Chartbuster Collection

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JW, dude, I don't mind you talking about or promoting AutoKdj. If you've found something that works for you that's F'n fantastic. When I settle on something and commit to it I'll be overjoyed. I tried autokdj for a while and it seemed to work ok on my XP computer, but like several other programs I've tried, it didn't work for me on my new Vista laptop. I really don't like winamp at all. I've looked at other winamp based programs and IMO winamp is garbage.

I just took a quick look at Roxbox again because I read that it had some improved features. I downloaded it, installed it and it wouldn't even install properly on my XP computer. When I saw that it was based on winamp I quit trying to make it work and just deleted it.

Winamp is known in programming circles as being one of the absolute most stable pieces of code ever written. Justin Frankel is a hero to many multimedia app writers.

Roxbox works perfectly as do the other winamp based apps if you follow the directions. I can get you up and running on roxbox in about 5 minutes...
Vista is not recommended for roxbox.

Half of your problem is going to be that You're using Vista.. bad move.. you'll notice that few of the professional audio apps support vista, nor do they intend to. pro tools? they don't recommend vista... adobe? don't recommend vista, Maudio? Serato? Sony? Native instruments? Steinberg?

all of their sites have disclaimers as to why they're not pursuing Vista support.

Vista was a turkey, it's unproven on so many levels, and any microsoft developer will tell you that Vista is undergoing an almost total re-write because of the problems it has..

Look at all of the companies who upgraded to vista, and promptly downgraded...

Intel for example... They started Vista migration, and backed out. INTEL!

As a professional, you should be only using tried and true professional products. Why would you risk your livelyhood just to get a few cute icons and color schemes? Vista offers no performance increase, nor does it support many professional sound cards, video cards, and interfaces.

The cutesy features most upgrade to get should be disabled on an audio workstation anyway.

If your machine came with vista, get rid of it.. an OEM copy of XP pro SP2 is only $89.

I don't care what anyone else says.. I've been Computer DJing and building machines for DJ's for 12 years. I've seen and used every app under the sun since before most ever thought of using a computer.

I'm always ahead of the curve, and this time being ahead of the curve meant a hasty abandonment of Vista.

why not just stick with what was not broken, rather than use what is broken and complain about it?

:)
 
I agree with Steve on this.... although I'd wager Rick would beg to differ on the opinions stated about Vista....

And I too could get someone up and running with Roxbox, and or AutOKdj in a matter of minutes and they'd be stable as long as it's on an XP machine.

But, that's not what this thread is about....

The original topic was about the differences good or bad between karaoke music manufacturers... can we get back to that topic?
 
But, that's not what this thread is about....

The original topic was about the differences good or bad between karaoke music manufacturers... can we get back to that topic?


Oh, Thank you! Thank you!


I have been surprised by 2 mfrs of what I call K-mart brands. Medacy Entertainment's Karaoke Party series and Sybersound's Party Tyme series. Yup, they are multiplex, but some of their tracks are Dam good! Plus they are recorded in full stereo, so if you wish to use the vocal versions for filler, they work just fine IN stereo.

Of the two, Medacy's Karaoke Party is superior and far more consistant.

Singing Machine, IMHO, is the pits.

Wondering how you folks feel about:


1) Star Disc

2) Radio Starz

3) Monster Hits

4) NuTech's Karaoke Hits ( in my opinion WAY better than the SAV stuff)

5) Stage Stars

2 brands I try to avoid for non-sound reasons:

Top Tunes ( now defunct) because they purposely submitted incorrect info to the Karaoke databases. Virtually every track listing on, say, KJ Pro is incorrect. They all must be manually entered in my book database.

Supertrax because they don't list the tracks on the label ( plus I don't like their quality.)

Are we all in agreement regarding the quality of DK, Priddis, the newer Legends being up to snuff?
 
Where does one buy these "Kmart" DVD Karaoke discs? I've heard WallyWorld sells Karaoke discs, but I've walked through and never seen any or didn't find any. I don't shop Kmart very often so if they have the Medacy's and Sybersound and you think they're decent I might take a chance and buy one to try it out.

