No!  Unfortunately, there are a few different ways for a software program to instruct a drive to read or write the CD+G sub codes.  These different methods are not always compatible with each other.   To further complicate matters, some of the older methods to access this sub code data are no longer supported by newly manufactured drives, including Plextor (which have traditionally been compatible with the older CD+G access methods).  There are still newer software programs that access CD+G using the original methods which can lead to a lot of confusion.  If you are not presently "tied" to a particular software program, then this is not important because our drives are designed to work with the Karaoke software we support.  If you are using a software program other than the software we support, you may have to change software or search for a refurbished or used drive that can access the CD+G sub codes using the older methods.

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You can use any commercially available CD-R media.  For maximum compatibility with most karaoke players we highly recommend using a high quality Music CD-R media (such as TDK or Memorex).

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No.  CD+G is exclusively a CD based format.  Although some modern karaoke players can read DVDs, the only format that will work will virtually all karaoke players is the standard CD based CD+G format.

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In some cases, but many karaoke players will NOT recognize CD-RW discs, so we do not recommend them.  We recommend using high quality Music CD-R media for best results. 

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Although both regular audio CDs and Karaoke CD+G discs are similar technology there are some very important differences.

When the CD audio format was originally designed, it was not designed with karaoke in mind.  In order to make karaoke possible and display on-screen lyrics, the CD+G format was created to exploit special areas of the CD known as the "sub channels".  These "extra" storage locations are where the graphics are stored that make up the lyrics on a karaoke CD+G disc.

Regular audio software is not programmed to read these sub-channels and will completely ignore them.  If you have tried to rip a CD+G disc with Windows Media Player, you have probably noticed that only the music ripped and not the lyrics.  Furthermore, most CD/DVD drives on the market are also NOT programmed or designed to read these special sub-channels.

For this reason, you will need a special program like Power CD+G Burner to rip or burn karaoke CD+G discs.  You will also likely need a special drive such as any of the drives we sell.

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Super CDG is a proprietary DVD based format created and licensed by CAVS.  It shares nothing in common with the standard CD+G based format.  No CD+G software can recognize Super CDG discs.

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We recommend good quality "Music CD-R" media.  Sometimes it may take some trial and error to find the best media to work with your karaoke player, but Music CD-R discs will usually give excellent results and the most compatibility.  It is possible that standard CD-R discs will also work for you.  CD-RW media and and DVD media will NOT work to make CD+G compatible discs.

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Many karaoke players are VERY sensitive to the "chemical" makeup of surface of the discs they can play.  Different manufacturers make blank CDs differently and it is VERY possible a given karaoke player will read one brand of disc and not another!  If you are experiencing problems with the karaoke player not properly playing your burned discs, try changing the brand of disc you are using.

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Power CD+G Burner is arguably the BEST software available anywhere for this purpose!

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Absolutely and it is very easy to do with detailed, step-by-step instructions provided!

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Yes, very easily!  (Detailed instructions provided)

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Power CD+G Burner will only recognize standard CD+G based discs (the most common karaoke format).  There are a few other new DVD based karaoke disc formats (such as Super CD+G) that for which Power CD+G Burner is not designed.  Standard CD+G is CD based technology that has been around for many years.  The newer DVD based technology has the benefit of holding potentially hundreds of songs on a single disc, but the formats are proprietary (not a universal standard) and are engineered to be difficult or impossible to copy.

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Yes!  You can rip karaoke songs from CD+G discs to your hard drive into the "MP3+G" or "BIN" format for burning later, or playback via a software karaoke player or karaoke hosting software.  Note: A very small percentage of discs employ a copy protection that Power CD+G Burner may not be able to overcome.  This is uncommon, but possible.

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Not necessarily, we've tested it successfully with a few different software programs such as Nero and Microstudio, but the Power Karaoke suite is by far the simplest and therefore the software we recommend and support.  There are some software programs that may not work with these drives due to using different methods to read/write CD+G sub codes, but we do guarantee Power CD+G Burner and other Power Karaoke software will work.  See our Store Policies for details.

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Yes, ALL of our software is fully compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7!

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Yes.  (in most cases).

The software license agreements allow you to install the full version on more than one computer provided that YOU own the computer you are installing it on and you will not be using the same program at the same time on more than one computer.  This is usually not a problem, but can come into play if you are a KJ (Karaoke Host) and run a show at multiple venues at the same time.  In this case you DO need more than one license to the software you will be using to host the show.

