VCI-100 unofficial firmware 1.3.1 available
VCI-100 unofficial firmware 1.3.1 available Posted on: 16.08.2010 by Verla Jurgensmeyer UPDATE: Version 1.3.3 released, later in this thread!== Intro == Hi everybody, I recently purchased a VCI-100 SE. After reading a lot of different reviews about different USB DJ controller it seemed like the right choice. With all those good feedbacks and reviews I read, I was very surprised to receive a device with which you can't do serious beat matching. It's only after searching this community that I found all the complaints about this particular problem and the workarounds. But there's one really good thing about the VCI-100 it's the fact that you can reprogram it. I'm quite into hardware hacking in general, so I downloaded the 1.3 firmware, fired up my favorite disassembler, and wasted some time on it in order to fix it I'm very happy to present an unofficial 1.3.1 version of the firmware that has a 4x better precision for pitch faders than previous firmwares, look at the attached picture to see what that means! == New features ==
== Howto == To upgrade your firmware you need to follow the 1.3 upgrade instructions, but with the proper firmware file. This new firmware sends the old messages as well as the new ones, so it's compatible with the DJranking s Traktor settings out of the box, but if you want the extra bits of precision you need to remap your Tempo settings (someone please make an import file for Traktor?) - Deck A/C Tempo = CH02.PitchBend - Deck B/D Tempo = CH03.PitchBend - Deck A/C Tempo Reset = CH02.Note.C0 - Deck B/D Tempo Reset = CH02.Note.C#0 == Technical Details == All the analog faders & knobs on the VCI-100 are read using the main MCU (h8/300) built-in AD converters. Those converters have a precision of 10 bits. The previous firmwares converted those signals to 7 bits so it can fit in a regular Control Change MIDI message. In my 1.3.1 firmware, the pitch faders are converted to 9 bits then sent as a Pitch Bend MIDI message which has a 14 bits precision. Why using 9 bits instead of 10 bits ? I worry that if the analog value is just between two digital values, it may oscillate between the two (due to noise) and so MIDI messages may be sent even when the pitch fader didn't move. The extra bit is required to avoid this kind of situation. In theory it's possible to use 14 bits of precision for the pitch faders using a small hardware mod involving an external AD. Is it worth it? I dont know! For interested people I've attached a couple of screenshots from the reverse-engineering process showing the same piece of code before and after all the guesswork and analysis == Closing words == While I tested it, this release is a beta version so I'm waiting for your feedback. I've taken great care of polishing all the details, and you don't risk anything as you can always downgrade to 1.3 or 1.2 afterwards. Have fun! DaveX | |
| Reece Murray 12.09.2010 | AS ADVERTISED!! DaveX, you are my hero. Dude, please tell me how I can donate to the cause! Flashed the 1.3.3 Hi-res jog version last evening , remapped everything today. Sounds and works fantastic! Some button headaches worked out, simple filter knobs, killer scratching and beatmatching on the vci to boot. Very Impressed. I'm using the tempo faders in relative mode, just had to dial in a good sensitivity and I've got +/- 3.0% at comfortable 0.02 bpm intervals. That works great for me, 'cause I use a coarse tempo modifier that gives me +/- 35% for big tempo changes. As for scratching, what can I say? This firmware pulls a great performance out of the VCI-100. That little bump in resolution is really taking the sound to a new level. We knew it wasn't gonna be Itch, but man, you unleashed the beast that the VCI always had in it. Really nice job |
| Angelo Scalici 11.09.2010 | Hey all, Here is my 3.5.2 tsi with the settings changed for the hires pitch and jogweel. It's an export of all settings so you might just only want to import the controllers settings. Cheers, Sharkie (TP 1.2.6|W7 X64|M-Audio FTPro|VCI-100-Arcade self mod SE) |
| Shala Wohletz 11.09.2010 | or post the dj tt 3.5.2 mapping with the adjutments made already including the jog divider |
| Hipolito Scionti 11.09.2010 | Can some one post up the tsi that they have done that goes with this FW upgrade? That'd be sweet. mx |
| Janyce Henningson 10.09.2010 |
Originally Posted by Sharkie
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| Angelo Scalici 10.09.2010 | Hi all, did the 1.3.3. hires jogweel flash last evening
and all i can say is: Nice Much more acurate pitching is what i have been waiting for. (i hate the sync button ) Just fiddling with the rotary settings at the moment, but i can feel the difference in a good way so far ... scratching seems to sound better too. Great work Dave! Using 3.5.2 tsi Set the hires settings recomended bij DaveX in tsi (TP 1.2.6|W7 X64|M-Audio FTPro|VCI-100-Arcade self mod SE) |
| Shala Wohletz 06.09.2010 | So do we use the standard tech tools tsi? |
