Karaoke Forums

Kind of sad when you really think about it. I do remember those days though. I still have a few singers from the old days that come in and yes I can remember each and every song they are going to sing and agree a computer isn't needed for those that never expand their song lists. But I now get a very diverse group that prefer to sing different songs nearly every time they come in and purposely ask if they have before so they can change it if they have also those who just like to try new stuff to add to their list, even those with large lists will ask me to pick something they haven't sang in a few months to a year. Very quick, no searching through printed paper - I used to keep files on all my regulars as well, had to stop - too many singers eventually made too many files to keep track of. Most of my singers now have well over 100 songs - many have well up to 400 songs now. I can tell them how many times they sang it, last time they sang it, all key changes automatically saved, etc.

Not sure how, in reality you are taking up more time looking through papers to find a song (if I'm reading correctly - maybe not), then searching through the discs, get it cued up (if you only run one player having down time in between singers, while the computer is instant to the next singer/song) = put the last discs away & pull the next one to get ready/cue up. Computer you just type their name & do a quick search, usually takes less than a second to find their song and add to the playlist - often with their key change and/or tempo adjustments already saved, giving me more time to for promoting, advertising & expanding my client base and less time cuing up discs & looking through patrons slips to find songs.

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

Wow. What a loaded statement. The implication here is that those that use computers (the vast majority of KJ's today) spend less time than a disc based host "promoting, advertising, and expanding" their client base...due to the fact they use a computer. That's just one huge load of BS.

Just because you don't like or understand computers and they slow you down, doesnt mean everyone else has this problem. Quite the opposite in fact. A PC based host is going to be faster every time finding and loading a song. There are just far fewer steps involved.

If memory serves...

Joe C has an extremely concise advertising agenda since his venues don't allow him to advertise

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Never the same show twice!

Ah, my personal forum trolls still out ther making things up, I see.

1) I like and use computers for many things, just not my shows. and never said otherwise. Bazza would rather toss out a knock than post truthfully. At least he is consistant.

2) The added time for promotion does not come from show time, but rather from time not spent playing with the PC before or after the show. For karaoke, it's use is limited to business software and songbook software, and of course promotion through social media.

While most of my venues may shun PUBLIC promotion now, I can target promote them, and of course I can promote MY business as I see fit.

I wonder why, since most disc based hosts don't care what other types do, PC based hosts have this great need to both attack disc hosts- not just me, but any who prefer it - and also seem to want to spend time justifying themselves. News flash - no one cares.

How you run your show has no effect on how others do. Why not use what you want, be successful, and quit whining just because the while world doesn't do things YOUR way? Just a thought....

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

I don't think it's a matter of being disc or pc based. It's a matter of being told by the disc based that the pc based that the disc based have more time to promote, advertise & expand their customer base being sole disc based is the issue. Since my move to computer in 08 I have no issues doing any different advertising, promoting and expanding my customer base - other than it growing more steadily since I went to computer. It's also nice to be able to buy a song someont requests on the fly.
I can tell you right now - even though I do enjoy running a disc based show (always been something said about hands on verses pushing/clicking buttons), PC is much quicker in ALL respects (ok minus being able to cue up to a certain point, but even most of the softwares out there even have that capability) and I can actually get out and mingle more with PC than I ever could with discs since I can actually have a playlist programmed with as many singers as needed and get out and run it remotely if needed, never anything I could do with being disc only based. Yes I may need to run back and adjust the sound but at least I have the option to start the next song while not even being up at the booth!

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

it's things like this...
i do not spend time playing with the PC before or after the show. the computer actually stays at the venue. songbook software?...buy a song, and before the singer sings it, that song is in the songbook. if anyone spends more time on the PC before and after shows... it is a disc based KJ.

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

I use the same PC to run my show that I use to make my song list and promote through social media.

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-Chris

Well Lon, I have been constantly told that using a PC is so much faster and will leave a host more time to interact. On the first point, I have seen PC hosts lose speed loading contests to disc hosts.

On the second point, it has been my experience that most PC hosts interact WAY less with patrons than disc hosts, spending most of their time in front of the screen looking like Mr. Spock glued to his sensors.
We both read stuff that we don't like to believe. So be it.
My point is that whether we like what we hear about our styles or not, they are our styles. Why not let it go. There are advantages to BOTH styles, yet it is only the PC hosts that seem so defensive. You don't see disk hosts ripping PCers. It seems to be very one sided....

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Paradigm, we agree on a lot of things, but this time I think you should re -read what you posted.

A disc based host spends more time before and after a show on the PC?????!!!

