Introducing the Light DJ Network, a platform for syncing purchases & effects

Hey everyone!

It may be summer, but that doesn’t stop me from creating new & cool things for you guys to play with, after all… fall is around the corner and I’ve got some big updates planned for later this year. One of the most popular user requests I’ve been receiving is to be able to share your subscriptions between all your iOS & Android devices. This isn’t an easy task considering how differently each platform deals with purchases and requires servers to manage the data on the backend. Thankfully in this age of plentiful cloud data services I was able to find a friend in Firebase. This still took me way longer than I expected to develop this, but with the new platform you’ll be able sync effects, sheets, and purchases, and anything else that comes up in the future. ;)

Currently the Light DJ Network is in beta and will only sync purchases so that you can share your subscription between iOS & Android. Effects and other content will start to be integrated with the service through end of the year, and into 2020. Many concepts like custom effects & sheets don’t exist on Android yet so they’ll be need to be developed before I can integrate them with the cloud service. This will be an ongoing project for me for years to come, so if there’s something you’d like to see, or if you have any other feedback, send me an email at kevin@nrthrnlights.com and let me know! If you’d like to sign-up for the beta, you can find the info here.

Also, a note on pricing (affecting new Android subscribers): Currently the Android Light DJ subscription is priced less than the iOS version. There’s a few reasons for this, like having fewer extras, getting updates 2nd, market factors, etc. My plan going forward is to provide universal access to all platforms, so when the cloud services network releases later this year Android pricing will raise to match existing iOS pricing for universal access. I also plan to offer an Android-only option while I build up the new features required to get the app up to parity with iOS. I always grandfather new features to existing users though, so if you subscribe today (or have been subscribed) you’ll get universal access before the rates go up later this year. New & current full Pro & Deluxe version purchasers get this access as well. I have no plans to change full version or iOS pricing at this time, but I’ll soon begin to offer subscriptions through this web site at a small discount from the universal App Store & Google Play price. If you have a preferred OS you should use that as the native subscription since you’ll be required to sync-up after each renewal (web subscriptions won’t have this issue).

Light DJ now supports Philips Hue Entertainment

Hey everyone, Kevin from Light DJ here. Philips announced their new Hue Entertainment API in January and that threw my priorities list off a bit, but boy was it worth it. I had been expecting a simple drop-and-replace solution with faster bulb response, but what they delivered was much more: a complete effects generation system that works seamlessly with your Hue lighting setup.

One of the biggest challenges I've had in creating the app is getting the effects to look good regardless of where your lights are located. My original solution to this was ordered bulbs method where you sort your lights in a ring around your room. This had pros and cons, but my general assumption was that most people keep their lights on the sides of the room. The reality is that there are a ton of different lighting configurations, including hanging fixtures, flood lights, and LED strips. Introducing Hue Entertainment areas:

When you create a Hue Entertainment area from the Hue app you'll set each of your light locations in your room. Each Hue Entertainment area can include up to 10 lights. Only one Hue Entertainment area can be controlled by a single bridge at any one time, however Light DJ allows you to control multiple simultaneous Hue Entertainment areas if you use a separate bridge for each area.

By using a Hue Entertainment area you'll enjoy high-performance, spacial effects; all of the app's effects respond faster and with better sync. Send waves of color across your room with the updated Groove Wave effect, or see faster strobes with the Matrix controller. The Visualizer is more responsive and active too.

You can try out all of the new effects for free today by downloading Light DJ on the App Store or on Google Play.

If you like the new effects or have some suggestions, feel free to comment or send me an email at kevin@nrthrnlights.com. This app was build on user feedback and I value your input!

Cheers,

Kevin

NEW: Connect your Nanoleaf Aurora with Philips Hue and LIFX

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With Light DJ, you can now connect your Nanoleaf Aurora to Philips Hue and LIFX smart lights.

Hey guys! It's been a while since my last post, but I wanted to fill you in on the latest happenings here at Light DJ HQ. Last month I released a blockbuster addition to the iOS app, integrating all of the apps effects with the fantastic Nanoleaf Aurora.

The Nanoleaf Aurora is a set of modular LED panels that you mount to your wall in whatever configuration you can imagine. They piece together just like LEGOs and stick to your wall with easily removable 3M strips. You can create all sorts of different shapes with the panels and the system is expandable so you can keep adding more and more panels to create the ultimate lighting that will change your wall from boring to awesome!

The Nanoleaf Aurora adds a whole new dimension to your light setup, and fully integrates with your existing Philips Hue and LIFX lights.

This update is for iOS users at the moment, but Light DJ Android support for the Nanoleaf Aurora is in the works. Look for it to be released sometime this fall. As always, if you have any suggestions for the app I welcome your feedback at kevin@nrthrnlights.com.

Light DJ For Android Now Available

Since I began building the iOS version of Light DJ over 2 years ago the #1 question from people has always been “When’s the Android version coming out?”

Well after months of hard work developing and testing the app, I’m happy to report that Light DJ for Android is now available on the Google Play Store!

This initial release includes the top-selling Visualizer controller that uses your Android device's microphone to intelligently analyze music in real-time and changes the effects based on what it's hearing. Check out the live video previews on my (Instagram (@lightdj).

With the Android release comes a clean new UI that will be carried over to the iOS version in the coming months when I start work on refreshing the iPad controllers.

As always, I welcome your feedback and suggestions. What else would you like Light DJ to do? Email me at kevin@mangobee.co with your ideas.