What Are Your Initial Thoughts About Esperance??

[Jigger]

This is a great post.

I run a software development company here in the UK. Not directly in the same market as Ots but not a million miles away.

Fundamentally...bottom line...these guys run a business. And their primary goal - ignore any missions - is to make money. Mission statements matter...but with no money there's no business and then there is no mission either!

I'm far from privy to how Ots do their research...but I know how we do ours. And sometimes, well, most times when you release a product some people hate it, every time. Guaranteed. ACTUALLY they think they hate it...but all they really hate is change.

Unfortunately businesses have to make decisions that change products in order to continually target new markets and engage the business forward. It's hard: no business wants to alienate existing customers but fundamentally a healthy business needs to grow. Here's the killer...existing customers are existing customers because they liked the product up to now; new customers like the product because of where it is now and where it will go. A business has to be smart: smart with technology, smart with products and smart with money.

Now, I bought Ots years ago and I think I paid less then £50! That's ridiculous. We retail our software at work at £199 at the cheapest and right up to £5000 at the top. If I had spent £5k on an app and that app suddenly changed without notice then I would be apprehensive. But in this case, I paid £50 max for Ots, I use version 1.85 and it does EXACTLY what I need it to do. I've very little right to say that this new version is crap and demand that the guys abandon their work and go back to a 1.85 feel. For £50? From 10 years ago? No, not a chance. I'm using a great tool, irregardless of version and it does just the job I need.

I know some people are angry over the release...and dealing with customers at work directly I know how you feel. But at the same time I love what I have so far in this application: if I didn't then I would be looking elsewhere for apps (or writing my own LOL!). I would seriously recommend from personal experience that anyone hating it give it a chance for a month or so...and see how you feel. Remember: nobody knows where the software will go...but to go ANYWHERE near where you want it to go it needs to have a strong business behind it. And that's the key.

I'm off for a play with the new one!

G

Well Put

[Ed]

Well, I have not downloaded Esperance yet, I am afraid to after all the negative reviews!

[discodonal.com]

I really like it. Keyboard shortcuts, Karaoke Key Change & Looping are just a few features I really like. Give it a few days yourself and decide if you like it!!

[Darryl]

Well, I have not downloaded Esperance yet, I am afraid to after all the negative reviews!

I recommend trying it for yourself - most of the negative aspects of the reviews are personal preferences (something that Ots Labs can never predict) and some of them (mine included) are initial reactions.  I think it's a 'grower' - the more you use it, the more you will like it.  It does require a certain amount of effort on your part though to use it in the manner that Ots Labs have envisioned.

[jeff wood]

well im at a gig now,,,

ive my normal system running 1.85, and my lappy thats got the trial exp on it...

and now im 100% decided im sticking with the old version.


the categories,,the perfectly placed drop down cat menu is better

plus the media libary search box is better,,i can open that,, scroll through search results,, leave it on screen if i want,,,, go back to the cat im on,,

all sorts.


sorry guys, but 1.85 is much better.


also text is easier to read on 1.85 being white on black instead of grey on black


i do prefer the look of esp tho,,it does look chic, and more modern,,,

[RosieR1]

ok
i downloaded trial version last night to see how it was before upgrading and played with it for about an hour on my desktop pc truth is i wasnt that impressed.
go forward to this morning dowloaded trial onto my laptop and played about with it for about 4 hours using my hercules rmx controller and suddenly its turned out spiffing, to be honnest was a little dissapointed that ohml map hadnt ben updated to use new looping facility so posted on here asking if anybody had any plans on updating ohml file and then up pops OTS steve with this reply

Hi Rosie,

This controller will be updated to work with the looping in Esperance (along with some other controllers) in the next several days. When it is ready it will be uploaded for download on this page:

http://www.otsav.com/midi-hardware-control-maps/

Ots_Steve

so looks like ots is upgrading controller maps over the next  week

I have recently been using traktor as main software as wanted looping and better control of software with external controller but missed the reliabilty and confidence of OTS
So i am a very happy camper up to now with esperance

Brian (RosieR1)

[JohnnyTheFox]

Well it seems people are dividing into two camps. Someone on here said Marmite, and it seems to be that you either love it or hate it; well not quite.

I was I have to say a little disappointed with it last night but really felt for Ots_Adam (and the other Ots's) who had been working their b*llocks off to produce something that they are really proud of only to be abused and kicked for it by some people. Just think on guys, you do what you think is a really great gig; you have most up on the dance floor only to be told at the end of the night by the person who booked you that ou were really c*ap. You took too long to set up, they didn't like the look of you and whilst you were stable, there were better DJs around cheaper with more features. And for this you had really prepared hard and not slept for days. You'd feel a bit pi**ed off, right?

I'm not saying we should love everything that Ots does unequivocally without question, no if we have a critiscism we should do it positively. Would it be better if this feature did so and so, rather than this feature is sh*t! The words respect, politeness and tact are all words in common usage in English. Let's try and use some of them, eh?

Anyway the bottom line is that having used Esperpance today, I'm loving it! Just as Ots_Adam said would happen. Yes, it's different and that's what we have to get used to. The look is cool, and yes I miss a few features but the other benefits outweigh the lost ones. The search is much more powerful and having tried out Darryl's suggestions on how you can manipulate the order in which the library is set out is a real wow for me too. It has also been rock solid on audio and video for the last 12 hours, as we all knew it would be.

Give it time, give it a chance and in the meantime don't p*ss off the developer! You never know you might be eating your words in a few days time!