PC hosts rip discs ( if they have them) upgrade software, add and edit files, add new software, solve software problems, solve compatibility problems, pay for software, repair software corruptions, repair or correct viral problems, etc, etc, etc....

I press play. What were you thinking?

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

ok


you said you use a PC for "2) The added time for promotion does not come from show time, but rather from time not spent playing with the PC before or after the show. For karaoke, it's use is limited to business software and songbook software, and of course promotion through social media."
songbook software takes you much more time than i ever spend on updating my songlist...fact. my songlist update happens in real time during the show...i do not buy discs anymore because they are a waste of money. to spend even $10 on a disc for 2 songs vs $3 for 2 songs is a waste. then those 2 songs (the only songs that will be sung) are up;loaded to the songlist in real time thereby not requiring me to spend the time that you are required to spend entering them into the book software and printing, sleving, and adding those to the books is time i can spend with my kids.



nope...covered that. and if so, it still takes less time than updating your books does. a disc can be ripped and added in under 5 minutes.


false, automatic when i open the program at the show. i use pro software that has the bugs fixed before it is sent out to the world


false, happens on the fly and takes less than 1 songs worth of time to get everything including updating the online songlist.


what new software?



use pro software and no problems. it would be like saying you have to spend time fixing hardware (laser etc) problems...not if you have pro gear.



really? no pro software is going to have compatibility issues. if you are using roxbox maybe, but not pro software.



pay for new disc players...



use pro software and this is not an issue.



viral problems? almost 10 years and no viral problems. just because you believe every internet connection exists specifically to infect you with a virus does not mean it is real.

in reality, you spend more time updating your songbook at home than i spend on the computer at home. my computer does not even come home, so how could i possibly spend more time than you working on this stuff?



at the show you do, but when you get home you have to do the other work that is already done for me.

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

Sorry, just do not see how. With a disc, you need to either flip through the book to find the disc, pull it out, load it in the player, hit the selection, hit pause, then play.
With computer, I type in the song title, double click it to the singer which adds automatically to the playlist & that's it. Not sure where you would win in a loading song contest. In the time you can pull and load up one disc, I can take that time & load up everyone that has a song turned in - done.

I don't doubt there are some hosts that do that just as there are disc based hosts that don't have a clue and let their songs end before they even start looking up the next song.

No real advantage to disc based to speak of. Again I was disc based for nearly 20 years before I jumped onto the computer side of things. I know both sides of the fence VERY well. It seems one sided because disc users really have nothing on PC users to make a valid point about, but when someone says they can do things the computer does is when they are going to be called out on it. Like being able to memorize everybodys song history or being able to hear a difference between a disc and a 320 ripped file going through a pro sound card.

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

Still not really sure how. Or at least not as much as you are tending to believe.

None of this stuff really occurs in reality.
Ripping discs - I do rip discs still - takes all but 5 maybe 10 minutes for 1 disc in which, I put disc in, the software populates the listing & I click rip and walk away from computer while it's ripping (or do some online advertising updates). When it's done, if I have any more discs, I will repeat the process.
Software upgrades/repair/solve software corruptions - I would put in the same line as disc player maintenance - when it needs it, I will do it. Usually takes nothing more than a reboot, at worst to reload the software. The karaoke computer is not connected to the internet so no virus worries.
Adding new software? Not sure, the only thing on my hosting computer is my hosting software. And any compatibility issues were worked out the first day I loaded up the software originally.
Pay for software? You don't pay for disc players? Discs?
Add files - they are automatically added and cataloged when I rip the discs. The only extra time I take is copying the list I just added and paste it to my book database then click sort. Save a version for the website & upload it. Save a version for my phone app books & upload it. This take approx. 15 minutes max.
The ONLY thing that takes up a little time is actually proofreading my books before I print them to make sure the artists are all the same & no dups. But this is something a disc based user would need to do as well - so no difference there.

No advertising? No book making/updating/stuffing pages? No equipment maintenance, disc scratch repairs? No....etc, etc, etc? This is all done before and after a show.

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

Classic! So we are all trolls now for calling you out on your own statements?! As I have said before when you toss around words you don't understand, a "troll" is someone who posts BS purely to get a rise out of people, as you clearly have done judging from the response. Responding to such BS does not make one a troll. Quite the opposite in fact.

The statement "playing with a computer" speaks volumes about how you feel. Its just a toy. Not a tool. Not useful. A distraction. My Doctor carries a tablet and enters all info electronically during a visit. Yet, I am sure, there is another physician somewhere saying he should quite "playing with his iPad" so he can spend more time with patients.

I save time by getting to the venue faster. A car is much easier to navigate through traffic than a covered wagon.

