Hello all,

Last summer I did my first outdoor gig with my CDJ-1000mk3s. I came across an irritating problem: although I had all my gear well installed outside under a tent (to block sunlight), I could hardly read anything on my CDJ-1000mk3's display. Somehow the daylight was reflected inside the tent, was blocking the contrast and preventing me from reading anything useful.

By placing a few cardboards around the CDJs I managed to get some shadow to improve the reading, but that barely allowed me to get past the problem.

The tent I was using was very similar to those white "tents" you use during the winter time to protect your car outside.

Anybody else came across this issue? Is the CDJ-1000mk3's display only designed for dark environment (e.g. bars/clubs)? Any mobile DJs with tips here? I see DJs using CDJs outside, there's got to be some trick that I haven't figured out...(?)


Thanks!

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DJ SIX

One of the biggest problems is that you see ridiculous reflections off of any light there is. So, to minimize this, get a piece of polarized glass or plastic and stick it on top. Make sure you get the polarization the right way though, or it won't help.

-r-

Thanks for the tip, RyanJ!

I don't know much about polarized glass/plastic though. Where can I expect to find that? Any suggestions?

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DJ SIX

"To the Google Machine!"

I'm with ya Pulseman

Alright - thanks folks!

Will get to shopping .

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DJ SIX

Hi again guys,

I've been doing a bit of shopping and haven't found much yet... the only thing I've come across is the following. Could this be what I'm looking for? "Polarized plastic sheets"?

http://store.rainbowsymphonystore.com/linpolfilshe.html

Could I be looking with the wrong keywords?

I've also asked an experienced guy at one of our local Pioneer shops - but he had never heard of anybody with that problem, so could not help. He suggested that I check photo/camera shops. Does that make sense to anyone?

All tips will be appreciated. Thanks!


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DJ SIX

maybe you should play in the shade?

A polarizing sheet will only eliminate glare, not make things brighter. I'd just get some kind of shade or pop-up tent.

have seen road cases designed for the 1000's that have the little bit that comes out at the front where the cd goes in that slots into the bit jus above the display to offer shade.... nearly all the partys that i go to in aus are in the great outdoors.... and are quite dusty at times... which doesnt help wen your setup gets covered in dust, cos it makes it even harder to read the dispaly!! hehe

I'm having another one of these outside parties soon.

Somebody had a good idea and suggested that I use good old cardboxes. By putting them sideways, and partly inserting the CDJs in them in such a way that only the display section of the CDJs would be in the cardboxes, the cardboxes would create a shade for the CDJs's display, and I could get read properly, while still being able to access all the sections of the CDJs.

I'll give this a try!

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DJ SIX

GHETTO!

if you are playing out at gigs and doing outdoor events. it seems to me that you maybe a seasoned DJ...so to be honest, you should know your music and the need for the display is not necessary.

I have the same problem with being able to see the laptop screen. I use a L-stand with my setup and built a box that looks like a smaller version of what you would see at a football game during a play review. I is made out of a black foam board which makes it light and easy to install. I did try the glare screens you would find at an office supply store but that didn't work. Sometime you have to go ghetto

I'm with George. At the very most you really only need to be checking once in a while; use your hand to shield the glare for half a second while you look. That's what I've always done.

-r-

Folks,

Here is how I solved this problem. It worked reasonably well (didn't get as much contrast as I would have wished, but it was OK for my needs). I wished I had done a cardbox cutout for the mixer (I realized how important it is to see the channels and master VU meters to keep levels around unity, and that was also affected by daylight)...





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DJ SIX

About the "know your music" suggestion above -- I'm usually doing club gigs and I have lots of Club/House/Trance tracks. I'm not really a mobile "seasoned" DJ.

Seriously though, with all respect, would you really expect me to precisely recall the individual structure, length, volume levels of 6000+ songs without any need for the CDJ's display AT ALL? Heck no.

Of course, even without the CDJs display, if you happen to lose track of things for a while, using your ears you can find where you are in the song that's playing by doing proper counting to realign yourself within the 32-beat phrases, but, without the CDJs display...

- How can you know how much time is left on a particular track that's playing?
- How can you quickly find about the track number that's playing?
- How can you quickly get the approximate BPM?
- How can you find about the volume level of that new track you're about to bring in to set gain at unity?

etc...

If you get interrupted (song requests, something comes up, etc) - which tends to happen quite often - if you don't want to screw your mix, you better watch things out carefully. This is where I find the CDJs display comes handy, especially since you have a raw display of the track's waves, you can know the volume of the track to adjust it to unity, anticipate breakdowns, see if there's a quiet intro or if it starts right away with beats, etc... The CDJs display is there for a reason, and I need it for the things I've mentioned above. Ears are great when you're trained to beatmatch, know when to cue, but, you also need eyes for a few things too to get quality, and I aim them at the CDJs displays (when they're not watching the cute dancers, of course) .


My 0.02$ (the cardboxes are worth just a little bit more than that anyway)... ehhe


Thanks for all your input!

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DJ SIX

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DJ SIX,

those would cost way too much for most moble jocks.

LMAO @ Six - that's a Redneck DJ Booth if I've ever seen one!

This was for a family party during my vacation. Vacation setting == no stress/worries about the decor

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DJ SIX