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Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost
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Author:  Lonman [ Thu Aug 17, 2017 10:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

Alan B wrote:
Yes, what you're saying is true. It's giving a time based on what you have it set at. But like I said, it can be configured in settings. I'll check it out at my next show. But the point is, everything that you complained about not working, does work perfectly. But none of this matters. You're happy with Siglos and you're going to stay with it. Bottom line is stay with what works for you.
So you can set the marquee in Compuhost to display exact time and not just a preset avg that doesn't change with song choices? For me I want the singers to see exact time not just an avg - especially when you have shorter or longer songs showing. Shorter songs could screw someone up seeing they have 3 minutes left and run to the bathroom only to be called because the song was actually only two minutes.

Author:  DannyG2006 [ Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

Estimated time also screws up knowing exactly when to cut off requests. With CompuHost, I either ended the show early or late depending on the actual time of the songs. With Siglos, I ended exactly when I wanted to hit because it was giving me exact times by using the exact time of each song instead of using what I call faulty data.

Author:  karaokeniagarafalls [ Thu Aug 17, 2017 10:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

you guys are forgetting to factor in the time it takes a singer to walk to the stage between songs.

Average approx. 45 seconds per singer.

Author:  Lonman [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

karaokeniagarafalls wrote:
you guys are forgetting to factor in the time it takes a singer to walk to the stage between songs.

Average approx. 45 seconds per singer.

What kind of crowd do you have? It usually takes about 10-15 seconds avg (30 seconds max if they aren't paying attention) between singers because they see the next singer coming up on screen. Anything over 30 seconds I move to the next singer.

Author:  Paradigm Karaoke [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 2:21 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

karaokeniagarafalls wrote:
you guys are forgetting to factor in the time it takes a singer to walk to the stage between songs.

Average approx. 45 seconds per singer.

15 if they take their time.
45 seconds i would already have the next singer up.

Author:  karaokeniagarafalls [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

Holy crap at 10-15 seconds... they would have to be near the stage or must run to the stage when called.

1) Song ends / Fade to dj music
(at this time, kj promotes cheering on for the singer)... 5 seconds
2) Kj announces new singer and looks to see if they are available... 10 seconds
3) New singer makes way to the stage... 20 seconds
4) Kj hits the play button (After silence detection, normalization and fade in new song) ... 10 seconds.

repeating steps in total = 45 seconds

What I should have previously said is "Time factor between Songs including New singers"

It's still pretty good as compared to when we loaded cd's manually (approx. 1.5 minutes average)

Author:  mrmarog [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

karaokeniagarafalls wrote:
holy crap at 10-15 seconds... they would have to be near the stage or must run to the stage when called.

1) song ends / fade to dj music
(at this time, kj promotes cheering on for the singer)... 5 seconds
2) Kj announces new singer and looks to see if they are available... 10 seconds
3) New singer makes way to the stage... 20 seconds
4) Kj hits the play button (After silence detection, normalization and fade in new song) ... 10 seconds.

repeating steps in total = 45 seconds

That is why we call out their name a couple of times before their turn. The scroller also alerts them. If everone wasted 45 seconds it would drastically reduce the numbers of singers per hour.

Author:  karaokeniagarafalls [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

Best way I found to cut time was utilize the "Silence detection feature" and "auto fade to DJ music" cutting out between 40 seconds to a whopping 3-5 minutes on the outro songs like Hotel California and many others.

Some software's do have a "Fade to stop" feature.

Karma users can right click on the music timeline and place a "RED" line anywhere in the song for end time

Author:  DannyG2006 [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 8:12 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

karaokeniagarafalls wrote:
Holy crap at 10-15 seconds... they would have to be near the stage or must run to the stage when called.

1) Song ends / Fade to dj music
(at this time, kj promotes cheering on for the singer)... 5 seconds
2) Kj announces new singer and looks to see if they are available... 10 seconds
3) New singer makes way to the stage... 20 seconds
4) Kj hits the play button (After silence detection, normalization and fade in new song) ... 10 seconds.

repeating steps in total = 45 seconds

What I should have previously said is "Time factor between Songs including New singers"

It's still pretty good as compared to when we loaded cd's manually (approx. 1.5 minutes average)

With the exception of one specific diva, I usually am pressing play inside of 5 seconds of the end of the last song. My singers pay so close attention to the Marquee that the last singer basically only has to hand the mic over to the next singer who is standing right there to receive the mic.

Author:  Lonman [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

Yes the majority of our singers watch the who's coming up and are heading to the stage while the other singer is leaving. So yes about 10-15 seconds avg between singers.

Author:  mightywiz [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 1:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

i've also been using compuhost since v1 and the estimated time is just that, it's an average for most all together and you can adjust this. it's not meant to be exact, it so you can give your singer a quick answer to the question "Hey, How long before im up." my answer is "almost" an xx:xx or about "xx minutes".

you guy's keep bickering back and forth about features. myself i've tried the others and I will stick with compuhost!

oh yeah, my compuhost plays all video when you install the correct codec's for the different video types. ZERO issues here!

Author:  DannyG2006 [ Fri Aug 18, 2017 5:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

I had all the correct codecs installed. The only thing that I changed to allow me to play the videos perfectly was the player being used to play them. All the regular video players played them as well, I highly doubt that they would play on other players if I didn't have the right codecs installed.

Author:  Alan B [ Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

DannyG2006 wrote:
I highly doubt that they would play on other players if I didn't have the right codecs installed.
Yes they would. Widnows Media Player will play them. When I was using Windows 8 and 8.1, I needed the right codecs installed in order for CH to play video files. Now with Windows 10, I haven't had a need for them. But that's not saying that others won't.

