Do you want to play VCD and/or DVD discs?

[admin]

[list=1]
If you want us to add playing VCD discs please post here.

If you want to also play DVD discs the same way, please state that clearly in your post also (separate lines would be nice).
[/list=1]
This would be done like we play the CDG discs a singer brings in i.e. not importing them and saving them on the hard drive because of their storage requirements. We cannot compress VCD or DVD disc contents any further because they are already data-compressed, and contain video signal as well as audio.

[mlepine]

I beleive it would be good to use the same program to play cdg, vcd & dvd.

Regards
Michel

[Flipeoke]

While right now it's not a priority for me, (other than multiplex as mlepine mentioned) I feel it would be good to support the current formats.

[mgrowolski]

This would be a great idea as here inn the UK VCD is a big thing and DVD is working it's way into the market here as well so yes please add the VCD and DVD functions.

[Wayne White]

I have a large collection of Music Videos on DVD & and prefer to play them from the Hard Drive since I can't really arrange them one song at a time playing them from a DVD Drive. I have external USB Drives so I am not really that concerned with the size of the file.

Wayne

[Eric Whitehouse]

I would like to be able to play VCD with multiplex facillity in the Hoster program.

I would like to be able to play DVDs in the Hoster program.

[bubba1453]

VCD Please!

[djmadmaxx]

I vote for VCD with muliplex audio. I have over 150 of them to supplement the 1,600 cdg's i have. this option without the multiplex control would make the whole thing useless.

[bjswaim]

Thumbs up for being able to play vcd and dvd. I also agree that having a mult-plex capability is essential.

[flipper]

Yes to VCD w/ Multiplex feature I have about 100 VCD's
No interest in DVD at this time

Flipper

[S. Parks]

VCD with Multiplex and DVD would be great. Nothing like flexibility.

[pcgumshoe]

My vote would first be for DVDs... They take so long to load via a menu on my Pioneer 888.

VCDs less likely, their quality is pretty bad, but I do have songs on them that don't exist... What to do?

[djmadmaxx]

actually the audio on a VCD can be as good as anything on a regular cd. It's cd quailty audio. Just like cdg's, it depends on the company that makes the disc.

[pcgumshoe]

VCD tends to be an ASIAN standard. Even today many movies are only released in VCD in the Asian Rim. It is a cost effective alternative to VHS, qualitywise they tend to spend less time learning the nuances of the songs they attempt to *****.

Sound quality, yes you are right it is CD quality, however, the manufacturer does determine how good it is. I heard recently of Pioneer Brand VCD... I would be interested in seeing the quality.

VCDs were a less expensive investment for a beginning KJ and ultimately get replaced by Better CDG brands. Don't forget, it is VCD, LD and anything with moving pictures that causes the great Karaoke Disk Copying Fiasco... Because of the "MOVING PICTURE" that is why they fall into an outdated category and consequently are not covered in the Millennium Copyright law.

DVDs, of course, are of lessor sound quality than LDs because the Audio Channels are compressed... LDs are not ;)

[mindonstrike]

I've got about a hundred vcd's. I'm replacing them with cdg's as I can.I probably wouldn't load all of them on but perhaps the most often sung songs I would.
I can take it or leave it.

[Skybird]

I am in the process of probably buying your portable PC with Hoster and yes I am concerned about it playing ALL formats. VCDs and DVDs have become more popular. I've read all the testimonials and have used MicroStudio for 2 years and am very happy with it. However, the PC is a big investment and hope it will play EVERYTHING that I can't play now, especially the variety of CDRs people bring to the show.

[gduns - with the Lord]

O have a substantial collection of both, and have to use an alternate player to use them. it would be nice to be able to use hoster for all.

[tlindzon]

Might as well do it soon because the "want" is rapidly changing to a "must".

P.S. Might want to consider making CDA (audio) a feature rather than a work around. Even Karaokers take a break, but the music goes on and it would be nice to program.