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You will receive your software codes via email within a few seconds after completing checkout!  If you do not receive the unlock code email right away, be sure to check your junk email folder.  If all else fails you should be able to retrieve your unlock codes instantly via this link.  If your order also included any physical goods, they will be shipped per our shipping policy.

IMPORTANT NOTE: As this (or any) automated process is subject to occasional down times, in rare circumstances, it is possible you will not receive your unlock code instantly.  When this happens we will make every effort to process your order as soon as possible, but usually no later than 12 hours after purchase. 

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Ensure your name, email and unlock code all match EXACTLY as specified in your unlock code email.  (Even if your name is spelled wrong, or you email address is incorrect, they must still match for the software to unlock).  In addition, be sure you are unlocking the correct program.  (e.g. the code for Siglos Karaoke Professional will NOT unlock Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder).

In fact, for best results just follow this procedure which will work virtually every time:

1. Highlight the entire contents of this page.  (Tip: Press and hold the CTRL key while pressing the A key then release)
2. Copy these contents to the "clipboard" (Tip: Press CTRL-C.  This will appear as if nothing happened.)
3. Open the software you wish to unlock.
4. Access the unlock screen.  (Usually an Unlock button.)
5. You will see the name, email, and unlock code pre-filled out. (If steps 1 and 2 were performed correctly AND you are unlocking the correct program)
6. Click Unlock or OK to unlock the software. (Tip: Depending on the program, there will not always be a "success" message.)

NOTE: Due to the way the unlock codes are produced, it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to generate a bad unlock code.  If the software will not unlock it is because something is not entered correctly, or you are attempting to unlock the wrong program.

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Yes we do.  The Karaoke Sound Tools can permanently change the key of a karaoke song (preferably in the bin format) to suit your singing voice.  No longer will you have to say "up one" or "down one" to the karaoke host and hope they heard you!

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Yes.  Power CD+G to iPod Converter is designed for just this purpose!

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CD+G is a special format of audio CD.  It utilizes a special portion of the disc, known as the "sub-codes" for storage of the graphics data which is used to display the lyrics on the screen.  Most CD and DVD burners are not engineered to read and write these sub-codes.   We have done extensive testing to determine which drives work and which don't.  We offer for sale some of the best drives available for reading and writing karaoke discs when used with the Power Karaoke software suite.

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Many drives are capable of reading the "sub-code" data used for karaoke, but not capable of writing (or burning) it.  In order for a drive to burn a karaoke disc that will play in a professional karaoke player it must be burned using a specific method that very few drives are capable of.  Reading the "sub-code" data on a CD+G CD is much more straight forward for a CD or DVD drive.

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Yes!   In addition to these drive's unique Karaoke reading/writing capability they also work wonderfully as standard CD and/or DVD drives!

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Internal drives must be installed into your computer which involves opening your computer case and connecting a few cables.  External drives are self contained units that do not require installation into a computer, but are connected via a USB cable in a matter of seconds.  External drives are also portable and can be relocated and used on a separate computer easily.

All our drives, both internal and external, (once connected to your computer) burn karaoke music with the Power CD+G Burner software or play karaoke music with any of the karaoke player software in the exact same way.

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There are two primary reasons for this:

1)  The technical process of reading and writing CD+G discs was never standardized on a single method and as such 3 or 4 methods have evolved which are not compatible with each other.  If a program is accessing the CD+G sub channel information on the CD with method "A" and the drive is compatible with method "B" then an error will occur.

2)  Some karaoke software from other vendors (not Pilot Karaoke) are "hard coded" to work with certain model numbers of drives and do not actually check a given drive for compatibility.  The programs may report the drive as incompatible, even though they are compatible.  The only way to use these software programs is to use them with the specific model number of drive required by the software.  It is likely impossible to find a currently manufactured drive that will work with programs like this.

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The drives we sell are either LITEON, Samsung, or Plextor drives and are all very high quality and include their respective manufacturers warranties.

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Possibly.  The only way to know for sure is to test it using the correct settings.    At a minimum, Power CD+G Burner must be set to use the "CDRDAO burning engine" with the "MMC-RAW driver" and "Raw sub channel mode".  If your drive can burn a karaoke disc using these settings without generating an error, than your drive is likely compatible.   You can test this using the trial version of Power CD+G Burner.  Of course, if your drive does not work, we guarantee ours will!  See our store policies for details. 

