Host without Hoster?

[bryant]

Basically, If somehing happened to your computer or software, and if you were down to a choice between lugging all your CDG's in and setting up your old karaoke machine to do the gig, or cancelling the gig,
would you show up without Hoster?

[Lonman]

Not sure if I hit the wrong answer, but yes I would use discs.
Wouldn't be an issue at all for me, all my discs & players are at every show. But even if I was mobile, I would still have my discs & at least 1 player with me simply for back up purpose - no way i'd cancel just because I lost the 'convenience' factor, so I would actually have to do a little more work lifting heavy discs, i'd rather get paid for my job. If someone would actually cancel a show because they would have to use discs for a night, then they have absolutely no business running a show in the first place! I can actually run a faster paced show with discs in reality, but I prefer the convenience of Hoster not to mention the sound quality.

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by Lonman

If someone would actually cancel a show because they would have to use discs for a night, then they have absolutely no business running a show in the first place!

Or they are running illegally and don't have the disks to fall back on.

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by ddouglass

Or they are running illegally and don't have the disks to fall back on.

Which in again, they would have no business running a show in the first place

[muzicman144]

There is no absolutely no way you can run a faster pace show using disc v Hoster. Also, i find it much easier to carry a backup laptop w/hoster than lugging a player and all those disc.

muzicman

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by muzicman144

There is no absolutely no way you can run a faster pace show using disc v Hoster.

Well yea actually it is a fact. I wasn't the typical 1 player host that wouldn't even pull their disc until the current song was done playing. I always had 2 players - 1 playing, 1 cued at the cue points I have listed on every disc/song to eliminate long cue/intro screens or even unecessary long intros example NIB - Black Sabbath gets cued to 1:00 where the actual music starts - eliminating 1 minute of a bass solo - not common but there are many songs with very long intros or silent cue screens. When the singing stopped on the playing disc, I would ask for applause & call up next singer while starting the next disc & fading out old song. Thus eliminating all down time in between.
With Hoster I cannot do that. I still can ask for applause & call up next singer when singing stops, but then I have to turn down the current outro & stop it making for dead air - unless I push up the fill/transition music (another step), & quickly highlight next song & start it & wait for the cue up & intro screen before the music starts since you can't set cue points yet. So yes, running players/discs for me is in fact faster than using Hoster, but I am willing to sacrifice the speed for the convenience & sound - which seems to be better than discs for some odd reason.
Which is why I had requested the 2nd player for Hoster for more like a dj type system or at the very least the crossfade button that would automatically fade out the current song while starting the next at the click of a button (obviously it would need to be a manual button) - like I can do with discs & if the cue points become a reality, then I believe Hoster will be faster than running discs in the manner described .

Also, i find it much easier to carry a backup laptop w/hoster than lugging a player and all those disc.

muzicman

But that wasn't the question at hand

[bryant]

Originally Posted by muzicman144

There is no absolutely no way you can run a faster pace show using disc v Hoster. Also, i find it much easier to carry a backup laptop w/hoster than lugging a player and all those disc.

muzicman

I agree, I keep the backup discs in the truck with the player and bring in a backup laptop. I would cancel and find a replacement. This is not my main job, have another, and I would simply call in sick, although I never had in either Hosting or my real job. People around here have gotten so used to my system with Hoster, videos, pictures, quick songfinding, nearly paperless(80% anyway), that I would settle on giving them less anymore.

[dan matney]

Originally Posted by ddouglass

Or they are running illegally and don't have the disks to fall back on.

It is a fact that they are suing stolen stuff, in my area almost all the guys here have puters at their shows, and no discs, but they all have gotten togather and shred there had drives and are running illegally, but sometimes I think Im the crazy guy, Ive spent almost 50k in the past few years for music and none of them have spent a dime and they never get caught, so who is making the most money. I work 3 to 4 shows per week it takes one show just to buy the music I need, they put theirs in there pockey and by beer for pretty girls they know something I dont, hard to compete with no over head huh?
kowboys karaoke........Dan

[capnvic]

I used to have a show on a Saturday night where I would have 30 singers already signed up when systems are go. As the night would go on, the rotation may end up at 45 or 50 singers. Using disks and a disk changer, one singer would be lucky if they sang more than twice in an evening.

With Hoster, I was able to improve the wait time, which would mean someone would be able to sing three or maybe if time permitted, four times in a night.
My shows would run from 9pm to 2am back then.
Now I have smaller venues, therefore, my rotations are much smaller. maybe 12 to 15 singers in the rotation. My crowds are older, so some of their song selections are less than 4 minutes. Remember prior to the late 60's, songs longer than three minutes were more the exception rather than rule. I did not mean to imply that this was always the case in my rotations. Not everyone sings American Pie or Stairway to Heaven either.

Just a little info.

Vic

[kedmison]

I voted no. But that is sorta unrealistic. With my backup laptop it hopefully keeps that out of the picture. I started back when Hoster 2.0 came out. My first laptop was actually from MTU. And if I remember at the time my laptop was the first one they ever sold where some requested dual drives in it. After a few years I put it to pasture and got another on. But then shortly afterward bought a second laptop for back up.

