Karaoke Forums

There's been alot of opinion on SCDG's on this forum, and the trend is usually when someone mentions, or asks a question about SCDG, the first thing they get as feedback, is THEY'RE ILLEGAL. I'd like to hear some opinions on the subject. Do you think ALL SCDG's are illegal, or certain SCDG's, and WHY do you think that? Does anyone have anything other than just speculation to back up their opinion, one way or the other? Is Chartbuster 1-6 illegal, DK Millenium 1 and 2 illegal, Nutech 1-3 illegal, etc. I already have my own opinion. I'm just posting this to see where everyone else stands on the subject. Thanks.

I see no reason for them to be illegal. Are some of them cheap? Yes. There has never been documentation of cases brought against anyone for using them. Outlets like Amazon could not sell them if they were illegal. Like I said, in another thread, when I see people getting sued for using them, I will stop using them. I think there is so much animosity against pirates out there that many hosts just don't trust anyone. They don't trust any other host who won't certify, they won't trust any mfr who doesn't sue people, and they don't trust distributors, because they might be selling stolen stuff. It's KDS!! That's right, Karaoke Derangement Syndrome.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Were the Chartbuster SCDGs ever sold directly from their website? If the manufacturer sells them directly, I don't think it matters if they are legal or illegal, as the responsibility would be on the manufacturer.

If someone other than the manufacturer is producing them and essentially pirating the manufacturer's music, then there's a pretty definitive issue.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that why Cavs sued Chartbuster......they gave them permission?
Anyway, karaoke book makers, like MusicBookDeluxe list the SCDGs, so at least they find some validity to them...
No one knows, and I haven't heard of anyone being busted for DK tracks on SCDG .

Power Karaoke which I think is one of the sponsors of this forum sells a SCDG converter. I would think if SCDG's were illegal, why would a company like Power Karaoke sell the software?

It's probably a bit more complicated, but I'd say it would be like a State allowing the sale of fireworks, but not the use of them..... ......the legal battle over making scdgs is a different legal battle......if there is one going on.....

ps....you got ....possess, create, home use, commercial use, logo use, format use.......etc....

...Well I have no idea about the ones mentioned but after a conversation with Stellar/PHM representative, they told me that they offer their product in the form of CDG, MP3 Discs and....SCDG. I do know CAVS offers 4-SCDG's. Are they licensed? I don't know? I was told that Chartbuster did, at one point, offer the SCDG but stopped production early on.

As I understand the Chartbuster SCDG issue, they contracted a company to press a specific amount and those initial pressings were legal and authorized. That company (or someone else?) then kept on pressing them and flooded the market. Those are not legal.

Unfortunately CB never told anyone how to tell the difference.

...I've heard the same thing.

With CB not defending themselves in their recent suit who's to know for sure what CB has told us to be the truth or not, or what they've sold us over the years was genuinely legit.

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My statements, opinions and conclusions are based on my own personal experiences, observations, research and/or just my own $.02. I'm not a "cheerleader", but that doesn't make me a Pirate.

DING! DING! DING! Give this person a cigar!

CB affirmed to CAVS that they had licensed every song that was included in the CAVS deal and obviously lied about it and were knowingly selling pirated material. Consequently, CAVS was sued by the music publishers and they in turn, sued CB for breach of contract and basically fraud.

My Essential 1-6 on SCDG sure look real. Quality disks, including a printed song list with. All very genuine looking. The one problem - when I bought them I received the wrong disk in one of the packs. Asked for replacement and again got the wrong disk inside . So I have two extra of one of them, #3 I think. They never asked for them back, and I did offer.

I contacted Debbie at Chart Busters and asked about the legality when this all came up over a year ago. She asked me to send in my set of six essentials SCDG's for forensic analysis along with how/whom I got them from and in return sent me the six full CDG Essentials sets! Needless to say, I was insanely pleased.

[quote="Bazza" I contacted Debbie at Chart Busters and asked about the legality when this all came up over a year ago. She asked me to send in my set of six essentials SCDG's for forensic analysis along with how/whom I got them from and in return sent me the six full CDG Essentials sets! Needless to say, I was insanely pleased.[/quote]

Jealous! Good deal Bazaa. I got my cb scdgs 1-6 as a birthday present years ago. Never used them, had the discs already.

still new in the box. i think they're only ripped at 128, so quality is less than,,,wait for it.....stellar..???

You've mentioned this before, and you keep overlooking the fact that there are also private vendors and individuals who also sell products through Amazon's site. While Amazon.com can not sell products that are illegal, there can still be other people selling illegal products through Amazon.com. Just in that aspect, Amazon is acting more like a Craigslist.org site for those individuals who are selling a product.

I don't know if ALL SCDGs are "illegal" ( not really, but maybe produced without permission- civil, not criminal).

It is my belief that DK never made or distributed SCDGs of their product. On the other hand, it is my belief that CB did.

The point is, the media itself is not the problem- the mfrs. and their permissions or lack of same seem to be the icky part.

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

" Disc based and loving it..."

Quality, in the form of bit rate is something that you should be very concerned about when purchasing music that isn't on an authentic CDG.

For instance, I do know that Tricerasoft sells downloads at 192kbps (or at least the one's I've purchased are of that bit rate). BuyKaraokeDownloads is only 128Kbps. They don't sound real good when you push them with an amp.

The same logic applies to SCDG's. CB's Essentials 1-6 on SCDG is pressed/burned onto those SCDG's at 128Kbps. The DK SCDG's are 192 and they sound much better at full volume than the CB SCDG's. The worst of the bunch is the CAVS SCDG's. Those are only 96Kbps. Not bad renditions, but they sound awful at full volume.

Also, Panorama & NuTech are also 128Kbps. None of the 128Kbps sound awful, but they usually require a little bit more effort as far as sound adjustments go.

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I'm not a cheerleader, but I paid for my pom poms with my own money!

The only reason I suspect the DK SCDG sets are not legit is the only place you can find them is ebay & Amazon. I have never found them listed through long term karaoke resellers like karaoke.com, Ace karaoke, karaoke warehouse, etc.... My feeling is use them if you want I will stick to my original DK Encore & Applause disc sets that I own.

The way I see it, nobody had gotten sued for using them. The day someone does, I will pull them.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Well if nobody gets sued, then it's ok!

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