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At this time, we do not reveal the model number of the drives we sell for two reasons:

1. Drive manufacturers continually change the model number of their drives. We frequently will not know the exact model number you will receive until we are actually processing your order.  Model numbers can change as frequently as weekly.

2. Part of what we offer our customers is a portion of the results of our extensive research and testing.  We have spent many hundreds of hours testing a large percentage of the drives on the market today and we maintain the resulting short list of the specific drive model numbers that will work with the software we offer as private proprietary information.

You can rest assured that the drive you will receive will meet or exceed the specifications listed and will be of top quality and work as we advertise.

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Your drive is likely using a different method than Power CD+G Burner to write the CD+G sub-codes.  There a few different software and hardware methods for writing CD+G sub-codes on blank CD media.   Successfully burning a CD+G disc requires a special drive AND software that when combined with the correct settings will yield a professional quality CD+G disc.  Pilot Karaoke is the only company offering all three of these (drive, software & settings) in one package.  We provide excellent documentation and support to get you burning karaoke CDs in no time!

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Meet the hardware requirements above and you must have an available USB 2.0 port. USB 1.1 ports may work, but the data transfer rates are too slow to practically burn CD+G discs (or any other discs for that matter).

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Pilot Karaoke offers SATA drives.  Be sure your have an available SATA channel and an available 5.25" drive bay.

Although many do-it-yourselfer's will have no problems installing an internal drive, do not attempt to do this on your own if you are not comfortable opening your computer's case or you are unsure of what IDE or SATA is.  If you buy the wrong drive for your computer, you can return it for a replacement, but the return shipping will be at your expense.  If you'd rather not install a drive into your computer or if you need a more portable solution, we recommend purchasing one of our external drives.

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Yes you can.   The discs created with our drive when used with Power CD+G Burner and the settings we provide will work on virtually all professional karaoke players (both the lyrics and music).  Note that a small number of karaoke players may require some "Trial and error" with the burn settings and music CD-R media.  A tiny number of karaoke players (we estimate less than 0.1% will not play discs burned with our drives and Power CD+G Burner regardless of what blank CD media or burn settings are used.   If you buy one of our drives and it will not work for you after a reasonable amount of troubleshooting (with our assistance), you are entitled to a refund subject to our Terms and Conditions.

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Yes!  Karaoke discs created with these drives will work on any Karaoke player, guaranteed!  (Certain home karaoke players read the graphics information differently than do professional players.  If you purchase one of our drives intending to burn discs for use on a home karaoke player the burn settings may require some slight modification, but it will still work.  If the standard settings we provide you do not work, please contact us at for assistance.)

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All of our drives can be customized to include the Power CD+G Burner software for an additional $29.99.  You also have the option of purchasing one of our drive/software bundles which all include Power CD+G Burner at a minimum.  When making a purchases through our eBay store, the listings that specify "W/Software" do include a full license of Power CD+G Burner.  We also offer the full line of Power Karaoke software as the perfect compliment to our drives.)

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Most of our drives are bundled with a software package such as Nero Express which is supplied by the drive manufacturer and passed on to you along with the drive.  

We are unable to guarantee this software will be included as the manufacturers change what is included with drives very frequently!

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Digital karaoke shows are becoming more and more popular because they save you from transporting many discs and from having to replace discs frequently due to damage from normal use.  Hosting a digital karaoke show requires some equipment that will vary based on the scale of your show.  If you plan to host a very large show with 20+ singers and thousands of songs, you will want a full featured hosting solution than can manage singer rotations and song lists, in addition to the normal functions (playing karaoke songs, adjusting the key of the music, etc).

If you are hosting a smaller show and would like features such as dual monitor support (one to manage the show, and the other to display the lyrics), play lists (for managing multiple songs), key transposition (to adjust the key of the music to match the singer's voice), recording capability (to record the singer's voice), etc, then we recommend the Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder.  It is very reasonably priced for what it does and is a great tool for hosting relatively small karaoke shows.

The Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder works will all the drives available on this site and is compatible with the "MP3+G" format (the standard for digital karaoke tracks).  For more detailed questions about the required hardware and software for your specific situation, contact us and we will point you in the right direction.

We also offer a new software program, Pilot Song Book Creator, that can be used hand in hand with Siglos Karaoke Player/Recorder to help you to more easily manage your karaoke song library while hosting a show.   You can simply drag songs from your easily searchable song library in Pilot Song Book Creator to the play list window in Siglos saving considerable amounts of time!