There is a reason why you must have the proper codecs to play them. It has to do with being able to "on the fly" change pitch and tempo. Many other players such as WMV can't do this.

There is a whole explanation about this that I am posting below in case it helps someone.

As far as the "exact time" goes...

The next singer has a "next up" time of 10:16 (exact time). But no one is ever going to start at that time when you factor coming up to the stage, a little chit chat, asking if they could change their song, etc. The delay could be anywhere from 15 to 45 seconds. So this time thing about having to be so exact is very anal.

Author:  Alan B [ Sat Aug 19, 2017 8:34 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

To facilitate the ability of making on-the-fly changes to "Key", "Tempo" and "Multiplex Removal" during Video playback, CompuHost utilizes advanced technologies not found in simpler Video Players such as Windows Media Player, which offer no support for such changes.

One such technology is commonly known as "DirectShow". DirectShow enables manipulation of Audio (Key Changes, Multiplex Removal etc.) and Video (Tempo changes etc.) through the use of in-stream components know as "Splitters" and "Filters".

Starting with Windows XP, typical Windows installations come preloaded with the necessary DirectShow "splitters" and "filters" to facilitate playback of native Windows Video formats such as "AVI", "MPEG" and "WMV". However some formats, most notably the "MP4" format, may require additional or updated splitters and filters to facilitate reliable playback.

ADVICE: The MP4 Video format, although gaining in popularity, is NOT "native" to Windows and therefore may NOT be as reliable as the more common native formats such as "AVI", "MPG", and "WMV". For this reason we highly recommend that when purchasing Karaoke Video files you avoid MP4 files if possible.

Finally, although the correct splitters and filters may have been installed initially, they may become "corrupted" or "uninstalled" by installing third party applications (NERO products are the WORST!). If you suspect this to be the case, we recommend that you reinstall the applicable "codecs" and "splitters" as needed.

MP4 Capable DirectShow Splitters
Unfortunately, to further complicate matters, numerous "MP4 Capable DirectShow Splitters" are available, each with their own set of issues and potential incompatibilities, depending on the actual video file in question.
Below you'll find links to TWO of the most reliable splitters. Although our testing has proven both to be reliable with the vast majority of video files, we do not endorse or guarantee either.
Choose and visit one of the following links and install the splitter in accordance with the instructions provided by the provider.
(We recommend trying the "AV-Splitter" first, if you continue to encounter issues try the alternate "Haali Media Splitter".)

AV-Splitter
http://www.videohelp.com/tools/AV-Splitter

Haali Media Splitter
http://www.free-codecs.com/Haali_Matros ... wnload.htm

DirectShow Video Codecs
As mentioned above, numerous "codecs" (Compressor-Decompressor) are available, each supporting and applicable to a specific format. To clarify, in order to playback a "MP4 H.264" encoded video file you MUST have a compatible "MP4 H.264" codec installed on your computer, if not, you'll encounter an error when attempting to playback the video file.
To simplify the acquisition and installation of the most common codecs we recommend installing the following "Codec Pack".

K-Lite Codec Pack
http://codecguide.com/download_kl.htm

Windows Media (WMA/WMV) Codecs
Windows comes preloaded with the necessary codecs to facilitate playback of Windows Media Files (WMV/WMA). However these codecs may become corrupted by the installation of third party applications. Therefore, if encountering issues with playback of any of these formats we recommend reinstalling the applicable codecs.
You may obtain the latest Windows Media Codecs by visiting the following link...
Windows Media Codecs

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download ... spx?id=507

Author:  DannyG2006 [ Sun Aug 20, 2017 6:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

Alan, utter bullshit. Doesn't explain why Siglos and Hoster both will play the videos perfectly while CompuHost won't. As I said I have the mega version of the k-lite pack installed. Every single player will play my videos perfectly except for CompuHost so in my opinion it is a CompuHost issue only. I switched players, problem solved for me. Oh I am not changing keys or tempo on any of the videos.

Author:  Alan B [ Mon Aug 21, 2017 6:35 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

DannyG2006 wrote:
Oh I am not changing keys or tempo on any of the videos.

Danny, I am so happy for you that you love the software that you are using and that it can play your videos. Just curious though, will it let you change the tempo and pitch on the fly like CH does? I understand that you don't use it but I do and it's an important feature.

But anyway, I am sure I speak for the rest of the karaoke hosts of America when I say, we are all so very proud of you. Keep up the good work. You are an asset to the community in which you serve.

Author:  mrmarog [ Mon Aug 21, 2017 9:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

Alan B wrote:
But anyway, I am sure I speak for the rest of the karaoke hosts of America when I say, we are all so very proud of you. Keep up the good work. You are an asset to the community in which you serve.

Alan, are you running for an office? :wink:

Author:  Lonman [ Mon Aug 21, 2017 10:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

Alan B wrote:
DannyG2006 wrote:
Oh I am not changing keys or tempo on any of the videos.

Danny, I am so happy for you that you love the software that you are using and that it can play your videos. Just curious though, will it let you change the tempo and pitch on the fly like CH does? I understand that you don't use it but I do and it's an important feature.

Hoster does allow for key and tempo change on the fly for all file types. I use both often, key changer more so than tempo.

Author:  DannyG2006 [ Mon Aug 21, 2017 3:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Hardwire your kiosk - CompuHost

Actually, while I have never done a tempo or key change in the middle of a song, I have started songs with the key changed. If the singer is struggling with the present key, I have been known to restart the song in a lower key, I usually only restart once.

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