stutter – But you learn that lesson very quickly.

The looks aren’t just there to make people go oohhhh and ahhhh though either. It’s been designed that way for a reason. The brainy people at Computer DJ have thought of everything with this system and part of its reliability is down to its ability to keep cool. Four Blue LED fans aid this BUT the cleaver part is the whole case acts as a giant heat sink and cooling pad – pulling the heat away from the inside and keeping it running cooler than most laptops and even some desktop systems – great thinking there and a real nice design bonus. On top of that the Fans are supposed to be Dual Colour and as the system gets warmer and warmer they are supposed to change to a red glow rather than blue – although to date I haven’t seen that happen. The nearest red glow I have seen on the OODJ is from the finger print scanner which ensures your OODJ and music collection is kept nice and safe and only accessible by you.

While on design features and style. One thing I found really difficult at first and got me thinking Computer DJ had made a big mistake was not having a mouse to use as everything is done via touch screen. It really does take some getting used to but the more you use it the more you realise you really don’t need one and Computer DJ got it spot on. It’s even got to the point where I don’t use my DAC3 that much either as it’s just as simple to use the touch screen. The only time the Dac3 is used now is for beat mixing and I’m sure that’s more force of habit rather than actually needing to use it. After a few gigs with the OODJ it’s now got to the point where I go to my backup laptop and start pressing the screen and wondering why it doesn’t do anything... It really is weird and caused a few funny looks from people but now I wish every system I owned was touch screen – it’s just so much easier and quicker than a mouse pad or mouse – even if you have quite fat fingers.

One of the biggest things I’ve leant to appreciate about the OODJ since actually having one and that is what people tend to forget when looking at the OODJ is you are not just buying a piece of hardware but a well thought out, specially designed DJ play out solution. The guys at Computer DJ have spent many hours looking at the best options in hardware and software configuration to ensure you get a stable, reliable play out device that’s build for on the road use and able take the knocks and bumps. Add to this a friendly, reliable support services for any questions or concerns and that’s worth buying on its own. With computer DJ you really do get a first class service with a first class product.

Although the spec of the system isn’t the most powerful out there with only a dual core 1.8ghz processor, 1gb ram (upgradable to 2Gb) and a 500gb harddrive I’ve found it’s more than capable of running all the popular DJ/VJ software’s that I’ve tried such as VDJ, OTS AV and PCDJ VJ. One recommendation I would have is it is worth while upgrading the ram from the start as 1Gb is fine but 2Gb will give you that bit more headroom for the future.

There are a few negatives I have with the OODJ although I think it’s more a personal preference than anything else. I would have liked to see more USB sockets on it as standard as although 3 is workable it would have been nice to have more as 2 are pretty much always taken up with things like an external drive and external controller which only leaves you one for anything and everything else. Secondly with storage being allot cheaper these days a bigger internal harddrive would have been nice as the 500Gb drive soon starts to fill up when you start adding music videos and karaoke onto the system along side mp3s or WAVs. This would have also gone some way to improving the issue with USB sockets as with a bigger internal drive you wouldn’t have to use an external harddrive which would free up a USB socket.. Finally although the graphics are fine for running video, karaoke, visuals and pretty much anything else you throw at it I think I would love to see the option for a dedicated graphics card with at least 256mb, if not 512mb on it as it would not only increase performance but allow for future software updates which may require more graphics resources.

Overall I think the OODJ is an amazing addition to the digital dj world and I can’t believe I didn’t get one sooner. It’s so much nicer turning up to a gig knowing that all I have to do is carry in the OODJ rather than the 6u ABS Case filled with 2 shuttle machines, keyboard, mouse, Maya ex7 and switches I used to have to carry in. My backs quite thankful too!

---------------
So there you go... My inital thoughts on it... I'll now place the tin hat on and bullet proof vest and let the OODJ discussions begin all over again :D

[blitz]

good honest review james, the oodj does look good and i've only seen good reviews on it, not sure on the price tho still seems a tad overpriced.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Yeah, agreed, great and honest review James.

When I was looking at the spec, I also wondering why they didn't have dedicated graphics and more ram. Seems strange that something so relatively inexpensive wouldn't be added.

[DazzyD]

I was looking in to this when it first came out and was advertised in the Images brochure. I thought that it looked good but was waiting until the price came down (which it hasn't!).

So, for now, I'll just stick with my Toshiba Satellite Pro/Acer Aspire duo running Vista which haven't let me down in the last 15 months.