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(Disclaimer: EVERY situation will differ.  We can only offer general advice to get you started.  For answers specific to your situation, we recommend consulting a professional that can evaluate your specific needs).

Most laptops have built in sound capability.  If your laptop's built in sound offers a LINE-OUT jack (consult the instructions that came with it to be sure) then you can connect a cable from this line-out jack to a line input on your audio mixer.  (DO NOT connect it to a Mic input).  

If you are not getting sufficient sound quality from your laptop's built-in sound, or your laptop does not have a LINE-OUT jack, you may be able to purchase an add-on card for your laptop using either the PCMCIA interface or the Express Card interface.  (Generally the PCMCIA interface is for older laptops and the Express Card interface is for newer laptops.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to tell you which you have, you must consult the instruction manual that came with your laptop).

With an add-on sound card, this may open up other options for connecting to your sound system such as optical or coaxial connections, but a standard line connection to a mixer is sufficient most of the time.  Typically you will need a cable with a 1/8" stereo plug on one end to two 1/4" phono plugs on the other.  The 1/8" stereo plug will connect to your LINE-OUT jack on your laptop and the two 1/4" phono plugs will connect to a line input on your mixer.  You can obtain such a cable at most Radio Shack stores or your local music store.

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(Disclaimer: EVERY situation will differ.  We can only offer general advice to get you started.  For answers specific to your situation, we recommend consulting a professional that can evaluate your specific needs).

Nearly all modern laptop computers offer an auxiliary VGA out port on the back or side of the computer.  This port is designed to either connect a second monitor to your laptop in-place of the laptop's built in screen, or to use an external monitor in addition to your laptop's built-in screen.  Most laptop's can switch between these two modes.  You will need the laptop to be configured to use both the external monitor and the built-in screen simultaneously.  (You will need to consult your laptop's instruction manual if you do not know how to do this.  We will not be able to tell you as every laptop is different.)

Once you have configured your laptop to use the auxiliary VGA-out port (which you will connect to an external monitor or TV) you will also need to configure Windows to use the "extended desktop".  This means that Windows will spread your desktop between the two screens, thereby extending it.  (Please consult Windows help for details on how to do this.  It is fairly straight-forward, but we are unable to offer specific advice on this).

Once the above is configured correctly you are done if you are using a computer monitor as your singer screen.  If you plan to use a TV then you will need a signal converter to "translate" the computer monitor signal to a signal your television can use.

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Not difficult, but you should expect it will take some time.  The process is WELL worth the effort as hosting a karaoke show without discs on your computer is significantly easier than a disc based show (our opinion, of course, but most people that have done both would agree).

Our software (Power CD+G Burner) can rip your CD+G discs to your hard drive in about 3-5 minutes or so per disc, depending on the performance of your computer.  In most cases, Power CD+G Burner will also download the song titles and artist names from an online database which will save you the effort of typing them.  (Do not expect for ALL your CD+G discs have to a record in the online database.  You WILL have to manually enter the song titles and artists for some of your discs).

We recommend ripping each disc to its own folder on your hard drive and name that folder with the disc number you plan to use.  For example, you would rip the SC0101 disc to the D:\Karaoke Songs\SC0101 folder on your hard drive.

Once you have ripped all of your songs to your hard drive, we recommend using a program such as Pilot Song File Processor or Pilot Song Book Creator to standardize how the songs are named and to simplify any manual data entry required for discs not found in the online database.

From there, importing all your songs into a hosting program such as Siglos Karaoke Professional is a snap and you will have a fully search able database of all your karaoke music instantly available to you!

For more information on this process, please see one of these two documents:

- KJ Help Guide (Pilot Song Book Creator)
- KJ Help Guide (Pilot Song File Processor)

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Simply download this guide for a detailed overview of how best to do this and/or review our new demonstration videos!

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Simply download this guide for a detailed overview of how best to do this with Pilot Song File Processor!

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Pilot Song Book Creator is one of the best programs on the market for this.  You can import data into the program in multiple ways from online databases, to spreadsheets, to directly from the file names of the karaoke songs on your hard drive.  With a few more clicks you will have a professional looking song book!

