Can I use Karaoke Builder to make a karaoke CD+G disc, or should I buy Karaoke Builder Studio? What are the major advantages of Karaoke Builder Studio over Karaoke Builder?

Karaoke Builder's main use is for creating slideshows of images, which can then be played in a CD+G machine. You cannot add lyrics at all in Karaoke Builder. Karaoke Builder Studio will let you do everything - add your lyrics, sync to the music, and create the files ready to be burned to CD. It also lets you create slideshows, but you can then add them to your track, alongside the lyrics, and create a complete CD+G track. The only thing Karaoke Builder Studio can't do (and Karaoke Builder can) is let you add slideshows to existing CD+G tracks - Karaoke Builder lets you take a track and add your own pictures to it. If that doesn't sound like something you need, stick with Karaoke Builder Studio. However, both are available as trial versions so you can use them for free before you decide which is the one for you.

Can the Karaoke Builder CD+G Player play my CD+G discs directly?

No. The CD+G Player can play CDG files and BIN files (created by KB and KB Studio), but cannot play the information on a CD+G disc. It is possible to extract the information from a CD+G disc, but you will need to use CDRWIN to do this.

Does Karaoke Builder provide software to read/write CD+G discs?

Karaoke Builder does not sell CD burning software. Many people wanting to create CD+G discs already have such software, and if we added it to our products we would have to increase the price. We recommend that you buy Nero or CDRWIN, the number one choice for reading and writing CD+G discs. The help files accompanying Karaoke Builder Studio contain instructions for using Nero and CDRWIN with the CD+G files created by our software.

What do I need to read/write CD+G discs? How do I know if my CD burner (CD-R/W drive) is compatible?

Please visit our Compatible CD+G Burners section for more information.

When I use 'Fade' my image doesn't appear for several seconds. Why not?

When you use Fade as your Special Effect the image is actually built up on the screen in the normal way (as if you'd used 'Top to Bottom'), but the entire image is initially set to one colour. This is why the screen appears to be blank. The colours are then gradually changed to make the picture appear smoothly, and as they fade up the image becomes visible. There's no way you can avoid the gap when there is this apparently blank screen, in the same way that you could not make the image appear instantly when using any other effect. Less complex images will build up more quickly, so you could reduce the pause by displaying a simpler picture. If you really don't like the blank screen you could use a different special effect to display the image, then use Fade to fade out.

How do I remove the vocals from my music? Can I do this with Karaoke Builder Studio?

Most professional karaoke tracks have no lead vocals (that's the whole point of karaoke), and these are specially recorded tracks which never involve a vocalist. However, for the amateur singer this is not usually an option - you will want to get your favourite CD and sing along to it and (hopefully) do a better job than the original singer! It is possible to remove or reduce the vocals in some (not all) tracks, though not with Karaoke Builder Studio. We recommend that you take a look at Yogen Vocal Remover. However, it's not a perfect solution. Some tracks work just fine, others become 'fuzzy', and some sound like you're playing the whole track under water! There is no perfect solution - the tracks were not recorded with the intention of being separated in this way, so bear that in mind. It's also possible to buy karaoke discs without CD+G lyrics. These are usually much cheaper than CD+G discs, and with Karaoke Builder Studio you can add your own lyrics to these tracks.

CD+G is great, but when I create an AVI video the text looks 'blocky'. Why is this?

The present version of Karaoke Builder Studio is designed for CD+G screens, which are the traditional machines used in karaoke shows. The resolution of those screens is only 288 x 192 pixels, which is why the limit is imposed on the preview screen - the box you see in the preview is the actual size of the finished CD+G karaoke screen. For creating AVI, we simply take the CD+G screen and enlarge it to fit the AVI video size, which is why you see the 'blocky' effect. The next version of Karaoke Builder Studio, now under development, will allow you to build directly to video, removing any of the limitations of stretching the 288 x 192 screen. You will be able to specify any size of screen, and fonts will be 'anti-aliased' (smoothed at the edges) for much better results. This new version is still being developed, and there is a lot more work to do - it won't be available until sometime next year. We're sure that when you see what we have arriving next year you'll be blown away! Our web site will keep you up to date with any more news. If you can't wait, Karaoke Builder Studio is still without equal in karaoke CD+G creation and is available right now.

Why don't the Build, Edit and Reset buttons work?

You need to completely synchronise a track for these buttons to become available. Type in your lyrics and use the sync button (see the Help file for details). When you've synced all the pages, the software will automatically come up with the 'save' window, at which time your sync information is saved to disc and stored in your project file. At this point the edit, build and reset buttons will be enabled. This is logical because before you sync the file you have no sync information to edit, and nothing to build or reset. Don't use the cancel button unless you want to lose the sync information - you must get right to the end of the track and then save it for these buttons to be available.

When I try to Sync my lyrics, I get stuck at the end of the page. Why won't it go to the next page?

For the sync to work correctly you need to make sure that your track is divided into pages. You have to put the page breaks in yourself, in the form of blank lines between verses, choruses etc. If you do that, when you sync the last word of a page, it will go onto the next page. If you don't, you will have one long, continuous page and what is actually happening is that the sync goes on to the next word which is off the bottom of the visible page. Always check that you can see the lyrics on each page - use the main screen and click on the list of pages to make sure.