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Chartbuster Offering Music On SD Cards?!?!

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JoeChartreuse

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I received an ad today from acekaraoke.com that offers Chartbuster karaoke tracks in MP3G format on SD cards, 50 tracks per card.

Did CB get the licensing that others couldn't?

Also, is there some sort of registration involved?

This is all new to me....:confusedpill:

Ace was also offering cheap CDG players (Acesonic) that have embedded firmware and hardware to rip direct to SD cards without a PC.

I had actually heard about SD cards as a possible new hard media ( new in terms of use by karaoke pruduction companies) over a year ago, and mentioned it here. However, I was under the impression that these would be encrypted, and self erasing if an attempt to copy was made.

This doesn't seem to be the case with the above. The Acesonic machine certainly doesn't encrypt anything either. I wonder what, if any, effects this may have?
 
What is weird is CB isn't offering them on their own site. Nor did the CB guy go on the forum where he used to post and give a heads up or anything. Hope it dosn't turn out like the Ace CAVS thing did long ago. Not saying it is, just remembering......Didn't notice any use/licensing info on that product.

ANYWAY--to add to the misc. CB info--on the Chartbuster Site it now has a link called, "Register Your Product." You have to sign in to see what it is so I didn't do it. But now I think I will go see what it is all about. Edit: Nothing happens for me. It asks you to sign in so I do and it goes right back to the home screen so I click "Register Your Product" and it asks you to sign in so I do and it goes right back to the home screen. They don't sell players so don't know if it is a warranty thing or what. But they are now offering a free download of a karaoke player. Maybe it is that. I was wondering if they were going to start keeping track of who bought what. I know they already do that on the Customs.
 
I asked Ace via Live Chat if these were licensed for karaoke host use or just for home use and gave up waiting after 10 minutes of no response. I hate doing the tech support thing because it is always so many hoops to jump through in order to ask anything that isn't on a pre-answered drop down menu. So I posed the question to the Chartbuster Rep that used to reply on Brand X forum and we will see if he is still active. Otherwise it may take a dirct call to CB to get an answer.
 
I tried to download a song from CB just now!

Absolutely the worst business purchase website I have ever seen in my life!

After the purchase there is no clear instruction to download the product!

I gave up trying!
 
JoeChartreuse said:
Might call Mr. Grimes out of curiosity, if I'm slow tomorrow....
Click to expand...

I think that is the only way to actually get an answer. They don't get around to their email and I don't think he is on the other site anymore. I just always forget to remember until after it is too late due to time zone differences. I really only asked ACE out of curiousity as to what they would say.
 
The answer to the GEM series? Is this only going to be the 50 song series? MP3+G with the MP3 at what bit-rate? ---Technofiles leave that one alone--- I'm only asking for comparison. The retail price is the same as the cd media. They are selling them to the general public. Now I have no way to tell if there is an original cdg behind the file. What now?
 
KJSandman said:
This is the same info available from Sound Choice all along. I already lease the entire GEM series.

I'm curious about the format/bit-rate/file size. You can fit a lot more than 50 songs on a 2GB SD Memory Card.

I'd gladly forgo the cd/rip transfer process. Can I have my chips audited?
Click to expand...

Sorry, the way you worded it I thought you were asking about the GEM series!
 
KJSandman said:
The answer to the GEM series? Is this only going to be the 50 song series? MP3+G with the MP3 at what bit-rate? ---Technofiles leave that one alone--- I'm only asking for comparison. The retail price is the same as the cd media. They are selling them to the general public. Now I have no way to tell if there is an original cdg behind the file. What now?
Click to expand...

No, not a 50 song series- just 50 per card. The talking point is that the cards HAVE to be used on a PC ( yes, some players have USB ports but....), and if that's the case- unless CB has recently gotten special licensing not previously offered in the U.S, it gets very interesting...
 
JoeChartreuse said:
No, not a 50 song series- just 50 per card. The talking point is that the cards HAVE to be used on a PC ( yes, some players have USB ports but....), and if that's the case- unless CB has recently gotten special licensing not previously offered in the U.S, it gets very interesting...
Click to expand...

Joe the format will still be the same as the SC GEM series, the delivery system will just be different and a USB port won't do you much good with an SD card!
 
Thunder said:
Joe the format will still be the same as the SC GEM series, the delivery system will just be different and a USB port won't do you much good with an SD card!
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Not quite. SC, of course, won't admit that the GEM series was made especially for transfer to PC, but since these discs will also work in a player, they have "plausible deniability"- a sleazy deal best used by our own government.

On the other hand, SD cards are definitely best used with a PC, and therefore not compareable to the GEMs ( though you are incorrect in regard to their useability- however slow and inconvenient- in a player. A simple SD/USB adapter makes it happen...)
 
Just as the GEM disc can be played direct for the CDRom without ripping them to the hard drive so can the MP3s on an SD card by inserting it into an SD card slot on a computer or a player so equiped!
 
Thunder said:
Just as the GEM disc can be played direct for the CDRom without ripping them to the hard drive so can the MP3s on an SD card by inserting it into an SD card slot on a computer or a player so equiped!
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Exactly, though really a PITA to use even with properly equipped players. This is what make me go hmmmm..
 
JoeChartreuse said:
Exactly, though really a PITA to use even with properly equipped players. This is what make me go hmmmm..
Click to expand...

Why would a 30 song disc or a 50 song SD card be any more of a pita to use that a 15 song CDG disc?

To me it would just mean that there would be a better chance of playing more than one song off of the 30 song disc or the 50 song card than there would be from a 15 song disc!
 
Thunder said:
Why would a 30 song disc or a 50 song SD card be any more of a pita to use that a 15 song CDG disc?

To me it would just mean that there would be a better chance of playing more than one song off of the 30 song disc or the 50 song card than there would be from a 15 song disc!
Click to expand...

Because, using a player, any track on any disc is quickly accessible. If you haven't tried using a thumb/flash drive on a USB equipped player ( I do it sometimes for bumper music, but never karaoke) you have no idea what a pain in the a$$ it is. Slow, and depending on the player, inconvenient. Example: The Mixsonic (a POS) is still quicker to access than the newer VocoPro and Pioneers ( which are junk compared to the originals), but ALL take longer than discs...
 
Use thumb and external drives all the time access to a file takes no more time for me than it does on a regular CD! If you know the track number on a CD you select that track if you know the track number or name of the song on a mp3 disc SD card or thumb drive you select that track and play, same difference!
 
Joe, did you see that Ace is selling their own players designed to play the SDs? That seems to be part of the "exclusive" thing.
 
What I meant to ask was if the SD card offerings were going to be limited to Chartbusters "50 Greatest Songs" series. This has been offered forever as a three DISC set. They also have 100 song sets in their Essential Plus series. Depending on bit-rate/file size, you could conceivably put 400 zipped files on a 2GB card. I am still wondering what bit rate their mp3s are if there will be copy limit/protection or as someone mentioned "exclusivity" to Ace's players.
 
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