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Pilot Song Book Creator offers a number of import options to meet most needs:

Import from online databases such as the FreeDB* Import directly from the names of the song files on your hard drive Import from most popular spreadsheet programs Manually enter discs and songs

* Although about 80-90% of all karaoke CD+G discs are in this database, NOT all of them are.  You can expect that some of your discs will have to be manually entered, but will find this feature will save you significant time.

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Basically, yes they are.  Pilot Karaoke is the developer for both Pilot Song Book Creator and PCDJ Song Book Maker.  The two programs differ only in their names and some of the "branding" images used.  Both are very high quality products and both are offered at the same price.  The decision as to which one to purchase basically rests on who you would like support from.  PCDJ supports their version and we, Pilot Karaoke, support ours.

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Downloading karaoke music can be fun and rewarding.  It gives you the freedom to buy only the songs you want as opposed to buying an entire CD+G disc of 15-20 songs just to get one or two you want to sing.

Primarily, karaoke music is downloadable in the "mp3+g" or "zip" format.  (These formats are explained in detail in other FAQ questions on this page) Once you have located, purchased, and downloaded your karaoke music in one of these formats, you now have several options.

You can simply add the song to your digital karaoke library for playback with virtually any software karaoke player, you can burn the song to a disc using our Power CD+G Burner software and a CD+G compatible drive, etc.  The ability to download karaoke music on sites like our own Tricerasoft Portal and burn them to custom CD+G discs is one of the PREMIER benefits of the world of computer karoake!

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We recommend our own Karaoke Download Site, but there are others such as buykaraokedownloads.com and cdgdownload.com.  Any site where the karaoke music is downloadable in the "mp3+g" format will work.

(NOTE: Although iTunes offers karaoke downloads, they are only available in video formats and are not burnable to a CD+G (karaoke) disc.)

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(Disclaimer: we ARE NOT lawyers and do not claim to be legal experts, for the "official" answer to this question, you would need to consult a copyright law attorney.)

This depends on where you download the music and how you use it.  As a rule of thumb, if you are purchasing songs individually and paying for each of them, they are probably legal.  To be sure, we recommend purchasing from an established site such as one of the ones we recommend.  Of course, purchasing a song entitles you to only a single license.  This purchase does not entitle you to use that song for more than one simultaneous karaoke show.  (Legally, if you run a karaoke show at more than one venue at the same time, you would have to purchase each song for each venue to be in compliance with copyright law.)

Furthermore, purchased karaoke music cannot be legally distributed to others.

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Any site claiming to offer FREE karaoke music is either a scam, or simply in violation of federal copyright laws.  There are a number of sites where you can download karaoke music legally including our own Tricerasoft Portal.  Legitimate karaoke download sites usually charge between $1-$2 per song to ensure the hard work that goes into creating this music is compensated.

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No.  iTunes karaoke songs are not in the CD+G (CDG) format.  They are essentially small video files that are designed for playback on an iPod device and cannot be burned to a CD+G disc.

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Yes,   there are a few sites where you can download karaoke music in the "MP3+G" format for burning with the drives and software available here at Pilot Karaoke.  We recommend our own Tricerasoft Portal, but you can also purchase karaoke music at CAVS and BuyKaraokeDownloads.com. 

We DO NOT condone or offer any advice on how to obtain karaoke songs for free as this practice is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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Yes, Karaoke CD+G Creator or Karaoke CD+G Creator Pro can do this.  It is as simple as loading the base audio track, typing or importing the lyrics, and then synchronizing them with the music by pressing the space bar when you would sing a word.

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The vocal remover suppresses the sound frequencies in a musical recording that usually contain the vocal track.  This has the effect of removing or suppressing the vocals.  With this being said, NO software can completely remove the vocals from song and leave the remainder of the recording untouched.  PLEASE download the trial version of the program you are considering and test it to ensure it will meet your expectations before purchasing.

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You will achieve the best results when you are working with an "uncompressed" song file format such as BIN or WAV.  MP3 is NOT recommended and will yield sub-standard results.  You can use Power CD+G Burner to rip your CDs into the BIN or WAV format.

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Creating a karaoke song from scratch is not difficult, but it is also not without a small learning curve.  The main step that requires some degree of practice is with the synchronization of the lyrics to the background music track which requires timing, but most people are able to achieve professional results.  As with all of our products, please download the trial version before buying to ensure it will work for you.

