Laptop For Karaoke...

[King Of Karaoke]

Hello everyone, im about to start doing karaoke and im going down the laptop route

first of all i could google about laptops, but they seem to change so quickly?

Im looking for recommendations on what laptop to buy, or what features to look out for (in relavance to karaoke + software) and also anything to avoid??

Any help is appreciated, thanks

also on a side note, Pro Dub licence, does this cover me for Karaoke MP3G's??

[Jiggles]

Hello please introduce your self in the newbies section.

[DazzyD]

I would think that the majority of laptops available today could be used for disco. As for karaoke, I would tend to go for ones that have good multimedia capabilities (good on-board sound and graphics, DVD drive is always a good place to start as this shows the laptop can play DVDs). Oh, and as with anything to do with PC applications, the more memory the better.

I would also recommend a decent soundcard although these needn't be expensive (we use the USB SoundBlaster units). A sound card with multiple outputs is even better as it allows for real-time monitoring.

If you're going to connect the laptop direct to your playout system via the headphone socket, then you should avoid buying an Acer laptop. They seem to have an inherent problem that creates a buzzing noise from your system although they are fine when using soundcards.

As for software, there are loads of threads on this subject and it's really down to personal preference. Use the forum search facility to find this info.

Hope this helps. Anything else you need to know just ask! :)

[CRAZY K]

If you're going to connect the laptop direct to your playout system via the headphone socket, then you should avoid buying an Acer laptop. They seem to have an inherent problem that creates a buzzing noise from your system although they are fine when using soundcards.

:)

I dont do Karaoke and I dont now use my 2yr old Acer as a back up.

However when I did try the Acer as a play out with the internal sound card there was no buzzing and no problem with sound quality.

Strange?

CRAZY K

[ppentertainments]

I dont do Karaoke and I dont now use my 2yr old Acer as a back up.

However when I did try the Acer as a play out with the internal sound card there was no buzzing and no problem with sound quality.

Strange?

CRAZY K
No probs from my acer laptop either, although it is only 3 months old and has a line out as opposed to using the headphone connection.

[DazzyD]

In the last three years I've had two Acer TravelMates (not identical but I can't remember which models they were at the moment - lots of Sunday wine flowing through me right now! ;) )

Both have had the same problem so I checked several techy websites and found that it seemed to be a common problem in that particular range of laptops. The problem has even been mentioned on this forum several times before where the use of a ground loop isolator was recommended. However, my trusty SoundBlaster external sound cards seem to solve the problem - for me anyway!

Chris, it does seem to be a problem when using the headphone socket. If your particular model has a line-out as well as a headphone socket then maybe it has a PCMCIA soundcard and not just standard on-board sound. I know mine don't have the same Realtek Audio sound system as my older Toshibas and definately not the same Harman Kardon internal sound as the new Toshiba Satellite Pro (excellent system - highly recommended!).

[ppentertainments]

I know mine don't have the same Realtek Audio sound system as my older Toshibas and definately not the same Harman Kardon internal sound as the new Toshiba Satellite Pro (excellent system - highly recommended!).

Will agree with the Toshiba Satellite Pro. Before making the move to Cortex last year I was using a 5 yr old Toshiba which I still carry as backup. Only has 256mb but runs as quick and as smooth as most higher spec machines - perfect for disco / karaoke.

[DazzyD]

Will agree with the Toshiba Satellite Pro. Before making the move to Cortex last year I was using a 5 yr old Toshiba which I still carry as backup. Only has 256mb but runs as quick and as smooth as most higher spec machines - perfect for disco / karaoke.

I have 2 of the older Toshiba Satellite Pros (2 years old and think they're excellent) but I was referring to the very recent one. It has onboard sound designed and developed by Harman Kardon which, imo, is the best laptop sound system I've ever encountered.

Kev, who covered that gig for you before christmas, uses this laptop. It's like a souped up in-car audio system rather than anything you'd find in a laptop. I've just done a quick search on these systems and it looks like Dell is using them in their new machines as well.

Have a look at the Harman Kardon site to get an idea of what they are about:

Click Here (http://www.harmankardon.com/)

[King Of Karaoke]

ok so acer bad

toshiba good

any other tips, are karaoke programs juicy for the graphics side of things?

[Twinspin]

Yep.

Toshiba are probably the best laptops out there. The acer on the other hand arent very good.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Yep.

Toshiba are probably the best laptops out there. The acer on the other hand arent very good.

And you are basing that statement on what Johnny boy?

[Twinspin]

Im basing this on what i know and have experienced myself personally. I have had an acer laptop an aspire model and it wasnt very good. The sound on it was extremely low. The graphics card on it was poor quality. meaning that if you tried to plug an external monitor into it.... the output quality was blurred.

on top of that. The sockets where the charger plugs in is also prone to breaking mine did. Also the batteries on it kept failing and to say that the battery life on it when it did work was extremely poor.

Also add to that the general attitude of acers customer service department. They are the worst company ive ever dealt with as far as repairs go. I rung them up on their number.... an expensive line as well to stay on. Especially if you are going to be fobbed off by them.

