Karaoke Functionality

[GoTheBunnies]

Hi guys,

Having had GameEx up and running for a while now, I thought I might have a crack at getting the karaoke functionality up and running.

Knowing nothing about how it works - what types of karaoke files should I be seeking? Any suggestions on the best source for files? (I think I'm allowed to ask that, apologies if I'm not).

Thanks

[JamminJ]

Hi guys,

Having had GameEx up and running for a while now, I thought I might have a crack at getting the karaoke functionality up and running.

Knowing nothing about how it works - what types of karaoke files should I be seeking? Any suggestions on the best source for files? (I think I'm allowed to ask that, apologies if I'm not).

Thanks

You're looking for two files for each song. example: Song.mp3 and Song.cdg

[fRequEnCy]

Files that are supported are found here. As far as asking for files, it's a touchy subject as it depends on what users suggest. I think it's a subject that should not be discussed.

[chriss]

its good to see someone besides frequency and me is interested in using gameex for karaoke

I must say I still play games on my cab but on parties it just mutates into a karaoke machine! It's been used much more for this purpose lately!

Regarding what JamminJ said:

To keep it simple and to keep the file size down I would recommend using zip files (packed cdg and mp3). gameex can read karaoke zip files no problem!

Some good Karaoke labels you could look for are Sunfly (most popular), Sound Choice, Zoom, DK Karaoke, Mr. Entertainer, Pop Hits Monthly and Legends Series

[starbuck]

I too use GameEx to run Karaoke alot. Would like to know how everyone has their's set up. Currently the only thing I find missing is the ability to show folders so I can setup by Sunfly, Dk etc.

[chriss]

Yeah I would like to know that too!

I have it set up in the most simple way: Artist - Title

It took me ages to build a satisfying collection but it was worth it... On parties everyone easily picks up how to use it and there is almost every song people are seeking for. The other advantage is you don't need a karaoke songbook since all the songs are right there in front of you!

When first entering Gameex it takes like 30 seconds before the list is being diplayed since the whole collection is over 150 GB. When adding new files the index rebuilding takes up to 5 minutes usually...

The controls are as follows:

up/down on the x-arcade joystick is moving up and down the list (surprise!) and

left/right is flipping through pages. Because alpha paging is accelerating over time even moving from letter A to P only takes 30 seconds or so...still I would love to set up the second joystick for jumping from letter to letter (not possible atm though)

Its a bit of a pity that I can't select certain labels but on the other hand I think this approach is less confusing for everyone. When first organising the collection I got the full sets of Sunfly, Sound Choice, Legends, DK, Mr Entertainer, Pop Hits Monthly, Monster Hits and Zoom.

I then listened to popular songs done by multiple labels like Frank Sinatra - New York (orchestrated) or Depeche Mode - People are People (electronic) and compared which labels sounded the best (best instrument sounds / best synths). I then used KJ File Manager to organize all the labels. From every label I created a clean Artist - Title list. I then copied the songs together in one list ranked by which labels I like most. In the final step I used a fuzzy dupe match program to delete songs that were named slightly different by different labels.

My ranking would be:

1. Zoom

2. Sound Choice

3. Mr. Entertainer

4. Sunfly and Legends (sound the same) & Pop Hits Monthly (Pop and Urban)

5. DK Karaoke (sound really good most of the time but imitates the singing voice by an instrument)

6. Monster Hits (by far the most keyboardish sounding, sometimes alright though)

I'm happy we can have karaoke parties at my house now! The only downside was that my girlfriend was going nuts during this time since for a period of 3 months I was completely absorbed by this project

[starbuck]

Did the same thing, spending months filling in missing titles. Drove my wife crazy. But she likes the end results. I didn't go to the extend of renaming them by artist. Would like to find a way to pick a button to either sort them by artist or title. Would agree with you about which company is the best. I do have a number of other companies that are (in my option)better. Haven't upgraded to some of the newer cd's lately, so as time permits, thats my next goal.

[GoTheBunnies]

Did the same thing, spending months filling in missing titles. Drove my wife crazy. But she likes the end results. I didn't go to the extend of renaming them by artist. Would like to find a way to pick a button to either sort them by artist or title. Would agree with you about which company is the best. I do have a number of other companies that are (in my option)better. Haven't upgraded to some of the newer cd's lately, so as time permits, thats my next goal.

So just so I'm clear on this - you both seem to have a squillion songs, but the sites listed as being the best are pay-per-song type sites. So am I right in saying it's cost you a fortune to build up your collections?

[fRequEnCy]

So just so I'm clear on this - you both seem to have a squillion songs, but the sites listed as being the best are pay-per-song type sites. So am I right in saying it's cost you a fortune to build up your collections?

Best to buy in packages. I usually buy by the cd. Good to hit up sales/specials. Buying songs individually can get expensive but then again is a good source for just certain songs.

[Draco1962]

Is anyone aware of a free Karaoke file manager similar to KJ File Manager that has the same functionality but doesn't cost so much? $79 USD is quite a chunk of change for those of us that may only use the functionality on an occasional basis.

[fRequEnCy]

Is anyone aware of a free Karaoke file manager similar to KJ File Manager that has the same functionality but doesn't cost so much? $79 USD is quite a chunk of change for those of us that may only use the functionality on an occasional basis.

Only other program I know of is using Bulk Rename Utility. There are other apps that do well in renaming based off databases that are free but then the databases cost. Bulk Rename Utility is the only app that is free that can do renaming but takes some tweaking to get it done right where as KJ File Manager handles all this within it's code since that's what it was designed for. KJ File Manager is a great app and I haven't experienced any other apps that compare to it for karaoke renaming.

[GoTheBunnies]

Is anyone aware of a free Karaoke file manager similar to KJ File Manager that has the same functionality but doesn't cost so much? $79 USD is quite a chunk of change for those of us that may only use the functionality on an occasional basis.

Why is there a need to rename the files? (better ask these questions before I spend money on the files, only to find that there's still a bunch of work to be done with them....)

[Draco1962]

Like many other programs, there is no specific naming convention for the files (i.e., Artist Name - Song Title, etc.).

[fRequEnCy]

Why is there a need to rename the files? (better ask these questions before I spend money on the files, only to find that there's still a bunch of work to be done with them....)

Different labels will name a song differently. Renaming is useful to name then with the same name. Same goes for artists. Also, it's good for different naming conventions. Different options include, artist, song, discid, etc. So depending on your preference, many things will factor in.

[starbuck]

Gonna go with fRequEnCy on this one. Karaoke song disc are only expensive when they first come out. After they are out a while you can get some really good specials on sets. Yes you get a lot of songs that you may not like. But, there is always someone that wants that song. I have been amazed of people at my house, gonning nuts over a song I've never heard of much less liked.