I sang the Stardisc version of "I Love This Bar" a couple of nights ago and it was inferior to other versions I've sung to. I'm not judging the entire Stardisc library based on one song though.

I bought a couple of backstage discs, Cat Stevens and a Simon and Garfunkle. Both so-so IMO, not that great and no comparison to companies like Soundchoice and Chartbusters.

I've sang a couple of Monster hits tracks and I thought they were very good. I sing the MH "Kiss and Say Goodbye" by the Manhattans frequently and it's a very good version, in fact better than any other version I've heard so far.
 
Wondering how you folks feel about:


1) Star Disc

2) Radio Starz

3) Monster Hits

4) NuTech's Karaoke Hits ( in my opinion WAY better than the SAV stuff)

5) Stage Stars

I have a few Star Disc's only because they were included with a TV stand I bought off an ebay seller... they aren't bad per se' but I wouldn't go out of my way to obtain more of them.

Radio Starz: Don't know never seen or heard any of them personally.

Monster Hits: Very good stuff for the most part especially the heavy rock, but my opinion is based on only two discs both very good IMHO

NuTech I've heard too many bad things about so I have never bought any.

Stage Stars: Never heard of them

----------

Now as far as Wal-Mart goes... the following are what I consider good products from them:

1. Nashville Star (aka Sound Choice)
2. American Idol (aka Sound Choice)
3. All Star Karaoke

They have others like Sing It Now but for the most part that product is if'y.

BTW Wiz... you have to go to the last section of music usually next to the "Various Artist" section or where they keep the compilation CDs there you should find a small amount of karaoke discs.

Backstage: Like most "economy" brands these are hit or miss.... of the discs I have the Eagles, Michael Jackson and Billy Joel discs aren't too bad.. Now the Queen disc sucks as far as I'm concerned.
 
Where does one buy these "Kmart" DVD Karaoke discs? I've heard WallyWorld sells Karaoke discs, but I've walked through and never seen any or didn't find any. I don't shop Kmart very often so if they have the Medacy's and Sybersound and you think they're decent I might take a chance and buy one to try it out.

.


Yup, got 'em at Kmart, and some other dept.stores. Start with Medacy's Karaoke Party series. If you like them, THEN try Sypersound Party Tyme. The first are better. If you DON'T like them, then you won't like the second...

I like Monster Hits as well. A good Backstage (Ovation) is a bit of a rarity...
---
I have a few Star Disc's only because they were included with a TV stand I bought off an ebay seller... they aren't bad per se' but I wouldn't go out of my way to obtain more of them.

Radio Starz: Don't know never seen or heard any of them personally.

Monster Hits: Very good stuff for the most part especially the heavy rock, but my opinion is based on only two discs both very good IMHO


----------

Now as far as Wal-Mart goes... the following are what I consider good products from them:

1. Nashville Star (aka Sound Choice)
2. American Idol (aka Sound Choice)
3. All Star Karaoke

.

Backstage: Like most "economy" brands these are hit or miss.... of the discs I have the Eagles, Michael Jackson and Billy Joel discs aren't too bad.. Now the Queen disc sucks as far as I'm concerned.

Backstage: Agreed, but will say that some of their Neil Diamond ain't bad either- the best Holly Holy I've found so far...

I rate Radio Starz on the same level as Monster hits- and that's a good thing. Monster also seems to HAVE more popular (useable) songs per disc than many other brands.

Thanks for the tip on Nashville Star- I never noticed them there..
 
I'll jump in here and plug Compuhost
Yes it has an awesome rotation program, it also works great with songbook creator and cdg ripper, incorporates everything into its search program
the auto rotation can be set up to operate automatically BUT it doesnt scream atcha when you have to manually make a change
AND, it has its own filler music program, so if needed, you CAN dj with it, no winamp needed. I'm not a kicker of winamp, I dont use the program so I'll keep any comments towards a program that I know nothing about to just that, I dont know it, apparently some use it, some dont like it, and some love it, all good, I use what I like and thats compuhost.
 
