Discuss/Compare DJ/Karaoke Hosting Programs

I am ready to build another computer KJ rig. Laptop prices have dropped, quality is up so I am shopping for a new laptop....ready to buy as soon as I find one.

Once I buy it, my first purchase will be a hosting program. I am trying to decide what one will be best FOR ME.

Keeping that in mind, here are my needs/wants.

I will use my laptop for hosting karaoke shows and some DJing. Ideally I would like one program to handle both chores. Crossfading would be a need, and beat matching would be great!

Rotation programs would not be necessary, but if available and easy to use would be appreciated (I dont work in many places where I tie into the venue TVs so the graphic/rotation display functions would be lost on me at this time, but could work down the road).

I am looking for ease of use, simplicity of interface and something that is not a resource hog. Would prefer getting from a company with a history of positive customer support.

I only have a history with one program that I am looking to replace as it is not fitting in to what I am needing.

The options at the top of my head seem to be Roxbox, Sax and Dotties and Compuhost. These are programs some folks I know are using with no complaint.

Just wanted to throw it out here for discussion...AND if anyone has any suggestions for laptops I am all ears as well. Looking to buy from a big box store...since I have an Office Depot a block from my house, that is the easiest...prefer NOT to buy the computer via shipping, would rather walk in to a brick and mortar store to pick it up and potentially return it. Circuit City and Best Buy are a comfortable distance as are most office supply chains.

THANKS IN ADVANCE for your help and opinions/comments.

(It may seem like a tired topic, but things appear to have continuously change and I dont want to miss a trend for working with old info.)

I have found it best to use multiple programs.

I use PCKJ for my karaoke hosting.

Winamp for my filler music inbetween singers.

Virtual DJ for my DJ and VJ needs.

There is no real problem running more than one software for me as I have not found anything I like.

DJ and KJ software in one is a misnomer. The two have completely seperate goals. With that being said...

I've been using Numark Virtual Vinyl for my background beats, autOKdj for my karaoke. autOKdj is one of the few that has rotation, and the rotation rules are completely customizable to your liking.

Virtual DJ will do everything you're looking for. The only drawback as far as karaoke is concerned is no built in rotation.

I have never found any DJ software that does karaoke well.... there are many that try and do play karaoke but none have a decent rotation much less do they even list the singers in their respective playlists.... PCDJ is the only program with a karaoke plug in that at least makes an attempt at putting the singers name in a form of rotation order but does nothing as far as multiple song entries or any sort of automatic rotations....

AutOKdj seems to have the best rotation handling compaired to any, and I mean any software out there at any price point. However, where it excels at karaoke it fails sharply with straight DJ'n.

So, like toqer I employ a different program for DJ'n duties... I use Ots DJ.

RoxBox/KJAmp and Sax & Dottie's both need WinAmp, plus the CDG/MP3+G and Pacemaker (optional) plugins, I believe. WinAmp & the MP3+G are free, but if you need them, you may as well save the money and use the autOKdj plugin, save yourself some money & donate to Toq for his work. His plugin is specifically designed for Karaoke and I can't think of another program that manages rotations in the sophisticated way his does.

I'm not familiar with Compuhost ($180), but I've used Mimic Audition 2 from Tricerasoft ($180), tested MTU's Hoster ($99/$200), tried S&D ($45), CAVS PlayCDG KJ ($70) and KJAmp ($100), and looked at ActiveASP's Karaoke-Go-Round ($300).

At those prices, I've stuck with WinAmp (free, even for professional use, or $20 for the Pro version) and its karaoke plugins: CDG (free, donationware), CDG Disk ($25) and Pacemaker ($12 or $15, I forgot). (I tried Sax & Dottie's free Karaoke Zip Manager, but it locked my system up so I got rid of it.) For about $40 I have a hosting system that fits my needs.

My advice: spend the money on your DJ software. I haven't seen a professional-level DJ software solution for less than $200.

Kayleigh is absolutely right.... there's nothing to lose trying AutOK first.... but I can tell you from experience that the others are just high dollar fluff with none of the intelligence that is AutOKdj... just read the forums for it... at www.autokdj.com there I have laid out a few topics for newbies to advanced users as far as setup and using it in what most consider the normal way... then there is the Toqer way which works well for some... me included. Add to it their new FE singer Kiosk and you've got quite a combo. Best of all it's free.... for now.

I imagine once they or someone else notices what a money maker they've really got it wont be free for long.

As most of you know, I'm disc based for any normal show. However, I do use the laptop for tiny venues ( read "house parties" ). The only tolerably decent software that I've found for mixing DJ and KJ ( not really possible so far, but...) is PCDJ/KJ. Since I'm used to running karaoke rotation by hand, everything else works out. Again, I won't use this for an outside venue, but it works better than anything else that I've tried, and it's ease of use is a major plus...

Joe,

That's great and it works for you... but if you truely want to go PC then PCDJ with the KJ plug in is really a novices software in terms of rotation control and other factors that a KJ has to deal with at every show... I'm not knocking your methods as they do work for you just fine. I too made the mistake of buying PCDJ and the KJ plugin... for me it was a waste of money.

Not only does AutOKdj handle rotations but it also can tell you how much room you have for new singers and or repeat singers... It can also answer the annoying questions like "When do I get to sing... and how long before I get to?" No other program does this... and did I mention it's FREE? If not BTW AutOKdj is FREE....