| Janyce Henningson 01.09.2010 | Just thought I'd let you all know I upgraded my firmware today to this version. Results: The pitch faders are now much more accurate - before each step was 0.16 bpm - now it is 0.03 or 0.04 bpm - thats with the pitch range set at 8%, but mez is right you do lose a bit - its actually +- 7.4% The jog wheels feel a bit more responsive - im not a scratcher but it seems pretty accurate. When in scratch mode you can pitch bend using the outside by changing the mapping to channel 2 - I just used midi learn. The left sync button is now fixed. The 4 bottom buttons led's now work fine. In other words everything works just like davex says.. Tested it for about an hour - just doing as much silly stuff as possible and there have been no problems. Cheers davex |
| Graham Frazier 29.08.2010 | This is really amazing. Nice job DaveX. Still don't believe i'm going to get a vci though. |
| Leeanna Ayla 29.08.2010 | The software used to flash the VCI is only available for Windows. For what it's worth I did the update running XP in Boot Camp on a MBP. |
| Dusti Gorbet 28.08.2010 | When everything is validated, and the future has arrived, and we all scramble to add functionality to our VCI 100s, will the the upgrade guide have any OSX instructions - the software described in current tutorials is for windows only (for running the firmware update) |
| Allegra Lockney 28.08.2010 | First of all, thanks a lot for doing this, the pitch/jog resolution was the only thing that prevented the vci-100 from being the perfect controller for me. Also kudos on the double messages for the filter knobs, i do like to use the 4-band xone eq in traktor pro from time to time and because of this i hadn't upgraded to 1.3 yet. So I upgraded to 1.3.3 yesterday (from 1.2) and everything seems to be working real good! Just a couple things though: -The pitch faders, while definitely having 4x resolution, aren't reaching the full range for me. With the pitch range set to 4%, they are going +/-3.7%, 7.4% when set at 8%, and so on. Not too troublesome, but I wanted to know if this is normal. -In your instructions, you say the jog sensitivity should be divided by 4, but if i do that it will end up quite a lot slower that it originally was with the old firmware. I have to set them to around half sensitivity to act similarly as before. Maybe it has something to do with the way traktor handles that sentivity value, even if the signal has 4x the previous resolution? In any case, even if I'm not much into scratching either, the finer resolution can definitely be felt. Thanks again! |
| Reece Murray 25.08.2010 | Grr, I'd do it in a second if I didn't have to have 1.3.0 on hand for some tsi work being requested of me. But that actually brings up a good question: DaveX or DjTT, is there any way to incorporate a boot modifier similar to what 1.3.0 has? (SE owners can currently boot into 1.2 or 1.3 - what I'd really love is if after flashing, we could choose to boot into 1.3.0 OR 1.3.3) |
| Leeanna Ayla 25.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by Karlos Santos
Originally Posted by Fatlimey
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| robert chanda 25.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by Karlos Santos
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| Cedric Ojha 25.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by Karlos Santos
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| nayit ruiz jaramillo 25.08.2010 | Yadda yadda yadda... long thread... lots of words... Does this work, can anyone say its safe to do... Well done that man (in anticipation of it being kosher) |
| Jessika Kienast 25.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by lethal_pizzle
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| Marshall Aby 25.08.2010 | @OP - this is insanely great! When this is tested and running on my VCI then I'll be wanting to donate too... One other area I can see the VCI being improved over the stock firmwares is: For buttons with 2 differently coloured LEDs in, allow the button to show 3 states: OFF, COLOUR 1, COLOUR 2. Could be useful to show cue/loop points a la the NI S4 etc. |
| Eneida Mussa 25.08.2010 | Looking forward to the release of the new mapping. I believe everyone is just excited about the improvements and can't wait to try them out. All good things come to those that wait... |
| Edris Acevedo 25.08.2010 | Nice one Flashflooder. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Kudos to DaveX for making this happen. |
| Jodi Lacerra 25.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by Audio Aerosol
Yes, the pitch faders do show a substantial improvement in resolution; the minimum movement was 0.16 bpm in FW 1.3 and it is now 0.04 bpm in FW 1.3.3, making beat matching much better. There are also a number of other improvements like better jog wheel resolution, sync functionality, etc. When we are completely satisfied testing the new firmware and the new mapping we will release it to the public. This will most likely be followed by an article on the blog explaining the firmware improvements, the updated mapping that utilizes the new firmware, and how to upgrade your VCI-100 to the new firmware. The main reason this is taking some time (aside from thorough testing) is that we are trying to make the updated VCI-100 mapping compatible with all the different firmware versions out there (i.e., 1.2, 1.3, & 1.3.3+). This way we don't have multiple versions (for different firmwares) floating around which would inevitably cause more confusion. In order to do make the mapping functional we are working (with DaveX) on some further adjustments to the firmware. We plan on being able to release the updated firmware/mapping hopefully within a few weeks and definitely within the upcoming month. I will keep everyone update if anything major changes. |
