This week, Pioneer DJ launched a new firmware update for their professional-grade CDJ-2000NXS2 multimedia player. This new update, version 1.6, stabilizes and adds several new features to the player. Keep reading for details.
CDJ-2000NXS2’s New 1.6 Firmware
Now fixed are problems that users of the players encountered while powering on, with slip mode, and adds a few new features as well.
[FIXED]
Some issues when powering up.
Some issues when using SLIP HOT CUE.
[NEW]
AUTO BEAT LOOP: 3, 6, 9 and 12 beats added.
Press and hold [LOOP MODE] for 1 second or longer to activate/deactivate.
8 beats (REV) and 8 beats (FWD) added in BEAT JUMP mode when used with a DDJ-SP1.
Download the 1.6 firmware here on Pioneer DJ’s site
For slip mode, the issue came when using hot cues. When slip mode (the feature that allows scratching, looping, etc, to be performed with the original track playing in the background in time) was activated and hot cues were triggered, the players were reported to have experienced slight glitches. This appears to be fixed in the new firmware.
This update brings in several new features to the players. It adds an Auto Beat loop of 3, 6, 9, or 12 beats when the Loop Mode button is pressed for more than one second. Secondly, version 1.60 adds an eight beat beat jump (both forwards and backwards) when the CDJ is connected to DDJ-SP1. Why this is only available with SP1s is incredibly unclear – Pioneer DJ continues to have incredibly disparate experiences across their media players depending on what model you own.
With the launch of the extremely competitive Denon DJ S5000 Prime , Pioneer DJ will hopefully be very active with their firmware updates. If they’re going to be against the SC5000, they need to squeeze every possible feature out of their players. With firmware updates, Pioneer can add new features to their existing hardware architecture without having to release an entirely new player.
By offering new features in current products, Pioneer dissuades current CDJ/XDJ users from purchasing competing players. Thus, until Pioneer releases their next major update to their media player range, might rely on releasing firmware updates for their players to stay on the cutting edge.