Its also easy to use... maybe easier than most.

i owned pcdjfx karaoke plug in...never used it.
i bought otsdj karaoke plug in...have not used it

we don't do much karaoke...but when i do, i've used sax and dottie...it's been great...i own 3 licenses....

if I need another karaoke program...i probably would try autokj first.

Virtual DJ will do everything you're looking for. The only drawback as far as karaoke is concerned is no built in rotation.



Sorry, pet peeve here. You should not depend on your hosting program to run your rotation for you.

Paper slips and a table are still good enough for me. I order the rotation on the table and edit as I go.

Sorry, pet peeve here. You should not depend on your hosting program to run your rotation for you.

Paper slips and a table are still good enough for me. I order the rotation on the table and edit as I go.




Hmmmm.... to each their own I guess.... I just can't see why anyone would want to do more work at the computer then necessary over getting out in the crowd....

If a program handles rotation well, why not let it do the work for you? It can... and I can prove it does it well. Once you see it in action I'm sure that most here that oppose full automation will change their views 180 degrees... and even if you don't go full auto and just use it for rotation handling that is well worth it in of itself.

Plus with song stacking singers can have multiple songs enqued up much like stacking their written song slips on a table... no need to open anyother programs to maintain and control a rotation....

I've got AutOK tweeked to the point that it behaves fairly and completely as if a KJ were doing it...

R1 - First come first serve
R2 - New singer preference placed third after current singer then dropped into later rotations behind the last singer from the previous round in R3
R3 - Repeats R2 in behavior giving new singers priority and dropping behind the offical last singer of the previous round.

You just can't get any fairer than that.... Now Duet requests still require KJ interference but other than that... what could be easier?

Sorry for the Hijack

Sorry, pet peeve here. You should not depend on your hosting program to run your rotation for you.

HAHAHA I bet you still use slide rules instead of spreadsheets. Nothing wrong with tech assisting you in your work.

Paper slips and a table are still good enough for me. I order the rotation on the table and edit as I go.

Yah, I can really see you handling a 30+ man rotation well. While you edit as you go i've got my entire night planned out when we sellout at 11:30.


If this link doesn't work just take out the #2m:15s at the end of it, load the link and just >>FF to 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4662456470226054787&hl=en#2m:15s

You should use paper as backup though, I won't argue that. Before we had crash recovery systems in autokdj paper backup saved my ass a few times.

Joe,

That's great and it works for you... but if you truely want to go PC then PCDJ with the KJ plug in is really a novices software in terms of rotation control and other factors that a KJ has to deal with at every show... I'm not knocking your methods as they do work for you just fine. I too made the mistake of buying PCDJ and the KJ plugin... for me it was a waste of money.

Not only does AutOKdj handle rotations but it also can tell you how much room you have for new singers and or repeat singers... It can also answer the annoying questions like "When do I get to sing... and how long before I get to?" No other program does this... and did I mention it's FREE? If not BTW AutOKdj is FREE....

Its also easy to use... maybe easier than most.


Lke I said, I'm disc based. The laptop is only for tiny venues, I do rotation by hand, singers know when they're up 'cause they know who came before them, and PCKJ is fine for the other stuff . I will never go full time PC unless discs disappear, as it's too time consuming among other things, so I probably have a little time yet.....:sqcool:

Joe how come you're posting in a thread called "Discuss/Compare DJ/Karaoke Hosting Programs " if you're disk based?

HAHAHA I bet you still use slide rules instead of spreadsheets. Nothing wrong with tech assisting you in your work.

Yah, I can really see you handling a 30+ man rotation well. While you edit as you go i've got my entire night planned out when we sellout at 11:30.




30+ rotation handled EASILY and well. Been doing it for years. As for "editing"- you're talking about moving or removing slips. No time taken.

One other thing T: The "bribe" concept that changes your rotation so often is only prevalent and acceptable in asian bars such as yours, and not elsewhere. Thus, a standard rotation is a much more stable thing.

Toq, I originally posted because I LIKE PCDJ/KJ for the small PC based shows that I occasionally do.

That being said, I seem to have gotten sucked into the PC vs Disc thing again, dammit. Toquer's right. I guess I better stay outta this thread. :sqembarrassed:

That being said, I seem to have gotten sucked into the PC vs Disc thing again, dammit. Toquer's right. I guess I better stay outta this thread. :sqembarrassed:

Nah, your input is just as valuable as the next guy... whether we agree or not is irrelavant.

I do enjoy our discussions.

As far as PCDJ/KJ I've used that and it lacks a few very important features for a succesful rotation. .... an actual rotation... hehehe the kj plug in mearly makes a list of singers and the current songs they will sing but you have to manually go and put in the singers next song other wise they will simply sing the same song all night long... and if you have to do all that work I'd agree what is the sense of using a pc when you can do it just as easily off disc and paper slips...

If you join the discussions on the autokdj forum you'll note that I have made a post on how to make AutOKdj behave in the most recognizably American way as regard to rotation handleing. http://www.autokdj.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=743

That being said, for those that are looking to go PC based I'd recomend trying as many different programs as you can many have demos... That is what I did and also why I finally settled on AutOKdj... not because it was free but because it did exactly what I was looking for in a karaoke program.

