The Cortex HDC1000 marks the beginning of a new era in dj technology , a CD player style controller that controls a USB mass storage device, This can be a USB hard drive, a USB memory stick, an iPod, or other MP3 player with USB connectivity. You can even play most of your set off a hard drive or iPod connected to the rear USB socket, and then plug a USB memory stick into the front socket to play a newly downloaded or single requested track.

Because the controller, sound card and processing are all built into a single 2U rack controller you don't need a computer at your gig, and you don't need an external soundcard - you connect your USB storage device to the USB socket, the HDC1000's audio outputs to your mixer, and that's you ready to go - no decks, no CD players, no time-coded vinyl, no computer - it's plug and play.

If you're the sort of DJ that uses state of the art CD players with seamless loops, hot-starts etc, then the HDC1000 isn't for you (the HDC3000 is coming soon, and offers all this and more) but if you're a mobile DJ who gets out there and gig's with CD's - but want's to move to MP3 but can't be bothered with a laptop/controller/software solution - then this is the product that will make your life so much easier. Get yourself a HDC1000 and an external USB hard drive (a branded 250Gb USB2 external drive will cost you about £70, and hold a massive 50,000 tracks depending on their length and bit rate).

You can leave the HDC1000 mounted in your rack (it's 2U and will therefore replace most CD player controllers) - you don't need it to get tracks onto the drive - you simply connect the USB hard-drive to your computer and save all your music onto it - you don't need any fancy software . You then simply unplug the drive, take it to your gig, plug it into your HDC1000 and you're ready to go. You can even download some free Cortex software from their website, which allows you to manage/search all the tracks on your hard drive using your computer very quickly and simply - which is a nice touch.

The hardware is very well solid and well built, the buttons are tactile rubber (much better than plastic) and the software seems stable and fairly responsive. Firmware upgrades for the HDC1000 are available from the Cortex website to ensure you're always running the latest version - with new features and facilities being added based on user feedback.

Why not watch our getinthemix video demo to give you an insight to what this amazing bit of technology can do fou you!!