[nitelife]

I currently use three separate programs to run one show...what a hassle.
Program #1 "Hoster" runs all my karaoke needs and does a beautiful job at it...but I also need
Program #2 BPM studio to run the DJ portion of the show. Excellent program for running straight music files...Wave...MP3...WMA...ect. Alot of nice features I would love to see in hoster as well...such as cross fading ect.
Program # 3 is just the software that came with my DVD player. I use it to play almost any video file. DVD...Divx...VCD...Mpeg...ect

Be nice to do it all with one program, but you just can't get away from using all these features. Karaoke is a hot seller, but sometimes you need to switch to a regular DJ on slow nights. Music videos are also a nice touch.
Variety Keeps Em Coming Back and making the shows easier to run isd an absolute must !!!

[crazycarl]

Yes to VCD
Yes To Dvd:g

[admin]

We will support VCD and DVD disc playing... first from the actual discs. I know, that is slow, but it will get you at least doing everything you want from Hoster.

NOTE: This will require our DVD+R Drive as CDG only drives will not play DVD. Yes, this drive can do CDG, VCD and DVD. :w

We will later add an import function to bring the VCD and DVD tracks into the hard drive, store them, and add them to the Songs Database.

Now some questions for you folks. :g

1. Do you want them in the Songs Database so you can use the Add HD Track dialog to find and place them into the Playlist?

2. Do you want to print them both in your Songbooks? Yes, No, or option to select Yes/No?

3. Our Main Database does not have any records for VCD or DVD discs. Is it OK with you to type in all the data for these discs, and do you want anything different than we already provide in the Import Tab fields (Brand-DiscID-Track-Songname-Artist)?

When you answer, please number your answers 1, 2 and 3. :w

[gduns - with the Lord]

Personaly I wont be pickey,
1. yes
2. yes
3. yes, I use cut and paste from excel sometimes as it is.

[nitelife]

1. In the song database hmmm. I would want them to be easily accessable by the program, but I think the song database would be the wrong location. adding them to the database would only cause confusion while searching for songs during a show. How would you tell the difference between your WMA files...KMA files.....and video files....if you are using your drop down boxes to locate a song during a show....Just too messy !!
A better option would be to separate the folders where each are stored creating a separate database for each...and a separate button to access each for loading into the playlist...much the same as the add HD TRACK & ADD CD track are separated.
2. List the files in the songbook? DEFINATELY NOT !! playing videos or music files are at the hosts discretion, and listing them all in the songbooks would take up too much space, and add to customer confusion when they are looking for a song to sing. Karaoke is the main part of the show...video files or DJ music is usually used as a fill in during slow periods.
3. Is it OK to enter the file information manually? Sure it is ! All you need to fill in is an abreviated name to clue you in as to what the file is. Don't need anything fancy in these headers. Just Song Name...possibly artist...no need for excessive information for playing these files...just a reminder of what you've loaded.

[crazycarl]

I too have many Vcd and would like to play them. Not important to download Dvd Into hard drives
Thanks Crazycarl

[Stillwater]

I went on the forum looking for an answer for this very subject. I have a few VCD disk that I have been using for years and I would like to include them in my Hoster data base. I would have to buy many CDG disk to find the songs that I can't import at the moment. The sooner you implement this feature the better.
I really don't see a big demand for playing VCD disk. This format is old and I don't believe too many people will be bring me a VCD disk to play at a job.

[Big KJ]

Hi to all

I really would like the possibility to use VCDs under Hoster the very same way we can use CDGs. Remember that for some non english speaking countries VCDs used to be and still are the most usual format for Karaoke discs.

After all why don't implement that feature and let each user to decide if they'll use it or not?

Please do implement VCD using under Hoster, I mean not only playing but storage too on the hard drive. Hard drives are inexpensives nowadays.

Also Multiplex handling, by the simple choosing of Left/Right/Both audio channels would be a must.

Thanks

[quaizywabbit]

I would very much like the option to import vcd/dvd files for use in hoster.

Primarily for company intro's, advertising, and outro's.

I'd like to have a means of setting these up to run automatically
at specifiable points in the show(ie..have the company intro play first, perhaps then a advertisement(drink specials) then on to the rotation. At periodic intervals of singers i'd like to have a choice of ads to run before the next singer starts. and the outro added automatically by the host specifying who the last singer is.

