How To Turn Your PC to Karaoke Player with Windows Karaoke

Want to have some fun with U-Sing-Along karaoke? you don't need to buy a fancy karaoke machine which, most likely, will disappoint you by the low audio quality but high... limitations.

I've seen many pricey karaoke machines out there that play thousands of songs, all from one single DVD disc. But the video scenes are boring since they're shared within the song tracks. The Midi audio quality from these players is not what you want (that's why such many songs can be stored in one single disc). And... it's impossible to manage the list of song tracks on the disc, for example, when you want to add your favorite songs or remove ones that you dislike.

This Windows Karaoke is a free software for non-commercial uses, so help yourself and enjoy. Feel free to send me comments/suggestions, as well as any questions you may have. Thanks to TheComputerTricks.com for their sponsorship.

With Windows Karaoke, you can turn your desktop or laptop to a karaoke machine, or even connect it to your home theater system. I suggest that you connect your laptop/desktop audio (line-out) to a mixer, which allows you to plug in a microphone. Then feed the audio from this mixer to your home theater system.


You can also use this player to play other media types such as MP3, movies, etc...
Download a copy of Windows Karaoke here.
 
System Requirements:

• Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or newer.
• MS .NET Framework (recommend 3.5 or newer)
• Windows Media Player 9 or newer, which is available in most recent computers.

Installation:

• Installation is easy, just double-click on the Setup.exe and follow the instructions.
  

Configure Windows Karaoke:

1. Launch the Windows Karaoke after installation.
   
2. Press "Ctrl" Key for Configuration window.
   
3. Configure the keyboard keys. Some keys are fixed and cannot be changed (i.e. Stop, Play, etc...)
   
4. Manage your song list:
   • Select "Song List" tab, then either import a song list (in *.csv) format, or add song tracks manually. (Make sure you enter correct paths for the song tracks)
5. Set your language:
   • Select "Others" tab, then change your language.
6. Click "Save & Exit" to save you changes and exit.

Some Tips:

• To select a song track to play or sing:
  • Press the key that you assigned to "Play a select song".
  • Enter the song number on the pop-up window and hit "Enter"
  • To cancel, hit "Escape"
• To select a song track to add to waitlist:
  • Press the key that you assigned to "Queue a select song".
  • Enter the song number on the pop-up window and hit "Enter"
  • To cancel, hit "Escape"
• To play all the tracks from the beginning:
  • Press the key that you assigned to "Play All Songs".
• To browse the list of all tracks for selection:
  • Press the key that you assigned to "Browse All Songs".
  • Use arrow keys (Left/Right/Up/Down) to navigate to the song you like.
  • To select the song to play: Press the key that you assigned to "Play a select song".
  • To select the song to add to waitlist Press the key that you assigned to "Queue a select song".
• To stop while a track is playing:
  • Press "Escape".
• To pause/resume while a track is playing/pausing:
  • Press "Pause/Break".
• To exit the program:
  • Press "End". (at any screen)

Screenshots:

• Song List Menu:
  
  
  
• Add Song to PlayList:
  

FAQ's:

1. Q: What types of files does Windows Karaoke play?
   A: Windows Karaoke uses the Windows Media Player on your computer to play the video/audio, so it plays most of the video/audio file types such as AVI, MPG, MP3, WAV, etc..
   
   
2. Q: Where can I buy Windows Karaoke?
   A: Windows Karaoke is free, you can download a copy here.
   Windows Karaoke is sponsored by TheComputerTricks.com, you can provide support by clicking on any ad on the site. Your support is greatly appreciated.
   
   
3. Q: Where can I get the karaoke song tracks?
   A: There are many sources that you can get karaoke song tracks. You can either download them from the internet, or extract them from DVD/VCD discs.
   There are some software you can use to extract those tracks from a DVD to individual *.avi or *.mpg files. I personally use Handbrake.
   With many VCD karaoke discs, you can simply copy those *.DAT files from the disc and rename them to *.mpg.
   If you extract the tracks from a DVD, video codecs DivX or XviD could help reduce the size of your video files.
   
   
4. Q: Can I use a remote control?
   A: Sure you can. You can use any USB remote and map the buttons to the keyboard keys. Some Media Center Edition (MCE) remotes are available on ebay.
   You might need a keymap utility to map the remote buttons to keyboard keys. Some of them are also free.
   Check out "LM Remote Keymap", "Intelliremote", "HIP" (Human Interface Programmer)
   
   
5. Q: Can I use this on my home theater?
   A: Feed the audio from your desktop/laptop to your home theater, then you're good to go. You'll need a cable that goes from your PC line-out (or headset) to the RCA plugs on your receiver/mixer