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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 4:28 pm 
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Someone should tell you that the player software do not come with karaoke songs. You will either have to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars for your music (like most on here have) or subscribe to a karaoke song service for $100 + per month and have access to a karaoke song library to use....but you will never own.

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:04 pm 
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Thanks Danny, I get that part, but I don't own any karaoke songs atm so I'm wondering do I need to point it towards an online service (searchable database) or are there any that even interact with the software? Do I ultimately need to have an onboard (pc) library, or can I store what I will be buying in the cloud?


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:16 pm 
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Ok thanks Danny - I don't own any karaoke songs atm so that's why I asked that. I was wondering about using an online service until I started making money enough to start a collection of my own, so guess that's what I'll have to do.

I've been working with several demo versions and watching lotsa videos trying to decide on which program to get- while learning that it might take several programs to put together a workable outfit. These very limited versions are more confusing than a complete one lol because you don't get the finished product or a full example of what it's like in action. That's another reason I was looking for feedback.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:21 pm 
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djdon wrote:
I've been using Karma since about 2011. It's adequate and does the job reasonably well. The customer support, unfortunately, is dependent on the mood of the programmer/owner. It's a one man show. Sometimes he can be helpful, sometimes he's a completely unhelpful, bi-polar jagoff. There's lots of good about Karma but there's lots of room for improvement and because he's a programmer and not a host, he doesn't understand some of the suggestions he's been offered.


Karma is a good choice for the money if:
1) You do not plan on using a kiosk style remote request system.
2) you're not running it on high screen resolutions (Example 1900x whatever)
Results are very undesirable.

I went with CompuHost V3 because it was on sale and has many "Useable features"' including the optional remote server.
Note: Odd crashes with no cdg display resulting from stopping current song too fast then playing new song while count down is still ending from previous song.

I still recommend KaraFun (Free Windows version) as a top choice for karaoke. Works very well with minor issues.

as far as acquiring karaoke tracks. eBay has many excellent deals, SoundChoice also has amazing Gem series. MRH also has all the latest hits.


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 2:13 am 
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ZOMBLUE wrote:
I am also interested in how you are hooking to house systems/tv-monitors and what is needed hardware/software to do that. I get it that there are MANY different situations and scenarios depending on what's available in any given establishment, but this is what I need to know.

Two options – hook-up to TV’s

pc hdmi to hdmi 4 tv’s (very clear signal)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Full-HD-1X4-Por ... 1156873862

or pc hdmi to rca composite or s-video (not as clear, unexpected or intermittent signal interference) need to check your venue’s tvs. Newer tvs do not have the traditional yellow rca input or s-vid.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HDMI-to-3RCA-AV ... 1961686862

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 4:31 am 
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ZOMBLUE wrote:
Ok thanks Danny - I don't own any karaoke songs atm so that's why I asked that. I was wondering about using an online service until I started making money enough to start a collection of my own, so guess that's what I'll have to do.

I've been working with several demo versions and watching lotsa videos trying to decide on which program to get- while learning that it might take several programs to put together a workable outfit. These very limited versions are more confusing than a complete one lol because you don't get the finished product or a full example of what it's like in action. That's another reason I was looking for feedback.

If you don't own any songs yet,the best software for you is probably going to end up being, Kjams, MTU Video Hoster or PCDJ Karaoki. Personally I would choose Kjams but that is because the default rotation is exactly how I run my rotation. First come first serve and it has access to 2 stores to buy from. Digitrax and karaoke.net. where, I believe that Video Hoster and Karaoki only have karaoke.net which actually has more songs than Digitrax (9000+ vs 3000+).
Buy on the fly really is the best way to go if you are starting out because you end with zero duplicates and zero unsung songs. I wouldn't even consider streaming because I feel that while present WiFi connections are good enough to download, they are just not that consistent for streaming. If you go streaming, you will probably experience buffering and that could be deadly for your show. I would rather choose to have the songs local and when I get home copy, not transfer, the songs to a second drive so that you don't lose them. Always keep a backup. I recently forgot to backup my main list and lost close to 500 songs because my main computer is acting so weird,don't know if it's the hard drive or the video card but it keeps losing the video. I think that it's the video card. Hopefully it's just a driver issue and not the physical card itself. Luckily I can get by with my laptop and use my roommate's laptop for backup. I would not recommend KaraFun because one of it's "minor" issues is that it can lock up in the middle of the song, keep playing the audio but the video is stuck where it locks up. The only way out is to crash the program using ctrl-alt delete holding down the ctrl and the alt at the same time and then while holding those two click delete. Windows will then give you options where you want to choose task manager and when that pops up click on karafun and then click on end process.

