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The Karaoke Machine, A Simple Technology With Extreme Satisfaction
From bars to homes and now the internet, karaoke has garnered a following that has spawned new technologies in its wake. Better and flashier karaoke machines have emerged that has shown its evolution from the cassette tapes to CD’s then to DVD’s. The list of features has grown from its simple roots.
The basic karaoke machine consists of an audio input, a means of altering the pitch of the music and an audio output. Some machines have vocal suppressors to filter out or suppress the voice of the original singer.
Features
Most karaoke machines are audio mixers with microphone input built-in with CD+G, Video CD, Laser Disc or DVD players. CD+G players use a special track called “sub code” to encode the lyrics and pictures displayed in the screen while the other formats display both audio and video. In some countries in East Asia they have the KTV. The KTV is a karaoke machine that has capabilities of displaying video lyrics
Other Karaoke machines involve technology that electronically changes the pitch of the music so that beginners may sing along to any music of their choice to a key more appropriate to their vocal range.
Most of the karaoke machines today have scoring system that gives more fun to the singers. Parties are amplified to a higher fun level when a healthy competition is setup between the contestants. Many would sing with gusto and wait for their scores.
With the entry of the advanced computer technology, some computer programs serve a similar purpose to the standard Karaoke machines.
Early Editions
You may note that a karaoke machine bought in the 1990s would likely feature a cassette player, a radio and a CD player with extra software for reading graphics. A small television monitor may also be included on higher-end models, or the karaoke machine may have external plugs leading to a standard television screen.
Early karaoke machines used cassette tapes but technological advances replaced this with CDs, VCDs, laserdiscs and, currently, DVDs. In 1992, Taito introduced the X2000 that fetched music via a dial-up telephone network. Its repertoire of music and graphics was limited, but the advantage of continuous updates and the smaller machine size saw it gradually replace traditional machines. It is now common to use karaoke machines connected via fiber-optic links to provide instant high-quality music and video.
The idea was still the same, the singer selects a track from the disk and the lyrics would appear on the screen as a guide. Today, many karaoke singers seek the best karaoke machine models available for serious performers that want professional quality on their karaoke machines.
The new karaoke machine for both personal and commercial use looks more like a DVD player. Several CD+G disks can be placed in multiple trays, eliminating the downtime between selections. An electronic key changer can raise or lower the original pitch by several keys in either direction.
Microphones are often mixed into commercial-level soundboards for better sound balance and vocal quality. The small speakers of a boom box have been replaced with 50 amp speakers capable of handling even the loudest vocalists.
Internet Based
Aside from the Karaoke machine that you can buy from an electronics store, there is another piece of machinery most homes have that can be transformed into a karaoke machine. It is your computer.
There are lots of karaoke software available in the internet for download either for free or for a minimal fee. They provide a lot of the same features most karaoke machines offer. With it, your computer would become a great karaoke machine especially if you have a good set of speakers.
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