Personally, I don't think there is any computer based karaoke software that does everything I would like, but the closest thing so far out of everything I have tried is Swift Elite 4. Pretty pricy for the average person, but it does do video, karaoke, dj, lighting and remote request/ enqueing..


Now if they had AutoOK's rotation and kiosk type features, they would absolutely dominate the entire market..

just my two cents

-James

Don't give them any ideas JC :P

Don't give them any ideas JC :P

*LOL* I don't think you have anything to worry about Toq the average executive for various karaoke doesn't seem to think the same way that you do. Not yet anyway..

Off topic:when did you become 'the satan of karaoke" I abolutely love it! It suits you so well! ;)

I have now used CompuHost for 4 months (about 18 gigs). I previously have used MTU Hoster and Sax & Dotty. I have evaluated AutoKDJ and a couple of other hosters that I consider to be minor league in comparison (Sax and Dotty level).

There is no comparison. The features of Compuhost blow away the competition. The rotation keeper is outstanding, and the history feature is great for gigs with lots of regulars. Selecting a song for the 80% of people who sing the same stuff over and over again is the work of three seconds (literally).

I know they are also working on a kiosk feature, which we will probably implement at my regular Friday gig. I am a programmer, and wrote such a kiosk for Winamp, but from what I hear of CompuHost's there is no reason for me to continue.

I don't know why I would ever want to maintain a paper rotation if I have CompuHost to do it for me....

I have now used CompuHost for 4 months (about 18 gigs). I previously have used MTU Hoster and Sax & Dotty. I have evaluated AutoKDJ and a couple of other hosters that I consider to be minor league in comparison (Sax and Dotty level).

There is no comparison. The features of Compuhost blow away the competition. The rotation keeper is outstanding, and the history feature is great for gigs with lots of regulars. Selecting a song for the 80% of people who sing the same stuff over and over again is the work of three seconds (literally).

I know they are also working on a kiosk feature, which we will probably implement at my regular Friday gig. I am a programmer, and wrote such a kiosk for Winamp, but from what I hear of CompuHost's there is no reason for me to continue.


I don't know why I would ever want to maintain a paper rotation if I have CompuHost to do it for me....

Really.... CompuHost doesn't even come close to what AutOKdj & the AutOKfe is doing.... not to mention CompuHost is a bit of a hog on resources and has added features that are completely un-needed for Karaoke...

Now don't get me wrong I think CompuHost is an OK hoster but it could be done much better in regards to rotation handleing...

Also I wouldn't classify AutOKdj as minor league it is doing higher functions with regards to rotation handling that many other programs CompuHost just don't do....

Uh yah, if autokdj is so minor league, why does compuhost use the word "Autokdj" as part of thier adwords campaign?

http://shup.com/Shup/32990/108230112540-autokdj-Google-Search-Windows-Internet-Explorer.png

If you type in "karaoke hoster" or "Karaoke software" you get sponsored results from other software vendors. Typing in "Autokdj" you only get a sponsored result from compuhost. It's pretty obvious they don't think we're minor league either.

Really.... CompuHost doesn't even come close to what AutOKdj & the AutOKfe is doing.... not to mention CompuHost is a bit of a hog on resources and has added features that are completely un-needed for Karaoke...

I find the Winamp Controller model to be so fragile as to be a major bar to implementation.


Now don't get me wrong I think CompuHost is an OK hoster but it could be done much better in regards to rotation handleing...

Also I wouldn't classify AutOKdj as minor league it is doing higher functions with regards to rotation handling that many other programs CompuHost just don't do....

I guess I was unclear in what I said. I meant that I considered AutoKdj to be major league and the other hosters I evaluated to be minor league. Certainly you can see that, as AutoKdj is anything but "Sax and Dotty type".

Perhaps I missed something in my eval? I found the browser/controller method to be much more resource-intensive. And slow depending on your network. Also, I failed to see the easy access to features like Compuhost's promo trailer, video/audio bits, etc.

AutoKdj is the kind of thing I, as a computer programmer, could love. But I shudder to try and think of teaching it to non-techie types. Compuhost they just get right away.

It sounds like you might have been using an older version. Browser only control was like 2-3 years ago, things have changed a lot since then.

Latest and greatest is here.
http://www.autokdj.com/files/ml_akdj_v1_beta1_4.exe

Tons of things have changed. Tons of new options, more stuff than I can shake a stick at. You should really give it another try. Also if you get stuck, JW or myself are availiable for volunteer IRC chat support. Any efnet server (irc.efnet.org, irc.prison.net,irc.shoutcast.com) in either the #karaoke or #autokdj room.

I concur with toqer you must have been using an old version of AutOKdj.... the latest works very well and smooth... as for Promo Trailers and Sound Effects....

One question do you really think they are necessary?

You can setup Winamp's visualizer to do scrolling text if that floats your boat.... you can even replace the background of most CDG's with the visualizer... it's really a cool feature if you have a big screen your displaying the lyrics on for the audiance to see but virtually useless if you only display to the singer's screen.

I concur with toqer you must have been using an old version of AutOKdj.... the latest works very well and smooth... as for Promo Trailers and Sound Effects....

One question do you really think they are necessary?