Just for the record i have bought both the SAVA & SAVP sets.. 90% of it may be crap but there are some good tracks as well as several songs that are not currently available on karaoke by ANY other manufacturer, which for me is always a plus. i like to have as many unique songs as possible.

just my two cents.. i won't get into the which program is best debate.. the main thing is to find something that works 4 you.
---
Oh, Thank you! Thank you!


I have been surprised by 2 mfrs of what I call K-mart brands. Medacy Entertainment's Karaoke Party series and Sybersound's Party Tyme series. Yup, they are multiplex, but some of their tracks are Dam good! Plus they are recorded in full stereo, so if you wish to use the vocal versions for filler, they work just fine IN stereo.

Of the two, Medacy's Karaoke Party is superior and far more consistant.

Singing Machine, IMHO, is the pits.

Wondering how you folks feel about:


1) Star Disc

2) Radio Starz

3) Monster Hits

4) NuTech's Karaoke Hits ( in my opinion WAY better than the SAV stuff)

5) Stage Stars

2 brands I try to avoid for non-sound reasons:

Top Tunes ( now defunct) because they purposely submitted incorrect info to the Karaoke databases. Virtually every track listing on, say, KJ Pro is incorrect. They all must be manually entered in my book database.

Supertrax because they don't list the tracks on the label ( plus I don't like their quality.)

Are we all in agreement regarding the quality of DK, Priddis, the newer Legends being up to snuff?

I have a few madacy discs not too bad .

As for your list.. here is my own opinion *your milage may vary*

I like the quality of stardisc in general but prefer to buy other versions if possible simply because i don't like their graphics format.

Radio Starz: fairly decent, limited selection. The one thing that really ticked me off tho is there was a listing for an aeosmith disc that was never made. *I REALLY wanted their version of 'rember(walking in the sand' *

Monster Hits: i have limited experience with this series but i love the disc i have. Until zoom made their own version it was the best version available of dean taylor's 'indiana wants me' *the other did not have the police siren*. The zoom version blows everything else out of the water tho.

I already commented on nutechs sav series, but have not heard any other discs

stage stars:best broadway style discs available,but difficult to find up here in canada. they may even may have stopped making them. I recently learned that this series is owned by MMO *aka pocketsongs* and they droped the sync liscences for about 90% of their broadway stuff*which really ticked me off*.

their disc of grease is not only the best i've heard so far, it was also the only one that contained a version of 'mooning'. i was lucky enough to buy a second hand copy but it was cracked so only the first ten tracks are playable... *sigh*

Legends:hit and miss. Some discs blow me away others i could do without.. the newer discs aren't too bad tho. I like to get the ones that have songs that aren't available elsewhere.. eg "Ape Man" by the kinks *also happens to be a very decent recording*

Altho you didn't mention them i also like a few of the backstage discs.. not many but a few. the buddy holly disc has a decent version of "True love ways" and the cat stevens disc i just got isn't too bad either.

My current favourite is zoom. Qaulity is equal or better to sound choice AND you can get their entire collection including every new disc they make digitally.

I personally love the chartbuster essential series because there are no repeat songs by artist. its the cheapest way to add the most unique songs to a collection. The only things i have against them are that they will not sell these collections digitally except for home use. *which is extremely stupid, whose going to buy multiple collections for home use except maybe someone wh has money to waste/burn* and the qaulity for non country songs is hit and miss.

I'm starting to wish i had bought a dk collection when it was available. not only is it decent qaulity,but there are songs that are not available elsewhere.:sqfrown:
 
Yup, my favorite Stage Stars is the Chicago disc- and most popular of this genre..


I guess I'm getting a bit impatient. Zoom, IMHO, is certainly the equal of Sound Choice. They do need to boost their title count a bit, though. What I can't find there I actually try to find on Monster Hits next, or Radio Starz. THEN, if it's not country, I'll try SC.
 
Actually, Charbuster has a very good rep for quality ( and considered by most to be #1 in the country genre) at a good price.
.