What's a wagon?

Wow. My apologies. After reading this forum for some years now, and the pc sub-forums within it, you seem to be the only pc host here who has never had to deal with any of the issues that I mentioned above. Congratulations!

As for my time on the pc, it is limited to the following:

Doing the standard business accounting, sales communication, and customer base entries that is required of ANY legitimate business, even yours. We are even so far.

I don't rip discs, but I do enter them into my books. Those that are included in the KJ Pro database are done with a click. Those that aren't do have to be hand entered. That's it.

You are ahead by songbook entry, if I choose to believe that you really are the only KJ never to be affected by any of the issues that I mentioned.
You also had discs to rip instead of downloads I would be ahead.
Even if true, that would still make you unique in the field of PC hosts.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

Lon;

Yes, I pay for my duscs, but you pay fir your music too.

Since I do all of my own electronic work, it can literally be YEARS between player buys. I also feel that most kjs who have never used players or those who haven't used them for some time are completely out of the loop in regard to modern player technology. This has become evident through many of the posts that I have read here.

I thknk that I may post some updates on a new thread......

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

I do a lot of my own maintenance as well - always did my own cleaning & alignment of players - only time is when something seemed a little out of my league is when I put it into service. I still do my own computer maintenance. So again no difference there.
Yes I pay for my music - and it take minutes to add them to the database. I'm just saying, you are making computer users out to be more ON the computer than not to do all their work. It doesn't take a lot of time to do all the stuff you think.

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

Wish I had jumped in on this discussion earlier.

Having started out with discs in 1991 and switching to computer in 2005, being a computer based host is a thousand times better (more efficient, faster, lighter, ability to entertain the guests with more than just the built in graphic from the disc machine between singers etc) than being disc based. Having a computer potentially adds so much more to the entertainment value than not having one (venue ads, music videos, kiosk song requesting...). And if a disc based host has never been computer based, the arguments against being computer based lack credibility because the arguments are not based on time and hands on experience hosting with a computer.

There is absolutely no slight on disc based hosts. From me, anyway. I was one once, and I now highly prefer being computer based. Among other reasons, I'll never look back to schlepping 2000 discs with me night after night.

But anyway, being able to view singer history is very important to me. I can't remember all 100 songs someone has sung. Used to keep a card file but don't have to now, because I use hosting software on a computer for that.

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DJ Don

I'm a disc host and discs area a pain in the butt. I spend a lot of time finding them and putting them back which I don't mind but I do mind when I have to have my back to the audience while I do it. I feel it is a bit isolating and sometimes I have to take my attention away from the singer. (Sometimes the venue set up just doesn't allow any other arrangement.) Not only am I not appreciating their song but sometimes I miss a signal that they want something changed. Also, no matter how efficient I am at pulling them or putting them back, it just takes one high maintenance question asker to cause a pile up. It is also extremely embarrassing when they skip or scramble which they are going to do eventually.

I keep singer's slips in envelopes that I give to them each time so they do have a sort of history--until it gets soaked in beer or they take it home and never bring it back. And no--it doesn't cause them to sing the same song every time. Many have extremely thick envelopes and growing. But I would like to have it on computer just for when they forget or for those who come every now and then and come up and say, "Remember me?" Also they will often tell me to pick songs for them.

Even though I am disc I have a computer at the show and it is invaluable. It plays the transition music. If it is the type of crowd that wants a full dance song then I can do that (usually just the Cupid Shuffle once a night). I have the master song list so if I get a slip with a wrong number I can look it up rather than have to go find a book. If I get people who can't grasp the concept that there is a "new additions" and "main" sections of the book then I can show them every song by a certain artist in one place rather than they have to look in two sections.

When I was at a small dive I had most of it in my head and could even instantly come up with new songs for people to try based on their voice and preferences. Unlike Chris, I actually like those kinds of places. But things are totally different 30 miles down the road. At that place I have a core of regulars with a lot of intermittent types. They also sing more current type songs and are constantly changing what they sing. I'm also not there every week as they like to mix it up with bands and DJs so I might only appear 2 -3 times a month. In that case it is impossible for me to remember it all. Singer history is a great way to refresh my memory as to who the less frequent ones are. There is no way I could keep it all in my head. AND, at the higher energy, younger crowd place, the books get soaked, the song slips get soaked. It is amazing what they can get in between the page protectors. It would be nice to have a back up history on the computer.

Truly--when a song ends I have to get in some quick clapping to get it started then I'm changing the disc with the left hand while fading in the bumper music with the right and talking in the mic at the same time. How could a computer not make that easier?