Native instruments on Monday announced Traktor DJ Studio 2.6, an upgraded version of their professional DJ studio. The new release integrates full support for Stanton Magnetics’ vinyl-controlled DJ system, FinalScratch 2. Previously, FinalScratch was only supported in a special Traktor FS release. Also new to this release is live broadcasting on the Internet via integrated Icecast support, live audio input with on-the-fly audio recording, a revised filter section, support for WMA and non-protected AAC audio files, the ability to maintain a special “favorites” section where up to a dozen folders or playlists can be stored and a new “history function” that provides details on recently played tracks. Traktor DJ Studio 2.6 is coming this November, and will be a free upgrade for registered Traktor DJ Studio 2.5 users. The full Traktor DJ Studio 2.5 package costs US$229.
In related news, Native instruments announced a new partnership with FinalScratch maker Stanton Magnetics Inc. and DJ-centric digital music store Beatport. Stanton’s product enables digital DJs to play music from Macs or PCs while using a standard turntable/mixer setup and specially manufactured vinyl records for beat and tempo matching, crossfades and other effects. The announcement isn’t coordinated with any new products, but the companies indicate they will develop new solutions for DJ market. Native Instruments also announced plans to turn over worldwide distribution of Traktor DJ Studio to Stanton.