Which is exactly what they did to me. It took them long enough to sort it out and after 3 months of waiting i rung them up. To find out where the laptop was. They then told me that it was on its way back and they checked. Only for me to hear him tell his colleague what i could hear on speakerphone. That the laptop hadnt even been touched after 3 months.

the laptop come back another month later. For me to get it home and it lasted five minutes before it wouldnt even switch on again. Send it back to acer they take a shorter time. but still 2 months. it comes back and it doesnt work again.

I then find out its the battery thats gone. Ring acer to tell them that i found it was the battery. A replacement battery is going to cost you £65.00 plus V.A.T it was only 2 weeks old and after that it hadnt been right ever since.
under warranty as well i thought they would have sent a replacement.

So i bought a Toshiba laptop and thats been absolutely spot on. Had it a while and have never had any problems with it at all.

plus they are a good make laptop Toshiba and everything on it seems to be better quality.

same cant be said for Acer.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

One person having a bad experience doesn't make the product or the company crap though, does it?

[Twinspin]

In my personal opinion it makes them exactly that. Whether others have had problems or not. I dont like them myself and i have a good reason for this.

But im not the only one to complain about Acer ive just joined the queue. As people on forums have said about their customer services been bad as well as the laptops.

Im just another unhappy past acer customer.

If you bought something from a manufacturer and they refused to fix something under warranty. I think most people would refer to them as rubbish.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Everything must be rubbish then, as I'm sure there's complaints about most computer companies on the net.

[Twinspin]

One rubbish company may be a good company in someone elses eyes. Because it may be that person hasnt had trouble with them.

horses for courses really.

However i dont like acer at all. They deserve a praise where its due. But they honestly dont deserve a praise not from me anyway after the way they treat me.

it would have been worded better by saying i dont like them.

[welby]

If you're going to connect the laptop direct to your playout system via the headphone socket, then you should avoid buying an Acer laptop. They seem to have an inherent problem that creates a buzzing noise from your system although they are fine when using soundcards.

I have an Acer 5920G Laptop and I have connected it via the headphone socket and via a Maya44 Soundcard and I get no buzzing whatsoever!

I'm very happy with as I use it with Virtual DJ and run Karaoke and Video and it has NEVER let me down once!

Just thought I'd throw my tuppence worth in :beer1:

[Jays karaoke]

Been doing Karaoke now for 3 years on laptop and soon found out that any laptop will do as long as it has the ram to cope with the programmes you are trying to run.
You can get a good laptop with 3 gig ram these days for around £400 which is no money. I run compuhost, i tunes and make karaoke listing software all at the same time with mine and it has 3 gig ram. You might as well do it right first time to save you buyinmg another next year
If you don't want to spend silly money on programmes you can get a cdg plugin for windows media player and this does the job fine, you can split tyhe screen too as you can with most programmes.
If you want to go with a programme to do them all its gotta be pcdj vj all the time for me.

Hope this helps

Jay

[DazzyD]

I have an Acer 5920G Laptop and I have connected it via the headphone socket and via a Maya44 Soundcard and I get no buzzing whatsoever!

I'm very happy with as I use it with Virtual DJ and run Karaoke and Video and it has NEVER let me down once!

Just thought I'd throw my tuppence worth in :beer1:

I think the problem is mainly with the TravelMate models (and earlier ones at that). As I have said, it can be resolved by simply connecting an external sound card.

Back to the questions:

If you run VDJ then graphics ability is less important than RAM. VDJ is the least resource-intensive program I use (which is why I use it most of the time!). Whereas OtsAV DJ states that, for graphics use, it requires quite a beefy system spec. So you need to decide what you're going to be using as this will give you some idea of what spec lappy to go for.

Twinspin - Acer's customer service can't be as bad as Dells. I had a Dell Inspiron (which leads me to believe that Dell are amongst the top manufacturers in the world!) but I had the mis-fortune of requiring customer services as my power charger had died. My call was routed to India and I was asked, no less that 7 times, if I was calling from the UK. I got completely nowhere. They even wanted to charge me £300+ for a new charger! :eek: All I wanted was a quote on how much it would cost but one guy I was passed to wanted me to give them credit card details before they'd give me a price! I got fed up, hung up and went out and bought a Toshiba!

[welby]

I got fed up, hung up and went out and bought a Toshiba!

Hey Daz, no offence taken. I know what you mean about poor service from Dell, as I have three Dell Laptops here for the Misses and my two Girls and two have failed constantly, hence I opted for the Acer 5920G model. The G stipulates that it has a gamers spec and has a high-end graphics card with plenty of ram to back it up.

What I did before purchasing the laptop was to get on as many forums as I could and look at other peoples experiences.

Your spot on about Virtual DJ requiring low resources. I ran audio only on a low spec laptop running windows 2000 for ages before I decided to up the anti.

Good luck with your choice!

[DK Karaoke]

If you want to go with a programme to do them all its gotta be pcdj vj all the time for me.
Jay

Agree about PCDJ VJ, however, if you want to download the latest upgrade, which you are entitled to if you paid full whack for the software, you cannot run the programme if you have any browser other then IE7!!!!.:( :attn:

It requires IE7 in order to run, any other INTERNET browser will not do. Not even Firefox.:confused:

The company are aware of this are are supposed to be fixing the problem, by changing the security software supplier, or so they told me.