Do you want to play VCD and/or DVD discs?

[MTUSUPPORT]

Hoster 3.120 will play VCD. Read More here, released 9-20-05.

[Karaoke John]

When Is Hoster version 3.2 going to be out? I thought I read a thread from Admin that it would be out on September 1st.
Still patiently waiting
John

[George]

Look at the post just above yours

[dlessnau]

No VCD for me. I got rid of the ones I had and won't buy anymore. I use a laptop and it would take up too much space. Not worth it.

No DVD

[nitelife]

To each Their Own Lap-top or desk top doesn't matter......there is always an external drive of one type or another Point is in giving the flexability to do what you want !!
I'm a beta tester, and I don't always agree with the way things are....but you gotta respect where things are going !!
I use a lot of videos in my shows....but I really don't like the way Hoster handles video.......so I will continue to use a different program to run that portion of my shows. But in time...they WILL GET IT RIGHT !!
My show....according to what I hear....is the best in town and that is directly connected to the flexability that Hoster gives me !!
I have an employee that wants to " buy me out " and I'm thinking about it. The real point is...why buy me out when there are all these other shows in town that are ready to sell out....and I'm not !!
Answer.........because Hoster offers the flexability that is needed to compete in todays market.
Yep....he's still an employee..........but ......he wants to buy me out !! he has made an interesting offer....and I'm thinking about it !! But he told me alot !!!
He has worked for other karaoke shows....ands he doesn't want them....it's mine ( Hoster ) or none at all.
The only problem I have.....is how do I remain a beta tester......and still sell out my business.
I'll figure it out.....but I WON'T GIVE UP BEING A BETA TESTER !!!!!!!!!!


I love this company....and what they stand for......and I will stand by them through whatever it takes....to make a product that we all enjoy...with all the functions needed to do a good job !!

[George]

Just tell the guy you don't have the legal right to sell him Hoster, which you don't. Then uninstall Hoster, let him buy his own Hoster, and have MTU transfer your registration to another pc for your own testing use.

Seems simple enough.

I wouldn't sign any non-competition agreement, especially one that did not specify non-competition for a set time period.

You may want back in later on.


George

[Smallan]

One of the reasons I purchased Hoster was that the ability to play AVI's and DVD's would be available soon. I know the files take up a lot of space but these days USB drives are not expensive. I bought another 250 GB drive last week.

Again..........YES PLEASE!!


BTW

I use a lot of videos in my shows....but I really don't like the way Hoster handles video.......so I will continue to use a different program to run that portion of my shows. But in time...they WILL GET IT RIGHT !

What do you use to run karaoke videos on PC?

[nitelife]

Video Program I don't play Video Karaoke. Just not my style. But I do play a lot of music videos to fill in the gaps when its a slow night, or in that early part of the show, before the crowd gets into a singing mood ( not enough liquid courage yet )
I think video karaoke is just a distraction...it looks good when there is a video playing to match the words and music......but really it takes away from the singer, and distracts them from focusing on what they are doing.
To play music videos...I use a program I found for free on the web...called the " Core Media Player " best I've seen so far in how it handles video using dual display set ups. They ask for a " donation " to get all the features, but even the basic free version has got windows media player beat hands down if your sending the video to a separate screen(s).
I like how Hoster handles multiple screens, and in time...I'm sure they will do the same with the video player that they built into the program. Call it a learning process I guess....one step at a time. I have complete faith in the company....and those who work for them, but the task is not an easy one !
As a tester, I've seen how something that seems easy in the begining....turns out to be much more complicated than originally thought !! BUT stay tuned....the best is yet to come !!

[Skybird]

I am in the process of probably buying your portable PC with Hoster and yes I am concerned about it playing ALL formats. VCDs and DVDs have become more popular. I've read all the testimonials and have used MicroStudio for 2 years and am very happy with it. However, the PC is a big investment and hope it will play EVERYTHING that I can't play now, especially the variety of CDRs people bring to the show.

[gduns - with the Lord]

O have a substantial collection of both, and have to use an alternate player to use them. it would be nice to be able to use hoster for all.

[tlindzon]

Might as well do it soon because the "want" is rapidly changing to a "must".

P.S. Might want to consider making CDA (audio) a feature rather than a work around. Even Karaokers take a break, but the music goes on and it would be nice to program.

