Issues with Rekordbox DJ and CDJs

You are not alone.  I've currently got an Inquiry Request that has been open for 3 months on this same issue.  While in Performance Mode, Rekordbox DJ will randomly stall for a second then continue playing.  During the stall you'll see the waveforms stutter/slow down and the audio breaks-up.  I have 2 system configurations:  (DJM 2000NSX, 2 x CDJ 2000NXS, DDJ SP1) &  (DDJ-RZX). Not only does this occur with both configurations but it also occurs with no equipment connected to my laptop.

Laptop:  HP Envy  i7 6700HQ  2.6 GHz, 16GB RAM, 256 SSD,  Windows 10 Pro

Really interested in hearing if there are others DJs experiencing this issue as well and if Pioneer can shine some light on whether this is a known issue or not.

Also, I am willing to purchase a new (Windows OS) laptop.  Can any of my fellow DJs that are NOT experiencing any issues with Rekordbox DJ on their laptops, please suggest a laptop.  Open to spend $2000 - $3000.

@DJ Bass V > Your ticket is regarding rekordbox dj with video; if you are having this issue with audio-only playback as well, I would strongly encourage you to add that to your ticket.

@Silion > Have you also disabled other background processes such as antivirus / anti-malware scanners (either built-in or 3rd party), system file indexing, Cortana, etc.? The other thing to check is your audio buffer setting - if you experience drop-outs and or crackling, try increasing the size of the buffer. It will increase the latency slightly, but decrease the likelihood of audio issues.

It would also be helpful to know how you have the USB cables connected; are you using a hub? Is there more than one USB host chipset in that computer? Are other devices also using the USB host?

Additionally, manufacturers like Dell and HP often make BIOS and other firmware / driver updates available separate from the Microsoft updates, and these can sometimes affect graphics and system performance. Be sure to check their system tools or website for any available updates.

@Pulse > Thanks, Thanks, Thanks!  Since reading your reply regarding disabling background processes, I've been testing Rekordbox DJ (Video Mode) with system file indexing, and Cortana disabled for about 2 1/2 hrs now with promising results.  So far my laptop has yet to experience any of the waveform stuttering or audio break-ups like before.  Hopefully after further testing I will be able to cancel my inquiry request.  These helpful tweets/tips should be posted on the forum for us less tech savvy individuals. Lol  Are there other suggested background processes to disable that you know of which can boost the performance of Rekordbox DJ?

Fantastic!

I wrote a bit of a primer-article here on some of the basics you can tackle to improve your computer's general operation for DJ use. Hopefully something there helps even further.

Hopefully I will be able to do some if not all the checks today and come back to you.

As far as I remember, I also used DPC Latency Checker and the conclusion there is that the laptop is ready for live audio. 

A few more things:

 - battery mode was already in High Performance mode from day 1

 - I do NOT use USB hubs when playing live

 - PCI Express Link State Power Management is Off

 - USB selective suspend is Disabled

I come from years and years of Traktor, and I know most of the tricks for windows and osx laptops.

No matter what I do today, I sill do not have CDJ2000s or CDJ850s at home to properly test this. So the final test will probably be on Saturday (if i recall it's going to be 900s at the venue).

Thanks a lot!

Check the buffer settings, that would also be useful to know what they're at.

Hey Pulse,

Just posted in a newer thread "Rekordbox 5.0 Crash" (seems to be the same issue) because it happened again, now in v5.0 with same CDJs 850.

Checked the buffer settings, they were manually set to 512 before the gig so that means this was my setting from 1 year ago when I purchased RB, but I changed it to 256 before the gig and no luck, same thing happened.

Again the Load icon in the top right hand corner of the screen is barely at 10-20% maybe.

The thing with these two last gigs is that they were both on generator power so maybe there are fluctuations or something. 

I have a huge gig upcoming (3k ppl+) and it's a pity I can't use RB in performance mode. Will have 2000NXS this time but still, I am afraid to use RB in performance mode, i'll probably be better off with sticks.

BTW: are there any RB specific logs or something I can check (except event viewer) ?

@Silion > I'd recommend creating an inquiry ticket here, and our rekordbox support team can gather additional information and crash data to determine exactly why it's happening. Sorry about that!