Need recommendation and advice...
 

Long story short, some time back I got a PC from MTU with Hoster, and had problems with it...getting it to do what it was supposed to do, so I eventually gave up on it. Some time later, I switched to laptop to DJ from, and attempted to use Compuhost to run my karaoke shows from the laptop. While I love that product, I cannot find time to re-rip all my discs to the proper format. 85-90% of my discs are already ripped to KMA format on the old Hoster machine.

My laptop has Vista...and in an attempt to thwart having to rerip my discs, I am considering coming back to MTU. I know a couple of users who are having no problems, so I am assuming maybe my issues were unique to me, and starting over may result in different results.

Currently I have Hoster 3.31 installed. Here are my questions:

1. If I am going to use a Vista installed laptop (Toshiba Satellite A135-s4727... Pentium Dual Core T2080 / 1.73 GHz - RAM : 2 GB - HD : 160 GB - DVD/R) what is the best version of Hoster for me to consider?

2. What kind of cash outlay is it going to cost to upgrade?

3. Is it going to be a hassle to put the new version on a laptop if the old version is on the desktop I got from MTU? (Mini cube).

4a. If I decide to upgrade my laptop anytime soon, how hard is it to move Hoster to my new laptop from the old one? Is that a big deal?

4b. Is it possible to cheaply license a second laptop as a backup? I carry a backup PC generally, but it wont do me any good if I cant play the karaoke files on it, LOL. I am seriously considering a new laptop for this project and using the old laptop as a backup.


5. Are there any obstacles in this thought that I am not seeing?

Thanks in advance for the info and advice and direction.

Harry,
We'll get you going!

I was at Finagan's in Flagler Beach Fla. and saw your name. I spoke with the bartender and she couldn't say enough good things about you.
When do you gig there?

Jim :g

Thanks Jim...I am always working in that area, 6 nights a week. Finnegans just remodeled and changed the name to Finns. I am in my 10th year there. I will be there Tu, We and Th in the future. My schedule is always current at www.harryoke.com or www.myspace.com/harryoke.

I got my hoster before 2006 I am sure, but I am not certain of the date of the last upgrade... so I may or may not qualify for a free upgrade. I will have to look into that.

When you say shuttle...is that the mini cube PC I got from MTU? If so:

Portable PC (has 2.8GHz pentium 4 installed as well!)
1024MB Ram
128MB Video card, w/tv and svideo outputs
Plextor 712 DVDRW
(2) 200GB, 7200 rpm hard drives
Logitech Keyboard and cordless mouse
Flatscreen LCD Monitor
MTU Hoster 3.0 pre installed and upgraded to 3.110
2nd Sound card (for winamp or dj program)

It "works" fine, but I have issues playing customers discs, and occasionally get frustrated trying to load in (import) tracks from custom discs... so I have shyed away from it and kept using discs for now. For more info on my past issues, check this thread:

http://forum.mtu.com/showthread.php?t=5985

Harry,
There have been alot of improvments in Hoster since your last post. We'll keep moving forward and get you going. :w

Jim :g

Sam from JOLT here.
Sam

Thanks Sam! Good to see you.

$170 may seem much, but when you consider the TIME it would take to re-rip, and what I charge for my time, it could be a bargain. I think I may be looking into this soonly...I should have some free time either this week or next. Will make it a priority, especially if the Vista users are happy and the bugs are better on the importing.

Hey Jim, what do you do on the St. Johns? I actually live in DeLand.

I play guitar and sing, sometimes on boat at Salt Springs. Sometimes I use background tracks, sometimes I don't. I've been getting work in Welaka and Georgetown, right around the corner from our home (double wide :r) in San Mateo. I getting ready to talk with the folks at the Parker House in Crescent City. We'll bump into each other one day. :w

Jim :g

No wonder you were at Finn's, LOL! I am an hour south of you on 17!

Yea, Flagler is our beach. the sunrises are outstanding! Deb and I go to the springs outside of Delan for pancakes when we can. Cool area in my opinion, Old Florida!

Our paths will cross some day, good to meet you Harry.

Jim :g

Alright...yesterday was a busy day! I upgraded the old machine to 4.06...ripped the music I had been neglecting, added 4.06 to my laptop, copied all my KMA files to my laptop, then bench tested and got acquainted in my office with the new Hoster. So far so good. I am loving some of the changes they have made, and it does feel pretty stable so far.

I will field test it tonight cautiously, with my discs at the ready, LOL. Hopefully all will go well. Thanks to all for your advice and help.

did you upgrade to 4.06a ? or just 4.06 ??

