DJ Mag have posted their Tech Awards 2006, and while it’s not exactly bursting with surprises - They’re liking the Allen & Heath Xone:3D, Ableton Live is a good thing, Sennheiser ‘phones are great… - it’s great to see CDM favorites Resolume and the BCD2000 getting some recognition.

Resolume takes out the Beginner’s VJ Product award, which rankled me initially but: DJMag, so they can call it what they like really as I’m sure the DJs are too busy tweaking asses across crossfades to review Intermediate or Advanced VJ products. I don’t know about “glorious lap lightshow!”, that sounds like something a pervy Jedi Master would get up to, but the featured quotes are bang on:

Eclectic Method: For this category, Resolume is the most versatile and interesting piece of software.

Eserin: For £130 you get an expandable set-up, loads of effects to keep interest going and easily assignable clip banks, plus DMX control for lighting shows.

VJ Anyone: It also memorises setting, works in high definition (HD) and VJs can control clip speed by music beats.

Halliwell: There’s a vast differrence in the price and I think VJs will get bored quickly with the other software.

WestEnd DJ: Even after buying a controller it’s still better value for money than the rest and it’s a lot more versatile and well designed.

Slightly more interesting is the choice of the BCD2000 as Best Midi Controller. I definitely agree that it’s a great device, but its quirky non-customizable midi assignments, jog-wheel difficulties and complete lack of Mac support preclude this from best midi anything for me. It’s a great device, it could be brilliant, but Behringer need to put in the work first to finish it off.

An inexpensive MIDI controller with useful scratch and mixer controls, for DJing, live laptop performance, and VJing? We’ve all been anxious to know whether the BCD2000 delivers. Our resident live visualist gives it a spin (so to speak).

After waiting over a year, I finally have it. The Behringer BCD2000 was announced in January 2005, initially shipped small numbers in August, and then incessantly delayed until finally being delivered worldwide in late April 2006. Considering that the device has been in the wild for over a year there is a surprising lack of information online. Not that it was a nerve-wracking purchase decision at AU$265 street (US$200), but I couldn’t do the usual review harvest before picking it up. I was looking for a midi controller to compliment my BCR2000 and bridge the VJ/DJ divide. I think I may have found it.

“What midi controller should I use for VJing?” is similar to “How long should my piece of string be?”. Without knowing what you’re using the string to produce, what kind of environment the string is going to be used in and what programs the string is going to control, there isn’t really an answer. So I’m going to start with “How are the midi-controller requirements for VJing unique”, and then give you my current solution for “What midi controller should I use for VJing with Resolume, if I don’t have enough money to buy the ReACT custom Resolume controller?”.