Necessary? I wouldn't have said so before, but now I do consider it necessary. One of the biggest things I see as a benefit with CompuHost is easy promotion of our venue, show, and upcoming events with the promo trailer and video bits. As far as I am concerned, it has more than paid for itself with that already. Our show attendance *and* other attendance is up markedly from last year, and I credit promotion at our karaoke shows for a good part of it.


You can setup Winamp's visualizer to do scrolling text if that floats your boat.... you can even replace the background of most CDG's with the visualizer...
I hope you are not serious. I wouldn't think of distracting the singer with backgrounds on their lyrics.

And there are a million things *I* can do, certainly. But a million things I can train a tyro to do? You are more ambitious than I if you think you can get them to manage it.

Also, I am not interested in fiddling during a show. I like clean, all-in-one interfaces even though I am a programmer who has worked with computers for 30 years.

it's really a cool feature if you have a big screen your displaying the lyrics on for the audiance to see but virtually useless if you only display to the singer's screen.
I suppose if you had three screens to play with, you can do that. But again, more complicated than I am looking for.

Again, features are not all that I am looking for. I am looking for the right mix of features along with rock-solid operation. CompuHost has that for me. It has not crashed once in 18 gigs, and that is with mostly a non-computer user. I don't consider Winamp to be that reliable. Something is always happening to some thing or another. Last night I sang at yet another Winamp-based show where the key changer didn't work.....

As for AutoKDJ, I looked at it a year ago. The interesting thing to me was the browser-based interface, but it seemed extremely slow to me even in the GUI. It could have been my setup, I suppose, but nothing else is slow on my network and systems.

http://xs3.xoospace.com/myspace/graphics/21318.gifDidn't you read what I said about the browser interface is long gone? What the 5 screenshots say to the face?
http://shup.com/Shup/33125/10823113836-Winamp-Library.png
http://shup.com/Shup/33126/10823114951-Winamp-Library.png
http://shup.com/Shup/33127/10823115027-Winamp-Library.png
http://shup.com/Shup/33128/10823115158-Winamp-Library.png
http://shup.com/Shup/33129/10823115238-Winamp-Library.png

SLAP! That's what.


PS the built in HTTP server isn't really gone, as we use HTTP as the transport protocol for sending data back and forth between the autokdj server, and the client apps (Kiosk, playlist screens, mobile phones, whatever)

One other thing mickey concerning AVS.

Who said you had to use overlay mode to overlay stuff behind the lyrics? You can stretch the AVS window out you know. Let's say your CDG screen is 640x480. CDG graphics themselves don't have a resolution higher than 320x240 anyways so you can stretch the screen out like this.

http://shup.com/Shup/33130/1082312359-My-Desktop.png

You don't really lose much. From there you can create presets using some of the most basic AVS effects chains. For example open the AVS editor, create a new preset, and drop a text renderer in there like this....
http://shup.com/Shup/33132/1082312836-Winamp-AVS-Editor.png
Will result in this appearing in your AVS window
http://shup.com/Shup/33131/1082312741-AVS.png

If you want to use jpg's or bmp's instead of the crappy avs text renderer, you can do that too. Just save them to your c:\winampdir\plugins\avs directory, drop a picture render on the AVS editor effects chain and select your picture(it's a good idea to KNOW what res you'll be running your stretched AVS window at, and only create pics from that res, otherwise they'll look all stretched and weird) Save like 10-12 presets and tell AVS to randomly stroll through them.

gee Toqer it all sounds so simple....................I love the last paragraph the best cause that was likely the only nick in the armour but now solved. Once I start my shows I will be buying a ripping machine so I can too go with the Best AUTOKDJ..........

I also rely on my God given voice to make those specials announcements and upcoming shows. Flyers, table tents etc all over the bars assist with this as well.

Once you are ready to go Jon you know we will help you every step of the way... and turn you into a Karaoke deity like us....

Sounds great, indeed. How does it come set up out of the box? Guarantee that is how most tyros will use it.

And I presume it retains all this between invocations. When I used CLAMP and some other Winamp controller add-ons it would cause extra executable images and not close cleanly.

Bottom line is that I am concerned with fragility. CompuHost has the right mix of features out of the box without bunches of tweaking. That is something I can recommend to others. A program that works great once a talented user has tweaked it for weeks is not what they need.

I also rely on my God given voice to make those specials announcements and upcoming shows. Flyers, table tents etc all over the bars assist with this as well.
I was amazed at the power of the scrolling promo trailer. The reason I believe it works is that people are *interested* in who is singing next. They constantly scan it, and have to keep their eyes on it since it is scrolling. Therefore the promo trailer gets lots of interested eyes, dozens of times a night.

Table tents they look at once -- if that -- and then background. Voices are fine, but they aren't always understood over conversation and music in a crowded bar. Even when they are, people tend to background stuff like that unless it pertains to them.

Micky we don't use clamp to send messages to winamp. We're a full win32 winamp API plugin (only winamp subprocesses get full access to the winamp API, unless you use something like CLAMP)

Lemme give you a screenshot of our desktop layout at the club.

http://shup.com/Shup/33247/10823113545-My-Desktop.png

The left side is what singers see. I'm gonna crop that fat image to just what the singer sees and put some labels down for you.

http://shup.com/Shup/33249/10823113032-httpstashbox.org9747310823113545-My-Desktop.png-Windows-Internet-Explorer.png

1. Autokdj figures out how many hours there are between now and quitting time, and displays it's best estimate on how many more songs can fit in the playlist.

