[SET Man]

Hey!

  Okay, my uncle who doesn't know anything about audio/video asked me to help him buy a Karaoke DVD player.

   So, I went to J&R here in NYC and to my surprise there were only 3 Karaoke DVD players on the display shelf! Hey! what gives? There use to be lots of Karaoke DVD players... and strangely I didn't see any from Pioneer of whom started this Karaoke thing.

   I saw a Sony DVP-K85PR pretty much the only big name Karaoke DVD player there. But it was out of stock there at J&R. So, today I went to B&H and they have it and it was cheaper than J&R. I picked one up with a Sony mic. I tried it tonight but the mic level was low. Also from what I've gather it doesn't support CD+G.... whatever that mean

    Anyway, did a little net surfing and found that there are other cheap Karaoke DVD out there on eBay like the RJ Tech from China I think that pretty much play anything and it is region free of which it would come in handy also. So, now I'm wondering if I've made the right with the Sony.

    So, does anyone here into and have Karaoke DVD player? Since I'm not into this Karaoke thing any help would be appreciated BTW... I could still return the Sony for refund within 7 days.

Take care,
Buddy

[Bemopti123]

Karaoke DVD players, as I have seen them in Asia or Karaoke places are rather large units.  The Korean ones seem to have some sort of HD in them, they might be all MP3 based and have the songs loaded on to them with the lyrics that change, as you go through the songs.  They have larger remotes and punch pads to punch in the songs you would like to sing.  They seem to keep the songs updated through DVDs or CDs that have the latest songs in them.  These sort of machines, I remember border around $600-1000.

The DVD or Karaoke player you might have seen is what I believe simply a machine that might have a mike input and some sort of equalization in order to decrease the vocals from CDs in the tray, but never really remove them all together, so if I think what your uncle might be expecting, this might not be the unit for him....Unless he knows all the songs that he wants to sing and HAVE all the CDs that he would like to play in them. 

I suspect that the machine above is similar in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan...and I am sure there might be one with a Thai version on it, but do not count me on it.   

[patrickperry]

A karaoke dvd disc has two audio tracks, one have vocal and one doesn't so you can sing along.  You can switch between the two tracks anytime by pressing the audio button on the dvd player remote.  If your uncle have these discs then why not just get him a karaoke mixer.  You can then use any dvd player with a mixer, and a mixer has much more functions and flexibility.  Vocopro is the most popular brand.  Ebay have these ranging from $99-$299.

GL

[SET Man]

Hey!

    Thanks guys. Well, I think I will try the Sony for another day and see.... if me and my uncle decided to return it we still have time until next Tuesday.

   Oh! forgot to mention... all of the Karaoke discs that my uncle will be using are VCD type. And it is just for fun nothing serious so he's not looking to spend lots of money on it.

   I will check out Vocopro and other... seem like those inexpensive players are all from China these days and wonder if they will last. But let's say with the RJ Tech the bonus is that he will could also play DVD from Thailand since the player is region free. Not sure if my uncle will be ok with these non name brand like this.

   Man! This is not easy.

Take care,
Buddy