Engine DJ | Frequently Asked Questions

With the introduction of Engine DJ 3.3 comes several new features! This article covers some of the most common frequently asked questions about Engine DJ Profiles, song Match, as well as the new Engine Cloud Database. TABLE OF CONTENTS Engine Profiles  What benefits are there to creating and using an Engine DJ Profile? Where can I view my registered device? What streaming & cloud services can I connect my Engine DJ Profile login? Where can I edit my profile and manage my connected services after onboarding? Engine Cloud Database  What streaming metadata is available via the Engine Cloud Database? What if I edit the beatgrid of a streaming track? I’ve changed my BPM range - why do some of the tracks still show their old BPM value? Why can’t I see any metadata information when I am signed into my streaming provider? What if I have played and analyzed streaming tracks in previous versions of Engine OS? Match What does the Match feature do? When can I use Match? Do I have to use local tracks for Match? What about streaming services? Engine Remote Library?  How can I configure the Match rules? Engine Profiles  What benefits are there to creating and using an Engine DJ Profile? We’ve added Engine DJ Profile creation and device registration into the onboarding process that pops up when you first turn on your device. This is an easy way to register your device, and unlock a new set of features that will elevate your embedded DJ experience! Your device will be registered as part of the Engine DJ Profile creation process. Once you have created a profile, you will have access to use of: A single login for connected streaming services Crowd-sourced streaming metadata via the Engine Cloud Database The onboarding should walk you through: Account setup Profile creation - setting a DJ name and avatar Connecting your cloud and streaming services to your Engine DJ Profile login Where can I view my registered device? Your device is registered as part of the Engine DJ Profile creation process against your inMusic Profile. Log in to you inMusic profile here: https://profile.inmusicbrands.com  What streaming & cloud services can I connect my Engine DJ Profile login? You can connect your Amazon, Dropbox, SoundCloud and Tidal to your Engine DJ login. This can either be done during the onboarding process or by managing your connected services here: enginedj.com/account  Once you have connected your streaming and cloud services, you will only need to use a single login on the device you wish to use. For users with media players this means one login per device. Where can I edit my profile and manage my connected services after onboarding? You can edit your profile and connect additional streaming services to your Engine DJ Profile here: enginedj.com/account  While on your device, if you want to add a service to your profile after signing in, simply select the streaming or cloud provider and follow the instructions on screen. Engine Cloud Database  What streaming metadata is available via the Engine Cloud Database? When logged in with your Engine DJ Profile, beatgrid, key and BPM data will be available via the Engine Cloud Database for all supported streaming services. What if I edit the beatgrid of a streaming track? User edits to beatgrid will still be saved to your connected drive, and will not be added to the cloud. As is the case currently - if no drive is connected, no edits are saved. However, you will always be able to see metadata information stored for each track on the Engine Cloud Database. I’ve changed my BPM range - why do some of the tracks still show their old BPM value? If you have a drive connected, we will always use the beatgrid and BPM saved to that drive primarily. If no drive is connected, the crowdsourced analysis (metadata and beatgrid) information will be used instead. You may need to navigate between playlists to trigger an update/refresh of the track list to reflect the changes. Why can’t I see any metadata information when I am signed into my streaming provider? You must be logged in with your Engine DJ Profile to have access to metadata from the Engine Cloud Database. Once you are logged in, you should see the available metadata for streaming tracks. If you are logged in to your Engine DJ Profile and do not see any metadata for a streaming track, that’s because metadata has yet to be uploaded for that track, and your analysis of it will be the first to be saved! What if I have played and analyzed streaming tracks in previous versions of Engine OS? If you have a drive connected, all analysis data and beatgrid edits previously saved to the USB will still be available. Engine OS will always use any available user changes to a beatgrid ahead of its own analysis if the drive containing your changes is connected. This behavior does not change with the streaming metadata feature. Match What does the Match feature do? Match can easily find songs in your library compatible with songs loaded to the decks with new, intelligent, and powerful Match filters. When can I use Match? Match can be applied in playlists, Smartlists, Search, Prepare, and History lists.  Do I have to use local tracks for Match? What about streaming services? Engine Remote Library?  Match is available for local media devices, Engine Remote Library, and streaming tracks that have automatically been added to a drive collection by loading to the deck or adding them to the Prepare playlist while a source drive is connected.  Please note: in order for Match to work with Engine Remote Library, both Engine Desktop and your Engine hardware must be on version 3.3.  How can I configure the Match rules? Match rules can be configured from the icon found while in Library view on your Engine hardware. Match rules include: Follow Lead Deck Match to Deck BPM Range Key Type: Fuzzy, Compatible, Exact *Genre: Close, Exact *Hide Played *These two features are not available for Match when using Engine Remote Library due to technical limitations. 