2. CDG screen, duh

3. I have an IRC client running, so folks watching our live video stream on the net can interact with singers/crowd. If that's too brash and daring for you, you can always run a local IRC server and do the same thing, just like I outline here (http://www.ourdjtalk.com/showthread.php?t=12350&highlight=messageoke).

4. Countdown timer displaying the time left on the current song. Let's the next singer know if they got enough time to pee or not.

5. Playlist screen. We could crack out a scrolling "BOBBY IS NEXT" if we wanted too, not hard but having at 16 songs on the screen will save you from 15 people asking "When am I next?"

6. VU meters showing the relation of mic volume to background music volume, or vice versa. My singers now know that if they see 1/2 a VU meter of background noise coming through the mic VU meter without even singing into it, that i'm being OVER forgiving on thier mix, and they better just sing louder.

It's a ton more info than just "BOBBY IS NEXT"

PS mickey,

I only knock compuhost for thier business tactics, i'm not trying to knock you personally either. This thread is "compare hosters" so let's do that. Post up some screenshots of compuhost setup to your liking and lets compare.

I use shup (http://www.shup.com) as my screenshot tool. Automagically uploads your screenshots then copies the URL to your clipboard.

Nothing personal in any of this from me either. I am rather opinionated sometimes, but remember it is all business.

I think where we have to stop is that I might like the idea of AutoKDJ for a very technical user like myself, assuming it is rock-solid. But I remain unconvinced that it is a good move for someone who is not a techie. The people I am putting in the driver's seat can barely type; they have a hard time remembering to search for something like "ecl tyler" instead of typing out "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and the attendant misspellings and formatting.

Compuhost hits the sweet spot with a usable package that is accessible to the tyro. Or so is my opinion.

It's so easy, our drunken customers can use it. If you can handle watching through a few murderered renditions of songs here's some vid from last saturday.

http://www.7bamboo.com/ravaplayer/index.html

Customers put thier own songs in all night long. Not many of them are technical either. Here's a youtube of what our next gen kiosk is going to look like.

YouTube - autokfe - second

MMMmm OpenGL goodness. For the customer kiosk, we're starting to move to a more "arcadish" feel.

The KJ interface for song searching is the winamp SAYT (Search as you type) interface. Let's test it with your "ecl tyler" example.

http://shup.com/Shup/33275/10823115373-Winamp-Library.png

Yup, we do that too.

Wait did you mean it's easier for them to type out "Total Eclipse of the heart"?

http://shup.com/Shup/33277/10823115429-Winamp-Library.png

By the time they're 1/2 done typing in total, it's already showing the song.

Wait did you mean it's easier for them to type out "Total Eclipse of the heart"?

http://shup.com/Shup/33277/10823115429-Winamp-Library.png

By the time they're 1/2 done typing in total, it's already showing the song.
With the immediate filter action it is pretty easy, I will admit.

Where's the manufacturer on the display? I assume you can config it in....

With the immediate filter action it is pretty easy, I will admit.

Where's the manufacturer on the display? I assume you can config it in....

What do you mean by manufaturer:

CDG Manu?
Software Manu?
Company Name (ie your's)?

If you are refering to the CDG Manu then yes it does show but toqer uses his own unique disc labeling system.... I on the other had use the short code method (ie SC=Sound Choice plus the disc number)

If your wanting to see who made the AutOKdj software you just click on the link above Song Entry

If you are wanting your company name to be displayed then yes you do have to configure it.

What do you mean by manufaturer:

CDG Manu?
Software Manu?
Company Name (ie your's)?

If you are refering to the CDG Manu then yes it does show but toqer uses his own unique disc labeling system.... I on the other had use the short code method (ie SC=Sound Choice plus the disc number)

If your wanting to see who made the AutOKdj software you just click on the link above Song Entry

If you are wanting your company name to be displayed then yes you do have to configure it.

No, CDG manufacturer is what I want, since that is the pertinent info when getting multiple listings for songs. The two other never occurred to me. 8-)

I am going to keep AutoKDJ in my sights for now, to be sure. But as I was looking at it this afternoon -- Winamp crash. Not what I am looking for at all when CompuHost has not crashed once with total newbies pounding on it.

I still am recommending CompuHost to tyros. Winamp is just too darn fragile, and the configurability of AutoKDJ is an actual minus when it comes to the users in my neck of the woods (and that is pretty literal).

No, CDG manufacturer is what I want, since that is the pertinent info when getting multiple listings for songs. The two other never occurred to me. 8-)

I am going to keep AutoKDJ in my sights for now, to be sure. But as I was looking at it this afternoon -- Winamp crash. Not what I am looking for at all when CompuHost has not crashed once with total newbies pounding on it.

I still am recommending CompuHost to tyros. Winamp is just too darn fragile, and the configurability of AutoKDJ is an actual minus when it comes to the users in my neck of the woods (and that is pretty literal).

Yes, as I mentioned toqer uses his own disc numbering system... if you file systems are saved correctly it will display the disc ID anyway you want it to display for example:

if your file structure is like this:

C:\Karaoke\Sound Choice\SC8913\01 - Artist - Song Title.zip

then the Song Entry screen will show (dots are used for spacing in this example and not truely shown in AutOKdj):

SC8913-01......... Artist.................. Song Title

The SC for most folks should be enough to tell them that it is a Sound Choice track....

