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One Vision
20-09-2008, 12:29 AM
My mate has just invested a small fortune on karaoke gear i.e. laptop, discs, second 19" monitor for the guests to sing from etc.

Now the question is the way his second monitor is running is its plugged directly in to the second monitor socket on the laptop, this is ok but you cant really cue up the next track on the laptop whilst somebody is singing as they see exactly what you see on the laptop screen on the second screen.

What is the procedure in having it so you can still navigate the laptop but only see the karaoke track that is playing on the second screen?

At the moment he is just using winamp with the mp3+g plugin as a way of testing and learning the ropes but if he has to buy a device or specific software he is willing too do so.

digga
20-09-2008, 01:29 AM
It sounds like he has the "clone desktop" option selected, which shows exactly the same on the monitor as is on the laptop.

No need for an extra device. All he needs to do is choose "extended desktop" or "extend my desktop on to this monitor" in the display settings. These can be found in control panel or by right clicking on the desktop.

Hope this works.

DJ INDIE
20-09-2008, 02:01 AM
i use Virtual DJ, as stated above switch to extended monitor the either monitor and notebook or notebook and monitor, and you will have 2 separate screens.

in virtual dj you have to select the correct video output from the config menu, which becomes apparent when you plug in the second monitor. this will then send the boxed lyrics to the monitor.

welby
24-09-2008, 09:03 AM
Couldnt agree more Virtual DJ is the way to go. I have found that it uses less memory than other DJ/VJ programmes as hasn't failed me yet! The interface can be changed to suit you and it's not a bad price too.

DazzyD
26-09-2008, 02:16 AM
All of the above is good advice, Karl.

The first thing is to boot the laptop with the external monitor already connected. The laptop should then find the monitor and ask what you want to do with it. Select Extended Desktop and a configuration where the monitor is to the right of the laptop monitor. Then it's a case of loading the WinAmp and dragging the CD+G display off the right hand side of the laptop screen and on to the external monitor.

If the laptop doesn't automatically offer these options after booting, they can be found under the Display Settings in the Control Panel or maybe on your mates Video Card Adaptor settings. Then set them accordingly.

I would suggest that your mate doesn't try to cue up tracks whilst one is playing as this can cause the graphics of the song playing to stick momentarily which will put them out of sync with the audio. A minimum of a dual-core processor with a couple of gigs of RAM can help to eleviate these problems depending on how good the graphics chip is.

I use VDJ for karaoke and I'm currently trialling Swift Elite 4 (looking good) and both of these are far superior to WinAmp for karaoke and offer more reliability and less sticking graphics (although it does happen!). So my overall advice is not to cue (or especially use the Search function) while a track is playing - it's simply not safe unless you've got a really good laptop!

Jays karaoke
26-09-2008, 07:43 AM
Using the extended desktop is a bit tempremental as sometimes when you try cueing up your next track it will reset the page and knocks the track off, not saying that it's not an option though. For me though the best option is to get a dedicated karaoke programme which is meant for screen splitting, swift elite 4 is a good option and of course Virtual DJ.

tgosoundandlight
07-03-2010, 02:58 AM
i use a projector with a vga through and 19" screen attached to my laptop with swift elite ive had great reviews over this as the audience can sing along as well and they all enjoy this i just need to upgrade to quality of my projection screen as at min in most venues im using a wall due to space