new and confused

[magk4u2]

I purchased everything! Hoster, Hardware, and Karaoke Suite 4. I started importing cdgs using Hoster...but it is also available in Microstudio. Which should I be using??? Yes I do read the manual....it reminds me of an IBM tech manaual....you have to know and understand the software to use the manual. I am currently not very pleased with the product.

[no vocals]

What are you trying to do? If you want to use the software to perform or run a karaoke show, use hoster. if you want to change or create karaoke tracks, micro studio is the one to use. i am quite certain once you become familiar with the software you will love it. i have been using mtu products for about four years now, mainly hoster, but microstudio, vogone and the others on occasion.

[magk4u2]

A four year user, Wow! Thanks for your help and insight. I've run shows for 13 years...it was time to go tech. Many disks are no longer available. One I have was given to me and I'm not sure what kind of Diskid to use...its a mix of many brands. I thought I would use a generic type of name. Good or Bad?

[no vocals]

i've been hosting shows for about 20 years now and made the switch to digital about four years ago. went back and forth over which program to buy and am very happy with my decision.

the choice of how to "disc id" your discs is about as varied as rules for fantasy football! for the discs that were given to me by customers such as a disc of songs they like to sing that i may not have had at the time i used their name (shortened since you only get a limited number of characters to use) and a number. such as DANA1, DANA2, DANA3, B
OB1, BOB2, BOB3, etc. as for manufacturer name i used the "custom" option.
i DO NOT include those songs in my songbook as they are not mine meaning i did not purchase them, nor do i have the original disc for them (unless the owner of the disc gave it to me and it is the manufacturer's disc not a ripped copy). this SHOULD, emphasis on should, keep me out of trouble if someone comes in asking about licensing and usage rights.

[magk4u2]

Thank you so much for your help. I know I will have questions in the future, I hope you will be available. I have a lot of disks to import and its slow entering titles and artists. have a show to get to..thanks again.

[no vocals]

you'll get lots of help here from a number of people. ddouglass and lonman are way more knowledgable than i and both are very reliable to help. have a great show and have fun with hoster and all of the mtu products

[ddouglass]

First let me say that MTU does not condone using any disks or downloaded files that are not legal. In other words if you are using discs with copies from other people or files downloaded from sites that do not have a license to sell from the producers those are illegal.
For those discs from the producers like Sound Choice or Chartbuster and many others. Most of us use the ID number on those discs with the initials of the company in front such as SCxxxxx for Sound Choice. You will find many of them already loaded in Hoster's database where all you have to do is select the Brand and DiskID from dropdown lists and the information will fill in automatically.
As No Vocals said Hoster is the program you use for shows. Microstudio is mainly for home use and to be able to burn backup copies or custom discs for you to take to other peoples shows. The rest of the suite is for permanent Key Change, Removing Vocals from regular Audio songs, and Creating your own Karaoke song files wwith the words. A lot of this will require working with it a while to figure out how it works and the best way for you to use it.

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by no vocals

i DO NOT include those songs in my songbook as they are not mine meaning i did not purchase them, nor do i have the original disc for them (unless the owner of the disc gave it to me and it is the manufacturer's disc not a ripped copy). this SHOULD, emphasis on should, keep me out of trouble if someone comes in asking about licensing and usage rights.

This will not keep you out of trouble. If the song file is on your computer and you do not have the original CD then it is illegal. They are not going to compare your Songbook to your originals. They will want to compare your computer songs to your originals.
This is why Hoster has the temporary import for Disc on the main screen. It imports it, they sing it and then it is erased from your computer.

[no vocals]

Originally Posted by ddouglass

This will not keep you out of trouble. If the song file is on your computer and you do not have the original CD then it is illegal. They are not going to compare your Songbook to your originals. They will want to compare your computer songs to your originals.
This is why Hoster has the temporary import for Disc on the main screen. It imports it, they sing it and then it is erased from your computer.

i understand where you're going with that and it makes sense. still if i can prove that the only person who uses that file is the owner of the original disc, i think i could get by. i doubt that they would ever even mess with my little podunk show in my little podunk town anyway.

[Beavis]

you will not regret switching to hoster !

welcome aboard !