What kind of laptops do today's KJs use/recommend?

[ntepb]

Hi there.

I have a friend who has been pretty successful running karaoke shows for a number of years. Lately, he's been getting pretty tired of lugging around 1000's of CDs to every show, so he's looking into running his shows from a laptop computer.

He already plans on getting an external HD and Plextor CD-RW (or DVD+RW) for all of his music, so HD space isn't a concern, as well as playing his customers' CDs.

I've told him about the usage of laptops vs. desktops at other shows I've been to, as well as reading lots of forums about this topic, but he's definitely convinced of using a laptop (to save space). So there's no convincing him of using a desktop. Would've make my life a lot easier if I could convince him otherwise. And before you ask, the other KJs I deal with are using tower machines, not laptops. Also, he can't currently afford the MTU laptop systems.

I've seen the system requirements for Hoster and found some interesting laptops out there that might run Hoster. My big concern is with the S-video output. Some chips will drive multiple monitors (a.k.a. extended desktop) fine; others will only use "clone mode" or some similar variant.

With my friend's setup, he needs to be able to do the following :

1. Run the Hoster program from the laptop LCD
2. At the same time, have the karaoke song/video file output to a TV using the S-video port

Sorry to make that point a bit obvious; I've heard of some KJs who don't do this and have some rather funky setups.

What I'm curious to find out is what kind of laptops KJs who run Hoster are using these days (make & model number, please). The system doesn't have to be brand-new; I just need some recommendations on a system to try and get for this guy.

Any suggestions? Sorry about making this post so long. If anything here seems unclear as to what my friend and I are trying to accomplish, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

Jon

[gduns - with the Lord]

Got to the mtu store and check out their laptop setup it is ruggedized, and a steal. Loaded with hoster and ready to go. I recommend theirs over anything on the market today. And with it you can use the internal dvdcd drive instead of lugging around an external plextor.

[ntepb]

gduns:

Thanks for the reply. However, as I've stated previously, my friend can't afford the MTU laptops right now. Plus, he doesn't mind lugging around the CD/DVD and hard drives. At least it's lighter than lugging around a few thousand CDs. Yes, I know, my friend is crazy.

Looking at those laptops, though...I almost want to buy one.

Any other suggestions?

Jon

[billyo]

Originally Posted by ntepb

gduns:

Thanks for the reply. However, as I've stated previously, my friend can't afford the MTU laptops right now. Plus, he doesn't mind lugging around the CD/DVD and hard drives. At least it's lighter than lugging around a few thousand CDs. Yes, I know, my friend is crazy.

Looking at those laptops, though...I almost want to buy one.

Any other suggestions?

Jon

i've been using dell e1505 laptop ( with some upgrades )as my primary to do my shows and a 1405 as my back-up ( also with upgrades both with 3 years ext. warranty ) i havent had any problems with it the only thing was i had to use a maxview pc to tv/lcd adaptor since both have a 7 pin s-video out, i cant seemed to get the video to work right with the 7 pins, both laptop is capable of dual display, both has dvd/cdrw,don't even use my plextor drive anymore price is reasonable..paid over $900 for the 1505 and over $800 for the 1405..the only advice i can give you was to make sure to back-up all your kma files to an ext. drive just incase...good luck.

[bobcox- with the Lord]

I have two Dell 8100 Laptops from Ebay.
about $300.00 15" lcd s-video 512 ram they work great. have used them for a long time. and the price is right.

[ntepb]

billyo :

Wow! Those are some powerful systems! But you do bring up a good point...does it seem like the 7-pin S-video issue is common with all of the Dell laptops? Or is it just with a few laptops where the manufacturer is trying to make a few more dollars by trying to get consumers to get their S-video adapter?

bobcox :

I just talked to a couple of KJs in my area, and they've all told me that they started off with a Dell Inspiron 8100 laptop before moving onto a new tower system. So it sounds like the Dell 8100 might be a winner (at least in regards to price).

Thanks very much for the info, guys. Let's keep this going. What other systems do KJs use and/or recommend?

Jon

[billyo]

as far as i know dell is the only one that has 7 pin s-video out..but someone said that a 4 pin s-video cable will work just fine.but anyway hope your friend choose whats best for him..good luck

[bobcox- with the Lord]

the 7 pin is s-video/tv out, it has a composit video singnal.
the 4 pin is s-video only it has no composit video signal so you are better off with a 7 pin s-video/tv out.

the dell inspiron 8100 is considered to be the finest multi-media laptop ever made. new they were about $3500.00. and that was 4 or 5 yrs ago.

