File types

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HowardBrazee
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Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:35 am

File types

Post by HowardBrazee »

Could someone discuss kJams karaoke song file types?
I've tried to determine what I can by trial and error but need some help from other users who know more how this works:

I look at songs that I have in kJams. If I check “Format” in the column headings, I see that songs with format .aif, .cdg, .m4v, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, .wmv, & .mp3+

The .aif song was one I created as a Tiny Placeholder Song, that I can assign to someone who wants his turn to do something other than play a Karaoke song.

Some of the songs are in .zip files, some aren’t. My one .cdg file is in a .zip file from a CD-G that I bought with all of the songs from Oklahoma!

I have two .m4v songs of the same song in my library. Producer couldn’t find one of them as a video, but found the other. They appear to be the same file I wonder how to safely delete the correct one to delete.

.mov files have corresponding .xml files. The .xml files contain information I can see in kJams when I check on their column headings.

Zipped .mov files have .cdg and .mp3 files. The .mp3 file appears to be the Karaoke song that I can play with utilities such as VLC. The .cdg file will play the same video in VLC, but without sound.

When I try to open .mp4 songs (either zipped or not) with Producer, it can’t find the video. Some .mp4 songs display with a format of .zip, but show up in finder, as .mp4, .xml, & .zip. The zip files have both .mp3 and .cdg

I tried running Producer on my .wmv file, but it couldn’t find video

Producer could find .mp3+ file. This is weird. kJams has a file name under the zip heading for my .mp3+ file, but when I found it in finder, all I see is a .cdg and .pcm file.

I also have a song that I accidentally purchased as a .mp3 song with no graphics. I used iKaraoke TunePrompter to create a .ktp file with the lyrics. I loaded this song, by reference into kJams, and then later deleted the .ktp file (I have a backup). When I run Producer, I see the lyrics of this song in line 4 of 5 in the Timeline. I don’t see the lyrics in any other song that I’ve looked at with Producer.

Some of my .mov files cannot be opened with Producer, which can’t find a video. kJams has no problem playing them. What does this mean? I tried opening .mp4 songs with Producer and it took me a while before I found one that would open (couldn’t find the other videos). Producer couldn’t find the video for my one .wmv song.

dave
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Re: File types

Post by dave »

I will just say that Producer requires an Audio portion and a CDG file or a KTP file. If you don't have that, then Producer won't work. You simply can't open "movie" files in Produer (ie: videos).

It gets confusing because some "mov" files are just audio, so you have "mov+g", songs, and those CAN be opened in Producer even though you might think it's a movie, given the file extension.

Zip files never (or never SHOULD) have anything except an audio and a CDG file (that audio can be any audio type, mp3, aif, or even a mov file with only audio inside).

Hope this helps.

HowardBrazee
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Re: File types

Post by HowardBrazee »

Is there any way to tell which .mov files are which before trying to open them using Producer?

dave
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Re: File types

Post by dave »

is the MOV file accompanied by a CDG file? then it's a CDG file and can likely be opened by Producer

HowardBrazee
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Re: File types

Post by HowardBrazee »

Where are the lyrics of the song that Producer sees in the song that I created lyrics using TunePrompter but no longer have the .ktp file?

Also - in the Timeline window in Producer, the fourth row has lyrics (for this song and songs with .ktp files), what is the fifth row for?

dave
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Re: File types

Post by dave »

if you've gotten rid of the KTP file after "baking", then there are no lyrics any more. what you see are bitmaps that look like what text looks like, but it is not text.

the first track is the "pages", or where the bitmaps are drawn

the second track is the "sweeps" or where the bitmaps that appear to be text get "swept" so the singer knows when to sing what lyric

the third line is unimplemented, but it will be "erases", where previous lines are erased to make room for new lines, so we can have continuous line refreshes instead of periodic page refreshes.

HowardBrazee
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Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:35 am

Re: File types

Post by HowardBrazee »

Thanks. I guessed that "re-bake" got rid of the .ktp file, although I have no idea what the 3 re-bake options mean.

dave
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Re: File types

Post by dave »

no, only the user can "get rid" of the KTP file. baking only converts the KTP instructions to CDG.

source is the MediaStream file
common is the xml file
native is that xml file loaded into memory as a binary data structure
CDG is, well, the cdg file

i've updated the wiki a little

HowardBrazee
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Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:35 am

Re: File types

Post by HowardBrazee »

Interesting. I noticed that some .mov files will open with Producer, and some won't. If found one that I could open to fix a glitch. Finder showed it as a .zip file, and the cache shows a .cdg and .pcm.

Producer opens it, but doesn't appear to be able to do anything with it. Inspector doesn't find anything, and Timeline is very limited. So I infer that I should not even try Producer on a .mov Karaoke song. (nor .mp4)

dave
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Re: File types

Post by dave »

if the cache shows PCM and CDG then kJams will open it with producer

producer can edit plain CDG files WITHOUT a source MediaStream files, in which case you directly edit the CDG instructions (the colored dots that run along just under the time needle thumb), instead of the Native instructions (timeline blobs that have text in them).

again this is stuff that is not covered for end users using producer. i'm sorry but producer is just not meant for end users who don't already know these things.

HowardBrazee
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Re: File types

Post by HowardBrazee »

I wonder how people learn those things.

dave
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Re: File types

Post by dave »

well, a producer of CDG files (karaoke songs) already understands the specification of CDG (The Red Book), so has a deep background in the terminology, the requirements, and the specification. So when they encounter a term from that, they already have a place in their brain where it plugs in :)

The Tutorial Videos give a wealth of knowledge too, much of which does answer many of the questions that you've been asking. Maybe since you understand more now, watch the vids again, and hopefully more of it will make sense? :)

:D

-dave

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