The current market for karaoke music is in three different formats: CDG, DVD and VCD. Each format is distinctly different in terms of quality, background videos, and music selection.
CDG, or otherwise known as CD+G or CD+Graphics, is in my opinion the better format for karaoke music. You have a larger selection of music to choose from and you also have better manufacturers producing quality content. Some of the better manufacturers are Sound Choice, Musie Maestro, Chartbusters, and Top Hits Monthly. One thing that throws people off about this format is that you cannot play this on any regular CD player for the full features. You can play this on regular CD players to listen to the music but you will not be able to see the lyrics on the TV screen. You will need a player that can play CDG (CD+G, CD+Graphics) format if you want to see the lyrics appear on the TV screen. The other thing to note is that you won't see actual music videos in the background, you will only get a solid color background.
DVD and VCD formats are similar and any DVD player can play both of these formats. With these formats, you get a smaller selection of music but one of the advantages is that you do get videos in the background. Mind you, they are not the actual music videos that you see on MTV for example. They are usually just background videos of nice sceneries and such. Music quality can vary with DVD and VCD format but in my opinion, CDG music quality is on average better than these two formats if you go with the name brands of course. Another thing to note with DVD and VCD Karaoke Music is that they are all multi-plexed, meaning that all the songs will have vocals that can easily be removed with a press of a button on your DVD player's remote. Many people do not know this so when they started to play the Karaoke DVD and the vocals were there, they complained to the store that it's not karaoke. So with these formats, you have to remember that you can remove the primary vocals by pressing either the MPX or Audio button on your DVD player's remote. Actual button may be different depending on your machine.
Another thing to note about Karaoke Music is that it isn't completely vocaless. It's a misconception that Karaoke Music has no, and I mean no vocals. It sounds odd but that's true. Karaoke Music isn't the same as instrumental music. Instrumental music is completely vocaless. In Karaoke Music, you will always get the background vocals. Why? Karaoke music is meant for a person to sing as the primary vocalist while the background vocals in the music provide back-up, that's why all karaoke music, no matter what format, will always include the background vocals.
George Yang is a web content developer and marketer.
GCY Articles
