Question of CDG compatability

[benhamtroll]

I was looking at the list of compatible drives on the site, and saw that the Plextor PX-Q840U was listed. Looking around, I see that the PX-806SA has the same specs, and appears to be the same drive without the case. Since I already have an external FW case, I'd rather get this one that I can pick up from NewEgg for under $40.

Does anyone know if it is actually the same drive?

Thanks!

Chris

[jfbiii]

Don't know, but all of these should work:

http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q= ... &scoring=p

And, it looks like the first few are drives without cases. If I understand correctly, any drive with "Lightscribe" should be compatible with CD-Gs and kJams.

[dave]

If it is the same drive minus the case then yes it should work, but there is no guarantee, since even the "PX-Q840U" is not technially specced to work, it just "happens" to work, at least for the particular drive tested, which doesn't even mean it will always work for all drives which are labeled "PX-Q840U". YMMV. It's a sad state of affairs that with something as popular as karaoke that there are no longer any drive manufacturers who will PURPOSEFULLY set out to support that market. I could sell thousands of drives per year for them alone.

[Sedge]

I could sell thousands of drives per year for them alone.

That's been tried. There are still several sites around the 'net that will sell you a "certified CDG compatible drive" - some even make claims that their drive has beefier firmware that make them better than others. I doubt anyone is selling "thousands" of them. I would guess most sell less than one a month, with the best of them maybe cracking 50 units per year.

It's an odd divide, and pulls into play the old issues of backwards-compatible hardware protocols. Still, there is nothing complicated to the CDG subchannel stuff, and the hardware doesn't need to do flips in order to support it. The market just isn't there for hardware developers to care, especially if just about any lightscribe drive can handle it anyway. I doubt anyone is putting time into developing new CD-ROM or CD burning technology, as the world has moved on. Now, it's just making sure your blu-ray burner can still handle CD formats. Really (and unfortunately for disc-based karaoke setups) we are on the edge of moving away from disc-based single-write storage for anything smaller than high definition video and larger. Flash drives and network storage have become so cheap that the expense and inconvenience of single-write CD media is simply undesirable and no longer cost effective. Many of the "newer" CDG players are integrating some kind of USB storage option, probably starting with the CAVS stuff (for which I have little love, but I still find it out there often enough) and while there are not a LOT of computer based karaoke applications yet, one of the biggest advantages of going computer based is (should be) media storage.

Just like we've gotten past cassette tapes from Pocket Songs with liner-note lyric sheets, or Pioneer laser discs, we'll get past CDG karaoke too, and the sooner the better. Perhaps I should start now on some hologram based interactive karaoke system, where you sing the song and interact with the band on a virtual stage.

##end anti-luddite rant##

[dave]

allright fine, subsitute "fifty" for "thousands of", fair enough.

Still, i could sell fifty drives. at least.

[Sedge]

Well, buy 10, and see how they go. Perhaps buy a few external drives, and a few enclosures that do both firewire and usb (for the new MB's that don't have firewire) and make a go of it. Probably about $700 worth of inventory, if you can swing it. Then, figure out your international shipping for those across the pond, and have yourself a barn sale. Good luck! I may put down a few dollars for a good USB/Firewire caddy - mine is FW only.

[dave]

I think you misunderstood. I was meaning:

1) i have NOT found found a drive manufacturer with guaranteed CD+G capability
2) if I did, I'd have a link on my site, directing traffic to them, not that I'd be the reseller.

[Sedge]

Sure. got it. Perhaps still marketing the accessories would be a go. I'm going to try out a little gadget from Behringer that plugs in to the USB and gives me RCA audio outs and a separate 1/8 headphone jack out. (and SPDIF, if I would need that). There's plenty of little accessories that Mac KJ's could use, and it would be stellar to have some kind of one-stop that had most of them. Video converters, a-b switches, drive caddies, some basic cables and splitters, etc.

I know, moving from software sales to hardware sales is a tough go, having to actually have physical inventory, deal with shipping, etc. If I had a few thousand dollars lying around, perhaps I'd give it a go.

Sedge

[seanphafer]

I'm going to try out a little gadget from Behringer that plugs in to the USB and gives me RCA audio outs and a separate 1/8 headphone jack out.

I currently use a Behringer USB "Sound Card" that came for free with a Xenyx mixer I bought. It just has RCA I/O but it works really well, and I've not had any issues with it. The 1/8" out of my macbook always worries me to use as an audio out.

[Sedge]

This is the little Behringer gadget I was talking about - U-Control UCA-202. http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCA202.aspx. I actually picked it up while looking for a way to go to RCA's, for a new gig I was trying out for at a major club. Normally I convert the 1/8" to two 1/4" phono plugs that go into my mixing board. For this club, I was going to RCA's on the front of a VCR or something. (but taking full advantage of their 80,000 watt sound system, 6+ projection screens, etc. Quote from the owner after last night - "We'd be dumb not to use you!" go kJams!)

Anyway, since it gives RCA outs and RCA inputs, as well as a separate headphone jack and a "monitor" switch, it also gives you a nice way to record back through GarageBand, if such is to your liking.

>>Sedge

[dave]