Greetings and Happy Holidays from Light DJ HQ. 2021 included a number of updates to help make the app accessible to more users. 2021 was also my first full year of fatherhood and I am so grateful to the community of users that continue to support this project so that I can work from home and see the little ones grow each and every day. This year I took the opportunity to optimize and improve a few key areas of the app.
First and foremost, the in-app documentation needed an big update. Previous versions used captioned images that were rendered obsolete each time I'd change the app. In March I converted all of these to mini-tutorials, which you can view by tapping the '?' button wherever you see it.
These changes helped drive my next big challenge: preparing the app for localization/translations. This was a large task that took nearly 2 months to complete as the app includes more than 900 strings that needed to be properly organized, formatted, and documented for the translators, and updated in the code. The result is full German and Spanish translations (with more to come in the future)!
November's big v9 update included a lot of small changes I've been wanting to include for years but was never able to fit into a build. First is the introduction of command items that you can add to your sheets and playlists to easily set tempo, brightness, and palette. There's also tempo & brightness automators that you can use to create transitions and loops. The iPad version includes a new "Set" button to instantly apply a color to a single light or entertainment area as well as an icon view mode if you prefer a more text-minimal view. There's also a number of backend improvements for reduced CPU usage and improved performance.
Nanoleaf Lines LED Light Bars, The First Ever Modular Lighting Beam with Backlit Illumination
I continue to monitor the latest lighting hardware trends and am updating the app where possible. The latest update includes support for these amazing Nanoleaf Lines backlit LED light bars. I get excited any time Nanoleaf releases a new product but these really show off Light DJ's effects in a whole new way. I can't say enough good things about these lights; this is the most innovative lighting product I've seen in a while and that's saying a lot since Nanoleaf's lineup continues to impress with each new release.
I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year! May your 2022 bring you great joy and prosperity!
-Kevin