Frequently Asked Questions What is a Smartlist? How do I create a Smartlist? Can I edit Smartlists after creating them? Are Smartlists automatically updated? Can I sort the tracks within a Smartlist? How do I use Smartlists on Engine OS Hardware? How do I update a Smartlist that is already exported to a drive? How can I create a Playlist from a Smartlist? Why don’t Smartlists in the Drives Panel include tracks from all sources? What is a Smartlist? A Smartlist is a new type of list that can be added to your library. It is populated by filtering your collection with customizable rules. This feature is available starting with the v3.1 update. How do I create a Smartlist? There are two methods to create Smartlists in Engine DJ Desktop: Click the "Create Smartlist" button. Right-click on Collection or a Playlist and choose "Create Smartlist."  This opens the Smartlist window where you can add one or multiple rules. Once created, the Smartlist automatically populates with tracks from your collection. Can I edit Smartlists after creating them? Yes, you can edit Smartlists. Right-click on a Smartlist and select "Edit Smartlist." You can add, remove, and modify rules. The Smartlist and its contents will update accordingly. Are Smartlists automatically updated? Yes, Smartlists are dynamically updated to reflect any changes in your collection that adhere to the applied rules. This includes connecting a drive containing tracks that adhere to the applied rules. Can I sort the tracks within a Smartlist? Smartlists can be filtered and sorted like a regular Playlist. Although the tracks within a Smartlist are playable in a specific order, there is no play order column.  How do I use Smartlists on Engine OS Hardware? To use Smartlists on Engine OS hardware, you must export them using Sync Manager or the drag-and-drop method. Smartlists will also be available on Engine OS hardware when using Engine Remote Library.   How do I update a Smartlist that is already exported to a drive? If you add, remove, or update tracks in your local collection, use Sync Manager to export the changes to your USB drive. Make sure the Smartlist is checked in the left panel to export any changes in the Smartlists rules or track contents.   How can I create a Playlist from a Smartlist? To create a Playlist from a Smartlist, simply right-click on the Smartlist and select "Convert to Playlist." A Playlist will be created and populated with a snapshot of the tracks currently in the Smartlist. The Smartlist itself remains unaffected.   Why don’t Smartlists in the Drives Panel include tracks from all sources? Smartlists created in the Drives Panel will only include tracks stored on that drive.  Smartlists in the Main Collection (left panel) will include tracks from all connected drives.

