DJGold

Karielynn · Joined: December 19th, 2007 Posts: 7

Hello there I am excited to go digital and I have a laptop, and 2 external hardrives so that I have a backup. I may buy a third down the road. Anyway, I am running a windows vista program and I have a karaoke business with my djing as well. I am really looking for a software that is worth the money and may even possibly run everything. I can see that many of you have tried different things, but I am really wondering what you all think would be the best for the amount of money they are asking. I have used the virtual dj on a trial and I loved it!!! I actually have a mixer that does not work well with the vista.. Any ideas from those of you who have been doing the digital thing for a while would be great!!
Thanks!!
Karie Lynn

DJ Teddy Bear · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:32 am Post subject:

"Not work well with Vista" is a statement that could be said of a LOT of applications. Even some MicroSoft stuff.

For the record, for my DJ Show, I use a Macintosh and MegaSeg. In fact, I worked their booth at the AC convention this year.

For more info: www.MegaSeg.com. Tell them I sent you.

dokai · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:55 am Post subject:

Virtual DJ has a lot of fans. If you've tried it and loved it, why not stay with that? From what I remember, it was a bargain compared to a lot of other programs out there. I also hear that their tech support is first rate.

Karielynn · Joined: December 19th, 2007 Posts: 7

I possibly might. It is 300.00 though. And I have many other items that I am trying to ad to the service right now as well, and that one doesn't play karaoke. So I may end up with that one, however I was hoping to find one that if I am going to spend 300.00 that does everything.

DJ Scott · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:50 pm Post subject: Re: Which software???

I use Winamp with the free KJ plugin and a $10 plugin called "pacemaker" that is Master tempo, Key Changer and such. Total investment, $10. (has worked great for over a year now).
As to DJ software, I have PCDJ Red 5.2 as backup for VDJ.
When I'm doing DJing as well as KJ, I run Red 5.2 and Winamp at the same time as VDJ will NOT share the soundcard.

Karielynn · Joined: December 19th, 2007 Posts: 7

Thanks for the thoughts. I will look into the winamp for sure...

LYoung116 · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:38 pm Post subject:

OTS DJ has a program where you can play MP3s and has visual for karaoke as well. I don't have Vista, so I'm not sure if it's compatible.

Karielynn · Joined: December 19th, 2007 Posts: 7

thanks! VISTA is suposed to be SO great! I am not so happy with it yet! Thanks for your thoughts though.

LYoung116 · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:06 pm Post subject: Re: Which software???

I am tempted to get a spare laptop to connect to the Internet to search for songs and download them on the spot if I need them. Not sure how reliable that would be though. Anyone have suggestions?

Karielynn · Joined: December 19th, 2007 Posts: 7

You know I have considered doing that and if you are in a hotel or somewhere in a town, I think that would be awesome!! However I live in the boondocks and sometimes, I would not be able to get the internet. So for me, I wouldn't want to offer that, just in case I can't get reception. Just my thoughts.......

TheBartman47 · Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 11:30 am Post subject:

Once WiFi becomes more ubiquitous, it might be feasable, but in my experience, when at gigs, I usually only get internet access 20% of the time. It might be convenient, but I wouldn't rely on it.

LYoung116 · Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:13 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Bartman. Hence why I have not done it yet.....
Might get a cellphone that can access the Internet. My songs are only listed by Artist right now (need to re-do that) and if I don't remember who sang it, I am out of luck!

CJ Greiner · Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 9:37 am Post subject:

Hi Karie Lynn,

Sounds like you're on the same search for software as I am!

I actually own quite a few different software packages, and none of them operate exactly the way I want them to... but that's not really the issue. We need to figure out which one will be best for you.

If you liked the way VirtualDJ operated for you... then that's probably your best bet. It does audio/video/karaoke, and works fine on my laptop. One other advantage is that it can be "skinned" and you can explore through the skins to see which one suits your use the best.

