How Does a Karaoke Player Work?

What is Karaoke?

Karaoke is a type of entertainment that amateur performers/singers use to sing in sync with recorded music or music videos. Karaoke originated in Japan in the 1970's. It was very popular entertainment at bars and later became very popular in various countries in Asia. Karaoke soon became known in America as well as in the UK around the 1990's. Karaoke has also become not only popular in bars and pubs throughout the world, but is now also a very popular type of entertainment in households across the globe. People of all ages love karaoke and many people include it as a form of entertainment for their guests when hosting a party.

What Does a Basic Karaoke Machine Consist Of?

There are several types of karaoke machines available on the market. There are also a number of karaoke CD's, CD+Gs, Laser Discs, VCD and DVD tracks to choose from to play on the karaoke machine. Karaoke machines come in all sizes. Some karaoke systems are small hand-held devices that come in the form of MP3 players. Some are table-top systems, and some are large, stand alone units. The basic karaoke equipment consists of a music player, microphone and inputs, pitch button controls and audio output. Most karaoke machines also have built-in audio mixer capability. Years ago, karaoke systems used cassette tapes. The pitch on the older karaoke systems was changed by changing the speed of the playback feature. Today, however, the older cassette playing karaoke machines are practically extinct.

Karaoke Players: How Do They Work?

The Japanese term "karaoke" means '"empty orchestra." Karaoke supplies the amateur with the opportunity to feel like a star while singing along to all of his or her choice songs. The karaoke player plays the backing track to a chosen song and flashes the lyrics across the screen so that the person can sing the song with ease and in sync with the music. Karaoke machines come with their own screens mounted on the actual machines, and some machines can be attached to a TV or to a computer to view the words as you sing. A microphone and a public address system are also used to complete the karaoke process. A public address system is often referred to as a PA system. It is an electronic amplification system that consists of an amplifier, a mixer, and loud speakers to emphasize sounds that stem from prerecorded music, a person speaking, or a message, with the purpose of sharing the sound or message in an amplified (loud) manner so that everyone can clearly hear the message being relayed. CD+G players have an unique feature referred to as a sub-code. The sub-code encodes the lyrics and pictures displayed on the screen. Other systems are configured to display not only audio but video as well. Most karaoke machines are designed with technology that allows the pitch of the music to automatically change and adjust to the amateur singer's vocal range allowing him or her to be able to single to just about any music selected and yet still retain the original rhythm of the song.

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• Karaoke
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