Why is this all so confusing???????

[Sheera]

I am trying to figure out what I need to back up my CDG's. I want to copy my CDG's to CDR's and also want to download them to my computer. I realize that I need a compatible drive to read/write my CDG's to CDR's but when you talk to techs, they always say "It's a SOFTWARE issue", which of course we all know is not entirely true. The current drive in my computer will NOT read CDG's and so I know I need to install one. Or, do I need 2 drives? One to read, the other to write to? Would this make it easier for burning new discs or is 1 sufficient?

So the tech that I am talking to now tells me that he knows it has to be a compatible drive but he doesn't know what drives would work and if I would find out what drive to buy/install, then he would fix me up. Sounds simple. Except.....
every time I try to find a "list" of compatible drives, I find another list that says something else entirely. Tricerasoft has a list, CompuHost has a list, GoldenHawk has a list, etc......
The problem here is that all the lists don't always match each other and I don't want to buy a drive and have it installed just to find out, oops, wrong one.

I also want to start running our karaoke show from computer. Again, does anybody know the best software for this? I'm no techie. My computer is like my car. I fire it up and it runs or it don't. It needs to be easy but not so basic that it has no bells and whistles. It needs to be dependable. It can't be crashing all the time. It needs to able to work with my mixer or it should be able to replace the mixer and do things like keying up or down. I like the scrolling marquee thing but practically speaking, the audience doesn't normally see our screen, only the singers do, although I really like the idea of having more monitors so that the crowd can see. I need to be able to look up songs, singer rotation and that sort of thing while singers are up on the mike.
It needs to be smooth with no stops and starts or hesitation in the system. I'm not looking for freeware or shareware. I don't mind buying good software and paying for it if it works, but what works? I'm not running a little karaoke box out of my house for my own amusement, so just the basics won't do either. I don't want to throw money away on software that has so much going on I'll never figure out how to use it, or to buy the most expensive one out there just because it has to be the best or it wouldn't cost so much, right?....(We all know that's not always true). I want practical, versatile and EASY TO USE and I'm willing to pay for it. I like the screen shots I've looked at with CompuHost, I like what I've heard about Tricerasoft, but does anybody know the difference between those 2 and the others that are out there and what they have to offer?

Can somebody HELP ME????????? Before I turn completely gray????

Please tell me what you use and why do you use it? What does it do for your show that the others didn't do? Is it reliable and would you use it again if you had a choice? I know some of you are techies through and through and have no patience with people like me that don't know what we're doing but trying to figure it out. For me, it's about the MUSIC and the SOUND. I'm trying to get the best sound I can for myself, my customers and for my singers. I appreciate the heads up on any information you can toss my way. You can post here or email me: sheera@performancenames.com

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

[Bigdog]

So little time....I'm not a techie...

I use Sax & Dottys program. 2.2 I'm not crazy about their new version.
You can down load a sample of it.

If you are putting everything on a computer, why do you want to do double work (literally) and burn CD+Gs too? It will take long enough just to rip them all to the hard drive. I wouldn't waste my time doing both. Just backup the hard drive when you finish. PLextor burners work. You must check the specs and make sure it says it will read & write CD+G in them.

You will also need a ripper program. Powerkaraoke has software to do a bunch of different things.

Computer wise you need to have a good sound card, big memory and a decent video card.

[wiseguy]

I am trying to figure out what I need to back up my CDG's. I want to copy my CDG's to CDR's and also want to download them to my computer.

You need a CD+G compatible drive and the right software. Most plextor drives will work but are overpriced in my opinion. The DVD drives on this page are certified CD+G compatible. With one of these drives, and Power CD+G Burner, you can make copies of CDG discs, create custom compilation CDG discs, and rip song tracks from CDG discs to the MP3+G format to store on your hard drive and use with karaoke hosting software.

I also want to start running our karaoke show from computer. Again, does anybody know the best software for this?

This is where you're going to receive many opinions. There are several good hosting applications around and we all have our favorite. I use Video Hoster to run my shows. I believe it has more features than any other application of it's type. You are just going to have to try the demo versions of the various programs to determine the one that's right for you.

[DanG2006]

I have tried almost every Hosting software out there and decided to go with Compuhost for the features that it contains. there might be hardware incapatabilities between various hosting software and the software used to play filler (DJ) music. I found out through trial and error that Winamp and JustKaraoke sharing the same soundcard did not work well as I had JustKaraoke crash on me after switching over to it from winamp several times. Now winamp won't reckognize over half of my music (same issue that happened with PCDJ Red). I actually like how compuhost filler player accesses songs(I can search in the same manner I search my karaoke files). When set to rotate it automatically moves the next singer into the play spot at the close of the previous singers song. It has more features in my opinion than Video hoster that includes singer history, reports on stuff like most sang songs, who sang the most at your shows. Each singer has their own que to load songs into so that the actual show's que is the singer's name rather than the song itself. singers and their songs can be easily moved around in the order that you choose to. It also allows you to easily handle a situation like the singer deciding a few minutes later they want to sing another song than what is on deck for them. You might have to get an addition usb hub to give you enough usb ports for your external drives and the security dongle. I originally thought that having the dongle was going to be a real pain in the neck but all since I needed a 2.0 usb port for my external drive, it works out well to have the pcmia usb card that connects into the pcmia port on my laptop.
Both Compuhost and Video Hoster needs a newer computer to effectively run on.

[Sheera]

Good information from everybody. Thanks. As to why I want to burn new CD's AND go computer, I guess I'm just a little paranoid. If one goes down, then I have the other. I know it sounds redundant but when things go wrong, they usually do it in a BIG way! I've been leaning toward CompuHost and I think I'll probably try them first. The info about JustKaraoke crashing after switching from another software is just exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I know it might not happen to everybody, but if I can avoid headaches like the one DanG2006 describes, then I feel like I'm ahead of the game. The wheel has already been invented and I don't see the need to put myself through hard lessons already learned by others. It took me a lot years to figure that out. Thanks for the input ya'll. I appreciate it!

[DanG2006]

My first night using JustKaraoke went smoothly, all singers the entire night so I didn't get to find out about the incompatability and experience the crash. I am wondering if it also might be a Vista issue although I haven't used my xp machine with it for a show.