Karaoke Forums

Why......

Figured i'd start the thread continued from a question in the bundle pack thread....

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

Thanks for posing the question, Lonnie, and I'm sure there are a lot of people who are curious.

The simple answer is that it is increasingly expensive to legally license tracks for karaoke use, to record those tracks, and to manufacture discs. Our best solution so far has been to license, record and manufacture fewer tracks.

We have already cut any fat that may have existed from our operations, and streamlined our methods to the extreme while still retaining our renowned quality. We have sourced our talent and materials in the smartest and best way we know how. We have outsourced items that can be done less expensively elsewhere and that don't negatively impact our product.

When you have reached the points above, and still have to deal with rampant piracy that's taking food off the tables of your employees, greedy rights holders that insist on exacting a pound of flesh for every conceivable usage, and an economy that, in spite of the optimism of the economics talking heads, still hasn't recovered from the housing bubble or the banking crisis, then you have to look elsewhere to control costs.

Chartbuster Karaoke pays millions of dollars a year for the rights to bring you the best karaoke we know how to produce. We are in this business because we love it, not to become wealthy. The reduction in songs on our ProDisc series is a reflection of our economic climate and industry profile. Though as a company we are healthy, we have had to impose a series of significant cost measures to stay that way.

We believe that Chartbuster Karaoke discs are a very good value, the best in the business. If you look at the number of songs per disc that our competitors are producing, I think you'll find that we are very much in line with both their offerings and their pricing structures.

We'll weather this economic storm and emerge stronger as a result. We hope you'll stay with us until then. We've been in this business for more than thirty years, and we've seen a lot of things come and go, while remaining ourselves. The quality of our tracks has remained steadfast throughout our entire existence, and that will never change as long as we draw breath.

Understandable! I would be willing to pay a couple more bucks per disc for the 15 however, although justifibly I can see the position taken.

NOW, without starting another thread, how about the new swiping system you guys incorporate. The old system was so much more user friendly, the new system wipes entire screens, making the singer actually having to know the song as to where to come in. The old system used to swipe halfway down the screen & start putting up the next screen - this is THE BIGGEST complaints I have from all singers, even some to the point that I actually have to find alternative versions (if available) just so the singer can actually sing the song from a suicide point. I heard through forum scuttlebutt that it was because the old software license was not being supported anymore & this was an 'upgrade', sorry to say if it was, PLEASE go back to the downgrade!!!!!!!

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

Also let's just go here a minute. We all know SC has stated they cannot 'authorize' a format shift to use on computer, but would not go after a company if they can prove they actually have a separate 'original' set of discs PER computer. Do you believe (or can you even state otherwise) CB would take the same stance knowing the company still buys each disc, but only plays it on the computer only - we're talking 1:1 ratio, not a multirig or distributing files - which they could find out if they did any kind of computer research on the user in question. We know they cannot grant the rights to do so legally, but would they pursue a company that is that actually buys everything & can prove it>?

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

I would like to see the Manu's put out PROFESIONAL level product and CHARGE MORE if they have to and then they can put out consumer level product which use mid files and less expensive means. There isn't any KJ who does not want ORIGINAL SOUNDING karaoke tracks and superior graphic sync.

Here's a hint --- If you package and produce it as PRO GRADE --you can charge more. TOO BAD that charging more makes it more attractive to pirates .. seems you can't win --- Give me the BEST and MOST POPULAR songs quickly with superior reproductions and KJ's will pay top dollar.

Thanks for asking about those screens, Lonnie. It has been driving me crazy, also. They even split up the word, "Away-ay ay" on "Cowboy Casanova."

We should have an "Ask CB thread."

I was wondering if it is any use to email questions or should they just get phoned in?

Also, on the customs I don't mind that you put an ID on the opening screen as to who bought the custom--but I want to change that ID to the company name and not have my personal email broadcast to the room. Also, I had tried to make a custom for someone as a Christmas gift and wanted her name on the screens instead of mine but couldn't get an answer as to how to do that so had to go with Selectatrack.