There's also:
TriceraSoft Swift Elite -- nice for karaoke hosts that like to swap back and forth between a karaoke song and a regular dance song in-between, since it has dual playlists that can be used to separate your music & karaoke, or it can be used to play all of your music from one playlist. It can't be skinned, so you're stuck with their interface... and the single-playlist auto-play mode is a little weird. They do have a feature where you can put the next singer's name in and it should pop up on the screen... but it didn't work the way it was supposed to last year -- maybe they have it working now?

ClubDJPro -- Decent, reliable, similar to VirtualDJ, but not skinnable.

MixMeister -- the older version had the ability to beat-match audio/video/videoKaraoke... but the newer versions took a step back due to reliability issues.

DJPower -- works exactly the way I want it to for audio/video/karaoke and lighting control... but costs way too much, has virtually no customer support... and needs it desperately due to bugs that continue to pop up in the program.

Note: TriceraSoft Swift Elite and DJPower both sell you USB Keys that must be plugged into your computer for the program to work. If you lose that, or it's stolen, or you have to use someone else's computer in an emergency for your DJ show, or if you want to practice DJing on your home computer... you're going to need multiple keys. TriceraSoft's program could cost many hundreds for multiple keys. DJPower's program will cost thousands for multiple keys.

If you find that you want to use different programs for your different shows, you could look at Traktor Final Scratch for your audio, and Sax-n-Dotty's for your karaoke.

Karielynn · Joined: December 19th, 2007 Posts: 7

Thanks so much!! I didn't realize that virtual dj played karaoke as well as music... So, I will probably go with that!!! thank you everyone so much for taking the time to help me!! Merry Christmas everyone!!

CJ Greiner · Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:28 am Post subject:

No problem!

Yes, all you need to make sure of is that your karaoke collection is in the mp3+g format.

If your karaoke folders contain .mp3 files with matching .cdg files, then you're all set. When VirtualDJ parses the folder, it will recognize the files as karaoke, and you will be able to search your music collection accordingly.

Karielynn · Joined: December 19th, 2007 Posts: 7

Do you know if that program rips the music into the computer for you so that it will automatically read them correctly? thanks!?!

CJ Greiner · Posted: Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:35 am Post subject:

There are a few different rippers out there that you can use (a couple are free) -- I'm sure someone on this forum can recommend one for you to use.

Do you have karaoke discs? Or do you already have a collection on your computer?

Toneman · Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 2:57 pm Post subject: Re: Which software???

DJ Scott wrote: I use Winamp with the free KJ plugin and a $10 plugin called "pacemaker" that is Master tempo, Key Changer and such. Total investment, $10. (has worked great for over a year now).
As to DJ software, I have PCDJ Red 5.2 as backup for VDJ.
When I'm doing DJing as well as KJ, I run Red 5.2 and Winamp at the same time as VDJ will NOT share the soundcard.
I also use WinAmp. With winamp you won't need to rip any of your CD+Gs, all you'll need is the free KJ plugin. On the WinAmp website there are alot of different plugins just for Karaoke. Check them out.

CJ Greiner · Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 11:56 pm Post subject:

Why not use VirtualDJ for audio AND karaoke? Is it missing some features you need for karaoke?

Thanks,

Flipside Entertainment · Joined: January 4th, 2008 Posts: 1

I use CompuHost Software for my Karaoke and it uses the MP3G format, and I use OtsDJ for my DJ needs.

I've been a KJ for 10 years and went digital 5 years ago for my Karaoke Shows. I started with MTU's Hoster program and still use it today on 2 of my systems. About 3 months ago I started using CompuHost in my personal shows and it has really enhanced them. One of the things I like is that it has a filler tune player built in that auto-fades from filler tunes to karaoke then back to filler tunes.

My suggestion is to download the demos of several programs and try before you buy. MTU's Hoster is the easiest by far to operate but locks you into their proprietary rip format (kma files) I feel the kma format provides a little better sound than MP3G but you are forced into re-ripping your library if you move away from that format and go to MP3G. Hoster also works fine with Vista. Hoster has a built in ripping program.

CompuHost has a little more learning curve to it but in my opinion has far more features than any program out there. It works very well with Vista. It comes with a built in ripping program.

Hope this helps