The typical steps involved in creating a karaoke song are:

Select a background musical track (OPTIONAL) Remove the vocals (please see the other related FAQs for more information) Type (or paste) the lyrics into the lyrics window. Synchronize the background track with the lyrics Generate the output to a BIN or MP3+CDG file (OPTIONAL) Burn the new karaoke song to a CD+G disc with Power CD+G Burner

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We provide excellent documentation with each drive we sell that is geared toward our customers who are new to karaoke software.   If a review of the Quick Start and/or Power CD+G Burner User's Guide we include does not provide you with success, we are here with extensive experience to help.   Just contact us, let us know what you're having difficulty with, and we'll steer you in the right direction.    Everybody can make Karaoke discs with these drives and software, and we'll assist you until you are successful!

In addition to email based support we now offer a new Premium Support Service for telephone based support by appointment!

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We will always respond to customer emails within 1 business day and usually within a matter of hours.  If you have not received a response to your email within this time, your email client (Outlook, Outlook Express, Hotmail, etc) has likely marked our response as a "junk email".  You should be able to find it in your "Junk Email" folder.  You should also be able to avoid this problem by adding "@pilotkaraoke.com" to your safe senders list.  (Consult your email client's help for instructions on how to do this.) Note: Pilot Karaoke NEVER sends unsolicited email or SPAM so you can add us to your safe sender's with confidence.

Note: Some Internet Service Providers (particularly the "free" providers such as Hotmail) are a little overzealous with their SPAM filters and will sometimes reject our emails before delivering them to you.  When this happens, we are usually NOT notified and will have no way of knowing you did not receive the email.

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Sometimes we answer eBay questions from a Blackberry device by using it's reply feature.  This will show the email as originating from a pilotkaraoke.com account rather than eBay.  As mentioned in the above answer, please add "@pilotkaraoke.com" to your safe senders list to ensure you will receive all our emails. Note: Pilot Karaoke NEVER sends unsolicited email or SPAM so you can add us to your safe sender's with confidence.

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Yes we do.  Please see our returns policy for complete details.

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The short answer is NO, but in reality it will depend.  Complete details can be found in our return policy, but you should generally not expect a refund for software purchases.  

We offer a trial version of absolutely every program we sell so that you can completely evaluate the software and ask any question before purchase.  Unlock codes for software cannot be retracted once they are issued and software piracy is a huge problem for online software retailers to deal with.  For this reason, please do not expect a refund for software unless an specific exception applies to you as outlined in the above referenced policy.

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When our stock of an item is replenished, we will fill orders for that item in the order they were received.  Some of our items are very popular and can be difficult to keep in stock.  Ordering now, rather than waiting, will help ensure you receive an item out of the next shipment.  As always, you have the option of cancelling your order up until the item is shipped.  (This does not apply to eBay listings which are not posted unless we have stock in hand.)

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If you pay by a credit card, your payment will clear immediately afterwards.  If you elect to pay by an eCheck (through Paypal), then your payment will likely clear within 3-4 business days.  We can only process orders once we have received your cleared payment.

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This CD is an exclusive offering of Pilot Karaoke!  It contains product information and trial versions of all the Power Karaoke and Pilot Karaoke software we sell, a digital version of the Quick Start Guide and Power CD+G Burner User's Guide as well as a few other extras.

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You should have no problems with running this software on a modern computer.  We recommend Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, 1GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, and a decent sound and video card. The software requires DirectX (latest version is recommended).    Some programs and drives have more restrictive requirements which are detailed on their respective information pages.

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Yes!  We offer many of our programs in money saving bundles.  For software only bundles just head to the Software Bundles product category.  For drive and software bundles visit the Drive/Software Bundles category.

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Yes, you can do this, however you must contact us ahead of your purchase to inform us of your customer's name and email address so we can properly license the software.  We cannot be held responsible if the software is mistakenly licensed in the wrong name if we are not informed of the correct end user information ahead of the purchase.

It is VERY important that the software is properly licensed in the end user's name.  If you pass an unlock code onto your customer that is not in their name, this is a violation of the software license agreement.

If you are interested in setting up a long term affiliate relationship with Pilot Karaoke, please contact us for details.

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YES!  You must list the person for which to license the software in the Ship To name.  If you do NOT want the software licenses to be received instantly, you MUST contact us before purchase for details.

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At the present time, we can ONLY ship via USPS Priority Mail International which is between $39 and $49 depending on where you live.  Due to an intermittent problem with the software that runs our web site, it is possible you may be presented with shipping options that we are unable to support.  In this case, please be sure to select only Priority Mail International.  If you select a more expensive rate, the overage will be refunded.  If you select a less expensive rate, we must charge you the difference but we will notify you ahead of doing this which may result in a delay.

