Karaoke Forums

Trying to find a software that is good and easy but has bells and whistles. I have looked at Compuhost and it seems pretty simple to use. Then went to Tricera and it is a little confusing but i do understand that they are incorporating KJ DJ and VJ all in one please help if you have used one or all of these.

What features are you looking for? What are your hot buttons?

MTU and CompuHost are great choices but both meet different needs so please be specific on the features you need. Otherwise this will turn into a my software is better than yours thread.

There are hundreds of threads on this forum that pertain to that subject. Do a search for "hosting Software"

I can tell you that Tricerasoft was not one of my choices as it is too complex for my tastes. I like a simple clean interface that meets all of my needs as a KJ. Their program does not meet my needs. Yours may be different.

_________________
FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

Thank you for the search I will go look now.

I use MTU on 2 systems and CompuHost on another. If you need specifics you can PM me and I will be happy to help you. Both are excellent programs.

_________________
FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

I agree every program meets differant needs. You need to ask yourself some questions

1) Is this just for home use or pro use
2) What files type will I use (mp3+g vs wma etc) zipped files ?
3) Do I need a rotation management option and what bells and whistles do I need - singer cue - historical data - ease of changing and moving singer cue up and down
4) Will I need to play customer CDG with this software?
5) Do I need a ripper program incorprated
6) Will it play FILLER or regular mp3
7) Will you need to DJ and mix music or VIDEOS?
Does it have a good key changer built in
9) HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO SPEND

Not sure what you really need as far as features, but I discovered this one and I'm loving it...

http://www.debssoftware.com/proKaraokePlayer.html

Product Features:

* Easy to use.
* Play Zipped Mp3/CD+G Karaoke Files.
* Play Media & Video Files: mp3, wav, wma, mpg, mpeg, avi.
* Built in Database and Search Features.
* No need to specify any file format when building a database.
* Drag N Drop capabilities.
* Queue media tracks into the Play List.
* Column for the Singer's name, and pitch.
* Saves Singer History. (in multiple venues)
* Play, Pause, and Stop buttons to control playing the selected track.
* Repeat and Shuffle options.
* Key Changer with auto features for setting and resetting the pitch for tracks in the Play List.
* Track time display.
* Continuous Play controls to pause in between playing tracks.
* Option to automatically remove tracks from the Play List.
* Next Singer and Singers On Deck Splash Screens.
* Options for customizing the captions and colors on the Splash Screens.
* Saves the current Play List.
* Loads a previously saved Play List.
* Backup Play List saved for System Recovery.
* Option to mark files that are corrupt or bad.
* Automatically manages errors associated with the Zipped Karaoke Files.
* Automatically compacts the database.

Standard Single-User License $39.99 USD.

_________________
~ D.J. ~
Dothan, AL 36301

My Rig:

- Shure PGX/SM58 Wireless mics (4)
- Yamaha MG-16 6 FX Mixer
- Behringer EP2500 Power Amp
- DBX 266XL Comp/Gate
- JBL MPro 15" Speakers (x2)
- Behringer 15" Powered monitor
- Compaq Laptop
- Furman Rack light
- Furman Power Conditioner

the other issue is Service and Support after the sale. There are so many issues and conflicts that can occur that are not actually caused by the software itself and are usually hardware or other software conflicts.

If you have a good forum to go to for your problems it really helps. MTU has the best support forum I have seen to date and is made up of hundreds of experienced users as well as the MTU staff. I value that relationship.

Compuhost has a support forum but I find it to be seriously lacking in the help area. Sometimes it takes days to get a response. If you are a working KJ this is a big problem as errors always happen the day before a major gig (seems like anyway) I have a copy of MTU loaded in case of a need to changeover. kma files are on my 500gig external drive as well.

I have been running CH in one of my shows for almost a year now and have had no issues to date. It is a very stable program and has infrequent updates so all of the bugs are worked out before release.

_________________
FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

Compuhost is the best I have seen. I own MTU Hoster as well as JustKaraoke and Siglos Professional.

I looked at them all before deciding, and to me it is clearcut. Compuhost has the best overall package. It has great rotation handling, and many little features that make hosting simple. And it is all-in-one -- no extra pieces of software to get besides a bookmaker.

Most important for Compuhost is the communication with your singers.

1) It has built-in ability to play video and audio pieces on command, with fades and audio overlay.
2) It has a scrolling marquee under the lyrics area to tell singers who is coming up. You can select the nubmer to display, so you don't have to show a huge rotation with all the changing around in the background. I show four singers, and add my new singers at the fifth.
3) It has a promo trailer feature that pays for the software in a few weeks. It tacks a message onto the end of the singer queue, so the singers are *always* watching it. Use it to communicate rules, advertise upcoming events, run beverage or menu specials, whatever you want.