If you wanted Sound Choice to show up just make the last directory c:\...\Sound Choice 8913

And you'll get: Sound Choice 8913-01.........Artist........Song Title


Now I'm not sure what you may have done to crash winamp or what skin you use... but, AutOKdj has a crash recovery system built into it... once winamp is restarted your playlist will still be intact...

I would not use any other skin except the Classic skin or the Modern Skin with winamp as it seems the skins have more to do with the stability then the program itself.

When I get home tonight or tomorrow I'll do a screen shot of mine so you get a better idea of what i mean.

some issues are windows issues and possibly you arent updated properly. Or I could simply just be a tyro.

Where do i find a list of all that is needed to run Toqer setup??

gee Toqer it all sounds so simple....................I love the last paragraph the best cause that was likely the only nick in the armour but now solved. Once I start my shows I will be buying a ripping machine so I can too go with the Best AUTOKDJ..........

Jon, just be careful where you do a show if you want to go digital. The laws in Canada are slightly different than in the US.

I was using my legally owned ripped cdgs and the RCMP arrested me for piracy. The case was dropped because I obviously could prove that I wasn't pirating, but the judge said if I had been arrested for Copyright Infringement, i would have gone to jail.

That being said, I still think there is merit for using AutoOk. What I intend to do is make a zip 'placeholder' with the name of each song I have so that I can still use the database and search functions and manage the rotation etc.

Then when the song comes up, i'll just stick in the appropriate disk.

There is a site that you can download digital tracks from, and they contain master rights, which is the same as buying a disc. The thing is, the judge said I need letter(s)/written proof from either them or the karaoke companies they hold liscenses for to make it legal.

I have not been able to get in touch with the owner yet, but now that more than one person is interested, I may be able to get somewhere. I'll let you know if i make any progress.

-James

Mickey:
Jokers made an excellent point about skins. I only use classic skins myself. Heck, even the winamp dev's I hang out with in IRC everyday use the winamp classic skins for the same reasons, modern skins are still sort of buggy/sluggish.

Precision:
Winamp (http://www.winamp.com)
Autokdj plugin for winamp. (http://www.autokdj.com)
Playlist screens (display songs left, playlist) (http://shup.com/Shup/15838/akdj-playlist1.4.rar)
NSXBigclock (countdown timer plugin) (http://www.winamp.com/plugins/details/144111)
Reaper (VU meters for BGM, Mic, and soft-mixing and effects) (http://www.reaper.fm)

You can use whatever IRC client you want for the message screen at the bottom. Run a local IRC server, launch 2 instances of your favorite IRC client. Drag one over to the CDG window, the other over to your desktop. Resize the fonts on the CDG desktop IRC client so it's nice and readable on a TV (32pt works great)

One last thing I want to point out too guys...

Check this out.
http://uncutvideo.aol.com/users/sevenbamboovideo

5,723 videos and rising.

We use several technologies to create those videos but i'm going to try to explain it as simple as possible.

If you use a video camera to record video of your singers, if you want to seperate out every video by performance you can do it one of 2 ways.

1. Start/Stop recording. On most DV camcorders the DV will insert a timecode into the beggining/end of each clip
2. Record one big clip, and manually edit stuff at the end of the night.

Either way, you're looking at more gruntwork than you would want to be bothered with.

What if your karaoke program automatically told your video recording program "Hey, a new song is playing now, time to stop recording that old file, and time to start recording a new file with the new title name"

Everytime the current playing title is changed, autokdj does this in the form of a shoutcast title push. There are shoutcast stream recording programs known as "Streamrippers" that will automatically break up the video stream whenever there is a title change.

You end up with a directory of clips all nice and broken up by singer like this:
http://shup.com/Shup/33330/108231205613-THEKJ.png

These NSV files can be uploaded directly to youtube. (We use AOL uncut because they sponsor our live stream, and do the uploading for us as a part of thier research) Now before anyone jumps on the "OMG WHAT ABOUT THE LICENSING TOQER" bandwagon, let me explain....

Youtube has been seeking Sync licensing so users can use backing tracks in thier videos for some time now. They have Sync license deals with all the major labels now so you can rest easy at night knowing that your videos are on a site that is covered.

Now we can compare scrolling marquees all we want and try to quantify how well they work for you, but telling your users "Hey subscribe to my youtube channel to see your performances online" is a much more powerful incentive for them to seek info from you. Every karaoke geek has an ego, and they love embedding those videos in thier myspace pages and what not. (It's funny, they get P.O. 'D when we have a night we don't upload, they DEMAND it)

Out of all of autokdj's features, this is the most powerful. It's reward really outweighs any shortcomings it might have compared to other hosters (which are none in my book)

I am sold -- if I ever become a high-end DJ I will look at AutoKDJ. I can live on the bleeding edge -- I am author of several GPL software packages. But for mom-and-pop karaoke where I live, CompuHost is the way to go for us.

It is bizarre that I would be talking about Windows anyway -- the only reason I have any Windows machines at all is karaoke. Well, I do need one to check out how Internet Explorer works for my apps, but other than that I simply don't use Windows. I am Linux all the way (am typing this on a Linux workstation right now).