Contents Setting up Dropbox for Engine PRIME Using Dropbox in Engine OS Devices FAQs and Troubleshooting What are Dropbox Business and Dropbox Personal - Which one should I use? Why is Dropbox not showing in Engine PRIME? Why is there a difference between the available Dropbox space in Sync Manager and the space I have in my Dropbox Cloud? Not all the files that I Synced to Dropbox are showing on my Engine OS device. What do I do? My Sync isn't completing up to Dropbox Cloud. What do I do? I don’t have enough space on my local hard drive to store all my music files before they get Synced to Dropbox Cloud. What do I do? How do I save my changes back to the Cloud? Why is a local source drive required on Engine OS devices? What if I want to change where Dropbox is stored locally on my player? I just added new tracks to my Dropbox database in the cloud while using Dropbox on my Engine OS device(s). How do I update my database? Setting up Dropbox for Engine PRIME To get started, Download the Dropbox desktop application from the official Dropbox site.  Download Dropbox for Mac and Windows. Install Dropbox using the DropboxInstall.dmg file (Mac) or DropboxInstall.exe (Windows). If you already have a Dropbox account Sign In using the credentials you signed up to dropbox with. If you have not ever had a Dropbox account Sign Up creating your Dropbox account. Choose an option for your dropbox files: Online only will only store your files in Dropbox online (saves space) Local will make a copy to your local hard drive and then make a copy on your Dropbox storage (safer) Follow the remaining Dropbox install instructions and you are all set up. Either restart Engine PRIME or Browse to the Library tab in the Preferences screen of Engine PRIME and switch on Dropbox under the Cloud Storage section. You should now see Dropbox present in Engine PRIME in both the Devices panel and Sync Manager as a target to send your audio files to. These work exactly the same as an external drive or SD card. Just choose the Playlists you want to add. Drag and Drop or Sync away, Dropbox will manage the files up to its cloud service. Using Dropbox in Engine OS Devices In order to use Dropbox, Engine OS 1.6 or newer must be installed on your Engine OS-compatible device. Insert a source drive into your device. This can be an SD card, USB drive, or SATA drive if your device has a SATA bay. This is required for the storage of the Dropbox database. Confirm that the Dropbox integration is enabled. This setting can be found in the Utilities menu under Cloud Services. Open the Quick Source menu by navigating to the collection view and pressing the source icon in the top left-hand corner of the screen, then select Dropbox. This will download the dropbox database to the currently selected source drive. When the Database has completed downloading, Dropbox can be selected as a cloud source by again pressing the Dropbox icon in the Quick Source menu. FAQs and Troubleshooting What are Dropbox Business and Dropbox Personal - Which one should I use? Dropbox has differing tiers of accounts depending on which plan you are subscribed to. On installation of Dropbox the installer will install both locations for its services and Dropbox Personal will also be used for a Dropbox Free account. Dropbox Personal has less storage space than Business, is expected to be used by an individual, and therefore is cheaper. Dropbox Business has unlimited data storage and multiple users but is probably less suited to a DJ environment. We recommend you assess the best option for your usage from the links below.   https://www.dropbox.com/en_GB/individual/plans-comparison https://www.dropbox.com/business/pricing Why is Dropbox not showing in Engine PRIME? Confirm Dropbox has installed the application in either of the following locations according to your OS: Mac - Macintosh HD > Applications > Dropbox  Win - "C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Dropbox\bin\" Confirm Dropbox has installed a folder location where you will send your music files on your computer in the following locations: Mac - Macintosh HD > Users > UserName > Dropbox Win - C:Users\Admin\Dropbox Restart Engine PRIME Why is there a difference between the available Dropbox space in Sync Manager and the space I have in my Dropbox Cloud? Sync Manager and Device Manager move your audio files into the Dropbox eco-system via your local hard drive. From here, Dropbox takes care of the syncing of your files from your local hard drive to Dropbox cloud storage. The available space you are seeing in Sync Manager is the space you have left on your local hard drive. You must have enough storage on your local hard drive if you want to have a local copy of your tracks on your hard drive and a copy in Dropbox Cloud (Safer) but, you can select to only store your audio files in Dropbox Cloud under the Sync tab in Dropbox preferences: (saves space on your local hard drive) Not all the files that I Synced to Dropbox are showing on my Engine OS device. What do I do? Confirm everything you Synced to your Dropbox target with Engine PRIME has been sent to Dropbox Cloud. This will depend on the internet connection you are using on your computer at the time. You can check your Dropbox Sync status to the cloud by opening your Dropbox Widget on your desktop. On Windows, this is in the applications dock. On Mac it's in your header bar. Clicking on this will open the Dropbox status widget and at the foot of the show if you are Syncing files to the cloud or you are up to date, you can open the status view by clicking the up arrow. Once all your files are synced between your Dropbox folder and Dropbox cloud your Sync Queue will look like this. You can also check your files directly in your Dropbox folder location on your computer. Default locations for the Dropbox folder are: Mac - Macintosh HD > Users > UserName > Dropbox Win - C:Users\Admin\Dropbox If you have a green tick next to the file the Sync is complete. If it's a blue circle, then sync is still taking place up to the Dropbox cloud My Sync isn't completing up to Dropbox Cloud. What do I do? You may have run out of space on your Dropbox account. Dropbox Free will give you 2GB of free space - once you have exhausted this space Dropbox will no longer sync any new files up to the cloud location where your Engine OS device streams the audio files from. You may need to consider upgrading to larger storage to house all your audio files. You may have disconnected from the internet on your computer that was Syncing your files to the Dropbox Cloud.   I don’t have enough space on my local hard drive to store all my music files before they get Synced to Dropbox Cloud. What do I do? You can select where your Dropbox folder lives in the Sync tab your Dropbox preferences and point this at an external hard drive to use at your Dropbox folder location. Open the Dropbox widget on the dock on Windows or the header bar on Mac. Click on your account dropdown in the top right with your initial and select preferences. Select the Sync tab and at the foot of the section you can choose your Dropbox folder location. We recommend you restart Engine PRIME after you have changed location. Be aware that if you choose a drive that is external to the computer you are running Engine PRIME on, you will need to have the external drive plugged in at all times to see your Dropbox files and the ability to sync to Dropbox in Engine PRIME. The transfer process will likely not be as fast as leaving your Dropbox folder location on the internal hard drive of your computer. How do I save my changes back to the Cloud? Currently, the Engine OS Dropbox integration is one direction. Saving changes back to the cloud is not yet supported. The cloud database is downloaded and all changes are kept locally. Why is a local source drive required on Engine OS devices? A local drive is required to store the downloaded Engine database from the cloud. This database may be quite large depending on the number of tracks that the database contains. A local database guarantees fast search and collection navigation. What if I want to change where Dropbox is stored locally on my player? The location of the local storage can be changed by opening the Quick Source menu on the top left-hand corner of the collection view and pressing the gear icon to the right of the Dropbox entry. When this is open, select Change Storage Device to move your local Dropbox database to a new location. I just added new tracks to my Dropbox database in the cloud while using Dropbox on my Engine OS device(s). How do I update my database? The local database can be updated to the latest cloud version by opening the Quick Source menu on the top left-hand corner of the collection view and pressing the gear icon to the right of the Dropbox entry. When this is open, tap Fetch to update to the latest database changes.

