Karaoke Forums

I'll list what I have, the products I've tried and what I'm ultimately trying to do.

I have a PC with a USB connection to a Denon HC4500 midi controller that I really like using a lot. I also like the fact the Denon has a really good ASIO sound card that far exceeds the one on my laptop.
I want one program that does the following:

1. Integrates with my Denon HC4500.
2. Has a singer rotation piece that allows me to add the singer and the song.
3. Allows me to add filler songs between singers and mix them.
4. Plays video and Karaoke tracks
5. Has key adjustment

Thus far I've tried the following software. Here are the pros and cons:

1. ClubDJ Pro. Has a good interface and is easy to use. Displays video very well and allows you to add an image to the video display. Unfortunately, it doesn't integrate with the HC4500. I tried outputting the sound through the Asio card even without using the midi controller but it doesn't work. It will output through other Asio cards though like the one on a Line 6 UX1. The key adjustment is hard to use too. It adjusts the key but affects the pitch. It also doesn't have a singer rotation feature either.
2. PCDJ Pro. This is my favorite software currently for just straight up DJ mixing. It works very well with the Denon HC4500. Unfortunately, I can't use it for karaoke because even though it has a singer rotation feature, searching for karaoke songs is very slow. I search, add the song but when I go to the search for the next song, the song in the deck continues to play but everything freezes for about 15 seconds until it eventually responds. I have more than sufficient PC hardware for it (Dual-Core 1.8 Ghz processors, 2 GB of memory) It's fine for just audio but for karaoke it can't keep up for some reason. Due to this problem I didn't even bother testing to see how if it had key adustment. I tried their KJ version and hated it.
3. Swift Elite. I used this last night for my first karaoke gig and it gets me the closest to what I want to do. It integrates with my HC4500, allows me to add singer's names, and has a nice autofade to the next deck. The main limitation to this product however is while it does integrate with the HC4500, it doesn't recognize it immediately and you have to go into the preferences to adjust it until it finally realizes the HC4500 is connected. This isn't a big problem but the main one is when you play a video. If you play it in the preview deck, everything looks good but when you actually put it into one of the play decks and play it there is a 2 to 3 second delay between the audio and what you see in the video. Furthermore, when you try to stop the video, it doesn't immediately stop but takes 3 or 4 seconds from the time to click for the video to stop. It doesn't have that problem though for karaoke tracks.

In anyone else using the HC4500 with something that does all the things I've mentioned above?

Don't use that controller, but check into OTSDJ as well. It's supposed to be compatible with the Denon now.
http://www.otsav.com/
I love this program for straight dj'ing, haven't really upgraded to the karaoke/video version as I am happy with my current software for karaoke.
They do have a demo you can download and a 7 day full use trial - at least on the older version I have.

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for the software, I'd go with either pure Winamp and forget singer software... or Sax & Dotty's.

Or since you want all the bells and whistles, Compuhost is very popular here.

PCDJKaraoke is a pig for resources... but it could ALSO be exactly what you have running, the Operating system, or the sheer configuration of your laptop... you just may not have enough cpu or ram. you didn't go into what all you're using!

I love my usb connection from my pc to the mixer.

What you want is pcvj, but use an external mixer with a key changer don't worry about the one on the system. If you are not computer savey have a professional tweak the system for you it will be well worth it. Pcvj works great with the dennon controller and the data base search is fast. Download the trail for free at pcdj.com

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[img]<img%20src="http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j288/miller2348/myspace/images/Funny_Pics/images/21.gif"[/img]

CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE AT THE DOOR, STICK AROUND YOU JUST MIGHT HAVE SOME FUN

After seeing what the Denon HC4500 does, I don't believe that you will be able to find KJ software to accommodate your requirements. I suggest that you hire someone to write the software. There are a lot of coders out of work. No, I don't want the job.

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Okay, who took my pants?

Now with AutoPlay!
Mix Video, Audio, and Karaoke files
pcvj or virtual dj has these feature:
Clip Bank for instant load and playback of visualizations
BPM calculation engine works with all types of music
Automatic beat mix tracks
Seamless smart looping
Beat locked video and audio effects
Instant search for tracks
Media-case will automatically sort media types
Set infinite cue points per track
Headphone cueing with I/O soundcard support
Many video effects and transitions to choose from
Send out the video, karaoke, and scrolling text to a second display
Live camera feed – mix live video right from the dance floor
Master tempo and pitch control
Realistic Scratching with mouse, midi control, time-code, or DAC-3
External Hardware Supported
External analog mixer supported
PCDJ DAC-2
PCDJ DAC-3
DENON DN-HS1200
DENON DN-HC4500
DENON DN-HD2500
DENON DN-HS5500
Reflex, FinalScratch, VirtualDJ, SSL and MsPinky digital vinyl records or CD time code to control your music
Supported Formats:
Audio Formats:
CD Playback, MP3, MP3Pro, MP4, M4A, WAV, AIFF, CDA, WMA, ASF, OGG, and iTunes ACC (non-DRM)

Video and Karaoke formats:

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[img]<img%20src="http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j288/miller2348/myspace/images/Funny_Pics/images/21.gif"[/img]

CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE AT THE DOOR, STICK AROUND YOU JUST MIGHT HAVE SOME FUN

That's one of the ones I tried (I meant to say PCDJ VJ instead of PCDJ Pro). I really like it and agree it works great with my Denon controller but searching karaoke files was incredibly slow. My karaoke files are zipped. Could that possibly be a factor?

I have Virtual DJ for DJ gigs. So simple to use. Does video. I just got it last weekend so I'm still learning all the bells and whistles.

I figured out the problem with the PCDJ slowness. What you have to do is first create a virtual folder, then drop all your karaoke files into that folder. Once you do that, searching is very fast.
I also noticed that Virtual DJ and PCDJ are made by the same company and there's really no difference in terms of functionality between the two.
Thanks for your help!