Thanks

I would also like to know CB's position on 1:1 as asked by Lonnie in the post above. I'd also like to add to that downloads, and customs.

In other words, I own the original purchased discs, custom discs, and downloads from CB's website. Can they all be used on a laptop?

Actually, in this day and age, I don't know many KJ's, who are still disc based. We all know the advantages of using a computer. This after all, is the digital age and we must move forward with the technology. I don't think there's any court that would fine you if you could prove you legally own the discs. You are just using another medium to play them. I don't see a problem with that.

Hey CB, ever think of offering your CD+G's on a SD card? Do away with discs all together. You would be able to fit your Essential, or any other set on one memory card. And with the prices of these cards being so cheap today, you would save on pressing all those discs in those sets. Just a thought. You said you're looking for ways to save money...

Alan

Alan: They have the rights to press DISCS, not produce on a digital medium, which is what it would be if placed on an SD card. It all goes to the rights and fees that they have to pay. Great idea, though. Perhaps it can be looked into for the future.

Technically, discs are a digital medium, whether they be CD or DVD. Music on CD's for example are made up of 1's and 0's and read by a laser. This is a digital medium but I understand what you're saying though.

Based on my looking through the cdg file using CDGFix, the old system was actually a repaint over the lyrics with the background color, line by line. The problem with this is that if you get a bad disc or a scratch then the problem perpetuates from screen to screen. I believe it is further complicated by the fact the you aren't saying 'paint this color' but are actually 'OR'ing the value that is currently there to get the color you want (hence the random wrong colors sometimes.) By doing full screen clear they can issue multiple commands to clear the screen to make sure it actually happens if one is misread. If there is a glitch it then only affects one screen.

- Jonn

It doesn't matter why....all that matters is I can't sing the songs if the words aren't on the screen when they are supposed to be sung....the result being that I try to buy songs on discs made by companies other than Chartbuster whenever possible. I'd rather have some random bits of color on the screen as long as the lyrics were placed on the screen ahead of when they needed to be sung. It's a real Pain In The A$$ to have to re make the entire CDG file just so the lyrics can be seen when necessary. It's just easier to buy them somewhere else.

I agree the old swipe method was much more user friendly. Keep your discs in good condition, and their shouldn't be any graphic artifacts.

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

In my ideal world the disc would be using a combination of overwrites and screen clears. Overwrites when the lyrics are coming continuously and screen clears when there is enough time afterward to read ahead. Go on Chartbuster, you can do it!

(I agree Lon that keeping the discs clean prevents the problem in the first place)

- Jonn

The newer discs seem to have problems very quickly. Some we have had to return right out of the package. Others may start "scrambling" after just a few plays. We thought it was our machine needing cleaning at first but they do it in the brand new machine, also. Not saying this is specifically a Chartbuster problem--PHM and Selectatrack seem to be our worst offenders.

I've actually had a new machine that did that in the past, had it warranty serviced, defective laser eye, had it replaced, no problems since.

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

I think it is still a disc problem as ancient discs we had as singers that we have incorporated into our show do fine--and those discs had been carted from show to show. We have a third player for home use and the same thing happens in it with the newer ones.

For the last couple of years or so, a lot of the newer Chartbuster discs have been burns rather than the traditional pressed disc. If your player has any issues with burned discs, this could be your problem. I've found that JVC machines seem to have the most problems with these discs even right out of the jewel case. Don't know why but every JVC deck I've tried them in has had issues with them. The three tray decks seem to handle them better that the single tray decks (which simply hate them).

So VERY True Karen! I've had to return several CBs because they're burns and just won't load..

Our players haven't had burn issues in the past. The quality of disc just dosn't seem as good. On some of the Slectatracks, no matter how carefully handled, the silver label scratches very easily and you end up with black streaks. We had to exchange a PHM for being garbled on arrival and it's replacement plays fine. But have heard of others having the same problem with PHMs. You expect a bit of it here and there but it seems to be on the rise.

PHM NEW song selections seems to be better the CB