Karaoke Forums

Does anyone else sometimes do solo sets? I did a six song solo set at lunch today. I plan to add a feature that will allow me to add songs to a playlist, order the list by number, then play one song after another. No more clicking on the computer to get the next song going I may add stop times to kill back end dead space. Anyone interested or have a need?

Definitely a good feature to have.

Hoster will do exactly that... Saved Playlists, and auto-play...

I spent quite a bit of time brain storming the import and data management parts last night. I came up with a lot of great ideas on handling that. Unproven ideas but ideas still the same! It would mean quite a bit of changes and I am OK with that... if... I do the commercial licences deal. But why make them if the program doesn't get the support it needs?

So I decided to take a quarter step back and initiate an Alpha program. The Alpha would include the features that are in today; those I use for basement parties and how I structure my files. Alpha, by definition, is "under construction". Think walking into a building that is currently being remodeled. Some walls are not painted, there is dust on the floor, but you can get a really good idea of how it will be once finished. The song list would be closed, the engine unregistered and the play length would be fixed. Otherwise, it would be wide open. I have two possible approaches for a fixed song list:
1) Provide the fixed song data and files ready to go. These would be songs that Karaoke Version provides for free.
2) Testers provide the data for 50-100 of their songs Title, Artist, Disc, track, file name to me and I would fix the data for them. The tester then would copy their songs to a flat folder to reference in testing.
Some of both would be awesome.

The purpose of the Alpha program is two fold.
1) Bug reporting. I KNOW there are bugs. I found two little ones last night. But it's really close with the current features.
2) Feature addition testing. new bugs are added as new features are added.
3) User trials. Why bother with the importing if users do not wish to support it. You can see where it is today, then offer the features you would need to use it at a show.

I could have this ready by sometime this weekend. When testing, assume that a product you were using at a show (or at home) had the features to easily import and manage your library, but keep in mind I (being me) do not need those features today.

Those interested can either drop a post here or PM me. I'll assume those already interested are still in unless you wish to pass on Alpha.

So is it nice and user friendly. I have seen some complicated Karaoke programs that could make one rip out their beard. I would say hair, but I have none. .

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Never said this before but you remind me of my younger brother. Seriously, in looks and manner. He's the free spirit type with a heart of gold and he could seriously be you in the pic. He used version one for years and he's not a computer geek type. He's smart, he's intuitive, he picks things up fast, but he doesn't have a lot of experience on computers. He swears by this approach.. but.. it's all he knows. There would be an adjustment for those used to doing things a different way as should be expected. My concept is to keep it simple, keep the important things visual and keep it unobstructed. The end result is queuing songs for singers and that's what it's geared around. The interface isn't pretty or cute. It is functional and optimized. I just finished a session singing with the engine and I love the quality sound. It's a HUGE step up from other engines I've tried... Add some boost and WOW...

Alpha test and see what you think...

Thank you. Your brother sounds like a good guy. It's not easy for me to be anyone's younger anything though. I'm almost 46. .

I would be glad to give your program a shot, and give you feedback. If you have a link I will give 'er a go.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

My bro is 40 to my 50 to your 46. I'll get you the information when I am ready. I may even get you a pic of my brother so you can see what I am talking about.

me second from the right and my bro far right..

OK, so now the question is... Who's adopted, your brother or Smooth????

He's a youngin'. I am a bit heavier, and balder than him. I shave my head. I ran out of hair, so I couldn't keep it long anymore.
Good looking bunch, though.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

Great call!! Can't speak for Smooth but I am adopted. Now, that doesn't mean there isn't a mailman in the mix here where my bro is concerned. kidding... He's my "half" brother, I'm adopted and the lady is my sis.

That pic is from a few years ago.. Trust me.. He's bigger and balder too these days!

IMO, CompuHost is the most comprehensive karaoke hosting program there is. It's simple to use and does everything you could ever want. I've tried every other program there is and would never use anything else. I've been using it for seven years now and love it. Is it perfect? Nothing really is but it comes damn close.

I wish you the best in your software development. It's all about what works for you, after all.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

I agree with the busy look of Compuhost. I never liked the way it worked. Hoster is much simpler IMO. Search from the main screen, don't need it, but I keep the singer & song search window open at all times so I guess it would be the equivalent to having it on main screen. About as close to perfect as I need

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

The first time that I've even looked at another rotation based program was a couple of days ago. Of course things about it are going to hit me as strange when all I've used is my own. I am sure it will be the same when people try my concept and that's to be expected. I really didn't intend to knock Compuhost but I did and I know it. That was a slip on my part. It was a reaction post and I try very hard to avoid those. My apologies to Compuhost and it's users\fans.

I went through a five singer rotation last night with zero unknown issues. It was a small test but having zero hitches was quite pleasing at this point. Some of the new features came in really handy. There are known areas I am working on but that is to be expected at this point. I added support for zips yesterday and found a bug with the engine locking files so they can't be deleted until after the engine is closed. I went through three attempts at it until I found the fastest approach. There is little to no difference between zips and mp3\CDGs with the current approach so I am really pleased with this solution. The locked file thing isn't a huge issue that would put a kibosh on moving forward with testings. I plan to work this weekend on creating an alpha version for trial and testing.

I need people to PM me email addresses. I plan to set up a drop box folder where files can be freely uploaded and downloaded. I also need to know if anyone doesn't have Excel handy. I plan to use a spreadsheet to track bug reports, issues and feature requests.

Also, anyone that wishes to use their own files needs to get me a copy of a song list dump\export. The format isn't important at all but it needs to have: Title, Artist, CD, track, genre (optional) path filename. Path filename together is fine to, I can easily parse it.. The 100 song limit comment was stupid, it only applies if you have to do it manually.

I'll provide an email address for that and obviously, I swear to only use a provided list of that nature for the purpose of populating a song list for testing. Consider this notice a confidentiality agreement from me to you.

I'll also state that PMing me an email address constitutes your agreement to only using the trial version for testing purposes and you agree that any dialog or information derived from using the trial version will be kept in confidence between you and myself. You also agree to not attempt to break into, or reverse engineer the program or the data provided within. You also agree to keep any files or file locations I provide to you to yourself.

I will say that this does not mean you can't gain ideas for features that you wish to submit to the product you use for improvements. I actually HOPE you gain some ideas to ask for in the products that you use today.