| Amalia Gossert 26.08.2010 | this community
is full of inofficial djtt spokesmen? :P for my part, i want to try out the new features and will soon purchase the firmware update module. all this reads so promising! |
| Jessika Kienast 25.08.2010 | Dude, you do realize that every firmware change carries with it the risk that some new code may not be compatible with previous mappings or bring out some cranky bug lurking in the hardware. I believe the guys at TechTools are going to be real cautious with this since they weren't involved in its initial phase and will have to go through the mapping part by part. Also, since they're going to be standing behind whatever they release in the end, it being released as a DJTechTools endorsed / co-developed firmware, that's even more cause for caution, wouldn't you agree? I should believe the bare minimum's a month or two. Don't forget that besides going through the new firmware, they have to troubleshoot any problems they might find as well as rework any existing mappings to comply. Ain't going to be fun to have a worldful of VCI-SE owners banging on your door asking why are the new mappings inconsistent with the old overlays. |
| Tyrone Baghdadi 25.08.2010 | Actually, i'm really wonderiing why it takes DJTT so long to approval the firmaware? Really curious.. I mean..it's been a while now?!! |
| Jolyn Brunello 24.08.2010 | ok thanx for your insight....... |
| Jessika Kienast 24.08.2010 | Not yet, calvin01, and not about to do so because I don't have the firmware update kit PLUS I've searched and worked pretty hard to get my 1.3 firmwared VCI-100 mapped to how I'd intuitively use it without having to believe what's what AND I've got a gig coming up on Monday which I need to prove myself AND have fun at the same time. |
| Jolyn Brunello 24.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by The Progen
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| Leeanna Ayla 24.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by Audio Aerosol
You'll need this http://ranking s.myshopify.com/produ...-upgrade-cable And to read these. http://www.djranking s.com/community /showthread.php?t=871 http://www.djranking s.com/community /showthread.php?t=846 |
| Edris Acevedo 24.08.2010 | I am aware that beatmatching is still possible with the current firmware without using Sync but by nudging the jog wheel same way you do on CDJ's. I currently only use Sync to match the BPM's due to it being virtually impossible to do with the VCI's current pitch faders. M query was how much better they are and seeing as though this is the most important feature on this new firmware its quiet a valid enquiry. Whilst I am aware that it will never be the same as djing on CDj's my query was more referring to the pitch faders sensitivity in comparison to how it is at the moment with 1.3. |
| Jessika Kienast 24.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by calvin01
I tried a mapping where the three buttons on the upper left allowed you to set the faders' sensitivity but at the expense of range. Pretty cool because you then got to get into exact tempo match up to 2 decimal places but you only had a few BPM to go each way. Pretty useful for house music though. It's a compromise! |
| Jolyn Brunello 24.08.2010 | +1 on the pitchfaders.i,e do they now move at better increments than 0.2 |
| Jessika Kienast 24.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by Audio Aerosol
ps. The only difference I noticed was that if you were way way out, it was harder to catch up than if you were using CDJs to do the controlling. Kind of like using turntables vs. CDJs. Perhaps there was a slight ramp down in speed once the jogwheel was released although the BPM display didn't indicate that. Who knows? |
| Edris Acevedo 24.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by flashflooder
thanks |
| Jessika Kienast 23.08.2010 | PLEASE include a log of the changes and what little changes to make to comply with the new firmware. I've spent ages (1 week actually) stealing bits and pieces here and there from various maps and am pretty close to how I want a 4 deck controller to be. |
| Leeanna Ayla 23.08.2010 | Waiting for the final revision and I'll update. |
| Twyla Tylinski 23.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by MisterMoleyMole
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| Jodi Lacerra 24.08.2010 |
Originally Posted by MaxOne
We are also planning on releasing an updated version of the latest VCI-100 tsi that will be compatible with the older firmware and DaveX's improved version. I am still waiting to hear back from DaveX regarding a few firmware changes but once we get everything figured out, I will have the mapping done shortly after and will let everyone know when it is ready for public consumption. |
| Doug Bieling 23.08.2010 | So are you saying the the resolution of the jogs is a definite improvement? |
| Twyla Tylinski 23.08.2010 | Thanks DJ Detta after changing the scratch sensitivity you can ACTUALLY scratch on the VCI-100 now (although my scratching is rather primitive). Big up to DaveX for all his efforts (keep up the good work). All that remains now is for Ean and the DJTT team to jump all over this firmware and release a TSI to bring out the best of it. |
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