Well done to Ots_Adam, Ots_Steve and the other members of the Ots family. You have worked really hard and I for one am proud to own a product that in this day and age does not get realeased until the manufacturer is entirely happy with it, no matter how many people nag and moan about it. It is all too rare a quality in these cheap and throwaway times. Yes, It WAS worth the wait!

[cprman67]

Johnnythefox...I applaud you..no I give you a standing ovation.....Very nice post....This is what I've been feeling over the last couple of days, but I could not have put it more eloquently as you. I also say it's worth it. Unfortunately as we grow older and set in our ways, younger ones come in and want differently looks and features. This has also gone the same direction in my other business of tool sales. I see something in a certain color or design and I say Yuck....then I get a young technician on my truck and he yells out Awesome I love it.......In order for a companty to grow and keep the new up and comings happy unfortunately some of us older ones may have to say yuck once in a while. But you know what?? That yuck many times turns back into that "Awesome I love it".....

[melchz]

while im not sure ill upgrade yet (still playing with the trial etc and waiting for downtime to possibly update machines) i am keeping this in mind.  When the Iphone first came out i was really hesitant.  not having any real buttons but 1?  what if something went wrong etc etc.  now on my 2nd phone  3g then 4S and probably wont go anywhere else.  apple had a vision and everyone had to get use to it....and then loved it.  I plan on having the trial fired up at a gig on a second laptop(not hooked in to the sound system) to see how it feels in its actual setting  (im concerned with some of the buttons as i use a mouse primarily not keyboard shortcuts.)....time will tell.

[Dr.J]

Bravo JohnnyTheFox. Great comparison to our jobs as DJs, it really sucks when even one person at an event gives a scathing remark on our performance. Respect and politeness are attributes we should encourage. Thank you.

[JohnnyTheFox]

Thanks crpman67 and Dr J.

Just doing what i see as ma job! 

[Dale James]

Esperance was released 5 mins after I walked out of the door!

So, I did a 7hr gig with my trusty OADJPC+ v1.85/HC4500/X900 (whilst popping in and out of the forum/facebook to see the comments).

After a good 5hr sleep, I downloaded/installed v1.9 in seconds, no licensing issues (as usual), launched my own .oml and it was straight in there, I didn't even have to refresh the library ... bosh!

I've held off any comments until now.

I love the look/feel, the library/OMQL/search is amazing (expandable/collapsible without losing items in karaoke/history/prepare), looping is a welcome feature, the keyboard shortcuts are easy, no issues with turntables, clock, text size or colours. The on-deck controls could be a tad bigger, but I'm using a controller so it doesn't actually affect me.

I've been testing/playing for the past 12hrs, I use majority video, I've had them running backwards independently/simultaneously, looping both forward & backward whilst scratching, phasing & drinking tea ... and not a blip! Rock Solid ... as I expected.

As an OtsAV Reseller & Solutions Provider, managing 60+ instances at any one time, we will be advising current clients to switch/upgrade to v1.9

As a DJ I will be using it tomorrow night at a regular gig, I will not have a back-up.

Well done Team Ots , I can't wait to see what's coming next (pun intended!)

[JohnnyTheFox]

You know something? I think Ots may have been working on selection too. In the past we have commented that often Ots will seem to have a favourite artist randomly selected when generating a playlist from an event table template. I have often noticed it and will sometimes remark that for example Ots likes U2 today!

Not so today however! In the 13 hours it has been running here I have not noticed any overly often selected artists which would lead me to make that comment.

It might be my imagination, but I do wonder whether there have been improvements to playlist generation?

[jeff wood]

hope none of my comments were seen as being rude,, certainly didnt mean to be

obviously got total respect for the ots boys,, as i use 1.85 all the time and love it

really the fact that im not changing just shows how good 1.85 actually is.....

[Jumpin' Jeff]

Well it seems people are dividing into two camps. Someone on here said Marmite, and it seems to be that you either love it or hate it; well not quite.

I was I have to say a little disappointed with it last night but really felt for Ots_Adam (and the other Ots's) who had been working their b*llocks off to produce something that they are really proud of only to be abused and kicked for it by some people. Just think on guys, you do what you think is a really great gig; you have most up on the dance floor only to be told at the end of the night by the person who booked you that ou were really c*ap. You took too long to set up, they didn't like the look of you and whilst you were stable, there were better DJs around cheaper with more features. And for this you had really prepared hard and not slept for days. You'd feel a bit pi**ed off, right?

I'm not saying we should love everything that Ots does unequivocally without question, no if we have a critiscism we should do it positively. Would it be better if this feature did so and so, rather than this feature is sh*t! The words respect, politeness and tact are all words in common usage in English. Let's try and use some of them, eh?

Anyway the bottom line is that having used Esperpance today, I'm loving it! Just as Ots_Adam said would happen. Yes, it's different and that's what we have to get used to. The look is cool, and yes I miss a few features but the other benefits outweigh the lost ones. The search is much more powerful and having tried out Darryl's suggestions on how you can manipulate the order in which the library is set out is a real wow for me too. It has also been rock solid on audio and video for the last 12 hours, as we all knew it would be.

Give it time, give it a chance and in the meantime don't p*ss off the developer! You never know you might be eating your words in a few days time!

Well done to Ots_Adam, Ots_Steve and the other members of the Ots family. You have worked really hard and I for one am proud to own a product that in this day and age does not get realeased until the manufacturer is entirely happy with it, no matter how many people nag and moan about it. It is all too rare a quality in these cheap and throwaway times. Yes, It WAS worth the wait!

Thanks for backing me up Johnny!
Well said!