What is karaoke?
Karaoke is singing to pre-existing songs. You are replacing the original lead singer. The background music & supporting singers are left intact.
Karaoke - What system do I buy?
There are mainly three karaoke formats, they all have an instrumental track complete with backing singers but the disc is recorded without the lead singer & it's up to you to perform this function. To assist you the words of the song appear on the screen & change colour to keep you in time. The original formats were laserdisc (LD) & CD graphics (CDG). CDG has a blue screen in the background, all other formats have a video in the background.
What is the difference between regular CDs & Karaoke CDs?
Regular CDs are recordings of the original artist. These recordings may have been made in a recording studio or from live concerts. Karaoke CDs are reproduced creations recorded by each manufacturer. The manufacturer will hire independent artists & bands to recreate songs done in the likeness of the original artist. They are not the original artist’s recordings. Manufacturers’ interpretation of songs will sound different throughout different manufacturers. Most karaoke CDs are produced without the lead singer, the one’s that have the lead singer’s voice give you the option of removing it, this is an excellent way of learning the song..
How do I decide what format to buy?
CDG is the major format in the United States & England where, worldwide, most of the 'English language music' record companies are. Hence for the serious singer this is the best format as the rendition is usually very close to the original track. Also there are over 125,000 songs available on CDG as opposed to 15,000 on VCD & 2 0,000 on DVD. Most of the songs that have placed in the weekly American or British "Top Ten" in the last 50 years are available on CDG, this includes Pop/Rock/Country/Dance or Standards. Some, but few, CDG have multiplex; some do have 10 instrumental tracks & the same 10 tracks with vocals added. Multiplex is where a lead singer is recorded on the disc & you can switch him/her in to assist you to learn the song. CDG can also be played on any audio CD player but you only get sound, unless you’re using a CDG player connected to a TV; this is very handy for solo singer-guitarists. Words to most songs can be found on the internet.
VCD & DVD have a background video & usually 'multiplex', DVD picture quality is slightly better than VCD & the DVD disc holds twice as many tracks as a VCD but costs twice as much. VCD (& CDG) are quite easy & fast to cue, more or less the same as a music CD. DVD however is usually not so simple & is not suitable for the professional user. Some companies such as Capital/Sunfly/United have very interesting background videos that are relevant to the song & are worth watching. However the majority of VCD & DVD is made in Asia & sometimes the music & video are not so good, but not always, some are very good!. Music & art, being so very subjective, what one person considers great another may consider the opposite. Pop/Rock/Country/Dance are not so prolific on VCD or DVD because there is only a few British & American manufacturers who make VCD/DVD; the majority of VCD/DVD manufacturers are Asian & their catalogue is mostly love songs (that have charted in Asia). Most VCD manufacturers also produce DVD & bring the same VCD out on DVD (2 VCD fit on one DVD). Australian artists on karaoke are mainly released by Capital Karaoke on VCD & CDG.
This brings us back to the original question & I hope you have enough information now. To summarise, CDG is the better format for the pro singer or karaoke host because it has a far greater range of available tracks & a professional recording usually very close to the original. All karaoke discs are recorded with digital sound so the sound quality is very much dependent on the studio recording & frankly the Americans & English do it better. The sound quality of VCD & DVD can sometimes be good but at other times can be bad, it’s a bit hit & miss, but you do have the added bonus of a video in the background & (usually) the multiplex function. If you are going to use DVD you must have a PBC (playback) switch preferably on the player rather than remote control. If you don’t you will find it extremely difficult & time consuming to cue in the tracks as you will have to go through the intro & then the menu.
Please note if you are not happy with any disc you purchase & return it in new condition within 7 days we will be happy to exchange it (limits apply). If you are not happy with any hardware you purchase from us & return it in new condition within 7 days we will give you a credit note for the full amount minus our postage & 10% handling charge. We do not give refunds.
Have fun & enjoy your singing ... there's a star in everyone
