Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder 2

Thank you for choosing Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder.

Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder is a software package that allows you to play and manage karaoke songs in various formats (including CD+G and MIDI Karaoke)  and record your voice while you sing along.

Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder has been designed to be as simple as possible -- it uses graphical interface that any computer user should be familiar with.

To learn more about Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder features select one of the topics below:

Quick start

Selecting a file to play

Click Load File () button. As standard Open File dialog box will appear allowing you to open karaoke files. The following karaoke formats are supported:

File extension

Description

.cdg

Also known as MP3+G. CDG files are usually paired with MP3 files. CDG file contains lyrics, while MP3 file contains audio of the song. To open a pair of MP3/CDG files you need to open CDG file only

.bin

BIN files contain both lyrics and audio of CD+G song

.zip

Karaoke ZIP files contain pairs of CDG/MP3 files

.cda

CD+G disc tracks

.kar, .mid

MIDI Karaoke

.avi

AVI video files

.mpg

MPG video files

.kma

MTU's Hoster files

.wmv

Windows Media Video files

.mp4, .mpeg, .mov, .webm, .mkv

Video tracks

If you wish to play a CD+G disc, click Load CD () button (if you have more than one CD drive installed on your computer you may need to select the active drive using Settings () button under CD settings.

Once a file is loaded its name will be displayed over the position bar and the file will also be added to the playlist. 

If you do not have any karaoke files you may use Search for karaoke on the internet command from Tools menu to find karaoke music.

 

Playing

To start the playback click Play () button. Playback is controlled using standard buttons -- you may pause the playback anytime you like. If you would like to view the song on the full screen, click Full Screen () button. To exit the full screen mode press ESC.

To control the volume of the song use Volume slider (). There are two additional sliders that may be used during the playback. You may change the key of the song using Key change slider () up to 12 semitones (NOTE: key changer is not available for MIDI karaoke). Multiplex slider () allows to control the level of the vocal on multiplex CD+Gs.

 

Recording

Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder allows you to record your voice as you sing along to the karaoke song. Your computer has to be equipped with a microphone. To learn more how to set up your microphone to use it with Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder see Recording settings.

To start recording click Record () button. Your singing will be recorded to the file on your hard disc. To listen to it simply play back the karaoke file, but make sure that Recorded vocal on/off () button is enabled (it is enabled by default).

Once recording is finished you will be prompted to start Siglos Audio Processor, that allows to mix your recorded singing with the music, producing the file you may email your friends or write to CD.

 

Settings

To open Settings dialog box click Settings button or select Settings... from File menu.

Settings are divided into following sections:

Settings

Display

Display settings controls the way karaoke lyrics are displayed.

 

Display section

Quality defines number of frames per setting for the karaoke display. If you are working on a slower machine try decreasing this value to get better performance.

If Use secondary monitor is selected and your computer is equipped with two monitors, full screen mode will use the second monitor. You may choose which monitor should be used in the full screen mode. You may also define custom position that will be used for full screen playback

For lyrics window you may define Padding and create black frame around the actual content. This allows to position the lyrics screen perfectly on external display. Padding can also be defined for Singer screen clones

Keep 4:3 aspect ratio ensures that karaoke display always has 4:3 ratio. If you are using wide screen monitor, or a monitor in portrait mode, this will add black bars to the sides so the karaoke display has the same proportions as regular TV screen.

 Start in Full Screen mode causes Siglos Karaoke Player to start in full screen mode.

 Video Renderer is a technical setting which you may try to change if you are unable to play video files.

 Lyrics advanced allow to display CD+G lyrics ahead of the music. The value is in milliseconds, so setting it to 500 will cause the lyrics to appear half a second earlier. Negative value will cause the lyrics to be delayed.

 

Background section

Siglos Karaoke Player has five background modes:

·    Solid color background (choose a color for MIDI karaoke, for CD+G the background color from the file will be used)

·    Gradient background (smooth transition from the color at the top to the color at the bottom)

·    Image slideshow (you may define images to be used in the slideshow, select the display time of the single image, and choose to display the images in the random order)

Keep aspect ratio option will ensure that images will not be stretched out of proportions (ie. portrait images will have black strips added to their sides so they look proportionally)

·    Video (moving video will be played in loop)

·    Camera (if you have camera installed in your system its input will be used as a background)

·    Music visualizations are animated backgrounds that react to the beat. Siglos Karaoke Player supports Sonique and Windows Media Player plugins. Sonique plugins need to be placed in   %APPDATA%/Doblon/Siglos Karaoke Player /Visualizations folder. Windows Media Player plugins are detected automatically.
You may adjust the intensity of the animation using the slider.

