Karaoke Forums

I have never had any one say "I'm definitely coming back to your show because the graphics are so clear to read"

It's not that the current cdg format doesn't work, I'm just surprised there hasn't been an effort to update it. And the difference between its 320 pixel graphics and hd is probably a lot like old TV versus new hd TV: no one complained about low resolution TV when that was all that existed, but when they saw hd TV it was pretty clearly superior.

I'm also surprised the files are graphical in the first place. There could easily enough be a text based protocol that's rendered at the time it's displayed. That way it would be forward compatible with future he resolutions and have tiny file sizes.

Anyway not complaining, I like the current just fine, but it is kind of like playing classic arcade games. Which is good, it adds to the kitch.

it was based on a graphical format so that audio narration combined with either photographs or drawings could be used for things like repair instructions.

Oh and the "live area" which doesn't include a border is 288 x 192 pixels.

Pretty small.

But for what it does for karaoke, it doesn't have to be big... It's not full-motion video.

Me neither. The only ones that care about how clear the graphics are - are the kj's, thinking it's the new way. Singers could give a rip and just want to sing the song. Can't remember who said they wouldn't buy mp3g files anymore, even if it was the only format the song they needed was in.

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

> no one has complained

Maybe that's because they've never seen anything better? No one complained about Donkey Kong in the 80s, but once people saw the Play Station there was no going back. Ditto HD TV, modern computer resolutions, and the list goes on and on.

Everytime that ridiculous Sunfly graphic apears at the start of a song (or whatever intro graphic) I chuckle. I take it is as throwback kitch, just like playing Donkey Kong now, but it's kind of amazing that there's no choice. There could so easily be HD video transitions, countdowns, logos, not to mention greatly improved text rendering and effects, that would look so much more modern and professional and easier to read. And it could be editable and much easier to produce than current cdg files.

Again I'm not complaining, I just find it interesting. I can't think of any other protocol with a video component that's so antiquainted.

I don't mean to hijack this thread though. I'll think about it some more and post a new thread.

Years ago there was full-motion video with the Pioneer laser disks. to me, the video simply became old and redundant after a while. Whether or not the text was in a higher-quality didn't seem to matter to anyone.

the lyrics and the sweeps are a functional part of a karaoke track – they are not simply ornamental. There is really no difference between a sign with an arrow that says "Go this way." And the very same sign, that says the same thing, on a fancier pole with shiny letters.

They both provide the same information.

HD Karaoke does, in very objective fact, look better than SD karaoke. Not a bad way to set yourself apart, but when I look at it from a business perspective, I'm not sure it's worth 33% higher music costs, especially when the vast majority of your library is going to be SD anyway.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

So HD karaoke files exist? Are they CDG format, or something else?



I'm guessing it was just bad execution. To keep the video game analogy, kind of like saying 1980s Donkey Kong is fine because the laser disk video games sucked so bad.

But it does raise a problem with adding the ability to have video: things can get cluttered. I think any new format would need to have some well stated design guidelines.



What about a hand written sign versus a professional sign?

Look at the attached screenshot. Its just so unbearably crappy, with that ridiculous little bird, and this one spares us the clunky "In the Style Of" that most tracks have. And the text literally looks like its taken from the screen of a 1980s video game, and when stretched to 1080p is horribly pixellated. I just can't imagine calling this modern and professional.

Granted its for an old song. But it seems to be such a common thing.

Of the few remaining karaoke producers, many produce tracks in both MP4 (HD) and MP3+G formats.

The old Pioneer video karaoke was and still is awesome. They are my go to tracks for some venues. It isn't bad execution so much as the bad 90's hair

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-Chris

Well I use both HD vid files & standard cdg. Never once have I heard someone tell me "OMG these graphics are so much more clear and swipe so much better, I will never sing from those 16 bit edgy graphics again" - or ever told me that they've noticed the slightest bit of difference, they don't care, they want to sing their song!! The thing I prefer with mp3g over video, if the lyrics swipe is slightly off, I can adjust it. Cannot do that with a video.