You can set up to 8 Active Loops per track. These can be created in either Engine DJ Desktop by right-clicking on a saved loop button and selecting 'Active Loop', or directly on the device by holding down the LEFT PARAMETER button and pressing the saved loop pad you would like to make active – this action can be toggled to make the active loop a saved loop again. 

Nanoleaf light syncing and manual control is included for free with your Engine DJ hardware.  A SoundSwitch license is only required for creating custom lightshows and building venues. Since Nanoleaf communication is done over Wi-Fi, a lighting interface is also not required.

Nanoleaf offers a wide variety of smart lights, both the Shapes and Lines are compatible with SoundSwitch desktop and Engine Lighting.

Engine Lighting by SoundSwitch is embedded lighting control for DJ's. In the past, you needed to connect your DJ system to SoundSwitch on a computer via Ethernet, however, with Engine DJ v2.0 that is no longer required. Music and lights are automatically synchronized with just the unit itself. Plus, Engine Lighting features its own touch interface to give you real time control over several lighting effects. The Basic version of Engine Lighting Basic can be used with Philips Hue Smart Lights for free while, Engine Lighting Pro requires SoundSwitch hardware and an active free trial or paid subscription.

Yes, Active Loops can be set from the desktop software as well as Engine DJ hardware.  To assign a Saved Loop as an Active Loop, hold the left parameter button and press the desired Saved Loop pad.  Active Loops feature a striped pattern in the loop region while normal Saved Loops are solid. Please note that setting Active Loops on hardware requires physical parameter buttons. 

Yes, as of Engine DJ 2.2 sync remains engaged when loading a track that has not been analyzed. Note that sync will disengage if the track is played before the analysis completes.

Yes, from version 2.2 Engine DJ's computer mode has been unlocked on the Numark Mixstream Pro to allow it to control Virtual DJ via USB connection. To access computer mode, open the Source menu from the Control Center, and then tap the computer icon in the top left. You will need to be running Virtual DJ version 8.5 or later for this to be compatible. 

All current Engine OS products are compatible with Engine DJ 2.0.  Denon DJ PRIME 2 Denon DJ PRIME 4 Denon DJ PRIME Go Denon DJ SC5000 Denon DJ SC5000M Denon DJ LC6000 Denon DJ SC6000 Denon DJ SC6000M Numark Mixstream Pro For more details on compatible hardware, please visit our dedicated Hardware page.

Yes, but the drive must be migrated to the Engine DJ 2.0 database first in order to mix.  Not to worry, the migration process is automatic and initiated the first time you connect an Engine Prime drive to a device running Engine DJ v2.0.  Your original Engine Prime collection will remain intact in case you need to perform on earlier versions of Engine OS.

The migration process time can vary depending on the size of your collection size and drive speed. For larger collections, it is recommended to use Engine DJ on the desktop to perform the migration process. On average, you can expect the upgrade to take ~20sec for 1000 tracks (12 GB of data) when upgraded on Engine OS hardware. The same-sized collection on the desktop takes ~5 seconds or less. Note: The test above was performed on an SSD drive. Your results may vary depending on collection size and media device read/write speeds. The upgrade migration process is only required once per drive or Engine Library.

Yes. In order to take advantage of the new key analysis improvement, tracks will need to be re-analyzed in Engine DJ (Desktop). To do this, select the tracks you wish to re-analyze, right-click and choose the 'Re-analyze tracks' option.

Simply open Engine DJ and insert your Engine Prime drive. The migration process happens automatically.

No. After the upgrade process, tracks will not need to be reanalyzed. All of your tracks will still have their waveforms and all other performance data such as hot cues and loops intact.

As of Engine DJ v2.0, Crates and Playlists have merged into a single list type — Playlists. Engine DJ Playlists offer the best aspects of both list types.  During the migration upgrade process, your Crates will be converted into Playlists preserving all the content and structure. Now with Playlists, you can freely rearrange the lists within the collection tree and also the tracks within them.