 

You may also choose an image or video to be displayed instead of default black background on the playback screen. This may be your logo or some other information. To do this select image to display using [...] button in Inactive background section.

 

CD+G section

Siglos Karaoke Player features state-of-the-art technology that makes CD+G look much better. You can control its behaviour in Display section of Settings. In general there are three steps of CD+G enhancement:

 Smart resolution increase

 This technology allows to reduce jagged edges of CD+G images and makes it look much smoother and precise. It works great scaling CD+G to HD resolution

 Gradient overlay

 With gradient overlay each line of karaoke lyrics has three-dimensional look.

 Shadow

 Adding shadow effect to the lyrics makes them 'stand out' from the background.

 Smooth sweeps

 Siglos Karaoke Player detects word highlighting and replaces blocks of CD+G pixels with smooth single pixel sweeps that improve the experience and fluidity of the video.

 Maximum Internal CD+G Resolution

 Original CD+G is 288 x 192 pixels. Siglos Karaoke Player uses smart resolution increase, but it is very computation-intensive. This setting allows you to choose the internal resolution used by CD+G engine. The higher resolution the longer the processing time.

 Sharpen

 Adds additional sharpening effect

 No margins

 Disables CD+G margins, stretching text area on entire display

 NOTE: You may need to disable some of the effects on slow computers if you are experiencing performance problems.

 

MIDI section

You may change the font used for MIDI karaoke lyrics, change the number of lines on the screen, and define the lyrics location (top, bottom, or middle of the screen).

International character support

If Siglos Karaoke Player incorrectly displays MIDI files containing international characters (eg. Chinese), please make sure that you select appropriate script and font face that contains international characters.

Settings

Recording

Recording settings control the recording process used in Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder.

 

Before you start please make sure that you have microphone connected to your computer. The microphone input is usually pink on your soundcard panel at the back of your computer. If you have more than one soundcard in your computer please choose the one you wish to use in Windows' Control Panel/Sound and audio devices/Audio as a default recording input.

To adjust recording settings choose Settings () button and then choose Recording.


 You will see the name of the active recording device (soundcard) and the active input. You may need to change the input to the microphone. Now test the recording level -- say something to the microphone and Recording preview should display the green bar. You may use Input level slider to adjust the level of the recording -- if it is too low you will not hear it and if it is too high it will distort. You may also control the recording level using Recording level slider () of the main Siglos Karaoke Player window.

 If you cannot hear what you are saying to the microphone you may need to enable microphone output on your soundcard. To do this click Open mixer button and standard Windows' mixer will appear. Now make sure that Microphone input is not muted (if you cannot see it choose Options/Properties and check the enable to microphone input).

 File settings section allows you to select the format that Siglos Karaoke Player will use to save your voice. MP3 is selected as default. You may also define where the file with your voice will be stored -- but default Siglos Karaoke Player creates My Karaoke subfolder under My Documents.

Settings

CD

CD settings allows to set various options that control the way CD+G discs are played.

CD-ROM device allows you to select which of the drives equipped in your machine should be used for CD+G discs.

Automatically load CD on startup will save you clicking Load CD button if you play CD+G discs.

Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder can use online FreeDB database to look up track names for CD+G discs. You may disable this feature by unchecking Use FreeDB to search for track names on the Internet. You may also select different FreeDB server and define a HTTP proxy server if you are behind a corporate firewall.

Settings

General

These options control general behaviour of Siglos Karaoke Player.

 

By default after one song finishes the next starts automatically. Pause between the songs disables this feature.

 Remember last playlist will keep track of the files on the playlist between sessions.

 If Check for updates is enabled, then Siglos Karaoke Player will prompt to check if new version is available.

 If Automatically play the playlist after loading is switched on, then playlist will automatically start to play after it is loaded.

 You may associate Siglos Karaoke Player with various karaoke file extensions so it is opened automatically when you double-click such file. You may choose which extensions should be associated with Siglos using extension list.

 

NOTE: Using Siglos as default ZIP file application is not recommended, as it will interfere with software like WinZip.

Settings

Skins

Siglos Karaoke Player allows you to change the appearance of the main window -- you can choose from several skins of various sizes.

Recording

Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder allows you to record your voice as you sing along. Before you begin recording we suggest that you review your recording settings.

Recording

Recording

Before you start please make sure that you have microphone connected to your computer. The microphone input is usually pink on your soundcard panel at the back of your computer. If you have more than one soundcard in your computer please choose the one you wish to use in Windows' Control Panel/Sound and audio devices/Audio as a default recording input.

