Karaoke Forums

My wife has been using an old Dell Inspiron notebook and is looking for something that can send video (lyrics) to an external monitor while she is using her karaoke software at the same time. The Inspiron can only mirror the video, so she has to wait until the singer is done before setting up the next song.

Also, she is using external USB A/D and D/A converters to eliminate noise from the Inspiron's AC power supply. It would be nice to have a notebook with an optical audio out and/or no noise issues. I know Apple has this but she is used to PCs and wants to continue to use them.

Any ideas appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi
Can you tell me which karaoke version she is using??

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video sender

Are you sure it can only mirror the video? Look in the display properties to see if it can extend the desktop.

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

My home laptop is an Inspiron 1000, and it has extended display. I use it to practice, and have Compuhost installed, works fine.

Rosario

If your computer doesn't have dual monitor features built in, then you can buy external video cards that have this feature. You can also buy external sound cards that have optical audio.

Your noise issues are probably a problem with gain structure, however, not your audio. A better sound card will reduce the noise, but without a balanced gain structure throughout your entire audio chain from computer to speakers, you are going to amplify floor noise along the way.

So read up on setting gain structure and google external video cards and external sound cards. You could probably get everything you are looking for for about $100-125 and improve you sound.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

IIRC, it's "Kara Fun".

I wasn't clear -- theoretically it can extend the desktop but when she tries to do that the video to the external monitor gets broken up.

My assumption is that the Inspiron just doesn't have the speed/power to do the job.

Could you tell me about Compuhost -- what is that?

She is using external sound cards now, and they solve the problem -- I just thought it would be nice to have an optical audio output from the notebook, but that's a secondary issue.

The primary problem is running both the external monitor and the notebook display while setting up the next song. The Inspiron just seems to be too slow to do that.

The external audio cards have solved the noise problems but if by balanced you mean cables with two conductors plus a grounded shield (like mic wires), she is using pro gear but the source (the notebook) is of course unbalanced so the input to the Mackie powered mixer is via 1/4 inch phono plugs (unbalanced cables with RCA plugs on one end and 1/4" on the other).

Compuhost is a karaoke hosting program. NOT CHEAP!! But top of the line. Does take some power to run, but as I said, I AM running it on an Inspiron 1000. Having said that, I have about 80% of my freespace left on the harddrive, only installed what was necessary, NO JUNK on the computer. I also had the maximum RAM installed. Before I did this, it was NOT strong enough to run Compuhost without lyric lagging issues. I would check into doing this, instead of buying a new computer, it's cheaper, and it WORKS. You can find all the info for Compuhost by doing a Yahoo search, or Google. Look at the specs needed to run, then check with your local computer shop, and see if your computer is sufficient. I'm sure there are other hosting programs that have less requirements, but as I said, Compuhost is like the Cadillac of programs. Hope this helps.

Rosario
Serenity Now Karaoke

Ps: What type of cable are you using from notebook to monitor. Is it VGA? Sounds like a cable, or connection issue with the video. I would change the cable first.

could be a video driver issue. Had that with an inspirion 4000 and it was fixed by getting a new driver.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Yes, that's very helpful, thank you!

My wife says she has 2 VGA cables -- one relatively short, one long (25' IIRC). There is no difference in performance between the two.

I thought the video driver was part of the logic board. I didn't realize it was replaceable.

BTW, her notebook is an Inspiron 2650 -- it's about 10 years old.

If your laptop is 10 years old and having issues, make sure you have the latest BIOS as well as the drivers. Many issues that pops up are fixed in BIOS as much as in new drivers.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

Right then, new software on an old computer. Not going to happen. If it's ten years old your operating system is either ME or an early XP. If XP, you probably don't have enough RAM to run the service pack upgrades properly.

Kara Fun is a wonderful piece of software but it's a player, not hosting software. Get an old hoster not using .NET and all your troubles will probably go away.

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Okay, who took my pants?

Exactly, that's the reason the subject of the thread is "Best notebook PCs for karaoke?" I think she's better off replacing the notebook. I thought that perhaps there would be some consensus as to the best currently available notebooks for karaoke.

Her Inspiron 2650 is running XP (SP 3), has a Pentium running at 1.7 Ghz, and 512 MB of RAM.

I suppose I could just go through the usual routine -- check cnet; CR; PC Magazine; etc, and buy a top-rated notebook. I was just hoping to save some time and hassle.

What is a "hoster"? What do you mean by, "Not using .NET"?

Thanks!

A "Hoster" is a computer based karaoke program designed for the needs of karaoke hosts (KJs). These applications may include singer rotation, singer histories, bumper music, kiosks, visual effects etc. Anything that might make the show run more smoothly or be more entertaining.

A little history which may or may not be true:
Windows 3.1 was really the last windows version that had the idea of a "stand alone" work station in mind. Windows 95 was based around the idea of a browser and that kept going through '98 and ME. Windows 2000 and XP was an extention of NT which was intended for business networking and XP gave up the notion of "stand alone" altogether. Windows Vista and Windows 7 seem to be just big web browsers. About ten years ago Microflacid came up with some new features to work with these big new giant browsers which came under the heading of .NET.

Now we do an about-face to karaoke. The default standard for karaoke is the CD+G format which was developed about 1980. That is to say that the technology of 1980 will play it just fine, your wife's current computer being twenty years in advance of that will play it just fine. What a karaoke application is supposed to do is play karaoke, it has nothing to do with the internet. Running such an aplication on a big web browser seems just plain silly and yet that's what you're forced to do with a new lappy.

In short, which new lappy should you buy for karaoke? None of them.

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Okay, who took my pants?

Thanks exweedfarmer.

Question: Regardless of whether the OS is intended to be used with a 'work station' or as a web browser, any hoster should run just fine, correct?

I know MS leaves a lot to be desired, but that seems almost irrelevant in this case. I agree that running Windows in order to use karaoke software is a bit ridiculous, but that's pretty much the situation we're faced with.

Since you recommend not using a laptop, what would you suggest?

We have a friend who has done some professional karaoke and he likes the idea of using a small desktop PC because they are easily modified and configured. That makes sense to me but it is more weight and bulk (PC case, keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc) and of course he's still running some version of Windows.

No any hosting program will not necessarily run fine on an older system. Some of the newer hosting programs are set up for the faster processors & require more memory to run them smoothly. If you can find an older software that meets the 'then' computer requirements that the older computer has, then you should be fine. It's just a matter of finding an older program anymore. Although i'm sure some of todays programs will still work on the older system.


Me and a friend of mine were talking about that the other day, why no one has created a really good/stable system for Mac, these are standard in most recording studio & serious music applications. Most likely because PC is so dominant.

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

Don't agree, a laptop is the way to go I would recommend a good used DELL Latitude using XP pro, built to last and solid has rock

http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-LATITUDE-D820- ... 3caaf3edad

I ordered from them and honestly, it looks brand new, not a single scratch any where!!
All I did was to mirror the original drive on a WD 320g 7200 rpm and it's now amazingly fast