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

They are video files, nothing more.

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

Getting back to removing dupes here is what I have done:

1) Put all your songs in one folder and use KJFileManager to "Write MP3 ID Tags" with proper disc, artist and song info.
2) Use KJFileManager (Karaosoft) and strip all data from the disc id except for the Manu code (SC CB MM, etc). Use the "Split Field" command. Split Disc ID at 2nd character from the left and cut the contents on the right and discard completely
3) When done all the dupes will return a message "cannot perform request when the file already exists, what would you like to do with those unprocessed files" (this is the jest of the quote)
4) Move those files that still have the full disc ID info intact to a "dupe 1" folder
5) Go back to the files that have the stripped disc ID and use the "Read MP3 ID tags" and perform a tag to file operation. Or you can just leave it as a short ID.
6) You now have only 1 of every manufacturer in the list and if you are trying to maximize your songs for multiple rigs this would work very well.

It is very simple and only requires waiting for the results and no tedious hand sorting. You can perform the same task with your "dupe 1" folder and remove the remaining dupes to "dupe 2" folder ...... rinse and repeat.

Trying to remove duplicates:
If in my list, I see the same artist, same song, same manufacture (but different number) can I assume the song is a duplicate? Should they be deleted.

KJfile Manager!!
Assuming you have folders for each brand
Leave your existing library and create a new Main lib. Copy over ONE brand at a time
based on your preferred choices. Then filter as follows:

Main Library... No dupes by different brands, best versions
Move the dupes to an ALT directory
ALTlibrary... The dupes filtered again, move the remaining dups to a Hold folder
I personally call mine JUNKYARD or Reserve.
The tough part is figuring out how to split stuff between brands such as CB for country and some other brand for the rest.
The PAINFULL part is dealing with all the naming issues in both format and artist ID, especially those D$%^ "Featuring".
EX: Izzy Azelia Feat. Pitbull, "Eat My Shorts" (Brand A), is actually Pitbull Ft. Izzy Azelia "Eat My Shorts" (on brand B)

After all that You'll still have to manually clean things up.. I've been at it for 2 months and I'm still finding issues.

It's a two to 3 stage process and very time consuming. Worth it though.
I would let a 1:1 backup to another ext drive run overnight before you get going
in case you make a boo boo and you'll have a full backup in the vault.

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Purple Frog Karaoke Cuz we all feel odd and love to "croak"

Whoops I forgot to add the end result..

Main Lib, all the good stuff ONE VERSION of each song
ALT library, alternate versions in case of an issue with singer or track
Reserve Lib (Not loaded in show)
I personally use a "Holiday" ,an "International" and a "Children's" library as well.
In Show, Load Main,Alt,International, etc.

Flexible and you have 2 different libraries you can integrate new material into as you go.
I suggest setting up a new material directory in your main labeled with "0" so it stays at
the top of your folder to drop your processed downloads into, ex: 000NewMaterial

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Purple Frog Karaoke Cuz we all feel odd and love to "croak"

I have singers who love the full-motion video from my Pioneer laser disks and they sing and comment on them constantly. I have almost all the Pioneer laser disks and have media shifted them to my hard drive and added (Video) so my singers can easly find them. Of course they are no way HD. As for the Stingray videos, now that's redundant, wouldn't use them if I could.

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Karaoke that just sounds better!

CompuHost | KJ Media Pro | Karaoke Kiosk | Bose L1 Model II system | B2 bass | ToneMatch audio engine | Shure VHF SM58 wireless mics | Countryman E6 Earset with Shure UHF wireless beltpack

I have the entire library of Pioneer CDG's and most of the Pioneer laser discs. I have converted the lasers to AVI files and the clarity is not that great but the music sounds perfect. For the most part I use the CDG's for my singers because of the motion background.