Questions 'bout this Program

[Rockrz]

I'm just getting started tinkering with this prog to learn how it functions and it's features...

First question is - If you have your hard drive partitioned (C and E) with Windows and Hoster running on C and you designate that the songbook be stored on the E drive... does Hoster import the songs from the E drive back to the C drive, or does Hoster simply read the songs from the E drive?

I need to know because I install a 1 TB drive on my laptop and I need to know if I need to partition each drive equally.

Because, if hoster is simply reading the songs off of the E drive (when I tell the prog the songbook is on the E drive)... then I can partition the E drive to be larger than the C drive in anticipation of all the music being on E so I'll have plenty of room.

[Roy Dennis]

If you create a drive to store your music files on then Hoster will just read & play them from that drive.

[Rockrz]

As long as the second drive where the music is being stored at is 7400rpm / 6gbps it should function normally, right?

Just curious is anyone else is doing this in live shows.

[Roy Dennis]

I personally prefer to have all my music on a second external usb type hard drive.
The reason for this is I can easily swap the drive and plug it into my backup computer should I get a computer problem at a gig, I can only recall having had to do this once in the last 12 years. I also keep a backup copy of the usb disc just in case of failure.

I have never tried what you are doing myself so can't really comment but my drives are 5400 rpm and function perfectly.

[Rockrz]

Oh, don't worry... I use computers in my business and have been "backup happy" for years, so I'll have the data on a couple of external drives if not even more than that.

Another question... should I rip my CDGs to the kma file format, or MP3+G format?

Is one better quality over the other?

[KenKelley]

Originally Posted by Rockrz

I'm just getting started tinkering with this prog to learn how it functions and it's features...

First question is - If you have your hard drive partitioned (C and E) with Windows and Hoster running on C and you designate that the songbook be stored on the E drive... does Hoster import the songs from the E drive back to the C drive, or does Hoster simply read the songs from the E drive?

I need to know because I install a 1 TB drive on my laptop and I need to know if I need to partition each drive equally.

Because, if hoster is simply reading the songs off of the E drive (when I tell the prog the songbook is on the E drive)... then I can partition the E drive to be larger than the C drive in anticipation of all the music being on E so I'll have plenty of room.

When you partition a drive like you mention above, you may want to consider leaving at least 25% free space available on your OS Partition. You never know what other programs you may desire to install in the future.

Originally Posted by Rockrz

As long as the second drive where the music is being stored at is 7400rpm / 6gbps it should function normally, right?

Just curious is anyone else is doing this in live shows.

I have found that 5400 rpm HDD's work as well as 7400 HDD's.

What do you mean "Is anyone else doing this in live shows"?

Take a look at my signature block and you can see what equipment I use for Shows. The 1TB Seagate has 2 partitions and operates at 5400 rpm. I also keep a backup HDD (of my entire music/video library) that is updated regularly just in case. I had to use the backup once because my 2nd onboard HDD (music drive) errored out to the point that my OS drive would not boot.... thus the recent 1TB HDD.

[Roy Dennis]

Originally Posted by Rockrz

Oh, don't worry... I use computers in my business and have been "backup happy" for years, so I'll have the data on a couple of external drives if not even more than that.

Another question... should I rip my CDGs to the kma file format, or MP3+G format?

Is one better quality over the other?

It is all a matter of personal preferences, you need to make your own mind up on that.
I prefer to import all mine as zip files at 320 kbts. I choose the zip format over mp3+g as it stores the files in pairs (zip + KMA) rather than triple (mp3 + cdg + kmh)".

Then there's wma vs mp3, wma is supposedly better quality over mp3 at the same compression ratios but wma can only be imported at 128 kbts mp3 can be imported at 320kbts.

You can read more from the manual under "Index Song Files/KMH Vs KMA files."