Yes. Engine DJ v2.0 brings a number of upgrades to streaming services. This includes their inclusion in History playlists, the ability to preview songs prior to loading, songs can be added to the prepare folder, and playlists from streaming services can participate in the new standalone controller Playlist Deck with automated cross-fading.

Yes. The XML export feature returned in rekordbox v6.3.0, allowing you to import your entire library into Engine DJ while maintaining playlist structure, hot cues, and loops.  With Engine DJ v2.0, you can also select which type of cue you’d like to import — Memory Cues or Hot Cues. In addition, you can quickly import your entire collection tree by right-clicking on the rekordbox collection list, and choosing ‘Import Collection’.

Engine Lighting requires a SoundSwitch branded USB to DMX interfaces such as the Micro DMX interface or the original SoundSwitch DMX box.

No. At this time, either the X1800 or X1850 mixer is required to use Engine Lighting with the SC5000 or SC6000's.

For full Engine DJ v2.0 compatibility, the X1800 and X1850 also require firmware updates.  Please visit Software downloads, manuals, and documentation - Denon DJ to download the latest firmware update.

By default, the Zone output offers an additional audio stream of the Master output signal.  To send an independent continuous mix: First, ensure the view mode is set to vertical view by pressing the Shift+View buttons.  Tap Browse from the touchscreen and, choose a Playlist you'd like to send to the Zone.  From the top of the Playlist, tap Play as Playlist. This will assign the Playlist to deck 4, and the Zone Assign button will illuminate dimly.  Now, when you press the Zone Assign button, deck 4 will play the playlist in the Zone output independent of the Master output. 

The MCX8000 is not compatible with the new Engine DJ v2.0 database. MCX8000 users should continue using Engine Prime to prepare their drives. Please see the MCX8000 download section to download Engine Prime.

If you receive a database corrupt message after updating, it generally means the database is corrupted. In some circumstances, it is worth attempting to migrate your library again. To do this you will need to delete the 'Database2' folder located locally and on any external drives, you use to maintain your Engine Library. To delete the local Engine 2.0.0 library, ensure Engine DJ application is closed, navigate to Music > Engine Library > Directory, then delete the Database2 folder. To delete a library on the external drive, again first ensure Engine DJ application is closed. Navigate to the root directory of the external drive, open the Engine Library/ folder, then delete the Database2 folder. Now you can start up the Engine DJ application again, and doing this will attempt the migration again on application startup. If the corrupt message persists after the second migration attempt, please take note of the drive name stated in the corruption message, navigate to that drive, and zip all files within the directory except the Music folder.  Upload the zipped folder here. This will assist our team in investigating the issue further. Until this issue is resolved, you can roll back to v1.6 or rebuild your Engine Library in Engine DJ v2.0. Previous versions can be downloaded from the Release Notes section of the relevant release on the Downloads page.

If you receive the error “Your Music folder can’t be accessed” while opening Engine DJ on a Windows computer, this likely means that your music folder is not write enabled, or Controlled Folder access is enabled on the system. The Controlled Folder access feature in Windows can be enabled or disabled entirely, or set to only protect specific folders. In order to allow access for Engine DJ, you must disable the feature or remove your account’s music folder from the protected folder's list. For more details on using and changing this Windows feature, please refer to the article below: Enable controlled folder access | Microsoft Docs

The Sync Manager tool allows you to quickly sync playlists and performance data between your Engine Library and your external storage drive. If your drive already contains Playlists exported from Engine DJ, you can easily select and add different playlists to add to the device while removing unwanted files at the same time. Select the Playlists you would like to add to or remove from the external storage drive.  If a Playlist is deselected from the Collection pane, a pop-up will appear warning that unselected tracks will be removed from your external storage drive when exporting. However, if a file removed from one Playlist appears in another Playlist that is still on the external storage drive, it will remain on the drive.

No. The SC LIVE 2/4 only supports Amazon Music Unlimited

Amazon Music Unlimited offers 75 million tracks in lossless High Definition (HD) and millions more in Ultra High Definition (Ultra HD). HD tracks are 16-bit audio, with a minimum sample rate of 44.1 kHz (16/44.1 is also referred to as CD-quality), and an average bitrate of 850 kbps. Ultra HD tracks have a bit depth of 24 bits, with sample rates ranging from 44.1 kHz up to 192 kHz, and an average bitrate of 3730 kbps.

Amazon Unlimited allows for up to two tracks to be streamed simultaneously. That includes tracks loaded to decks or previewed from the library.