It has much better search than MTU Hoster, which is retarded in that area.

I also have a couple of Winamp-based packages. I don't recommend Winamp as the underlying host -- too fragile in connection to the hosting software. For instance, the software just has to guess that a key change has been made -- there is no feedback from the key change module as to whether it took or not.

Compuhost, hands down. When Siglos gets more time out there, and MTU's new version ships and has a year to get the bugs out, my mind may change. But those are the top three, and Compuhost is the best by a good margin.

http://www.kjtools.com/CompuHost.html

Ok well I am a pro DJ/KJ been using saxndotties for the past few years. What I am trying to do is make it easy for my interns and also other KJ's breaking into the computer generation. I also understand and look at the customer service part but the biggest part is why you the KJ's have found to be quality easy to use. I love the help and tips that i need to look for from you all thank you so much.

My observations:

MTU - is the easiest to use and has a very intuitive layout, but currently lacks in the rotation management side of things. CH is a clear winner here. MTU is working on a
new release that will challenge this, but I cannot comment on this until I have seen the working version (bug free)

CompuHost - More complex initially to operate than MTU but it is very feature rich and will naturally have more to think about. 3-4 shows and then you have got the hang of it.
Not that difficult for someone who understands technology or working with software.

If I had to take a newbie with little computer knowlege and put them on a machine with minimal training I would pick MTU.

One big thing to consider is that MTU plays files ripped to KMA format and will play many other formats. CompuHost is MP3G and WMA based and will not play KMA's

The big decision still remains, do you use a proprietary format for your Rips or do you use a universal one. It's a big decision and a very important one to consider.

_________________
FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

Flipper you giving me alot of great info but one that I am not understadning never heard of is KMA format. The only time i have heard of it is on the TRICERA version. And also again what website is good to get some songs dl that my customers have been asking for so i can play them tonight.

To use MTU or CompuHost you must rip your songs from CDG's onto your hard drive and in the process it marries the song name, graphics and music and converts it into a file which stores on your hard drive.

MTU converts them to a .kma format and as long as you use their hosting software it will play those files. The problem is that you can't play them on any other software out there other than theirs as far as I know.

I'm assuming that you have not ripped your discs yet.The ripping process for any program is a very long and tedious process, for me it was about 7 days @ about 15-18 hours a day for about 700 discs. Now my library exceeds 1500 discs. It's basically the same for whatever program you choose unless you already have them ripped to a hard drive. MP3G his the format used by 98% of all the hosting programs out there and is universal.

It's definitely something to consider as it is a ton of work that should only be done once in my opinion. So careful consideration here will save you tons of Re-Ripping time.

You can't go wrong with either program but if you go with MTU you will need to stay the course so to speak.

They do make a conversion program to convert to MP3G but I'm not sure if sound quality is lost in the process as KMA format does provide better sound to the trained ear.

_________________
FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

Powerkaraoke & I have heard someone talking about another (can't remember program) that will also play them.

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

CompuHost supports the WMA+G format also, which is what the KMA format is based on, only with a different packing method (similar to ZIP). So if you are concerned with audio quality, simply select either the ZIPPED or Uncompressed WMA+G format within CompuHost.

tbreen

Has MTU in 4.0 improved anything about the terrible search in Hoster?

I personally never thought it was that bad IMO. I have never not found anything I was looking for on the first try.

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

You have 15 years of experience and know your songbook like the back of your hand.

Try searching for "Don't" by Elvis Presley on MTU Hoster. The best you can do is type "Presley" and find it out of that large list.

With any other software besides Hoster you can do "elvis don", which narrows it to a few entries.

I don't think it's a matter of knowing my songbook, it's just a matter of not being that picky. If I want Don't from Elvis, I would most likely type in Elvis & sort the title column & scroll down to the D, to me it's not a big hampering factor, again I never felt it was that bad. But since I am probably one of the few that actually still uses numbers & slips (it seems), I just type in the number & it brings me right there without having to search for anything.

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

That is one example, but it would be easy with "elvis don" and there you are.

The next is when someone doesn't know how to spell the song title, the artist, or looks up the wrong number. And sometimes when the song title is misspelled or spaced in your own database.

Bottom line is that MTU's search is from back in the 80s, when exact string match was about all you had. Nowadays, programs are supposed to be a bit better than that.

I vouch for CompuHost, too. I tried PCDJ/KJ, Winamp, Siglos Pro (promising though), Hoster and autokdj (Winamp based) before. I would never look back to any other hosting software.