These "utility" videos should NOT be in the song database, but perhaps a separate"utilities"database(keep em' out of the songbook, and makes em' easier to search.)

all other vcd/dvd material should be put into a temp buffer as stated by admin.


I hope what I've said makes sense to y'all.

[sevekj]

I would like to be able to play VCD with multiplex facillity in the Hoster program.

I would like to be able to play DVDs in the Hoster program.

Before Hoster I list all of my songs with the mfg abbreviation 2 code letter after the disc number in my collection. There was a time that I had interest in the original footage karaoke (now banned) but I still have them in my collection also I have a few mega discs, I don't want to have to seperate them from my original collection, but I number those discs with a MP for multiplex
and that lets me know right away that it is a video disc.
I think that you should put a spot in the data base for MPV (Multi Plex Video) and let everyone just type in their own numbers and titles, that would lesson the confusion as far as the data base is concerned. But would still seperate them from the rest.

My most picked video is from original footage, Nancy Sinatra (These Boots Are Made For Walkin), Roberta Flack (Killing Me Softly) where the video is real footage of the original video starring the Real Artist performing the song, great novelty!!
Also space is no concern, hard drives and external storage is booming. If you have the collection big enough then get the storage required for it, that's my say.
Thanks,

Seve

[sevekj]

Yes make seperat data base for DVD music and ADs that you do not want to appear in the books, of course.


Seve

Sevekj

[mooman]

Yes to VCD
Bigger yes to DVD:g

The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the Devil's own satanic herd! - Edmund Blackadder

[songpony]

I've seen concern voiced regarding multiplex disks (at least VCD multiplex disks), but I've seen no response as to whether this capability is available or not. I've just purchased Hoster (but haven't yet received the download), and am wondering if it works for non-VCD multiplexed disks (where you can select Right-Channel, Left-Channel, or Both). Thanks.

[Eric Whitehouse]

Are there plans to support Divx when Hoster 3.200 is released ?

[UPNext]

I would like to see support for both DVD and VCD formats.:)

[Digital Party]

Although not a priority right now............

Yes on the VCD. Lots of VCD's in other countries vise the US.

Yes on the DVD.

[lmcmains]

This is posted on MTU News site

Hoster™ 3.120
This release fixes a number of bug fixes and playing a VCD or DVD disc. The security has been loosened up and problems with USB devices causing "Serial Number Mismatch" error messages have been fixed. V3.120 is a free upgrade to all who own Hoster 3.1. This replaces the prior announced version 3.200, which has been split between 3.120 and 3.300.

:)

[Karaoke John]

I have been patiently waiting for this feature for weeks now and thought that it would be on hoster version 3.2.
I don't have any VCD's but do have a few DVD's and would love to be able to play them through Hoster it doesn't matter how. Right now I have to use a separate DVD player to play them. Which means switching to it during a show, which throws off the rotation because the singer isn't listed on the SND and then switching back to laptop. Just having a feature such as when someone brings you a disk to play which by the way works with regular CD's as well :), I tried it at one of my regular gigs and it worked! I was able to place that singer in the SND I typed in the name of the song manually and played her Audio CD that she sang from through hoster using the temporary import file. Point is being able to play VCD and DVD with multiplex (guide vocals) through hoster so to keep rotations running smoothly and not having to go through the intro screens that some of my DVD's have would be great. I have one disk that the intro screen and credits screen is over a minute and a half long. That really slows down the show. I also don't care about having them in the song book I already use a different program for making songbooks and they are already in all my song books.
Yes to VCD
Yes To DVD
Anyway you can make it work.:c
John :)

[riktaylor]

And when I cut them out, they cut out... :t

[MTUSUPPORT]

Hoster 3.120 will play VCD. Read More here, released 9-20-05. (http://forum.mtu.com/showthread.php?p=42558#post42558)

[Karaoke John]

When Is Hoster version 3.2 going to be out? I thought I read a thread from Admin that it would be out on September 1st.
Still patiently waiting
John

[George]

Look at the post just above yours :g

[MTUSUPPORT]

As George stated, 3.2 was changed to 3.120 and was released today.

