Whatever problems you think you are having with hoster, Fix them. I have been running on Hoster since December, and love it. There are many tweaks needed to make hoster run properly. They are all listed on the MTU website.
If using a laptop, makesure it is not a cheap one. None of those $300 laptops, it will not work right. Hoster is a resource hog. IM or email me, and I can talk to you about your system.
Properly configured on a good PC, Hoster is a champion. Here is my PC, and all the features I am using. I have seen other KJ's use two laptops to accomplish less than what I am able to do, without affecting the performance of my show.
PC:
Gigabyte Motherboeard with built in AC73 Audio
AMD Aftlon Dual Core @ 3.0GHz processor
4-GB DDR3 1600 Memory
MSI ATI Radeon 4550 Dual video output with 1-GB DDR3 1600 Memory
Soundblaster X-FI PCI Exress Audio Card
Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 500-GB SATA Hard drive - Operating System & Filler music
Hitachi 7200 RPM 2-TB SATA Hard Drive - Karaoke, DJ Music, and Videos
N-Wireless Adapter, PCI
I almost always have the filler music player running. I found that you have to have the filler music on a different drive than your Karaoke. If you have a laptop with an external drive with your Karaoke, then just move the Filler music playlist to the Operating system disc. You can only have 200 songs, so you should be able to fit that on most laptops no problem.
I can search the databsase for songs while the show is going with no problem. How many times has someone asked if they can hear a song to make sure it is the right one? Many times right? I have it set up so that you can preview the songs, while the show is going on, through headphones connected to the AC73 Audio built into my motherboard.
I also use the AC73 Audio to record my show, I can make cd's of the singers performance, though as of yet never have. I have recorded the whole show, just to have the resource being used for performance testing.
Obviously, I use the Soundblaster X-FI for my show's Audio. I can also surf the net freely while doing my show, without affecting my show. Try doing all that on one pc running other hosting programs.
If you want help getting your existing setup working properly, I am more than willing to help.
Felix the KJ