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:00 am 
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Wow lotta new info- I definitely came to the right place!
I've gotta lotta things to consider and decisions to make - hopefully will be able to meet with this clubs manager soon so I can get a complete run down of what exactly I'm gonna need - possibly that multi-hdma box n some hella long cords?

Might be costing a lot more than I thought to get started, that's kinda worrying me - though I already got the PA etc - the rest I figured I'd add over time, but this push for August 10th might be a bit too much.

I was told once I chose and bought a program I could easily stream from an online database probably paying by month or year for unlimited songs... now thinking that info was WRONG.

One step forward... huge stumble back - oh what's a girl supposed to do? Lol

Well, thanks for everything you guys have told me - I knew I'd get some answers here. Onwards and upwards!
Any other input is very appreciated- I've obviously still got a lot to learn.


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:30 am 
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karaokeniagarafalls wrote:
djdon wrote:
I've been using Karma since about 2011. It's adequate and does the job reasonably well. The customer support, unfortunately, is dependent on the mood of the programmer/owner. It's a one man show. Sometimes he can be helpful, sometimes he's a completely unhelpful, bi-polar jagoff. There's lots of good about Karma but there's lots of room for improvement and because he's a programmer and not a host, he doesn't understand some of the suggestions he's been offered.


Karma is a good choice for the money if:
1) You do not plan on using a kiosk style remote request system.
2) you're not running it on high screen resolutions (Example 1900x whatever)
Results are very undesirable.

I went with CompuHost V3 because it was on sale and has many "Useable features"' including the optional remote server.
Note: Odd crashes with no cdg display resulting from stopping current song too fast then playing new song while count down is still ending from previous song.

I still recommend KaraFun (Free Windows version) as a top choice for karaoke. Works very well with minor issues.

as far as acquiring karaoke tracks. eBay has many excellent deals, SoundChoice also has amazing Gem series. MRH also has all the latest hits.


Been using Karma for over 10 years, my karaoke library is on their smart phone, using my hand out bus. card with QR Card Reader or can input my URL, click Songbooks Live ($19/yr subscription) and search for songs you want to sing. So within a couple minutes they can search for any song that I may have. The best thing about Karma is that it is a fast search engine, I can literally pull up a song in several seconds. I do agree with several other comments about issues with getting tech help, which is now only available thru Facebook. We tested over 10 programs for speed, and Karma was the fastest.


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:51 am 
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Cool thanks Frank - I'm curious- Do you pay monthly- yearly etc? I was playing with Karma (along with 2 others) today- I just wish these demos would let you try the COMPLETE program just for a coupla days or so many hours so you could make a better informed decision to see if it's the one for you. I had no problems running the Karma app was definitely easy and quick. There seems to be much more of a learning curve with the more features that are added.

- but I really loved some of the extra features in the others like built in touch screen controls, the options to buy songs/packs as needed and a buncha other things I've noticed. Right now I'm listing for myself the pos/negative to each (as I learn about them) so I can compare them - I wish there was a current feature comparison chart but I haven't come across one for say 2016-17 anywhere yet.

Still a work in progress- I'm learning more every day and I have been soaking up the info here at Karaoke Scene!


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 3:28 pm 
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ZOMBLUE wrote:
FOR YOU MTU video hoster users,,,
(WOW what a program!!)

