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

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]

Live visual instruments often lack that … certain something. Other than occasional oddities like the Livid Viditar, generally visual performance instruments just don’t have the panache of musical instruments. The solution: pack a bunch of hardware into the body of a white-lacquered grand piano, of course! (What, that seemed like a logical leap?)

As seen on our sister site Create Digital Motion:
BabyGrandMaster: DJ/VJ Studio Packed into a Piano

The innards look like someone held a sweepstakes for VJ and DJ gear and then consulted Prince for industrial design tips. (And that’s even before you add the optional pink neon underlighting and fog effects. Seriously.) For visualists:

1. Dual Pioneer DVJ-X1 DVD Players
2. Edirol V-4 Video Mixer
3. [Triple] Marshal LCD Monitors

I suppose this is one answer to Jaymis’ question of what he should use for a gig case. (Come on, someone’s discarded Young Chang may be sitting at the local scrapyard. Pain that sucker, drop in your gear, good to go. Uh, sorta.)