Ed.: DVJing sometimes seems more a dream of hardware manufacturers than something in the real world — until you get a talented DVJ going. We’re a bit late on posting this as it got lost in the shuffle of drafts, but well worth checking out, anyway. -PK

Jonny Wilson from Eclectic Method has got his hands on a brand new Pioneer SVM audio/video mixer. Some may poo-poo its SD-only output, but watch what a talented DVJ can do with it in the videos below. Click the button to the right of the fast-forward button to see the playlist.

Update: I disagree with PK — DVJing (or simultaneous audio-visual performance) is a very real thing that just hasn’t yet made it to the United States in a high-profile way.

Addendum: I’d like to point out that Jonny shot this video after experimenting with the mixer for only a day or two. Thus, this video is more of a “let’s see what this thing can do” than a “i love every single effect and wipe this thing has and will use them 4EVUR”. Seems like a pretty intuitive machine once you’ve read the manual a bit and practiced.

Watch it full size

We’re planning an in-depth test of the new visual vinyl plug-in for Serato’s Scratch LIVE, VIDEO-SL, but in the meantime, one beta tester has already got his hands on it. DJ Steel puts together a pretty clear demonstration of what VIDEO-SL does and what makes it special, particularly in regards to comparing something like Virtual DJ (another DJ product with control vinyl support for video). The demo video isn’t perfect — he calls the product “SLV” instead of its correct name, VIDEO-SL, misses out on effects, and says “H.264 files are less CPU intensive to decode than “ordinary .MP4″ files.” (For the record, that’s basically the same format; MPEG-4 video generally refers to MPEG-4 Part 10, the video compression standard.) But he does give a good overview of some of VIDEO-SL’s capabilities, why the integration with the Rane mixer makes sense, and how this might be used in a “DVJ” (hybrid DJ-VJ) setup.

VIDEO-SL I think is very important, and could yield different VJ styles, for those who like working with vinyl. Stay tuned for our closer look soon. And if you’ve got one on test yourself, let us know your impressions!

Previously:

Serato Video Scratch Software, Now in Beta; Break Out the Turntable!

Pioneer have broken new ground in overstatement with the announcement of their upcoming Video/Audio mixer, the US$6000 SVM-1000.

World’s first mixer for 4-channel audio and video.

I guess they completely missed the AVM02 then? I’m not sure how, it’s rather big and heavy.

Does anybody actually believe marketing people? Do they even believe themselves when they open their mouths? A conversation between two marketing people must be like facing two TVs towards each other, tuning one to MTV and the other to MTV Europe. But I digress. Specifications can’t lie (much), so:

Even as some visualists try to distance themselves from DJs (ahem), the notion of a “DVJ” — taking steps toward integrating VJing more closely with DJing — is gaining traction. It seems to be far, far bigger in Europe than here in the US (surprise). Pioneer, for one, is actively pushing VJing in Europe, even though we don’t hear much from them on this here in the States.

The Pioneer DJ site, in fact, has loads of free VJ clips and tutorials, some of which are decent:
Free DVJ Loops

Most amusingly, though, their most recent addition: loops of floating, rotating pictures of their gear. Um… no. Unless you want to hire us to VJ Pioneer-sponsored events, in which case, we’re in. Here’s a suggestion, though, why not vintage Pioneer equipment? That might be cool.

The Pioneer blog itself, especially devoted to being a videolog, is actually pretty good. So welcome to blogging, Pioneer, and hope you’ll stop by. Even if we’re likely not VJing with giant pictures of CDJs…

“Product Spins” loops
DJ Sounds Vlog [Pioneer DJ]

I’ve had a bit more time now with my (still shiny, still new) Numark AVM02 - or “Avmo” as it’s been dubbed by my bandmates - and have some more thoughts to offer, if you will hear them. If you haven’t heard the original thoughts or seen the unboxing photos you may like to check out my “First Impressions” review.

Obviously the biggest question I’m going to get is “how does it compare to the Edirol V4″, so I’ll come out straight away and disappoint those who are looking for that comparison: This article will focus mostly on the AVM02’s own strengths and weaknesses, and while some comparisons to the V4 and other video mixers may be drawn, you’ll have to make your own conclusions at this stage. I will be doing a full head to head features-and-quality shootout vodcast in the coming weeks, so I’ll save the serious V4 comparisons until then.

Unit Specs

The AVM02 combines a basic DJ mixer with what I guess could be described as a “DJ Style” video mixer, and is able to combine 4 Video channels and 4 Stereo Audio channels, mixing with independant (but linkable) Video and Audio crossfaders.