To adjust recording settings choose Settings () button and then choose Recording.


 You will see the name of the active recording device (soundcard) and the active input. You may need to change the input to the microphone. Now test the recording level -- say something to the microphone and Recording preview should display the green bar. You may use Input level slider to adjust the level of the recording -- if it is too low you will not hear it and if it is too high it will distort. You may also control the recording level using Recording level slider () of the main Siglos Karaoke Player window.

 If you cannot hear what you are saying to the microphone you may need to enable microphone output on your soundcard. To do this click Open mixer button and standard Windows' mixer will appear. Now make sure that Microphone input is not muted (if you cannot see it choose Options/Properties and check the enable to microphone input).

 File settings section allows you to select the format that Siglos Karaoke Player will use to save your voice. MP3 is selected as default. You may also define where the file with your voice will be stored -- but default Siglos Karaoke Player creates My Karaoke subfolder under My Documents.

 

Sing away!

Now you are ready to sing. Click Record () button and sing the song. Recording stops when the song finishes or when you click Stop button.

Note: Pause button does not work while recording.

Recording

Listening to your singing

If you play a karaoke song that you have singed along to and recorded your voice, you will hear yourself singing, providing Recorded vocal on/off button () is enabled. 

You may control the level of the recorded singing using Recorded vocal level slider.

Please note that setting the recorded level to high may cause distortion.

Recording

Audio Processor

Siglos Audio Processor allows you to mix your voice with the music and create an MP3 file you may share with your friends.


 Siglos Audio Processor may be run automatically after recording is finished, or you may choose to start it anytime using Siglos Audio Processor command from Record menu. It requires two input files: music (usually your backing track), and vocal (your recorded singing). Music may be BIN, WAV, or MP3 file, and vocal may be MP3 or WAV.

 Note: Siglos Audio Processor will not work with MIDI karaoke (MID and KAR), and with tracks from CD+G disc. If you would like to process songs from CD+G discs you need to save them to your hard disc first.

 

 For both music and vocal you may adjust mix level -- the higher it is the louder will it sound in the result file. Please note that choosing to high mixing levels may result in audio distortion.

 Key change is used if key changer was enabled when you recorded your singing.

 Time offset allows to compensate for sound card recording latency -- if your singing is out of sync with the music you may use this slider to fix it.

 Reverb adds a reverb to your voice. You may switch it off or modify its intensity.

  Siglos Audio Processor may save the result to MP3 file (you may adjust compression parameters using Settings button) or to WAV file. The name and location of the output file may be changed in Output section.

 Preview section allows to listen to the processing results before processing the entire file.

 To hear what the processed song would sound like click Play result button. The playback will start -- Current position slider represents the playback position. You may move it by dragging the slider's thumb. To hear the original song click Play original button -- you may switch between result and original song.

 You may modify the settings during playback -- you will hear the change nearly immediately.

 If Play in loop is selected, the playback will start over after it has reached the end. You may use Loop start and Loop end sliders to define the part of the song you would like to listen to.

 

Playing

Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder allows to play CD+G karaoke discs and files from the hard disc.

Playing

Playing

To start the playback of the song:

·    click Load File button () (this allows to play files from the hard disc)

·    click Load CD button () (this will play CD+G disc)

·    double-click the song on the playlist

·    drag-and-drop the file on Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder window

 

Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder supports the following file formats:

File extension

Description

.cdg

Also known as MP3+G. CDG files are usually paired with MP3 files. CDG file contains lyrics, while MP3 file contains audio of the song. To open a pair of MP3/CDG files you need to open CDG file only

.bin

BIN files contain both lyrics and audio of CD+G song

.zip

Karaoke ZIP files contain pairs of CDG/MP3 files

.cda

CD+G disc tracks

.kar, .mid

MIDI Karaoke

.mp4, .avi, .mpeg, .wmv, .mov, .webm, .mkv

Video tracks

 Once the file is loaded its name and playing time will display in the status bar.

 You may now use transport buttons to control the playback.

Button

Command

Shortcut

Description


Play

P

Start the playback

 

Pause

S

Pauses the playback (and recording, if active)


Stop

A

Stops the playback


Previous song

< 

Plays the previous song from the playlist or CD+G disc


Rewind

 

Moves 10 second backwards (NOTE: does not work with CD+G discs)


Fast forward

 

Moves 10 second forward (NOTE: does not work with CD+G discs)


Next song

> 

Plays the next song from the playlist or CD+G disc

Playing

Changing key and tempo

Siglos Karaoke Player allows you to adjust the song you are playing to better suit your voice by changing the key of the song. To do this use key changer slider.