Which version are you using -
Video Hoster Suite 4 is the newest, I think?
OR... are you using just the main program OR whatever is in the suite?

With the integrated song store, do you have to purchase them all separate? - because some programs have unlimited data bases...
and/or are you using your own stored data base and downloads instead?
- or both?
--- or will it integrate with a completely different online searchable database?
I just use the single program, the suite includes other their other programs for ripping, burning with key change ability in the rip, karaoke cdg creator (I think).
The integrated song store is through karaoke.net, individual purchases but it will automatically incorporate them into the database. Otherwise I download from the various sites and play from the download - then will incorporate into the database manually after the show or the next day.
Songbook creator is included.
Incorporates with SongbooDB for people to look up their songs on their phones and you can set it up for them to send the requests to you and further set it up so those requests automatically input into the playlist in their spot via the rotation (which can be turned on or off as well and just use the playlist and manually move the singers where you want them.
Ripping ability. Plays most videos and those can also be incorporated into the database. Singer history, user programmable marquee, shows the upcoming singers (and song). Plus a lot of little things (some things i've requested) that I find useful that many others do not incorporate or find necessary. Great customer service and a pretty good forum for users that can often help as well.

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 3:53 pm 
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Hey Lonman thanks for explaining that! I'm working my way through demo versions now - but will pay extra attention to this program- sounds good!

One of my main concerns besides the software is finding the QUICKEST (cause the show is August 10th) way to provide a good choice of songs for my first Karaoke gig. I'm all good with running the mixer etc I've done a lot of that through the years and the programs usually have YouTube vids to a least get ya started... and of course your community is here to share their knowledge, for which I'm very grateful.

This is supposed to be a small low key (mostly unannounced) birthday party for my friend-the head bartender - but I still don't wanna go out unprepared or unable to produce the material they want to sing. I'm hoping to find the solution to that problem soon. I'm still very open to someone spelling that out a little clearer for me as I understand there are a lot of options, but have yet to settle on which way to go. Since I currently don't own a library I have to get around that lacking problem.
So far I've seen where people use a mixture of online and locally stored files ,,,

But what exactly do you do when you're starting from scratch but have a deadline to get a show together?
That's what I'm asking myself over n over... lol


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:15 pm 
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ZOMBLUE wrote:

usually have YouTube vids to a least get ya started...

:no: as per their tos, youtube vid karaoke is not legal to use in a commercial establishment due to copyright restrictions.

But what exactly do you do when you're starting from scratch but have a deadline to get a show together?

If I were you and have a show to do in less than 2 weeks I would seriously consider online subscription services, temporarily for now until I can put everything together. https://www.partytyme.pro/

According to their site, start your free week, cancel any time.
Note: Hopefully, your venue’s wi-fi has reasonable speed. 5-8mbps is good but probably slow down during the evening when more people in the club are also using it. 20mbps should be more than enough.


That's what I'm asking myself over n over... lol

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:36 pm 
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Zomblue,

