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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 6:51 am 
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Since I now own a fantastic sound system with the EV Evolve 50, and good wireless mics, I am thinking about getting back into the karaoke/dj business for corporate parties, weddings and private parties, but I won't be going back into the bar scene at all. Not sure yet tho, but I am working towards that direction. I am in the process of redoing all my music files using a standardized naming system. When I started karaoke those many years ago, I made a few mistakes that I am now trying to rectify. I want to do it right this time.

This may be opening a can of worms, but my question is this: What software will be the best for my situation? I really would like some good input from those out there that are experienced in multiple softwares. I currently have been using JustKaraoke 2 for hosting karaoke, and Virtual DJ for doing dj work. Both worked for me just fine with what I was doing in the past, but I would like to move to a system that will allow me to use kiosks, online song search (maybe even add selections from cell phone connections), and as well as still having the ability to have printed books for those old timers like me. The software needs to be able to manage all three different library choices. The software will need to recognize and manage zip files. Virtual DJ has done a great job for mp3's, so I will probably keep using it for dj work. I am not too familiar with what some of those out there actually are capable of. I have tried several of the demos in the past (MTU, Karafun, older version of Siglos, Compuhost, and a few others) Some of them have not been the easiest thing to learn how to actually use them, but I am sure that given time, I could master a more complex program if shown how.

I still am unsure "if" I will actually go back to hosting, I just want to be prepared for it when I do. If this does come to be, plans also include a web page with contact info for booking, plus it will also have online song search functions. A lot of leg work door to door will be made for the corporate contacts, with brochures, business cards, flyers etc (that goes without speaking actually). Lighting will also be available of course.

If any of you have suggestions on software choices, along with advise on what to look for or plan for, it is greatly appreciated.

As always, thank you in advance.

Scott


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:35 am 
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Have you checked out OpenKJ. It has just about everything that you mentioned. Very easy to learn, hardly any learning curve to even speak about. A fully versatile break music player that handles just about any media. So does the karaoke side of the player. No need for Windows either. Runs on Linux, Windows and Mac. Has its own built-in songbook, online songbook that can be used as a kiosk as well. Basically for the kiosk computer all you need is a chromebook because all you need is a web browser to run the kiosk. And the price is the most attractive, the player is free and the online songbook is only $9.99.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:38 am 
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First of all, congratulations on getting back into the game. With your new system, and hosting skills, you'll probably be the best around.

As far as software, I have been using CompuHost since it was first released which is around 18 years. It will definitely meet all the requirements you have mentioned. There are those who say it's hard to learn but believe me, it's the easiest hosting software out there. Seriously, it's a piece of cake. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron. I've had 9 year old girls run it after 1 minute of showing them what to do. I've also had customers come up and run it... they've searched their history, selected their song and added it to their Que. So, if customers with no hosting experience can learn to do it in 3 minutes, a professional host who thinks it's hard is a complete idiot.

The remote request system is great and works on kiosks or Smartphones. So, here's my advice to you...

You trusted me on the Evolve 50 and were rewarded with the best sound system ever. Now, trust me on the software.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:52 am 
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Alan B wrote:
First of all, congratulations on getting back into the game. With your new system, and hosting skills, you'll probably be the best around.

As far as software, I have been using CompuHost since it was first released which is around 18 years. It will definitely meet all the requirements you have mentioned. There are those who say it's hard to learn but believe me, it's the easiest hosting software out there. Seriously, it's a piece of cake. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron. I've had 9 year old girls run it after 1 minute of showing them what to do. I've also had customers come up and run it... they've searched their history, selected their song and added it to their Que. So, if customers with no hosting experience can learn to do it in 3 minutes, a professional host who thinks it's hard is a complete idiot.

The remote request system is great and works on kiosks or Smartphones. So, here's my advice to you...

You trusted me on the Evolve 50 and were rewarded with the best sound system ever. Now, trust me on the software.