Key changer section allows to change the pitch tone of the song up to twelve semitones either up or down. The current key change is displayed next to the key changer slider.

You may also change the tempo of the song (from two times slower to two times faster). It is done with tempo changer slider.


 

NOTE: Please note that pitch shifting may slightly reduce the quality of the music. It gives better results for instrumental parts and worse for human voice.

NOTE: Key changer does not work for MIDI karaoke.

Playing

Using Multiplex CD+Gs

Siglos Karaoke Player allows you to play multiplex CD+G discs. Multiplex is a special type of CD+G karaoke disc -- there are two tracks for each song on the disc, one track in karaoke format and the other track with the lead vocals so you can learn the song.

 Siglos Karaoke Player allows to turn on and off the lead vocals during playback using Multiplex slider. 

This gives you the opportunity to turn off the lead vocals as needed.

Playing

Full screen mode

Full screen () button (or F key on the keyboard) allows you to display the karaoke window on full extent of your monitor. To leave the full screen mode press F key again (or press ESC).

 If you click left mouse button in the Full Screen mode the Siglos Karaoke Player window will appear on top of the display. You may hide it by clicking Full Screen again.

 If you have two monitors attached to your computer you may display the karaoke lyrics in the other monitor while continuing to use the Siglos Karaoke Player window on the main monitor (this is particularly useful if you have TV or large display connected to your computer). Siglos Karaoke Player will automatically detect second monitor, but if it does not go to Settings and select Use secondary monitor under Display settings. If this still does not work please see Troubleshooting.

Playing

Background images

Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder displays images behind the karaoke lyrics. To change the images or use solid background click Settings button () and select Display.

Siglos Karaoke Player has five background modes:

·    Solid color background (choose a color for MIDI karaoke, for CD+G the background color from the file will be used)

·    Gradient background (smooth transition from the color at the top to the color at the bottom)

·    Image slideshow (you may define images to be used in the slideshow, select the display time of the single image, and choose to display the images in the random order)

Keep aspect ratio option will ensure that images will not be stretched out of proportions (ie. portrait images will have black strips added to their sides so they look proportionally)

·    Video (moving video will be played in loop)

·    Camera (if you have camera installed in your system its input will be used as a background)

·    Music visualizations are animated backgrounds that react to the beat. Siglos Karaoke Player supports Sonique and Windows Media Player plugins. Sonique plugins need to be placed in   %APPDATA%/Doblon/Siglos Karaoke Player /Visualizations folder. Windows Media Player plugins are detected automatically.
You may adjust the intensity of the animation using the slider.

 

You may also choose an image or video to be displayed instead of default black background on the playback screen. This may be your logo or some other information. To do this select image to display using [...] button in Inactive background section.

 

Playing

MIDI Karaoke

You may change the way that MIDI karaoke songs are played. To do this click Settings button () and select Display.

You may change the font used for MIDI karaoke lyrics, change the number of lines on the screen, and define the lyrics location (top, bottom, or middle of the screen).

Playing

CD+G enhancement

Siglos Karaoke Player features state-of-the-art technology that makes CD+G look much better. You can control its behaviour in Display section of Settings. In general there are three steps of CD+G enhancement:

 Smart resolution increase

 This technology allows to reduce jagged edges of CD+G images and makes it look much smoother and precise. It works great scaling CD+G to HD resolution

 Gradient overlay

 With gradient overlay each line of karaoke lyrics has three-dimensional look.

 Shadow

 Adding shadow effect to the lyrics makes them 'stand out' from the background.

 Smooth sweeps

 Siglos Karaoke Player detects word highlighting and replaces blocks of CD+G pixels with smooth single pixel sweeps that improve the experience and fluidity of the video.

 Maximum Internal CD+G Resolution

 Original CD+G is 288 x 192 pixels. Siglos Karaoke Player uses smart resolution increase, but it is very computation-intensive. This setting allows you to choose the internal resolution used by CD+G engine. The higher resolution the longer the processing time.

 Sharpen

 Adds additional sharpening effect

 No margins

 Disables CD+G margins, stretching text area on entire display

 NOTE: You may need to disable some of the effects on slow computers if you are experiencing performance problems.

Using playlists

Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder gives you a simple way of managing the songs but the means of the playlists. Playlist window is displayed below the main Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder window (its position and size may be changed).


 Playlist is automatically filled when you select Load CD button. Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder will try to connect to online FreeDB database to retrieve song names, and will display them in the playlist if successful.