Yes, I do use the Modern Skin, albeit the default one that comes with Winamp. I have had fewer crashing problems since I went to Windows XP (from 2000), but I am doing nothing special. This is a new XP-based Dell desktop with 2G of RAM, an NVidia card, and M-Audio sound. The machine is less than 6 months old.

well all I can say is I don't think it's winamp that's the problem... like I said I've run AutOKdj and winamp for the last 3 years and I can count on one hand how many times I've crashed winamp and how many times I've crashed the entire system and both times it was my fault for doing something stupid....

like cutting the power to the computer...

the other was trying to do something winamp just ain't designed to do (wasn't durring a performance I might add) I tried to run a file I "thought" was compatable with winamp.

I can leave winamp up and running for days playing on it's own and all the while shoutcasting and it's rock solid.... it's when I monkey with it and do something stupid like above that I run into any sort of problems...

As I mentioned AutOKdj has a built in crash recovery system... that completely brings back your playlist upon restart... does Compu do that?

SC8913-01......... Artist.................. Song Title

The SC for most folks should be enough to tell them that it is a Sound Choice track....

If you wanted Sound Choice to show up just make the last directory c:...Sound Choice 8913

And you'll get: Sound Choice 8913-01.........Artist........Song Title

I imported a bunch tonight, and since I wrote a script to rename all my files and alter their ID3 tags in the process, it comes out perfect. The album is "Karaoke SC8146".

Having the ID3 tag begin with Karaoke lets me have a smart view of:

album begins "karaoke"

That separates music tracks from karaoke in the ML. Can AutoKDJ work from a smart view? I bet it can. 8-)


Now I'm not sure what you may have done to crash winamp or what skin you use... but, AutOKdj has a crash recovery system built into it... once winamp is restarted your playlist will still be intact...

I would not use any other skin except the Classic skin or the Modern Skin with winamp as it seems the skins have more to do with the stability then the program itself.
My problem is that I have seen many, many, Winamp crashes in my time. For years. I have seen zero CompuHost crashes in approaching 20 gigs. My previous program was MTU Hoster, which is quite stable as well. It crashed once in a blue moon, which CompuHost may still do on me.

I imported a bunch tonight, and since I wrote a script to rename all my files and alter their ID3 tags in the process, it comes out perfect. The album is "Karaoke SC8146".

Having the ID3 tag begin with Karaoke lets me have a smart view of:

album begins "karaoke"

That separates music tracks from karaoke in the ML. Can AutoKDJ work from a smart view? I bet it can. 8-)


Actually you can setup AutOKdj to only see Zip files in it's view then use the smart lists to ignor any of the files with "karaoke" in them as you mentioned above... then just enque singers from the Song Entry screen and your bumper music from the Smart List...

Since, I don't use winamp to play bumper music I forget how toqer does it but somehow he sets priority on the bumper music to low so that when a singer enques it takes precidence over the "DJ" music even if it is playing.

As I mentioned AutOKdj has a built in crash recovery system... that completely brings back your playlist upon restart... does Compu do that?
Don't know -- it hasn't crashed.

But I bet it does -- the host I work with has just pressed the power button before, which qualifies as a crash in my book. 8-) It came up with the previous setup, history, and queue.

I am perfectly willing to believe Winamp can be stable. It may be that I use the modern skin, which I will change. But I am not likely to use it much in the real world, as CompuHost is filling our bill quite nicely. And as a singer, after about the nineteenth time watching a Winamp-based hosting program fail to change the key when I request it, I hate to see Winamp on a laptop as I walk up to the DJ station.

Don't know -- it hasn't crashed.

But I bet it does -- the host I work with has just pressed the power button before, which qualifies as a crash in my book. 8-) It came up with the previous setup, history, and queue.

I am perfectly willing to believe Winamp can be stable. It may be that I use the modern skin, which I will change. But I am not likely to use it much in the real world, as CompuHost is filling our bill quite nicely. And as a singer, after about the nineteenth time watching a Winamp-based hosting program fail to change the key when I request it, I hate to see Winamp on a laptop as I walk up to the DJ station.

No way would I consider some idiot pressing the power button a crash of the system .... that's just a moron being a moron.. know what I mean? But, based on what you just said then I'd have to agree it has some sort of idiot proofing....

I've done idiotic things such as stomping on my power enough times to shut it down and trash my C drive but funny thing was at the time I was just DJ'n with OtsDJ and it kept on a truckin through my playlist which fortunately played through the rest of the night... nobody knew I had crashed so badly that I had no control over the computer at all..... lol

With Pacemaker combined with AutOKdj you get the ability to not only pre-set keychanges but you can do them in real time as well.... problem solved and best of all everything you need asside from winamp comes with the latest AutOKdj download...

Actually you can setup AutOKdj to only see Zip files in it's view then use the smart lists to ignor any of the files with "karaoke" in them as you mentioned above... then just enque singers from the Song Entry screen and your bumper music from the Smart List...

We don't use bumper music. Our pauses are so short it doesn't matter.

I wasn't able to get the media library to scan ZIP files and add them. I looked for some sort of a file extension setting, but I am darned if I see it. I did look and the In_Zip.dll plugin is loaded, but it didn't seem to have the configuration there.

We don't use bumper music. Our pauses are so short it doesn't matter.