[Wayne White]

I have been loading my massive DVD Video Selection into my External Drive using NERO. This stores them as MP4 Extensions & plays them in a window that can be moved to the Second Monitor. Will the current Hoster play these? If not, can we add MP4 to the long of file types we customers continually ask for?

Wayne

[Davie Lee]

I mainly play DVD's on my jobs also I love my Hoster player
because it is so fast. You just put in #'s and you have a song.
I would like my Hoster to bring op my video files the same way
off my external hard drive. My music Video's and Karaoke on my
7' X 10' Screen are my main show.

Thank You
Davie Lee

[dlessnau]

No VCD for me. I got rid of the ones I had and won't buy anymore. I use a laptop and it would take up too much space. Not worth it.

No DVD

[nitelife]

To each Their Own Lap-top or desk top doesn't matter......there is always an external drive of one type or another :) Point is in giving the flexability to do what you want !!
I'm a beta tester, and I don't always agree with the way things are....but you gotta respect where things are going !! :c
I use a lot of videos in my shows....but I really don't like the way Hoster handles video.......so I will continue to use a different program to run that portion of my shows. :f But in time...they WILL GET IT RIGHT !!
My show....according to what I hear....is the best in town :c and that is directly connected to the flexability that Hoster gives me !!
I have an employee that wants to " buy me out " and I'm thinking about it. The real point is...why buy me out when there are all these other shows in town that are ready to sell out....and I'm not !!
Answer.........because Hoster offers the flexability that is needed to compete in todays market.
Yep....he's still an employee..........but ......he wants to buy me out !! he has made an interesting offer....and I'm thinking about it !! But he told me alot !!!
He has worked for other karaoke shows....ands he doesn't want them....it's mine ( Hoster ) or none at all.
The only problem I have.....is how do I remain a beta tester......and still sell out my business.
I'll figure it out.....but I WON'T GIVE UP BEING A BETA TESTER !!!!!!!!!!


I love this company....and what they stand for......and I will stand by them through whatever it takes....to make a product that we all enjoy...with all the functions needed to do a good job !!

[George]

Just tell the guy you don't have the legal right to sell him Hoster, which you don't. Then uninstall Hoster, let him buy his own Hoster, and have MTU transfer your registration to another pc for your own testing use.

Seems simple enough.

I wouldn't sign any non-competition agreement, especially one that did not specify non-competition for a set time period.

You may want back in later on.


George

[Smallan]

One of the reasons I purchased Hoster was that the ability to play AVI's and DVD's would be available soon. I know the files take up a lot of space but these days USB drives are not expensive. I bought another 250 GB drive last week.

Again..........YES PLEASE!!


BTW

I use a lot of videos in my shows....but I really don't like the way Hoster handles video.......so I will continue to use a different program to run that portion of my shows. But in time...they WILL GET IT RIGHT !

What do you use to run karaoke videos on PC?

[nitelife]

Video Program I don't play Video Karaoke. Just not my style. But I do play a lot of music videos to fill in the gaps when its a slow night, or in that early part of the show, before the crowd gets into a singing mood ( not enough liquid courage yet )
I think video karaoke is just a distraction...it looks good when there is a video playing to match the words and music......but really it takes away from the singer, and distracts them from focusing on what they are doing.
To play music videos...I use a program I found for free on the web...called the " Core Media Player " best I've seen so far in how it handles video using dual display set ups. They ask for a " donation " to get all the features, but even the basic free version has got windows media player beat hands down if your sending the video to a separate screen(s).
I like how Hoster handles multiple screens, and in time...I'm sure they will do the same with the video player that they built into the program. Call it a learning process I guess....one step at a time. I have complete faith in the company....and those who work for them, but the task is not an easy one !
As a tester, I've seen how something that seems easy in the begining....turns out to be much more complicated than originally thought !! BUT stay tuned....the best is yet to come !!

[nitelife]

George I think in this case...you are both right and wrong in your view point. It's just not that simple.
You are right that I DO NOT have the right to act as a third party and sell Hoster, but it was also discussed in the tester's forum long ago....possibilities that might occur if a business is sold, and the steps that could be taken in that event.
In this case....I think a private message is in order to discuss things....well you know, privately.