Serato DJ Pro General Discussion

Forum
 Serato DJ Pro General Discussion
What happened from 1.80 on-wards with serato releases / programing ???
Talk about Serato DJ Pro, expansion packs and supported hardware

What happened from 1.80 on-wards with serato releases / programing ???

Johnny H 8:52 PM - 10 July, 2017
Serato drastically changed in the programming from serato 1.7x to 1.8x and upwards to now 1.9.6

everything from 1.8x on-wards felt heavy, slow, jerky, horrible , nothing felt light / snappy / reliable and a dream to use

It's as if all versions of serato from 1.8x to present are very inefficiently written / programmed, everything feels slow and sluggish, even on my I7 mac that's maxed out to the max.

Something definitely changed with serato on the programming front arround ver. 1.80

everything is very glitchy with graphics and waveforms pausing when scrolling through the library and various folders in serato. I believe it to be poor quality non efficient code / programming not utilizing a thread controls within the I7 processors to even the workload etc.

not sure if it has anything to do with pulse locker being implemented, but every version released since 1.80 seems more sluggish, more glitchy, FEELS more unstable and like it will crash on you, and as I say I have an I7 2.8ghz 2015 mac SSD with 16gig, high spec macbook

This change of programming platform for serato around ver 1.80 may be tied up with the right design environment for a 64bit version of serato, which ls long overdue! but from this period on the forum complaints of people having major issues with graphics, sound, dropouts and so on went up 10 fold, as there hardware was now not powerful enough to run this new 1.80 version!

crazy how 1.7x worked fine for everybody (light and glitch free), yet the new 1.8x /1.9x is really heavy to run, feels glitchy, graphics pause when clicking through library, graphics really jerky and the list goes on and on.


That said, Serato 1.9.6 run flawlessly at a very high profile wedding I did this saturday from 3 in the afternoon to 3 in the early hours of the morning. though clicking round serato and seeing the graphics pause and stutter does not install confidence.

The programing really needs to be much more efficient and lighter on the file accessing and graphics displaying. So it at least feels reliable and stable when using serato

Come on serato what is going on???? things should improve with time, not go backwards, I can understand the odd release with issues, but not every release getting more sluggish and slower to use on high spec hardware, with many other software companies one does not see sluggishness and slowness when updating there software.

The whole GUI in serato feels horrid, not sure what has gone on with the programming since 1.8x ???
AddamXavier 12:24 AM - 11 July, 2017
Starting with 1.8, Serato started offloading the GUI (waveforms, etc) code to run on the GPU (graphics card) instead of the CPU...with obviously mixed results. TBH it feels a combination of requirements (adding features that require more CPU cycles), wishful thinking and potential unoptimized programming.

Part of the dilemma is that Mac's have never had particularly great graphics cards (its $2400 starting to even get a dedicated card), but the fact that Mix Emergency works so much better than Serato Video, not to mention how bad SV runs on maxed out pc desktops, makes me think there is still some optimization issues.
acemc 12:32 AM - 11 July, 2017
Quote:
clicking round serato and seeing the graphics pause and stutter does not install confidence.

I certainly agree with this.
Whenever I try search anywhere in my library, the waveforms ALWAYS stop for a sec or two.
Although the audio doesn't glitch at all, I'm always a bit nervous doing a search.
Hanginon 12:58 AM - 11 July, 2017
Quote:
Starting with 1.8, Serato started offloading the GUI (waveforms, etc) code to run on the GPU (graphics card) instead of the CPU...with obviously mixed results.

They started using OpenGL for the GUI in 1.8.0

Another change happened with 1.9.2 - they started using a newer version of Qt
Johnny H 1:20 AM - 11 July, 2017
It all seems very hit and miss with video, sluggishness of the GUI and it's as if they are not utilising the multi thread support of the Intel I3,i5,i7 processors ??

I must say I'm very amazed / disappointed / surprised / upset that Searto who use to be known for there snappy, efficient, bloat free software is now going down this slippery road.

With every release, I'm a little less confident and more disappointed with serato DJ

What a real shame they are choosing this route, every release should be getting beter not worse.
AddamXavier 1:21 AM - 11 July, 2017
Quote:
Quote:
Starting with 1.8, Serato started offloading the GUI (waveforms, etc) code to run on the GPU (graphics card) instead of the CPU...with obviously mixed results.

