MegaSeg 2.7 is now available for download for $199 (www.megaseg.com). It includes over 60 improvements including OS X Panther™ support. The update is free for users of Version 2.5 and newer. Those with older versions can upgrade for $49. MegaSeg supports Mac OS X and OS 9 systems with a 400 MHz or faster processor. It runs on all iBooks®, PowerBooks®, iMacs®, and eMacs®.

MegaSeg is simplicity in form and function. Its main interface is uncomplicated and intuitive. I am not a DJ; but with this software, I could easily become one.

Using MegaSeg 2.7
To begin, import your songs to the MegaSeg Library. MegaSeg allows you to import any sound file QuickTime® supports: MP3, MOV, WAV, etc. You will need QuickTime 5.0 or greater.
To import from audio CD you will need to use Apple®'s free iTunes® to encode a CD track into an MP3 and then use MegaSeg's iTunes import to upload the iTune files.

Creating the playlist is the next step. A playlist in MegaSeg is a collection of songs. You can add one song or all songs from the library to the playlist. Double-click on the song from the library and it is copied over to the playlist, cued, and ready to go. Plus you can randomize the playlist. Once your songs are organized you can easily find a song by using the Find feature. It's that easy!

The really fun part of this software is the Mixer and the Set and Seg. With the mixer, you can custom mix songs together. The Set and Seg feature lets you cross fade, fade-cut, or slam-slam songs. You can either custom set segue time or use the AutoSeg Trim.

The Mixer
The new features in MegaSeg 2.7 make this software sing. The Playlist Event allows you to program song rotation and timer events. For example, you can insert jingles or voice IDs into a playlist, set the date and frequency, and you are done.

You can build playlists based on categories such as rock, reggae, for example, or create your own categories with the Scheduling feature. Just drag and drop the category into the Scheduler. When the playlist is scheduled, a random song from each category in the schedule is filled in.

Another notable addition is the Rules feature which allows you to prevent the same artist's songs from playing too close together.

The Request Note is nice. It allows you to make notes for a specific request. So when the requested song is played the note pops up on the screen to remind the DJ.

MegaSeg supports multiple sound outputs for simultaneous headphone cue and main program output. You can organize your files and segue between songs without any extra equipment. It's an inexpensive solution for a DJ expanding a business or just starting out. MegaSeg is truly the automation solution for professional MP3 and QuickTime mixing and programming.

MegaSeg also has video playback that utilizes QuickTime technology. Many DJs use this feature to create Karaoke videos, music videos, or Flash™ animation. The possibilities are endless.

How the Professionals Use MegaSeg 2.7.
Tom Koetting, consultant, Koetting Media Ltd, uses MegaSeg to run a 24-hour-a-day community radio station for one of his clients. He says, "MegaSeg goes where no jukebox software has ever gone before on the Mac. Think iTunes on steroids." At the station, they use MegaSeg to track over 9,000 songs and play music shows, community announcements, weather forecasts, etc. Koetting says, "It's very stable and the on-air sound is state-of-the-art." The station runs MegaSeg on a Dual Processor G4 with 4-120 GB hard drives and a M-Audio professional sound card.

Wyatt Magnum, president of MMG, a business that helps restaurants design the perfect music library, says, "There's really nothing we don't like about the product. Jason Cox and the development team at Fidelity Media have incorporated several features we have requested they add to the program and are very easy to reach." He continues, "MegaSeg is truly a unique product that does exactly what we need it to do for our clients in the hospitality industry. We've looked at other software but MegaSeg has all the necessary features we were looking for in a Mac-based platform." MMG uses eMacs for their durability and price point.

So, MegaSeg 2.7 is a great buy for $199. As a first time user, I imported songs from a CD, created a playlist, and set the segue timer using the AutoSeg feature - all within 30 minutes.