I must be an idiot then. I struggled to load any sort of library into the Compuhost demo. Maybe the demo version was the problem itself, I really do not know. Running the program itself wasn't too hard tho. The program I have been using (JustKaraoke2) has been super easy to use, it just won't work for remote use. Compuhost might be a possibility, I am not sure tho. I know that CH is flexible, I have seen many other hosts use it, some with good looks, others with default looks. Singer history probably will not be necessary for what I am wanting to do, but song history might be.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:54 am 
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DannyG2006 wrote:
Have you checked out OpenKJ. It has just about everything that you mentioned. Very easy to learn, hardly any learning curve to even speak about. A fully versatile break music player that handles just about any media. So does the karaoke side of the player. No need for Windows either. Runs on Linux, Windows and Mac. Has its own built-in songbook, online songbook that can be used as a kiosk as well. Basically for the kiosk computer all you need is a chromebook because all you need is a web browser to run the kiosk. And the price is the most attractive, the player is free and the online songbook is only $9.99.


No, I haven't looked at this one, but will give it a look.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 9:59 am 
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Oh, and like the first sentence in this post said, "Possibly getting back into the biz". Not fully decided on what I want to do.

I could actually run the same way I had always ran my shows, but I would like to be taken seriously as a professional entertainment provider. JustKaraoke is fine for what it is, but in order to move into this decade and available technology, one must look at the future, right?

As far as how I operate and manage an entertainment venture, I would love some suggestions from the existing pro's.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 10:38 am 
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mrscott wrote:
DannyG2006 wrote:
Have you checked out OpenKJ. It has just about everything that you mentioned. Very easy to learn, hardly any learning curve to even speak about. A fully versatile break music player that handles just about any media. So does the karaoke side of the player. No need for Windows either. Runs on Linux, Windows and Mac. Has its own built-in songbook, online songbook that can be used as a kiosk as well. Basically for the kiosk computer all you need is a chromebook because all you need is a web browser to run the kiosk. And the price is the most attractive, the player is free and the online songbook is only $9.99.


No, I haven't looked at this one, but will give it a look.


Just looked at it,,, and it's a no go for me.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 11:44 am 
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Mr Scott, please watch this video. It may be helpful. Click on the link or copy and paste it into your web browser.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/189078876

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 5:19 pm 
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Alan B wrote:
Mr Scott, please watch this video. It may be helpful. Click on the link or copy and paste it into your web browser.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/189078876


Yep, I have seen that exact video. I was into the part of adding songs and their formatting and I am assuming that because I was using the demo version, that the files didn't work right. I might have been doing something wrong, IDK.

Earlier today, I tried the demo of Siglos and was able to get it to work fairly well. But, I am not sold on this program either.

MTU Hoster is the next one to give a whirl.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 5:42 pm 
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mrscott wrote:
mrscott wrote:
DannyG2006 wrote:
Have you checked out OpenKJ. It has just about everything that you mentioned. Very easy to learn, hardly any learning curve to even speak about. A fully versatile break music player that handles just about any media. So does the karaoke side of the player. No need for Windows either. Runs on Linux, Windows and Mac. Has its own built-in songbook, online songbook that can be used as a kiosk as well. Basically for the kiosk computer all you need is a chromebook because all you need is a web browser to run the kiosk. And the price is the most attractive, the player is free and the online songbook is only $9.99.


No, I haven't looked at this one, but will give it a look.


Just looked at it,,, and it's a no go for me.
What didn't you like, the creator of the program frequents these boards and may be able to answer any questions.

I personally didn't like Compuhost either, and know two other kj's that switched to MTU Hoster from that after they saw mine in action.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 5:57 pm 
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Lonman wrote:
mrscott wrote:
mrscott wrote:
DannyG2006 wrote:
Have you checked out OpenKJ. It has just about everything that you mentioned. Very easy to learn, hardly any learning curve to even speak about. A fully versatile break music player that handles just about any media. So does the karaoke side of the player. No need for Windows either. Runs on Linux, Windows and Mac. Has its own built-in songbook, online songbook that can be used as a kiosk as well. Basically for the kiosk computer all you need is a chromebook because all you need is a web browser to run the kiosk. And the price is the most attractive, the player is free and the online songbook is only $9.99.