Proud to say in many years I've never had to use my backup. Only once a few weeks back with 4.02. But as normal, I smooooth sailing again.

Being older and not having to do this for a living I would probably opt to cancel the show. Been at the same place now for almost 7 years. Like Mad Jim said, most of my 1,000 discs have only been played one time. Don't take away my Hoster.

Kelly

[mindonstrike]

I would revert back to cdg's and a player.

If I have contracted with the bar owners (even if that contract is just a handshake), one way or another the show will go on, to do otherwise would be unprofessional.

I agree with Lonnie, at this point in time using a two player setup is faster with less dead time, although it's a bit more work and not as flexible as Hoster. Hopefully H4 will rectify this.
Before Hoster this was pretty much how I would do things on busy nights using a 3 tray and a 5 tray player.

As for replacing a truck with mules: If not using the mules means I don't get the job done, I would not only use mules but also have a spare mule bringing up the rear.

I do still use the player occasionally, usually just when the customer disk is well worn or if it's an SC Media Cloq.

Sam

[bobcox- with the Lord]

I will put my speed of using disc up against anyone out there.
and hoster is just as fast if not faster.
no matter how fast you can start a song ,
you still have to wait for the singer, unless you have a line where they just keep passing the mic back.
i am mobil, so i dont leave my stuff anywhere.
i have to carry everything in and out of every place i do a show.
and i would not like to carry five large cases of disc in and out with everything else.
so a backup laptop is the way to go, at least for me. Bob

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by bobcox

I will put my speed of using disc up against anyone out there.
and hoster is just as fast if not faster.
no matter how fast you can start a song ,
you still have to wait for the singer, unless you have a line where they just keep passing the mic back.
i am mobil, so i dont leave my stuff anywhere.
i have to carry everything in and out of every place i do a show.
and i would not like to carry five large cases of disc in and out with everything else.
so a backup laptop is the way to go, at least for me. Bob

I would take you on any day when running discs. The ONLY advantage the computer would have over discs is when there is a sudden song change - which isn't often at my shows.

I carry nearly 1000 cdg's, maybe not a lot to many here, but they are carefully selected & I don't have alot of duplicate songs, so maybe this is the issue!

[muzicman144]

I believe that if i had the fastest , most efficient karaoke show in the country, with the trained singer who doesn't change their mind and leap to the stage, all without the use of Hoster, i wouldn't have wasted my money on the product. Nor would there be a need to address backup issues.

Just a thought
Muzicman144

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by muzicman144

I believe that if i had the fastest , most efficient karaoke show in the country, with the trained singer who doesn't change their mind and leap to the stage, all without the use of Hoster, i wouldn't have wasted my money on the product. Nor would there be a need to address backup issues.

Just a thought
Muzicman144

Never said they don't change their mind, I said it's not very often - which Hoster I already admitted does help in this area.
But AGAIN, i bought Hoster for the convenience factor so it wasn't a waste of money & my back up issues are already resolved with discs, no need for a second computer.

[swany]

I have a disc show ready to go. It is my emergency backup, waiting in the trailer. I also have a laptop, I carry along just in case, with 14,000 KJ and 18,000 DJ on the hard drive. My outboard, hard drive also travels to my PC gigs. On my personal feelings I could do it, but would rather break a leg, than go back to handling discs.

[bryant]

Originally Posted by swany

I have a disc show ready to go. It is my emergency backup, waiting in the trailer. I also have a laptop, I carry along just in case, with 14,000 KJ and 18,000 DJ on the hard drive. My outboard, hard drive also travels to my PC gigs. On my personal feelings I could do it, but would rather break a leg, than go back to handling discs.

That's the kind of answer I've been expecting. probably just me being a bit too lazy thinking of setting up up all those disks and being like the other guys around here.
Would rather break a leg, as you say.

[madjim- with the Lord]

Originally Posted by bryant

That's the kind of answer I've been expecting. probably just me being a bit too lazy thinking of setting up up all those disks and being like the other guys around here.
Would rather break a leg, as you say.

Bryant,
I don't hink it's lazy, I think it's smart. It would be like carring records around in case the CD player quit working, where does it stop? The cost of computers and memory is so low that any working KJ/DJ/Entertainer can afford a backup machine and a backup drive in case anything goes down.

Jim

[madjim- with the Lord]

I Could not take the poll. If my rig went down I would use my back-up rig or pull out my guitar.

NEVER CANCEL A GIG!

If I couldn't do a gig because I was in the hospital, I'll take the time to find somebody to fill my spot.

NEVER LEAVE YOUR CLIENT WITHOUT ENTERTAIMENT!


Jim

[bryant]

I agree there too madJim, I would not actually cancel a show, but let someone else have it. usually, when that happens when I take a vacation, a Disk-guy comes in and they always say "Pleeeeeaaase, bryant, don't take any more vacations"

And I think that's because Hoster is SOOOO flexible with changing songs and not having to use paper, and all that good stuff, it really spoils my regulars quite a bit.