KARAOKE!

[Gareth]

There's loads of ways to play back karaoke.

Here's one I reccomend for the PC:
Kara Fun
www.karafun.com
Download the free software and away you go
The thing I like about this software is the ability to change the backgrounds so you don't just have the boring blue.

Other good software is Virtual DJ

www.VirtualDj.com
You can now cut out vocals which are usually on the left or right channel of the karaoke track. Also you can now alter the key.

[/b]:
[li] Tracks can be ready to play in seconds. (Just type in the name)
[/li][li] You know the CD's never going to get lost or scratched because it will be safe at home while the files are on your hard drive as MP3+G.
[/li][li] You know it's going to play without jumping coz it will never get scratched.
[/li][li] With software such as Kara Fun you can add fancy backgrounds, and effects to make it more interesting.
[/li][li] To make a list, just use a directory printing program to print out the contents of your MP3+G folder to a file or directly onto paper.
[/li][li] Que the track exactly where you want it - no more deadly silence while your waiting for the track to load.
[/li][/ul]

[/b]:
[li] PC's can crash.
[/li][li] Hard Drive's storing your MP3+G's can go down.
[/li][/ul]

[Gareth]

The other option is to use a Hardware Player:

I used to own a JVC tripple draw karaoke machine, this was very good, however I started VJing, and needed a DVD player for the music video's so thought why not sell the JVC machine and get one that played both Karaoke discs and DVD's. The answer was the AWF Karaoke player. It doesn't read some of the old CDG disks aswell as the JVC player did, but the bonus of beeing able to fill a DVD full of MP3+G karaoke files is brilliant.

Click Here To See More Info on the AWF Karaoke Player

[/b]:
[li] More stable. (if you know the CD's not scratched and will play OK).
[/li][li] Handy for a back-up if laptop goes crazy.
[/li][/ul]

[/b]:
[li] CD's still get scratched and skip.
[/li][li] You have to find the CD out and keep swapping discs which can be a pain especially if doesn't work.
[/li][li] CD's can go missing and you don't realise until someone requests a song from it.
[/li][li] Also hoping you've got the right CD in and getting it to load in time before the last song has finnished can be stressful.
[/li][li] To make a list you have to type the names in manually or copy and paste the list from the website where you got the CD if you can find it.
[/li][/ul]

[Gareth]

You can buy Karaoke Discs from:
www.sunflykaraoke.com
www.ebay.co.uk
www.bouncingbean.co.uk

[Gareth]

OK so now you've got your Karaoke CDG discs. They are almost the same as a standard audio CD, however if you need to make a back-up of one for your own use (it's not a good idea to take your originals to a gig). You need to make sure your CD writer will read and write "sub channel data" in Nero you just tick the "read sub channel data" box and away you go.

If however you plan to play your karaoke songs on a computer you need to convert them to "MP3+G" this is basically an MP3 file, with an exgtra .cdg file containing the lryincs (words on screen).

There are a few programs about that will allow you to do this. Personally I use "Audiograbber"

[Gareth]

Ive found putting the .MP3 and the .CDG file together in a zip file works best. They are much more easy to rename and manage and play better in Virtual DJ too.