Connection problems with Amplifier
 

Recently, I purchased a laptop from MTU made specifically for playing Karaoke Shows: A Durabook, the stats of which I'll look up if needed.

I've been having issues with it, in regards to getting it to support dual screens, but it finally decided to let me do that, so that's some progress in that department. I'm able to get picture out to the TV I'm using for the singers to view.

I've been running a Karaoke business for fourteen, fifteen years in my area, and am getting tired of toting the discs around, which's why I've decided to try going with this. As such, I have all of my old Karaoke equipment and generally run the player through the amp to get to the speakers, and to the TVs.

However, when I try to do that with my laptop, using the MTU laptop and Hoster software, it doesn't end with satisfying results. The only way I've been able to get picture is if I run directly from the laptop, and with the speakers I'm using, running the audio directly from the laptop wouldn't give enough juice, so the amplifier is entirely necessary.

I've been unable to find a thread in regards to this subject, so has anyone met with success in running through an amplifier to get the sound and/or video out? If so, how did you do it? Because it's becoming rather frustrating.

Correction
 

I was able to get the Video to work through the amplifier also, but the audio still isn't playing through it. Any advice on that?

Are you using the Line Out (usually green) connection on the laptop? The cable you will need a stereo 1/8" for the laptop to whatever type of plugs used on your Amp for input (RCA?). Cable at the Amp end should be two connectors for left and right.

i'm not sure, but why are you hooking your laptop to an amp ?my suggestions is if you dont mind, is to plugged the headphone out your laptop into one of the channels of your mixing board, myself i used an adaptor 1/8" to 1/4" i only used the left channel on my mackie board, that way you can control the eq's of that selected channel, ( actually laptop is just like a cd player, you hooked it up just like a regular cdg player on your mixing board ) simple way is : laptop headphone out to mixing board line in ( left chan. ) , mixing board main to amp, amp to speakers.

I've been thinking of doing that too. (hook up to left channel). Now does it matter which of the two (red or white) you place in the left channel. You see, my 1/8" stereo splits and comes to two 1/4"'ers. Can I just leave one dangling and plug in either of the two and assume that one plugged in carries the mono for both channels?

Connecting laptop to computer
 

I use a stereo mini plug into the headphone jack of the computer using both red and white (Stereo) and connect to a line-in channel on my mixer, again using a stereo adapter, that has individual channel EQ, Reverb, Etc. just as my mike channels. If you only use the left side of your mixer, you can't get stereo sound. I never use the tape/CD in/out connections. Using a mike/line in connection gives you the same EQ, reverb, etc. control as using the left only, except you still have stereo.:g :g :g
muzicman

yes you can do that, plugging in just one connector will give you the stereo effect, what ever color your 1/8 " pluged into is the one you have to connect..in my experience plugging in 1/8 to 2 rca jacks wont give you a stereo effect, your actually just connecting one cable..

I have to disagree with you on this. If you plug a stereo 1/8 mini plug from the laptop headphone jack to the 2 rca jacks, you do get stereo. You get the same stereo sound your headphones get. You cannot get stereo sound by connecting only one side. I have run sound for over 30 years. In fact, running only the left side only will not give you stereo effect, you will lose the right side sound if the right connectors are not used.
How about another sound person chiming in here with an idea or correction.
muzicman144

A stereo plug regardless of size will have 3 sections called tip, ring and sleeve which is left channel, right channel, and a common return. So if you use a stereo 1/8" plug in the headphones jack of the laptop you will get stereo out. In most cases the music for karaoke is stereo, but I have found that some were mono or in other words exactly the same on both channels.
One note though. If you have multiplexed music with the vocals on one channel (some are left and some are right) then you may not be able to switch those on or off in Hoster.
Bryant my opinion is full sounds is always better than half sound and realistically have you gained any savings by leaving one channel out?

I agree. It's just that sometimes on this mixer (Behringer1404FX) I get a grounding thing from my laptop, sort of like one of the wires is bad. So what I do is unplug the right channel and I always get a full sound into the mixer and out to the amps. I think the white is designed to sum the channels when plugged in by itself.

connecting to a amp
 

You need a ground loop isolator (available at Radio Shack for $16.95 or online Humex for about $30.00) This will eliminate your hum or static. The two lines carry two separate sounds which give you the stereo effect. Once you get the isolator and hook both lines, you'll see the difference.
muzicman:c :c

I thought ground loop was a constant irritating hissing or humming thru the speaker system which I am not getting. It's just that once in a while the right side gets momentarily staticy and when I pull the right side out of the mixer, everything sounds perfect again. It happens with new wires too, but it doesn't happen often, just at random and NOT that often.

But I'll try the eliminator anyway.

I wouldn't be without a can of contact cleaner.

Good for switches, jacks, plugs, etc., any of which can cause a static as they age, including mike jacks. Just spray a bit into the plug, insert the jack and turn it around and in and out a bit to clean both, and static is gone.

It's available in most any electronic supply store that caters to electronic service repair men. Last I knew, Radio Shack had it.

i'm not really sure about that, but since you have more experience than i do you maybe right, but anyway i've been running just one channel for years now and my left and right ch. on my main out has the same volume level, and if i pan it to either left or right or if i used my optical cd/dvd drive cleaner, i get the the right result , when prompted by the cleaner, i maybe wrong..but i do get stereo effect..

I don't think you get stereo sound as that is impossible from one side (by def. stereo = two separate sides), but you do get both sides summed into one channel (the left side), so it may sound the same from the floor. Stereo is really only effective if you are sitting precisely between two speakers in an acoustically treated room or you have headphones on with each ear on each separate channel (side). In a dance room with speakers fairly close together and people scattered everywhere, the concept of stereo no longer is present, and the summed mono from each speaker is certainly efficient, for the most part.

Why would you hook your video to an amp???.

You should be hooking sound from your laptop to mixing board,
and your video out of laptop to your TV.

It is probably a Mixer/Amp combo. If so then everything can go through it. I do this on my mixer so I can use my cdg player for singers discs rather than import the song into Hoster.

Yea, prob right.
i have a few powered mixers.
but the only one i run my video through, is my vocopro.
it has video inputs and outputs.
the others i use a couple of Y adapters for video and go to rf modulator.
and TVs with video inputs.