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Common performance issues and solutions (Mac)

Wed 22 Jun 11 @ 5:36 am

Skipping, stuttering and other sound break-up/glitches are caused by performance issues with your computer and/or incorrect configuration in VirtualDJ.

Common causes are:

  • OS X permission issues. If these are incorrect, then this can cause applications to not function correctly and other unexpected problems. Please see http://guides.macrumors.com/Repairing_Permissions for instructions.

  • Computer that is not powerful enough or does not have sufficient memory (RAM) - The recommended requirements can be found on the following page (Ideally your computer should exceed these): https://virtualdj.com/products/virtualdj/

  • Overheating - Make sure that your computer has adequate ventilation and the cooling fans are still operational and are not being blocked. Most computers will slow down the CPU when it starts to overheat, reducing performance considerably. Overheating can also cause your computer to crash or freeze. For a laptop, a DJ laptop stand is a recommended to allow all round ventilation.

  • Out-of-date illegal versions of the software. If this is the case, please download and try VirtualDJ Home FREE - https://virtualdj.com/download/free.html - If you like the software, and wish to use Pro features, then please support it and its future development by purchasing it: https://virtualdj.com/buy/

  • Unnecessary software running in the background. Make sure that you do not have other unnecessary applications open at the same time as VirtualDJ that may be using excessive system resources.

  • The skin (User interface) has been resized or maximised. On some systems, this can cause increased CPU usage depending on the capabilities of the graphics card and whether fast or quality resizing has been chosen in CONFIG -> Performances (Quality will result in better quality resized graphics but higher CPU usage as a result.) Please either use the skin at its correct size or download and use a skin that better suits your screen resolution from https://virtualdj.com/addons/skins.html

  • Newer MacBook Pro models have two video cards - One basic card to extend battery life and a higher performance card for better graphics performance. Make sure that the higher performance card is enabled by going to System Preferences -> Energy Saver and choosing Graphics: -> Higher Performance



Distortion when using two separate sound cards

When using two different sound cards on a Mac, you may get this issue if the two cards have different capabilities to each other (E.g: 44100 Hz for one card and 48000 Hz for the other.)

To check and correct if necessary:

  • Go to MacOS Utilities -> Audio MIDI Setup.

  • In Audio MIDI Setup, make sure that you are viewing Audio devices, not MIDI devices (Click on the Audio Devices tab, or in newer versions of MacOS, View menu -> Show Audio Window)

  • Depending on your version of MacOS you should either see a list of audio devices or the properties of the default device.

  • In newer versions of MacOS, click on each sound card in the list of sound devices. Then click on the OUTPUT tab and check that it is set to 44100.0 Hz and 2ch-16 bit.

  • In older versions, choose each sound card in the Properties For: drop-down list. Then check that it is set to 44100.0 Hz and 2-ch 16 bit.


NOTE: For live performance and best sound quality, a proper dedicated multi-channel DJ sound card is strongly recommended, such as Numark DJIO or Native Instuments Audio 2 DJ with either VirtualDJ Pro Basic or the full VirtualDJ Professional: https://virtualdj.com/products/comparison.html

NOTE: Home FREE and VirtualDJ Broadcaster are limited software do not support external multi-channel sound cards.


Incorrect permissions for VirtualDJ folder and database

Please check the permissions on your VirtualDJ folder are set correctly, otherwise VirtualDJ may not be able to save the database and all changes that you have made (BPM, comments, etc.) will be lost when you close the software:

  • Use Finder to browse to the folder /users/YOURNAME/Documents folder (Or /users/YOURNAME/Library/VirtualDJ for new installations of VirtualDJ v7.0.3 and above.)

  • Right-click (CMD+click) on the VirtualDJ folder.

  • Choose Get Info from the pop-up menu.

  • In the bottom right corner of the Get Info dialog, click on the pad-lock icon and unlock it (You may be prompted for your user password.)

  • Then just above that to the left is the Permissions list. Make sure that your user account has Read/Write permissions set.

  • Just below the Permissions box there is a button with a gear graphic on it - Click on it and choose the 'Apply to all included' items.

  • Once changed, close the Get Info dialogue box to apply the changes.


NOTE: If you use external drives, you will also need to do the above for each external drive (Located in /Volumes)

NOTE: If your external drive is PC NTFS formatted, then VirtualDJ will not be able to write to it and save your database information. The drive must either be natively formatted for Mac use only, or if you wish to also use it on a PC, it must be formatted FAT32. By default, Mac can't write to PC NTFS formatted drives, however 3rd party tools may allow you to do this.