[nitelife]

I currently use three separate programs to run one show...what a hassle.
Program #1 "Hoster" runs all my karaoke needs and does a beautiful job at it...but I also need
Program #2 BPM studio to run the DJ portion of the show. Excellent program for running straight music files...Wave...MP3...WMA...ect. Alot of nice features I would love to see in hoster as well...such as cross fading ect.
Program # 3 is just the software that came with my DVD player. I use it to play almost any video file. DVD...Divx...VCD...Mpeg...ect

Be nice to do it all with one program, but you just can't get away from using all these features. Karaoke is a hot seller, but sometimes you need to switch to a regular DJ on slow nights. Music videos are also a nice touch.
Variety Keeps Em Coming Back and making the shows easier to run isd an absolute must !!!

[crazycarl]

Yes to VCD
Yes To Dvd

[admin]

We will support VCD and DVD disc playing... first from the actual discs. I know, that is slow, but it will get you at least doing everything you want from Hoster.

NOTE: This will require our DVD+R Drive as CDG only drives will not play DVD. Yes, this drive can do CDG, VCD and DVD.

We will later add an import function to bring the VCD and DVD tracks into the hard drive, store them, and add them to the Songs Database.

Now some questions for you folks.

1. Do you want them in the Songs Database so you can use the Add HD Track dialog to find and place them into the Playlist?

2. Do you want to print them both in your Songbooks? Yes, No, or option to select Yes/No?

3. Our Main Database does not have any records for VCD or DVD discs. Is it OK with you to type in all the data for these discs, and do you want anything different than we already provide in the Import Tab fields (Brand-DiscID-Track-Songname-Artist)?

When you answer, please number your answers 1, 2 and 3.

[gduns - with the Lord]

Personaly I wont be pickey,
1. yes
2. yes
3. yes, I use cut and paste from excel sometimes as it is.

[nitelife]

1. In the song database hmmm. I would want them to be easily accessable by the program, but I think the song database would be the wrong location. adding them to the database would only cause confusion while searching for songs during a show. How would you tell the difference between your WMA files...KMA files.....and video files....if you are using your drop down boxes to locate a song during a show....Just too messy !!
A better option would be to separate the folders where each are stored creating a separate database for each...and a separate button to access each for loading into the playlist...much the same as the add HD TRACK & ADD CD track are separated.
2. List the files in the songbook? DEFINATELY NOT !! playing videos or music files are at the hosts discretion, and listing them all in the songbooks would take up too much space, and add to customer confusion when they are looking for a song to sing. Karaoke is the main part of the show...video files or DJ music is usually used as a fill in during slow periods.
3. Is it OK to enter the file information manually? Sure it is ! All you need to fill in is an abreviated name to clue you in as to what the file is. Don't need anything fancy in these headers. Just Song Name...possibly artist...no need for excessive information for playing these files...just a reminder of what you've loaded.

[crazycarl]

I too have many Vcd and would like to play them. Not important to download Dvd Into hard drives
Thanks Crazycarl

[Stillwater]

I went on the forum looking for an answer for this very subject. I have a few VCD disk that I have been using for years and I would like to include them in my Hoster data base. I would have to buy many CDG disk to find the songs that I can't import at the moment. The sooner you implement this feature the better.
I really don't see a big demand for playing VCD disk. This format is old and I don't believe too many people will be bring me a VCD disk to play at a job.

[Big KJ]

Hi to all

I really would like the possibility to use VCDs under Hoster the very same way we can use CDGs. Remember that for some non english speaking countries VCDs used to be and still are the most usual format for Karaoke discs.

After all why don't implement that feature and let each user to decide if they'll use it or not?

Please do implement VCD using under Hoster, I mean not only playing but storage too on the hard drive. Hard drives are inexpensives nowadays.

Also Multiplex handling, by the simple choosing of Left/Right/Both audio channels would be a must.

Thanks

[quaizywabbit]

I would very much like the option to import vcd/dvd files for use in hoster.

Primarily for company intro's, advertising, and outro's.

I'd like to have a means of setting these up to run automatically
at specifiable points in the show(ie..have the company intro play first, perhaps then a advertisement(drink specials) then on to the rotation. At periodic intervals of singers i'd like to have a choice of ads to run before the next singer starts. and the outro added automatically by the host specifying who the last singer is.

These "utility" videos should NOT be in the song database, but perhaps a separate"utilities"database(keep em' out of the songbook, and makes em' easier to search.)

all other vcd/dvd material should be put into a temp buffer as stated by admin.


I hope what I've said makes sense to y'all.