No, I haven't looked at this one, but will give it a look.


Just looked at it,,, and it's a no go for me.
What didn't you like, the creator of the program frequents these boards and may be able to answer any questions.

I personally didn't like Compuhost either, and know two other kj's that switched to MTU Hoster from that after they saw mine in action.


I was able to load some songs easily, and added three different names and also added songs in each. But I didn't see a way to manage the singers or songs and the rotation. Maybe I just didn't give it enough time or effort to figure it out. It just played whatever song was on top of each singers name. I also do not understand how to add remote functions, but I figure that will have to be learned at a later time after I learn how to operate whatever program I choose.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 6:12 pm 
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So far the programs that I have any experience with are JustKaraoke, Siglos and and older version of Sax N' Dotty. Of those three I like JustKaraoke best, but I don't mind Siglos either.

Truthfully, I am not the most proficient with computer and software. I can learn, but it just takes me some time.

JustKaraoke for me was super easy to figure out. There are only a couple of features that I know of that it can't do and that I am looking for in the new program. It does not have song history, nor does it have a remote (kiosk, tablet) function. Other than that it did exactly what I wanted. It didn't care what naming format I had my zips. I could customize the background to fit my needs. It also could manage sounds and ambients. The search function was easy to use and fast without slowing down the program. I really liked it. But it won't do those mentioned functions is the only reason I am looking for a new possibility.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 6:40 pm 
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OK, I am playing with OpenKJ as I am typing this message and here is what I see that I don't like.

There is no "now singing" nor "up next" announcements.
There are no functions to alter the cover screen that I have found.
It seems to be a "find the song" and play that next.
Its functions are really limited in my opinion.

I can add songs and names just fine, and I did figure out how to manage the rotation just a bit, but it's not very good.
OpenKJ won't be my choice at all... sorry.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:18 am 
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If you want to play a different song than at the top, you can either move the song you want by dragging it to the top or double click on the song. There is a ticker that shows as many upcoming singers as you want in the singer's monitor. Just got to go into settings in the tools menu to turn all of that on. You can even turn on a countdown timer on the singer's monitor and adjust the size and fonts of both the ticker and the timer to your liking. You can even record your singers if you want and it has a songshop if you need to add new songs. You can even edit the rotation even further in the settings. If you hover over the singer's name you can get a bunch of information about number of songs they have in their playlist, exactly how many songs and time before their turn etc.
Oh and just like JustKaraoke it highlights the current singer until the singer's done singing and moves down the list. It will indicate the current singer to the side if the name if you turn the feature on.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:26 am 
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DannyG2006 wrote:
If you want to play a different song than at the top, you can either move the song you want by dragging it to the top or double click on the song. There is a ticker that shows as many upcoming singers as you want in the singer's monitor. Just got to go into settings in the tools menu to turn all of that on. You can even turn on a countdown timer on the singer's monitor and adjust the size and fonts of both the ticker and the timer to your liking. You can even record your singers if you want and it has a songshop if you need to add new songs. You can even edit the rotation even further in the settings. If you hover over the singer's name you can get a bunch of information about number of songs they have in their playlist, exactly how many songs and time before their turn etc.
Oh and just like JustKaraoke it highlights the current singer until the singer's done singing and moves down the list. It will indicate the current singer to the side if the name if you turn the feature on.


I do not know who you are trying to convince,,,, but I didn't like how the entire thing worked. I didn't like how it even looked. I am not impressed at all with OpenKJ. You many like it, that's fine, but it's not for me.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:39 am 
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mrscott wrote:
DannyG2006 wrote:
If you want to play a different song than at the top, you can either move the song you want by dragging it to the top or double click on the song. There is a ticker that shows as many upcoming singers as you want in the singer's monitor. Just got to go into settings in the tools menu to turn all of that on. You can even turn on a countdown timer on the singer's monitor and adjust the size and fonts of both the ticker and the timer to your liking. You can even record your singers if you want and it has a songshop if you need to add new songs. You can even edit the rotation even further in the settings. If you hover over the singer's name you can get a bunch of information about number of songs they have in their playlist, exactly how many songs and time before their turn etc.
Oh and just like JustKaraoke it highlights the current singer until the singer's done singing and moves down the list. It will indicate the current singer to the side if the name if you turn the feature on.


