CDJ

CDJ is a line of CD players from Pioneer DJ that allow analogue control of music from CDs, usually using an emulated vinyl control surface. The term "CDJ" (Compact Disk Jockey) is derived from the first CD player, the CDJ-300 prototype from Pioneer Electronics in 1992.

The Pioneer CDJ-400, CDJ-800, CDJ-1000 (including the Mark 2 and Mark 3), CDJ-900, and the CDJ-2000 have vinyl mode and a virtual platter that allows the operator to manually manipulate music on a CD as if it were on a turntable, while other models (CDJ-100S, CDJ-200) do not feature vinyl and scratching capabilities, and are essentially CD players. While still having the options to manipulate the CD, they do not feature the vinyl modes of the other models.

The CDJ-1000 was the main model to find mass usage in both clubs and amongst domestic users, especially from the second version of the model, the CDJ-1000MK2.

One model, the CDJ-400, incorporates the main new feature of having a USB input and control abilities on the player. However it is not as functional as the CDJ-1000MK3, hence the number 400 being assigned to the machine.

DVJ

A DVJ (from the name of an industry-standard Pioneer DVD-turntable, a combination of "DJ" and "VJ"; also called DVD jockey or DVDJ) is a DJ who composes and/or performs live using an audio-visual music player instead of an audio-only setup consisting of CD turntable players or vinyl-record turntables. This is not to be confused with a VJ, a host of a music video TV channel, or a visual-only performer separate from the DJ in a live environment.

History

Visuals in one form or another have always been a part of live DJ performances, but until the advent of this form of performance, the visual aspect was largely limited to computerized strobes and spotlights, laser projectors, and/or pyrotechnics. With the advent of DVD technology (especially once it became cheap enough for the average individual to create his or her own discs), a push was made for a device that would give a performer the same flexibility in accessing the music and video on the disc as the turntable-style CD players commonly available for DJs. Pioneer Corporation became the first (and as of this writing, still the only) manufacturer of DJ equipment to produce such a device, the Pioneer DVJ-X1, first released in 2004. That design has been refined into the DVJ-1000, released in 2006, generally regarded as the "gold standard" DVJ turntable today.