[Dean Gadberry]

I have used 2 different lap tops. Both have been Sonys. They are both VAIO which is video, audio, integrated operating system. They are perfect for Hoster. I have not had the problems with these computers that I have read about in the forum pages and did not have to deal with the bugs that bothered many of the other users. One is a PCG-GRX670 wide screen and 2 hard drives, 3-4 years old. My second one is a VGN-FJ170/B with 1 100gb hard drive, 1 year old. Both have a audio/video jack that you plug into. You can also buy a port replicator for the GRX670 if you want and then you would get RCA plug in's for both input and output.
Dean

[a2kmike]

your friend may want to consider using CRT (tube-type)computer monitors. if he is lugging around TV's these are usually lighter than a 19-or 20 inch TV. they can be picked up at used computer shops rather inexpensive or if he is like me he may have some extras around from upgrades he has done on systems at home. then you get one of these....

http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp?...5Fid=83%2D3180

from MCM (when prompted, use source code 612114 for the current sale catalog price) and the price is $13.19 each. you split the VGA (HD-15) signal and send it to two monitors. the pix is much better than an S-video pix. If needed they also carry SVGA extension cables from 6 foot to 100 foot.

As for the Hoster computer I am using a Compaq Presario 2500 .... I upgraded the RAM and installed a CD+G compatible CDRW...works fine...picked it up for $350.00 used.

just in case the link does not work..here's the site

it is www.mcminone.com

item # is 83-3180.... VGA "Y" Cable

[kedmison]

I just got a Dell 1505. Going to move my Prostar to back up status. Will my current 4 pin S-video cable work with my Dell? I send one signal to a LCD on stage for the singers and one to a TV up and behind me on stage. Not sure I understand what can or not be used. All I'm sending is the words.

Thanks,

Kelly

[ntepb]

Well, I talked to my friend some more about the various laptops out there, and he wanted me to tell you all thanks for your valuable input.

billyo & bobcox :

Thanks for the input about the S-video pinouts for the Dell laptops.

a2kmike :

Thanks for the info and reminding me about the TV setup. What my friend does is use the big-screen TVs in the bars to display karaoke with, so he really never has to lug around a separate TV. I agree that using a 15-pin VGA connection would look better, but we're looking towards hooking up to (sometimes) multiple big-screen (pre-HD) TVs, so either composite or S-video would work (S-video preferred). And yes, my friend already has figured out the solution to hooking up his system to older TVs - S-video/composite to RF modulator, so that won't be an issue.

Dean :

Now there's a thought...I never thought of using a Sony VAIO laptop for karaoke. I'm going to check some prices on that. Very interesting idea! Thanks.

Kelly :

Ooh...another vote for the 1505. Thanks! And to respond to your 2nd point (this is for everyone)...

The reason I brought up the 4-pin vs. 7-pin S-video issue is because after reading Dell's website, it seems that lots of people have problems using the 4-pin S-video cables with the 7-pin sockets. Usually, the people having problems with the cabling issues talk a lot about having the TV picture come up in B/W instead of color. I'm not sure if it's a system or video driver issue (probably the latter).

Thanks for all your input, everyone! And once again, let's keep this thread going! Happy holidays!

Jon

[billyo]

Originally Posted by bobcox

the 7 pin is s-video/tv out, it has a composit video singnal.
the 4 pin is s-video only it has no composit video signal so you are better off with a 7 pin s-video/tv out.

the dell inspiron 8100 is considered to be the finest multi-media laptop ever made. new they were about $3500.00. and that was 4 or 5 yrs ago.

i bought a 7 pin video cable to rca adaptor and and i've got it hooked up to a plasma tv at the place where i do my show, still had problems with it , can hardly read the graphicss and sweeping comes out dark.. tried changing my resolution to no avail..that's why i ended up using my maxview pc/laptop to tv adaptor and works great..

[bobcox- with the Lord]

update your video card drivers from manfact website.
also the problem you describe is video card settings. is it ati or nvidia.

[billyo]

Originally Posted by bobcox

update your video card drivers from manfact website.
also the problem you describe is video card settings. is it ati or nvidia.

my 1505 has the 128mb ati radeon x1300 hypermemory and the 1405 only have the intel graphic media accelarator 950 MG

[ntepb]

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been around the past couple of weeks. Just got done visiting lots of family and going back to my day job (working the graveyard shift. Grrr...)

But during my time away, my friend was able to get a couple of older laptops from another friend of his, so I've had the chance to test them with the demo version of Hoster.

The Toshiba M55-S3512 works perfectly with what I'm trying to accomplish with Hoster, including dual-display with S-video. The only bad part is that the internal CD/DVD drive doesn't read CD+G discs. Oh well...we'll just look into getting an external CD drive along with external hard drives to keep it company.

The Dell Inspiron 1200 doesn't have any real expandability to do anything useful with Hoster (no S-video port, no docking station capabilities, etc.). I could (in theory) try to get a 2nd video card installed in the PC Card slot - yes, they do exist - to get S-video output, but I think that takes too much effort compared to what's available now.