I do not know who you are trying to convince,,,, but I didn't like how the entire thing worked. I didn't like how it even looked. I am not impressed at all with OpenKJ. You many like it, that's fine, but it's not for me.

Not trying to convince anyone, just trying to straighten out your misconceptions about the product so others reading what you are saying don't count it out based on your misconceptions. It does everything that you claim it doesn't. The only things that are not present that is in Compuhost or Siglos for that matter is a kiosk that works offline, the ability to play discs and in Compuhost's sake a subscription service for streaming songs.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 11:03 am 
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I like programs that are clear and concise on operations. A program such as a hosting software should have buttons that are unmistakably "START/PAUSE" buttons. It should have a plainly viewable "search" window. It should have a window that is clearly identified as the "singers" or "rotation". It should plainly show the ticker of upcoming singers without having to do multiple drop down windows to add such a feature. The normal routine operations should never have to be "programmed" or added to the menus. Basic operations such as: add singer/songs,, key change,,stop/start,,,skip songs/singers,,, manage rotations,,, search library,,,start/stop filler music (when necessary),,,secondary screen view,,, ALL should be already part of the main screen. NOT one of these functions should have to be configured so as to be able to use a program. Other features such as singer history,,,, song history,,,,screen options,,, tools,,,etc... yes, some of those might be most useful, but not necessary at a glance, a drop down menus might work for those just fine.

I will keep looking for what I am wanting. So far, Compuhost and MTU Hoster are the 2 that I am most interested in. Siglos might also work.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 11:08 am 
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DannyG2006 wrote:
mrscott wrote:
DannyG2006 wrote:
If you want to play a different song than at the top, you can either move the song you want by dragging it to the top or double click on the song. There is a ticker that shows as many upcoming singers as you want in the singer's monitor. Just got to go into settings in the tools menu to turn all of that on. You can even turn on a countdown timer on the singer's monitor and adjust the size and fonts of both the ticker and the timer to your liking. You can even record your singers if you want and it has a songshop if you need to add new songs. You can even edit the rotation even further in the settings. If you hover over the singer's name you can get a bunch of information about number of songs they have in their playlist, exactly how many songs and time before their turn etc.
Oh and just like JustKaraoke it highlights the current singer until the singer's done singing and moves down the list. It will indicate the current singer to the side if the name if you turn the feature on.


I do not know who you are trying to convince,,,, but I didn't like how the entire thing worked. I didn't like how it even looked. I am not impressed at all with OpenKJ. You many like it, that's fine, but it's not for me.

Not trying to convince anyone, just trying to straighten out your misconceptions about the product so others reading what you are saying don't count it out based on your misconceptions. It does everything that you claim it doesn't. The only things that are not present that is in Compuhost or Siglos for that matter is a kiosk that works offline, the ability to play discs and in Compuhost's sake a subscription service for streaming songs.

Danny, I also tried OpenKJ and like Mr. Scott, was not impressed. If you like it, fine but it can't hold a candle next to CompuHost.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 11:57 am 
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The OpenKJ interface is much cleaner than Compuhost. Rotation window, Song search and all real necessary controls in one window. Starting a song doesn't require any button. Just double click on the song or singer. I have a friend that uses Karafun and almost every show he inadvertently stops a song that's playing because the show que button is right under the play button. Double clicking on the the song in the playlist or the singer's name actually avoids this.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 2:39 pm 
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Danny, you should just drop the comments already. When a person say it's not for them, leave it alone. If a KJ is not impressed or has decided to not use it for whatever reason(s) just say awesome, then let it go.


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