Whatever came up when I clicked the upgrade download (hoster406setup.exe)...

I just opened up Hoster, and clicked on the info, and it says: version 4.06.

I hope that is not going to be an issue, LOL...I would assume I had the most up to date and stable version installed now.

4.06a was to fix a unique name problem. It is not necessary unless you have that problem. The fix they added will be in 4.10 when it releases.

Cool! Thanks! Looking forward to using it tonight!!

Followup on XP problems and 4.06a?
 

Just a comment and not a criticism of MTU, but I would like to point out the reality of software. The most difficult type of problem to get resolved is one where two different companies products work flawlessly on a virgin OS but not when another company's software is installed on that machine. Either company will see it as a problem that the other company needs to address. Since neither company will share the source code with the other, either company would need to try to resolve the problem blindfolded. In this case, SD6 is sacrificial (at least during a karaoke show) so the conflict is minimal and non critical. I cannot stress how I do not mean this as a criticism of MTU but simply the reality of software developed by multiple companies residing on a single PC. I honestly don't know how these companies, MTU included, can keep their software working as well as they do. Many are unlike MTU in that they do not even listen to a users comments much less attempt to add features and correct glitches like MTU does.

Second, what is it that 4.06a fixes? I thought that Beavis was criticized earlier for not being specific but I see ddouglas only stated: "4.06a was to fix a unique name problem. It is not necessary unless you have that problem." I was hoping to get more details on that problem as I do not know if the name that was referred to is a file name, song name, performer name, or perhaps some other name that I did not think of. I presume that 4.06 is the mainstream download and that 4.06a is only available by request if you happen to have this specific name problem. I will assume that since I did not have any problems, other then what I outlined earlier, that I do not have this name problem.

Also, regarding the image that can be used during intermission, is it possible that MTU can use the additional two choices that Vista provides when it is installed on a Vista machine or would the coding to provide that be too difficult? I will not switch to Vista on my computer either way. I will wait and see what Windows 7 has in store for us. Perhaps MTU has received a Beta version and is playing with it already. They probably cannot comment due to the NDA (non-disclosure agreement) anyway.

Lastly, I think that Harryoke made a good choice when switching back to MTU. This is the only company whose product I purchased that was as responsive to customers concerns and comments. I cannot stress enough how important that is especially in today's day and age where most companies, especially larger ones, ignore the comments of the little guys like us and focus on addressing the needs of other corporations.

I have slept since then and cannot find the one thread about it. If Beavis or someone else can remember what thread it was then maybe that would help. I do know it was a unique situation that the average user will probably never see. It happened to point out a bug in the import utility that would only be found in that situation. If MTU had thought it was something that would effect the rest of us, then they would have released an update to fix it. They did not create a new update download and only gave those individuals a link to a replacement Hoster program executable.

What two additional image types does Vista use?

If the disk ID is 12 characters long, Hoster could randomly append an extra character when adding to the playlist.

It is in this thread.

Track Path is Missing

Thanks Mark. I am getting too old to remember all these things.:s:g

I am not regretting my migration back to MTU either...so far so good. First night out, no problems. I did not push it too hard, and it was a quiet night, so I did not try importing singers discs while a singer was singing or anything like that. I still have my player hooked up just in case and am using an a/b switch to go between the laptop and the player if necessary, to keep any downtime down to a minimum.

I can say I feel comfortable not bringing my discs in with me any longer. My back and arms thank you.

Kneejerk reactions...I love the marquee option!!! I am not sure I love the singers rotation listing, as sometimes it is inaccurate...that is, if you have singers that dont let you know what song they are doing until they get to the stage, it can send out erroneous info. I will have to teach my attendees that what is on the screen is not gospel.

I love the ability to rip and use the new feature of the predictive title and artist...this makes things go quickly when ripping a disc not in a database.

THe manual and website seem to communicate things clearly if you have comprehension to follow orders. I had zero glitches on the first night...it felt more like getting acquainted, LOL.

I still am not 100% comfortable with having my library in the KMA format alone, but now with the improvements in Hoster it appears I have a tool I can work with. I will miss features on my other hosting program, most especially the ability to queue background bumper music and have it auto fade and cross fade between singers. That is a huge loss to me, but dealing with that for now is easier than re-ripping my library to mp3g files I suppose.

Looking forward to pushing it harder Th and Fr. Unless you hear complaints from me, assume that all is well.

THANKS.