Auto Pilot
DJWhat it's for — Auto Pilot watches your set's phrase structure in real time and fires cues automatically at structural moments (drops, builds, choruses, phrase endings) so your lighting and video rig reacts to the music without you manually pressing GO every time.
The screen, region by region
Empty state — If Auto Pilot is disabled and no track is armed, the screen shows a breathing animation and an Enable Auto Pilot button. Connect a Pioneer device and load a track to arm it.
Dashboard tab — Appears once Auto Pilot is enabled. Contains:
- Status header — Shows the active profile name and the current state: Idle, Armed, Running, or Paused. A Pause button appears while running; a Resume button appears while paused.
- Track waveform — A full-width waveform of the currently armed track with phrase bands, fire-plan markers, and cue markers overlaid. Hidden when no track is armed.
- Fire plan timeline — A scrolling beat timeline showing the planned automation moments as vertical markers. Fired moments are distinguished from upcoming ones.
- Next moment / Last fired cards — Side by side below the timeline. "Next moment" shows the type and beat position of the next planned automation event. "Last fired" shows what just fired and the rationale (which phrase rule triggered it).
- Recent fires — A history list of recent automation events with the rationale recorded for each. Use this after a set to review what Auto Pilot did and why.
- Profile information — Shows the current energy level and the profile's active settings summary.
Profile Editor tab — Lets you adjust the automation profile without leaving the screen. A dot appears on the tab label when there are unsaved changes. Key settings:
- Pause on manual GO — When enabled, Auto Pilot pauses its own automation after you manually fire a cue, giving you back control until you resume it.
- BPM sync targets — Configure which outputs should have their parameter sync locked to the current BPM.
Common tasks
- Enable Auto Pilot — Click Enable Auto Pilot on the empty state, or use the enable toggle in the status header.
- Arm a track — Load a track on your Pioneer player. Auto Pilot arms automatically once the track's phrase analysis is available.
- Review what will fire — Check the fire plan timeline and the next moment card. The fire plan lists every planned moment with its beat position.
- Pause automation — Click the Pause button in the status header. Auto Pilot stops firing cues. A banner also appears on the Performance screen reminding you it is paused.
- Resume automation — Click the Resume button in the status header.
- Adjust profile settings — Click the Profile Editor tab, make changes, and save. Settings are saved into the show file.
- Review recent fires after a set — Scroll to the Recent Fires section on the Dashboard tab to audit what fired and why.
Tips & gotchas
- Profile settings live in the show file. Changes you make in the Profile Editor are saved with your show, not globally. This means the same show file restores the same automation profile when you reopen it.
- Auto Pilot pauses when you manually GO. If you have "Pause on manual GO" enabled (the default), manually firing a cue hands control back to you. Click Resume when you want Auto Pilot to take over again.
- A paused banner appears on the Performance screen. If you forget Auto Pilot is paused, the Performance screen shows a prominent takeover banner so you can resume without navigating away.
- Phrase analysis must complete before arming. If you load a fresh track that has never been analysed, Auto Pilot waits for the analysis pass to finish before generating a fire plan. Analyse tracks in Track Prep before the set for the fastest arm time.
- The fire plan updates live. As the track plays and energy levels shift, the plan can recompute mid-track. The waveform overlay reflects the most recent plan.
Related
- Home — Fire plan preview card on the home dashboard
- Performance — Live DJ dashboard with Auto Pilot status strip
- Track Prep — Analyse tracks before arming Auto Pilot
- Cues — Hand-authored cues that Auto Pilot fires on your behalf
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