I use MTU Hoster (Latest Version 5.50) as well as their suite of other products, that allow you to create your own cdg's (Graphics/Lyrics) which is why you are buying a Karaoke Program, that's to read and display that extra data... I've been with MTU Hoster for about 12-13 years and had looked at a couple of recommended programs that were available at that time, and chose Hoster over the others... Some will say the features of Hoster are overwhelming to get started... but I think it's a matter of getting used to a given program, no matter which one you choose... Hoster will allow you to add or subtract bells & whistles so you can start at your own pace, and then add more features as you get more comfortable with the program, and all the features that it provides...
Music availability is your main concern, in a short period of time (Aug 10) you need a short term option to pick from and a Library that you can search and play cdg files from your computer program... remember you have to have the search ability, no matter what format you decide to commence with... then build a library, from your clients requests, on a nightly basis, by downloading from a LEGAL site that allows a la carte downloads (KaraokeNet.com, KaraokeVersion.com, etc.) Maybe a 2nd computer for that purpose, and then transferring to main program by memory stick or another transfer method... Your main computer would dictate how many processes you want running during an actual show... I might recommend a Full Hoster purchase that allows for setting up at least 2 computers with their program... I think the Hoster Light only allows 1 computer station... I'm thinking backup... backup... backup... even though the program is a solid performer, your computer or storage capability of database may be a weak point, and a 2nd computer would keep you up and running in 99% of the situations that you run into...I highly recommend Hoster/MTU because of their excellent SUPPORT... they will take a personal interest if you have a problem with getting the program to do what you need to get going, and the Forum will allow you to tap into the experience of the many Hoster Beta Testers, and normal users, to gain insight, and problem solving answers...IMHO that's a +++
I'm a mobile KJ and weight of my gear is another factor that you haven't mentioned... so let me allude to those of us that have resorted to lighter, smaller footprint, workhorse models of speakers, mixers, TV's, cosmetic trappings such as tables, stools, etc. your back will thank me later for this tidbit... I use a small Yamaha Board with on board effects and compressors, In smaller venues I have a Bose Compact, and for larger or outdoor venues I have a larger Bose Classic M1 with 2 B1 base units... all my gear is set-up/ and taken down in less than 30 minutes... a one time gig, may take a little more prep, thus we normally charge more for Weddings that require more gear, and stress related to the occasion...
For cables and adapters I use Monoprice (Long HDMI cables), they have what you need, and are lowest price in most comparisons...
So jump on a monthly service for your first few months, as you add downloads, and purchased cdg's from E-bay or Craigslist to supplement as you figure out what your clientele wants to sing... and Good Luck!
*read about the legalities of pay for play karaoke... the responsibilities of the Venue, the need to stay within the guidelines of Copyrighted Music, etc. (All Good Reading, on this site!!!)


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:21 pm 
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^^^^ good reading ^^^^ great advice ^^^ up there!

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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 10:04 pm 
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Thanks again Brian - and when I said there's always YouTube vidz to get me started I meant instructional vidz for help with the programs etc. - there's a video to learn how to do nearly anything on there lol.
-----------------
Great info Rikki I'm definitely learning here!
-----------
And thanks to anyone else that posted - I think I missed a few replys yesterday when I was getting errors trying to post on here.


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2017 11:06 pm 
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Siglos database is asking where you have you karaoke tracks stored, that's all
since you have none, you are only part of the way there.
the music costs significantly more than the hardware does. most have at least double if not more invested in music.
you can use karaoke.net's "streaming" service and buy from there, but unlike what you mentioned earlier there are no unlimited databases per say. you still pay for them all. anyone offering 100,000 songs for $29 month is a pirate and will get you in a lot of trouble.

plugging into tv's, depends on your setup. i plug hdmi into a splitter to the bar tv's.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:13 am 
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You can make a plus out of not already having a library. If you just buy on the fly then you will probably never have any duplicates and all of your library will have been used. A lot of singers only sing the same five or six songs every show. You will have a killer library without the filler. I would seriously consider MTU's Video Hoster just for the karaoke.net store alone.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:33 am 
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Cool Danny that's reassuring. So I can get/buy songs on the fly as they're requested? How much do the songs cost?

Hoster - Siglos and Karma seem to be the most used and recommended on here so far. I'm trying to work with the demos and of course I'm watching vids on all the ones I've downloaded so far - Karafun karma/MTU Hoster/Siglos/PCDJ Karaoki/Kanto and Compuhost (but I haven't gotten to try the Compuhost demo yet). Geez that's a lot to sort through- including songbookdb and other plugins... but I'm on a mission! Lol


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 7:04 am 
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Here's the best advice of all...

Don't get into the karaoke business. Too many headaches. It's not what it once was. It's very hard to compete in today's market, thanks to piracy and bar owners don't want to pay what your worth.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 7:23 am 
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Hmmm not able to post replys again?


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