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Although you CAN order a CD with your software, they are not included unless you specifically do.  The reason is that a CD is NOT required to use any of our software and most people do not need one.  The CD can be a nice way to install the software but the installers can all be downloaded from our web site.  ALL our software requires you to unlock the software with the code we provide you, regardless of whether you install it from the CD or you download and install it from our web site.

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We ship all orders (that require shipping) per the shipping schedule posted in our Shipping Policy.  Once the item is shipped, the transit time will depend on the shipping method chosen during checkout and is also subject to anything that may delay the shipping carrier such as inclement weather, federal holidays, etc.  We are only able to guarantee an in stock item will be shipped per the shipping schedule.  We cannot guarantee transit times once the package is relayed to the shipping carrier. If you must receive your package within a specified time frame, please contact us to ensure it is possible.

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NO!!  Pilot Karaoke does not use drop shipping and never has.  We maintain our own "real" inventory.  We ship directly from our company's location, based on the shipping schedule published in our Shipping Policy (which is usually the next business day after the order is received in most cases).

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Not at this time.   Orders placed after 5PM (Pacific Standard Time (PST) on Thursdays will not usually ship until the following Monday (unless if Monday is a federal holiday).  Please contact us (before purchase) if you need for your item to ship sooner and we will be happy to inform you exactly when to expect shipment.

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All of the software for sale on PilotKaraoke.com is designed to be distributed electronically.  You will simply download a trial version which is freely available and when you purchase the software you will receive an unlock code which will transform the trial version into the full version when it is applied.

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An unlock code consists of the licensee's name, email address and a serial number which are used by the software to verify you are entitled to use the full version.  Before an unlock code is applied, all our software will function as a trial version, regardless of how you install it.

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No.  Even though we do offer the software on a CD, there is no way to avoid having to unlock it with a valid unlock code.  The reason for this is that the software is intended for electronic distribution and the unlock code system is used to discourage piracy and fraud.

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This system allows us to provide trial version of the software and make it freely available.  This way you can fully evaluate the software and make sure it will fulfill your expectations before you purchase it.  This is unlike software you purchase in a retail store where you have no ability to "try before you buy" and you are still unable to return for a refund if it doesn't work for you.

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Not usually.  Since the serial number (code) is tied to the name and email address, once the unlock code is generated, the name and email address cannot be changed without creating a new license.  You can, however, update your name or email address in our unlock code database by contacting us which will allow you to more easily retrieve your codes later.

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You can retrieve the unlock codes and download links of all software purchased through Pilot Karaoke's shopping cart or our eBay store at this link.  Just enter the original email address used to make your purchase and click the Submit button to retrieve your codes.

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Yes.  As long as you remember the email address you can still retrieve your codes at this link.  If you do not remember what email address you used, contact us and we can look up your codes.

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No.  At least not instantly.  You can contact us for assistance being sure to give us as much detail as you can remember about your original purchase (first and last name, approximate date of purchase, transaction number, order number, etc will help us find your order).

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Yes!  You can see some of our most popular software in action with our new demonstration videos!  These are available to everyone before or after purchase.

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Primarily, we provide support via email but you can purchase telephone support via our new Premium Support Service for a very reasonable price.

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CD+G stands for CD+Graphics and is the technology behind CD based karaoke. The graphics that make up the lyrics for a karaoke song are stored in a special place on the disc known as sub-channels.  Not all drives can read these sub-channels which is why most customers will need a new drive to burn CD+G discs.

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This is the standard format for digital karaoke files and actually consists of two different files.  One of which is the mp3 file that contains the music portion and the other is the cdg file that contains the graphics data that makes up the lyrics.  Sometimes the mp3+g format is referred to as the mp3+cdg format, but they are the same.

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A zip file (in general) is a file that both "compresses" and "consolidates" multiple files into a single file with a zip extension.  The zip format has been used for decades for this purpose.  Recently, this zip format was adopted as a convenient way to consolidate and compress the mp3 and cdg file that make up a karaoke song in the mp3+g (mp3+cdg) format.  This makes the zip format the best choice for ripping karaoke music with Power CD+G Burner as it produces the smallest files (about 3-5MB each) and only a singe file for each song which makes organization more straight-forward.  The only reason you might not want to use the zip format for ripping is if you needed to do some sort of audio processing on the song such as a permanent key change with the Karaoke Sound Tools.  (In this case, we recommend using the bin format).