I agree with Joe that CB's country is top notch. Their rock & pop suck though.
 
I've recently realized how good most Zoom tracks are. Is there a way to buy them as a collection? I was going to get some off Tricerasoft.


As far as I know, the only collections (not series- there are several) are a 10 disc Launchpak, and some 3 disc sets...
 
I've recently realized how good most Zoom tracks are. Is there a way to buy them as a collection? I was going to get some off Tricerasoft.

Yes start buying your favourite artists from the Platinum Artists series. Not a lot of selection compared to others BUT the qaulity can't be denied and there are no repeats that i'm aware of within the series.

Of course as Joe mentioned they also have 3 disc pacs and launch packs series. they also used to make something similar to the foundation series but i don't think they produce it anymore.

Of course, if you lived in the uk you could buy a special digital drive that contains the ENTIRE current zoom collection for around 1500 pounds *over 3000 dollars but i don't know the exact amount* but the dealer who makes it isn't allowed to sell it outside the uk yet:sqmad::sqfrown:
 
Just wondering , no one has mentioned sunfly yet
or am I mistaken?
they do have repeats, but they also have new songs out very quick, I mean, they had Duffy's mercy out when it was also being released by radio on Top Hits
 
Your right Sunfly has been left out.... I can't speak on that brand personally as I've never purchased any due to reviews of other KJs with tons more experience than me... and none of those reviews have been very good.... most equate the quality to that of SGB although I find that SGB has good tracks as well as bad I would assume that Sunfly is on the same level.

What have your experiences been with Sunfly?
 
I like sunfly, now they DO have duplicates, but I love how fast they are with releases, the sound is pretty good, and when there are portions of the song where there are no lyrics, its says so right on the screen instead of a picture or something. I like that all the old stuff is there too, sf 016, has funky cold medina, spirit in the sky, gimme all your loving, do wah diddy, and then the newer stuff has duffys mercy, mariahs touch my body and flo's low, so I think its pretty good
 
Your right Sunfly has been left out.... I can't speak on that brand personally as I've never purchased any due to reviews of other KJs with tons more experience than me... and none of those reviews have been very good.... most equate the quality to that of SGB although I find that SGB has good tracks as well as bad I would assume that Sunfly is on the same level.

What have your experiences been with Sunfly?



I have some Sunfly, and I rate them LOWER than SGB. However, mine are of the original runs. I have been told that more recent production shows a marked improvement. Unfortunately, I'm not willing to invest to find out. The ONLY reason I have any is for tracks found nowhere else, such as "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes"
 
I'm very happy with the few sunfly discs i have. My commitments disc is one of the most used in my entire collection, and i would rate the music qaulity as excellent.

I just happen to prefer other brands more especially since non of my regular suppliers carry sunfly discs unless i special order them *ie it costs more*

just my two cents.. :)

-James
 
I'm very happy with the few sunfly discs i have. My commitments disc is one of the most used in my entire collection, and i would rate the music qaulity as excellent.

I just happen to prefer other brands more especially since non of my regular suppliers carry sunfly discs unless i special order them *ie it costs more*

just my two cents.. :)

-James
James, hove you tried Doo Wop karaoke on line? They usually have great prices and all shipping is free.
 
I can't believe it!

After writing and harasing virtually every karaoke company I could think of to try and get someone to listen to the concept of why digital karaoke is a good idea for the companies to combat piracy and make money, after 3 years I finally got this letter back from Zoom entertainment:

"Hi there,

If you've bought original Zoom discs, then we don't have a problem with you ripping them and putting them on a laptop, provided you keep the original discs.

I can't really comment on any licences or permissions you may need in Canada as I have no idea about what's required, but as far as Zoom is concerned, it's fine.

Use our mp3+g download service at www.karaoke.cc to get the latest Zoom releases as soon as they're finished.

Kind Regards,

Joe
Zoom Ents. Limited
"

Well it isn't anything to do with US manufacturers but It's still nice to know that there ARE some companies who pay attention to their customers.. :)

hope you're all having a great day

-James