And a quick note to billyo :

I would tend to agree with bobcox on the video issue - check the drivers. Make sure that EVERYTHING is set to NTSC (or PAL if you are in most parts of Europe); if you're using the ATI Catalyst drivers, check everything 10 times over because one little setting could throw everything off on the secondary monitor. I learned this after beating my head against the wall trying to figure this out with my ATI AIW 2006 card.

Another test you could try is this...if you have a TV with S-video input, try connecting your computer directly to the TV via S-video cable (no RCA). See if the S-video output works correctly - if so, you're having an issue with the RCA adapter; if not, it's most likely a driver setting/issue.

(Sorry...I should start another thread for this, shouldn't I?)

Thanks again for your input, everyone! Let's keep this going...my friend is looking now to get quite a few laptops running for his shows (he just loves backup machines ).

Jon

[billyo]

Originally Posted by ntepb

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been around the past couple of weeks. Just got done visiting lots of family and going back to my day job (working the graveyard shift. Grrr...)

But during my time away, my friend was able to get a couple of older laptops from another friend of his, so I've had the chance to test them with the demo version of Hoster.

The Toshiba M55-S3512 works perfectly with what I'm trying to accomplish with Hoster, including dual-display with S-video. The only bad part is that the internal CD/DVD drive doesn't read CD+G discs. Oh well...we'll just look into getting an external CD drive along with external hard drives to keep it company.

The Dell Inspiron 1200 doesn't have any real expandability to do anything useful with Hoster (no S-video port, no docking station capabilities, etc.). I could (in theory) try to get a 2nd video card installed in the PC Card slot - yes, they do exist - to get S-video output, but I think that takes too much effort compared to what's available now.

And a quick note to billyo :

I would tend to agree with bobcox on the video issue - check the drivers. Make sure that EVERYTHING is set to NTSC (or PAL if you are in most parts of Europe); if you're using the ATI Catalyst drivers, check everything 10 times over because one little setting could throw everything off on the secondary monitor. I learned this after beating my head against the wall trying to figure this out with my ATI AIW 2006 card.

Another test you could try is this...if you have a TV with S-video input, try connecting your computer directly to the TV via S-video cable (no RCA). See if the S-video output works correctly - if so, you're having an issue with the RCA adapter; if not, it's most likely a driver setting/issue.

(Sorry...I should start another thread for this, shouldn't I?)

Thanks again for your input, everyone! Let's keep this going...my friend is looking now to get quite a few laptops running for his shows (he just loves backup machines ).

Jon

..hey welcome back.i already solved my video problem..didnt have to update drivers or anything, i just have to adjust the resolution..i have a 7 pin s video to rca cable and its working fine now..about your inspiron 1200, i have a inspiron 1000( had to replaced the hardrive, crashed on me 3 mos. ago. ) and like you said there is no s-video out i had to buy a maxview pc to tv converter has a vga/s-video/rca out..just plug the vga to vga and connect either the s-video/rca out to the tv/plasma/lcd.and works fine..

[kjqueen1]

Hello! Just got off the phone with Dell cancelling my order for a killer E1505 system but no one there could tell me about the dual display & what was needed. Even had one of the tekkies go to the MTU website to look. Have been doing karaoke the old fashioned way for 6 years & NEED to upgrade to computer. Help!! I'm not a computer tekkie so pls. explain in easier to understand terminology. Dell kept telling me I couldn't do this with a laptop but needed a desktop with routers, etc.. HELP!!!

[bryant]

You can do it with almost any Dell. I have had several, had bad luck with them all, esp. their video cards. Seems like always one of them was in the shop for repairs.

Now use a SFF Shuttle as you can see, that is a miniature Desktop PC, works very very well, and use Dell as backup, but STILL don't trust it. If you go laptop, I advise another brand.

Hope this helps.

[bobcox- with the Lord]

Originally Posted by kjqueen1

Hello! Just got off the phone with Dell cancelling my order for a killer E1505 system but no one there could tell me about the dual display & what was needed. Even had one of the tekkies go to the MTU website to look. Have been doing karaoke the old fashioned way for 6 years & NEED to upgrade to computer. Help!! I'm not a computer tekkie so pls. explain in easier to understand terminology. Dell kept telling me I couldn't do this with a laptop but needed a desktop with routers, etc.. HELP!!!

I have been using dell laptops for yrs, never had a problem or a failure.
i like the 8100 and now the 8200 laptops, i also have a 9300 17" i would not part with.
but as ststed above small form factor computer is very nice. i use compaq evo and hp d530 the d530 is 12'x13"x31/2" and is very upgradeable.
you can use 2 harddrives (sata or ide ) 2 full pci slots and a half height agp.
buy it on Ebay for about $250.00.