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This format is a digital karaoke file format consisting of just a single file that is not compressed.  The bin format is a "lossless" format, meaning there is no data loss when ripping, but the resulting files are quite large (about 50MB for the typical karaoke songs).  The bin format is only recommended for ripping karaoke songs you intend to do some sort of audio processing with.  We recommend the zip format for all other purposes.

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This is synonymous with mp3+g and consists of an mp3 file containing the music and a cdg file containing the graphics (lyrics).

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This format is used exclusively by CAVS products and is a proprietary format.  When you download karaoke songs from cdgdownload.com, they will come in a zip format that contains three files per song.  One is the mp3 file (containing the audio) one is a cdg file (the standard file containing the graphics and making up the mp3+g format) and the last file is the mcg file.  The mcg file is CAVS proprietary format for storing the graphics information that holds the lyrics.  It is very similar to a cdg file, but not interchangeable with it.  Officially, an mp3+mcg file consists of the mp3 file and the mcg file.

If you use a karaoke player or karaoke software from CAVS, chances are that it is using the mp3+mcg format. 

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Possibly.  CAVS does offer software for this known as Encoder CDG or Decoder CDG, but we are unable to offer specific assistance with this software.  Please contact CAVS directly for this.

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Super CD+G discs are DVD based, not CD.  Our software does not support Super CD+G Discs.  The DVD drives we sell may be capable of  creating Super CD+G Discs with software available from  CAVS.  Click here for more info on how to do this.

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No.  This software is provided by the drive manufacturer as a courtesy and we are not able to support it.  If you do have problems with this software, the best place to get support for it will be within the software's help files.  There should be contact information for where to receive support.

We are happy to support the karaoke software we sell.

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The service plans we offer are designed to eliminate the hassle of a manufacturer's warranty claim as well as extend the period of coverage.  Your only expense would be shipping the drive back to us.  Making a claim is simple as well!  Just contact us within the warranty coverage period and we will take it from there!

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Presently, the plans are available for approximately 15% of a drive's regular price.  Any additional items (including software) purchased with your drive do not affect the cost of the service plan.

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Even if you do not purchase a service plan you are still entitled to some coverage.  Please review our Service Plan information page for details.

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No.  Service plans are only available to customers with US shipping addresses.   If you inadvertently purchase a service plan, your plan should be refunded when we process your order.

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The "Pilot" in Pilot Karaoke comes from the fact that Mike, one of the founders of Pilot Karaoke is a current US Air Force Reserve Pilot and served on active duty in the Air Force for over a decade.  The airplane image is a C-17A Globemaster III which was the last aircraft Mike flew in combat operations.   Mike has flown the C-17A Globemaster III, the C-21A (executive airlift Learjet), the T-1A Jayhawk, the T-37 Tweet, the T-38 Talon, as well as several civilian aircraft with over 2000 hours of flight time.

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Very simple!  The drives we sell are the best value on the Internet!  If you purchase any drive from us and it doesn't work as advertised with all Power Karaoke software you will be entitles to a full refund.   (See our policies for details.)  

We are also very experienced with Karaoke burning and it is our specialty to work with customers who are new to it, even if you are not familiar with this process to ensure you are happy with your purchase.  Furthermore, Pilot Karaoke is a member of the Better Business Bureau of Alaska, Oregon, and Western Washington.  Our site is certified by Control Scan as secure so you can shop with us with peace of mind.  We are member's of Square Trade, eBay Power sellers and have been a member of the eBay and PayPal community for nearly 10 years.

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Any personal information such as your name, email, etc will be used for responding to questions you ask, providing you support, obtaining software unlock codes for which you have purchased, and processing orders.  We DO NOT sell your information to anyone or send any unsolicited emails to our customers.  Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.

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Pilot Karaoke collects payment information such as credit card numbers for the SOLE purpose of processing orders.  We do not retain your sensitive financial information in our database longer than is necessary to charge your payment source.  All information stored in our database is secured through strong encryption protecting your information from disclosure to unauthorized persons.  PilotKaraoke.com is a Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant site meaning we meet strict requirements to ensure your financial information is protected and that it will NEVER be available to hackers.  We take your privacy and security VERY seriously and assure you that you can buy with confidence!  Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.

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