Karaoke Forums

Great forum!  my question is what exactly will I need to send the signal from laptop tp tv?   and do some of these programs have 2 screens...one for you and one for the TV? I'm curious about how that works.  I'm going to buy a laptop to run my show from and I'm trying to spend my money wisely...thanks

ahhh, the question!

You need a video card with a secondary output. The programs that use karaoke on your computer come with a display window. You just drag that to your secondary video.

Thanks......are we allowed to talk about brands here??? if so which one?

on the same subject, is it better to use a real monitor or will a TV be just as good?  I have an old JVC 20" I'd like to use.

TV or monitor.   You input the signal from your karaoke machine.  It doesn't matter.   You are not using the tuner part of the TV.   So it becomes a monitor.

A monitor is a TV without a tuner.

Using a regular tv with tuner requires tv co-ax and a properly installed antenna or cable typre system. This is because channel 3 or 4 is in the low vhf range which is subject to all kinds of rf interference. Properly terminated video using any decent shielded cable is not as subject to interference. Using video you can also run video to the stage graphics monitor through a snake..

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no the TVs do NOT require coax... only older ones are that way.

most tvs in the past 5 years have RCA connections. It's for hooking up vcrs or dvds.

Most dual video cards have S-video or RCA out.

I have an S-video-RCA connector. I bought a whole bunch of them when a site had them as surplus equipment. I use them in my shows, and have done this for a few years now.


You just put your tv on LINE or AUX for this signal.

what I mean about the duel screen is in the program(sacks o nuts....roxbox...etc)is there a seperate output lyrics screen just for the tv so the crowd does not see everything you r doing (looking up songs,...queing rotation....etc). my main gig has a 60 inch big screen so I dont even use a tv right in front of the singer.  SO if the laptop has a yellow rca jack or s video jack, is that considered a secondary output????

S-video-RCA connector, cool.  my TV is 10 years old, but oh well, I'll give it a shot.  I'm gonna go buy one of those...that's all I need, right (as long as I have RCA slots on my tv, which I do)?  Radio shack I presume, my dear watson?

Yep,  That's often called S-video composite I believe.  If you could find a surplus type cable store that would be a good idea.  Finding one S-video composite cable in a reasonable length for under around $25 as I recall isn't that easy, assuming you want one cable that's around 10+ feet.  It's often easier to find them in shorter lengths

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no the TVs do NOT require coax... only older ones are that way.

most tvs in the past 5 years have RCA connections. It's for hooking up vcrs or dvds.

Most dual video cards have S-video or RCA out.

I have an S-video-RCA connector. I bought a whole bunch of them when a site had them as surplus equipment. I use them in my shows, and have done this for a few years now.



so you go straight from laptop to tv with that cable???  and what hosting program do you use?

I assumed that was what he was talking about ...

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so basically I need a pc with a video out(s-video), a lot of ram ond a good operating system! and a good hosting program!!

In all reality a 1ghz machine with 512meg of ram will do the job.

Almost every new TV still has coax connectors.

Your computer needs to be able to display two monitors.   It's called Extended Desktop.  

Go in to your control panel.  Click  Displays.  Click settings.   A window will appear that has two monitors (Screens #1 & #2 ) in it.   If it doesn't you can not do what you want to do.   The computer needs to be able to have the remote display (extened desktop) capability.    I have a laptop that does this.  In Windows XP.   I have a newer desktop that does not have this capability.  With Windows XP.    Check them out before you buy.     Look for this feature.

THANKS BIGDOG!!     very informative!  I will definately check that out.

Not necessilary.....

I have a SLOW test machine (700 mhz, with 128mb ram, Win 98se stripped down with 98 lite), and I could sucessfuly run Sax & Dotty's and Sack O Nuts.  The machine had 2 video cards, one for my main screen and the 2nd has a composite out for the singers screen.

Now if you want to run some of the more expensive programs with all the bells and whistles(unnecessary IMHO), you will need a more powerful computer. IT seems the more you pay for software, the more powerfull computer you will neeed.

Most laptops, ( XP ) have extended desktop. (Two screens)

All have a monitor out connection.

Hook both up, and when your graphics are running, maximise it and then drag it off screen to the right..

You will then have two screens running.. each with a different display..

thanks to everyone! last week I knew NOTHING about computer karaoke! now I think I could DO IT like a pro.

Thanks.....Shawn