Karaoke Forums

Paradigm,,, my first question is: What equipment will I need for the kiosk setup? As is stands right now, my plan is to use an "all in one" computer with wireless capability, wired keyboard and wired mouse for the kiosk. I can get one used for around a hundred bucks (I can live with that). I assume I need a wireless router, what kinds will work? and I assume I will need some power cords dedicated to the kiosk and router. Part of my plan is to put all the kiosk gear into a soft piece of luggage on wheels just big enough to get the job done. I most likely will put padding inside the luggage. Am I going down the right path?

Again, many thanks for your response and input. Your answers to my questions were exactly what I wanted to hear

Another simple question is, would it be best if the operations systems for both the hosting computer and the kiosk to be the same? The laptop that will be used for hosting has Windows 10 installed and up to date. So, when I buy the used all-in-one, would it be best to look for one with Windows 10 already installed? (I suppose upgrading would be the simple answer to that)

If you're using Siglos, you can actually run linux on the kiosk computer as you basically are using a web browser for the kiosk. You can actually set it up to automatically open full screen into the web browser so your singers can't screw with it by locking out certain keys.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Danny is correct and that is exactly what i do. i load Lubuntu on all the kiosk laptops but have Windows 10 on my host computer. as long as it can go to a browser, anything will work as a kiosk. my kiosk laptops are Pentium M 1.4ghz single core with 512 ram.
that i all you need for a kiosk, anything more will be overkill and wasted money (that's why i use stupid $25 laptops.) but your idea will work for sure.

that is just a web page full screen.
on Siglos, this is the place requests go

though you can of course put it anywhere you want it to go and resize it to whatever scale fits your workflow the best. this is one of the great things with Siglos.
as for router, just go through the venues router. they have wifi, all that is necessary is A router....theirs is already in place and works just fine. i DO however use Elegiant WR750A extenders that i rename "Karaoke Request" and have them as an extender to the bars wifi so people can connect automatically no matter where i am. but this is not by any means needed, just something i added.
i have the kiosks in the same bag as my hosting laptop, along with all power cords and it is easy to roll.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

OK, that seems to be a starting point. I do see a possible issue coming into play quite often tho... with the types of shows and events I have in mind to do,, weddings, anniversaries, corporate parties, etc, there will be times that wifi will not be available to me. How do I rectify that situation?

Does your cell have a Hotspot in it? Use that.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Never done it, but I suppose it's possible. It's a fairly new phone (Samsung Galaxy 8 Active, using Net10 as my carrier)

One thing you have to realize,,, I'm 57 years old, only started using computers in 2004 on a regular basis, got my first smart phone only last year.... so everything is a learning curve for me. However, I am not afraid of learning new tricks

I have a friend creating me a script for making my kiosks open up to the web page for my kiosks. But I am using OpenKJ.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Paradigm, not totally familiar but unless they're hooked up to the web version, arethey stuck with waiting until your show computer is fully functional? OpenKJ, I can set up the kiosk and the singers can start entering their requests before my main computer is even turned on.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

i have a Galaxy S8 and use it as a hotspot as well, works fine when necessary. you can also use a router on it's own like the Elegiant i mentioned. being online is not necessary, just being on a network.
thought i see no wifi being a VERY rare occurrence for you. ESPECIALLY doing weddings (most are in halls or close to a hotel with wifi), anniversaries (bars or even at home where everyone already has wifi) corporate parties (business all have wifi too), but your phone will work if you don't want the router idea.

no script necessary to have kiosks open up to the web page. just add Firefox to the autostart menu and it will open automatically when the computer boots, and set the firefox start page to be whatever your address is for the request service.

If openKJ does not wait until the host computer is ready before accepting requests, that's a new one to me.
seems rather odd, but in your scenario, my host computer is up before the kiosks anyway. it's no more than a minute or two.
but i still have control of when i can start taking requests. for instance, i do a trivia game before karaoke on wednesdays starting at 6:30, people try to put in songs before 7:00 and karaoke does not start until 9:00.

also, Openkj charges for and remote request option, Siglos does not.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

That last part is not true for using Siglos' online service. That I know costs around $15 a month while OpenKJ's only costs $9.99 a month.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

for online using their service, yes. but 100% of the people putting in requests from their phones will be in the building already and 99% already connect to the bars free wifi so there is no need for the online version. if need be, hotspot is added to my phone account and only costs $10 per month so that is an inexpensive option as well.
Siglos does not require internet for the remote request to function, i believe Openkj does, so just a different method.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

Planning to get the paid version in a couple of weeks. I decided to go with Siglos after all. Ran it last night with 2 laptops acting as my kiosks, one of them being my second backup show computer, my first one was left home until I got a universal laptop power adapter which I picked up today. Thinking about changing the color of the kiosk to match the background color of my logo so it seems like it's all part of it.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

the picture i posted up higher is my kiosk. you can change background color, background image, and a second image (the colorful light background is one and the part with my logo etc is a second image all in the settings) plus button color and text color.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

You might have to subscribe to a higher data plan for the hot spot but it's worth it for those situations. I finally bit the bullet and got unlimited monthly. As long as your phone has service, you can provide wifi for your computer.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Update and more questions.

I am almost ready to start hosting again. I almost have the DJ booth done (I will post pics when it's complete, it's going to be cool) and the song library is as done as it's going to get, except trying to rename them under only one format standard, right now they have two different formats, but both very similar. I am hoping that won't be a problem though.

I want to try something if it's possible before I go out and buy another hosting program (Siglos Pro would be that choice). I am interested in seeing if the super remote tool for JustKaraoke2 will work. I can find the download for the installer, but I don't know where to get (buy) the license. Does anyone have any suggestions? If I can't get that to work, then I will go ahead and get Siglos Pro and work on learning that one. If I am able to use the request tool, the only other downside will be the lack of ability to export the list for printing books, which if I am not mistaken that Siglos has that ability already there.

Maybe I am trying to cut corners a little bit too much, I do not know. The biggest reason I want to try the Super Remote Request tool is I am already familiar with JustKaraoke, and it has served me well for what my needs were. However, if I don't like the request tool or can't find buy the license, then I will have no recourse other than make the jump to Siglos.

I am pretty excited to be rejoining the world of hosting. I have missed being involved in the community and have missed being able to provide some entertainment for those who can appreciate what it is we do. I should be able to start hosting within a couple of weeks if all goes well.

Can't get the license legally. Siglos is easier to maintain because you don't have to copy the database of JustKaraoke over to the kiosk computer like you would with Super Remote Request Tool. That said I like the looks of Super Remote Request Tool better than Siglos plus Super Remote Request Tool is designed for touchscreen monitors. I use a similar kiosk to Super Remote Request Tool. Yes Alan. I am back to Compuhost. Finally got the MP4 files to work for me at least on the karaoke side of things.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Well, if I can't find a license, then I will make the jump to Siglos. Might be better in the long run anyway. Time will tell.

Unfortunately it's a Tricerasoft product and they are out of business.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.