 Currently played song is printed in red. You may play a different item from the playlist by double-clicking it. To add a file to the playlist use Add files button or drop files on the playlist. To add the content of entire directory use Add directory command from File menu. You may select Recurse to include subdirectories. You may also drop a folder onto playlist window -- its content (without subfolders) will be added.

 To change the order of the file drag it and drop to the desired position.

 Playlists can be saved are reloaded. Their file extension is CDP.

If  you have a large playlist you may want to search for songs. To do this click Search button or press F3.

Main window controls

Getting karaoke songs

Internet is full of MIDI karaoke files and Siglos Karaoke Player provides a simple tool to help you find them.

To start MIDI karaoke web search select Search for karaoke on the Internet command from Tools menu.


 Search engine combo allows you to change the place that you will use to search for files. You may try changing search engine if you are not getting the results you need.

 Clicking on OK button will open the search in your web browser. Once you find the file save it to your hard disc and open it later using Load file button.

Disclaimer: Doblon does not provide MIDI karaoke files. They are provided by various websites that are not affiliated with us.

Keyboard shortcuts

The easiest way to control the playback is to use multimedia buttons on your keyboard. In addition to basic functions extra functionality is provided with CTRL and SHIFT keys:

Volume Up + CTRL

Key Up

Volume Down + CTRL

Key Down

Volume Up + SHIFT

Tempo Up

Volume Down + SHIFT

Tempo Down

Next Track + CTRL

Fast Forward

Prev Track + CTRL

Rewind

F2

Search for karaoke on the Internet

F
Alt+Enter

Full Screen

-

Key Down

+

Key Up

Ctrl+L

Load CD

Ctrl+O

Load File

;

Multiplex Left

'

Multiplex Off

\

Multiplex Right

[

Volume Down

]

Volume Up

> 

Next song

< 

Previous song

P

Play

A

Pause

S

Stop

R

Record

Ctrl+P

Settings

F3

Search playlist

Page Up

Rewind

Page Down

Fast Forward

Troubleshooting

I cannot run Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder

I play CD+Gs and see no lyrics

I play CD+G discs and graphics are damaged

I cannot record my voice

My second monitor does not work with Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder

 

If there are some other problems please contact technical support at support@powerkaraoke.com.

 

I cannot run Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder

If you are unable to run Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder please try updating your DirectX from Microsoft:

http://www.microsoft.com/download

 

I play CD+Gs and see no lyrics

Your CD-ROM may not be able to read CD+G data. If you have more than one CD-ROMs in your computer, please try the other device.

 

I play CD+G discs and graphics are damaged

Your CD+G disc may be scratched -- it downgrades the video quality. Some CD-ROM drives are better at reading damaged discs, so if you have more than one installed in your computer, please try the other one.

 

I cannot record my voice

Check if your microphone is connected properly. Use Recording settings to set up recording levels.

 

My second monitor does not work with Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder

To install a dual display card such as ATI 9600, 8500 or 7500 or NVidia, read the manual that came with your card.

Always plug your TV monitor in and turn it on before turning your computer on. If not, your dual display card will come up in single-display mode.

If your card has an s-video output, you need an inexpensive s-video to VHS converter. Radio Shack has them.

With multiple monitors, one will be your Primary display (for you to operate by) and the other your Secondary display (for singers).

When running an ATI card on Windows XP Home, set your card to Extended Desktop Mode, not Clone Mode, which mirrors the pc display.

Enabling/Disabling the Secondary Display for ATI cards:

   1. Access the Windows Control Panel, and double click Display

   2. Click on the Settings tab and then the Advanced... button

   3. Click on the ATI Displays tab (only appears if you have an ATI card installed)

   4. Click the enable/disable button for the display device you want to enable/disable.

   5. Click OK or Apply to save the changes.

   6. IMPORTANT NOTICE: With Windows XP Home, an ATI card must be set (read the manual) to Extended Desktop Mode, not Clone Mode, which mirrors the pc display.

   7. ALWAYS turn on and plug in your TV monitor to the dual-display video output before running Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder. If not, your dual display card will come up in single-display mode.

 

Unlocking and evaluation

How do I unlock Siglos Karaoke Player

To unlock Siglos Karaoke Player you need to purchase the unlock code from Power Karaoke website. The unlock code will be delivered via email. Once you have it select Unlock from Help menu.

 You will have to provide your name, email address used to purchase the unlock code, and the unlock code itself. If the unlock code is accepted all limitations will be removed and you will see your name in the About dialog box.

 

What are the limitation of the trial version

Trial version of Siglos Karaoke Player has the following limitations:

·    Only two minutes of the song will be played

·    Banner will be displayed over the lyrics

·    Only one minute of your singing will be recorded

·    You will see the purchase prompt from time to time