Karaoke Forums

Hello -

The knowledge/expertise here is quite impressive.   I am having a dinner party at my home, so I have some questions about a very basic and temporary karaoke setup.  

I'm imagining two scenarios, but I'm not sure which one is easiest and realistic.

Scenario A:  I have a new Sony DVD/Karaoke player that plays CDGs.   I also have two microphones.   I could play the CDGs and DVDs directly from the player.  I could print out a listing of songs from Karaoke CD's I have, guests would write down what songs they want, then we'd load the corresponding disk into the player.  

Scenario B:  I have a library of CDGs/MP3s stored on my laptop.  I could use the S-video to setup a dual monitor situation with my TV.  People would flip through a printed songlist, and then go to the laptop to add their desired song to the queue (much like entering a song's code into the remote at karaoke bars).  

Questions:

1. In Scenario A, I'd want to minimize the need to manually switch out disks all the time.  What is the best way to fit the most songs onto a disc?  Do DVDs hold more songs than a CDG?  

2. In Scenario B, where would I plug in my microphones?  Into my laptop?  The TV?  The DVD player?  

3.  In Scenario B, is the audio also transferred to the TV?  Or does the sound only come from the laptop?

4. Is there a way to add a photo or picture (like a .jpg) to a CDG file?  Right now, the lyrics are shown on a blank, boring screen.   If I use Power CDG to AVI converter, can I insert the photo into the CDG before conversion?

5. Any recommendations for a good software program that would allow guests to add their songs to a "queue" that automatically plays each song in the list?


THANK YOU so much in advance for any advice!!

Hi,

I have a monthly karaoke get together with a couple of friends.  Our situation is a little different, though, since we live in Japan, and are therefore able to meet at karaoke boxes, which provide the TV, mics and amplification.

It's similar to your scenario B, though.  I bring my laptop, external sound unit (Roland UA-100) and my own mic.  I connect the laptop to the TV via an S-video cable, my mic to the UA-100, and the UA-100 to the room's amp.  Sometimes, I go "lite," and just bring the laptop, connecting the audio directly to the amp, using the room mics.

The dual display is great.  I use WinAmp to play/display, and the dual display lets everyone browse the songlist without interrupting the lyrics on the TV screen.  You can also enqueue files with a right-click of the mouse.  There are a few karaoke plug-ins for WinAmp, and at least one will let you choose the background for the lyrics.  I don't use that feature, though.

The only problem here would be the mics.  Obviously, my UA-100 gets me around that problem, so I don't know what to tell you on that one.