I wasn't able to get the media library to scan ZIP files and add them. I looked for some sort of a file extension setting, but I am darned if I see it. I did look and the In_Zip.dll plugin is loaded, but it didn't seem to have the configuration there.

Best way to import your zip's into the ML is to actually go and run a search on the drive/directory that contains them for just the .zip files.... then select them all and use the CTRL + Left Mouse button to grab and drag to winamp...

Your right zips aren't recognized by winamp as a media but can be imported and told that they are.

There is no real config to the In_Zip.dll plug in it's sole function is to unzip and place the music in a temp directory so that it can be used in the playlist... this is also how it will allow multiple singers to sing the same song in the same rotation...

I personally don't use zips for one reason... when enqueing a new singer or really any singer while one is currently singing causes the lyric screen (not the music) to pause while the enque takes place.... running unzipped I don't have this problem but, if Singer A and B both want to sing the Same version of Born to Be Wild, Singer A will end up being enqued twice or apear to be enqued twice... which is ok but you just have to note that the second Singer A singing that song is really singer B... follow me?

Mickey,

Even in a mom & pop situation where it may be a light crowd, small rotation (think maybe 10 singers max) autokdj server with a single autokfe touchscreen client works great.

There's a feature called "Mark this song as low priority" and "Start playing on First Karaoke Enque" that make it virtually 100% self running. Basically it works like this...

You tune in a shoutcast station. Then you right click on the station in the playlist view and select "Mark as lowest priority"
http://shup.com/Shup/33340/108231222033-Winamp-Playlist-Editor.png

This shoutcast station becomes your filler music for the night. You can even run a shoutcast station locally on the same PC you're KJ'ing from if you have no internet.

Basically what these options do is provide filler music on the playlist. So as soon as a song is cued up from one of the autokfe kiosks, it will automatically switch from playing the shoutcast station, to the karaoke song. As soon as the karaoke song is finished playing, it will resume playing the shoutcast station.

Oh ya, smart views work with autokdj, though the interface is a bit klunkier than the song entry view.
http://shup.com/Shup/33347/108231223717-Winamp-Library.png
I'm italian, I like Dino.

I've watched your post for a while on another forum mickey. I don't hang out there because I believe the people that run it, and some of the people they have as moderators are a bunch of egotistical dirtbags who are just in it for the money or thier own ego stroking glory. I got a lot of flack from there, and was labeled "A sleazy salesman". I just login to search that forum to see how much folks talk about us there.

You know how hard that stings when you and a few programmer buddies do something this intricate out of love and give it away in the hopes maybe it'll improve other KJ's lives? I mean, sure all the folks volunteering on the project would love to see it make money someday, but we want the karaoke manu's blessings and co-operation (We believe any karaoke system is worthless without content, and we want to get into a relationship with karaoke manu's where we can make serious money on content, not software sales)

Anyways, glad you made it here. ODJT is run by really cool, level headed people who understand where the autokdj group is coming from. Don't just limit yourself to the karaoke forum either, the other forums here are filled with many other professional experts.

Oh zip files... Jeesh.. I thought we fixed that bug how embarassing.

Preferences>file types
http://shup.com/Shup/33345/108231223436-Winamp-Preferences.png

On the autokdj ML view
http://shup.com/Shup/33346/108231223533-Winamp-Library.png

Toq:take a cue from Microsoft, there is no such thing as a bug, only undocumented features! ;)

-James

Oh zip files... Jeesh.. I thought we fixed that bug how embarassing.

Preferences>file types
http://shup.com/Shup/33345/108231223436-Winamp-Preferences.png

I confess I cannot figure out how to add an extension to that list. Mine doesn't include zip, and it is not at all obvious how to add types to that list.

Yah something must be borked with the installer and the new version of winamp. OK... Open up Winamp.ini (c:\program files\winamp) Look for the following section.


[in_zip]
exts=1
show_supported=1
xx=0
yy=0
x=-1
y=-1
folders_created=0

Make sure Exts=1 is in there and Showsupported=1 is in there.

The other thing you can do to is...

Open up windows explorer. Go to your karaoke folder. Hit F3 so you get that search box with the little doggy. Search for *.zip

When it's done finding all the zip files highlight all of them. Drag and drop them into the local media view of the winamp media library OR D & D them into the song entry view on autokdj. On the song entry view you'll have to hit the "Refresh" button on the bottom.

/me grumbles off to see whats screwed up with NSIS.

I hate to enter this discussion because either I'm going to be told that I don't know what I'm doing or that I don't know what I'm talking about, but I've had lots of problems with winamp/autokdj crashing. First on my first VISTA laptop, then on my XP desktop, now on my brand new Dell laptop with VISTA. I was using winamp/autokdj and it just shut down for no reason a few minutes ago. It shut down the first time it ran right after being installed too and a couple more times after that just playing music. It's unstable and for the average user/non programmer it's unreliable.

It was more reliable/stable on the XP machine. I was using it for about a month with very little problems and now I'm back to looking for another Karaoke player software that's stable and that has key change and tempo adjustment.

This sucks and is wasting my time away. Three computers and winamp problems with all three. I wish autokdj had been written as a plugin for WMP, at least it's stable. Quintessential player is better than winamp, more stable, better sound, but no Karaoke plugin. Now I'm back to square one. I may pay a visit to the PCDJ office tomorrow.