Timecode / Control Vinyl
Timecode vinyl is a specially pressed record containing a continuous signal that a DVS reads to track needle position, then maps it to a digital file.
Timecode vinyl (also called control vinyl) is a specially manufactured record that contains a continuous, precisely timed tone rather than music. A DVS system decodes this signal in real time to determine the absolute position and speed of the needle, then applies that motion to a digital audio file.
Why it matters
It lets a DJ play and manipulate digital tracks using the tactile feel of real vinyl on a turntable, preserving every scratch, spinback, and platter trick as if the record itself held the audio.
In practice
Use the manufacturer-matched timecode for your DVS software: Serato, Traktor, and rekordbox each produce their own timecode tones and they are not interchangeable. Replace worn copies when the signal quality meter in your software drops, since a degraded signal causes jitter or dropouts in the audio.
