DVS (Digital Vinyl System)

At minimum you need turntables (or CDJs capable of reading timecode CDs or connecting via USB HID), a mixer with phono inputs for turntables (or line inputs for CDJs), an audio interface with enough inputs and outputs for each deck, control vinyl or timecode CDs, and a laptop running compatible DVS software such as Serato DJ Pro, Traktor Pro, or VirtualDJ. Some mixers include a built-in audio interface designed specifically for DVS, which reduces the external hardware to turntables, mixer, and laptop.

No. The physical experience of cueing, spinning, and scratching is nearly identical because the actual record is spinning under the needle, but the audio playing through the system is a digital file from the laptop, not a pressed groove. The control record contains only a timecode tone and carries no music of its own. The quality and character of the audio output depends on the digital file and the audio interface, not on a needle reading a groove.

Yes, in two ways. Older CDJ models can play a timecode CD, and DVS software tracks that line-level signal the same way it tracks timecode vinyl. Note that CDJs output a line-level signal, not a phono-level signal, so the audio interface input must be set to LINE when using CDJs. Modern CDJs such as the CDJ-2000NXS2 and newer also support HID mode, connecting to DVS software directly via USB without needing a timecode disc at all, which gives tighter integration and access to more jog-wheel controls. The tactile feel differs from turntables because a CDJ jog wheel provides less rotational mass than a spinning platter with vinyl, but the software-side behavior is equivalent.