They started using OpenGL for the GUI in 1.8.0

Another change happened with 1.9.2 - they started using a newer version of Qt


Thanks for clarifying, I knew it was mentioned somewhere but couldn't remember the specifics.
Hanginon 1:20 PM - 11 July, 2017
"They started using OpenGL for the GUI in 1.8.0"

Remember, starting with 1.8.0, the MINIMUM recommended CPU was an i3

"Another change happened with 1.9.2 - they started using a newer version of Qt"

This is the one that tripped a lot of people up, because a lot of us had been getting away with still using Core 2 Duo's - but the newer version of Qt used in 1.9.2 had an instruction set that required something like Intel HD Graphics to even display properly. Many Core 2 Duo's didn't have this - ALL i3's (and higher) have Intel HD Graphics integrated into them.
acemc 1:36 PM - 11 July, 2017
Quote:
the newer version of Qt used in 1.9.2 had an instruction set that required something like Intel HD Graphics to even display properly

Our specs are well within the requirements though.
Hanginon 1:54 PM - 11 July, 2017
Quote:
Quote:
the newer version of Qt used in 1.9.2 had an instruction set that required something like Intel HD Graphics to even display properly

Our specs are well within the requirements though.


I'm don't mean stuttering/delays. I mean LITERALLY didn't display properly - completely missing graphics. No Master Output level meter, No Left or Right Track level meters, no CPU monitor, no waveform, etc.
Not even on the screen!
acemc 1:57 PM - 11 July, 2017
Quote:
I mean LITERALLY didn't display properly - completely missing graphics

Aah, now I get it (slaps forehead!!)
R-A-C 7:07 PM - 11 July, 2017
Quote:
Searto who use to be known for there snappy, efficient, bloat free software

i'm afraid the times when serato stood for professional, non-nonsense stuff are long gone.
these days if you start a recent sdj version the first thing it does is trying to connect to serato.com. even before the gui shows up. then you get the big, flashy "buy now" or "upgrade" area on the right in addition to pulselocker and an in-program expansion pack and whatnot store. it feels more like a shopping app than a dj software. let alone a serious one.

Quote:
a lot of us had been getting away with still using Core 2 Duo's

which is more than enough for a dj software. as luck would have it i just posted a request in the 1.9.7 thread to lower the system load. 1.9.6 eats twice as much as 1.6.x and still much more than 1.7.x for doing the same thing.
Hanginon 8:25 PM - 11 July, 2017
Quote:
as luck would have it i just posted a request in the 1.9.7 thread to lower the system load. 1.9.6 eats twice as much as 1.6.x and still much more than 1.7.x for doing the same thing.

A Porsche will beat a rickshaw every time, so more parts is not necessarily worse - until it breaks!

Is it then generally accepted that 1.7.8 was the last of the reasonably efficiently programmed versions of DJ?
R-A-C 9:01 PM - 11 July, 2017
Quote:
A Porsche will beat a rickshaw every time

not the case here. it used to be the porsche and now it's some SUV burning twice the gas at the same speed.

Quote:
Is it then generally accepted that 1.7.8 was the last of the reasonably efficiently programmed versions of DJ?

so it seems
dj-fozzy 3:35 AM - 12 July, 2017
serato djs last few updates are all more like downgrades i run chicagos largest sports and night time dj company's. i had to move all my djs to virtual dj because serato can't get there act together. its completely unreliable and hope they get to work fast because mix emergency is the only video we use because serato video is just useless and out of date now do we have to dump serato dj? its sure looking like it. we should not let them just make us eat this crap
Johnny H 8:41 AM - 12 July, 2017
@dj-fozzy agree 100%

Downgrade is a good choice of description, whatever platform or programming techniques serato have chosen since 1.7.8 it is a big step in the wrong direction, with....

1) bloaty software design,

2) sluggish responding software,

3) poor graphical user interface,

4) glitchy and flaky reliability,

5) Lack of user confidence when using latest versions,

I don't care much for the toys like pulse lockers etc, all I have ever wanted is reliable, well written DJ software that is responsive, reliable and every release is a step in the right direction, unlike the way serato has been going over the past year or so.

I don't understand the mind set or programmers at serato, over the past year there have been so many issues with serato users due to there software.
Hanginon 12:16 PM - 12 July, 2017
I have no idea how big Serato is, but many times a major disconnect happens between lower level employee's and upper management in a large corporation - and they loose sight of what the customer really wants.

Also, I'm sure some of this is to "future proof" the software. For example -

Quote:
these days if you start a recent sdj version the first thing it does is trying to connect to serato.com. even before the gui shows up. then you get the big, flashy "buy now" or "upgrade" area on the right in addition to pulselocker and an in-program expansion pack and whatnot store. it feels more like a shopping app than a dj software. let alone a serious one.


That is probably being done for licensing purposes. There has been a long outcry for "two deck mode without a controller attached", "additional sound cards", etc. You can be sure that before any of that is implemented (bypassing the current demand for a hardware doggle to be sensed) they will ensure licensing stability - just like current versions of Photoshop.

1.9.7? IMHO, any chance of a complete rewrite of the software comes with V2.0 and/or the 64 bit version, whichever comes first.
R-A-C 7:25 PM - 12 July, 2017
Quote:
That is probably being done for licensing purposes.

no, the license is a local rlm nodelocked file.