DVD

DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc and is the newest format to emerge. Featuring a moving background image, very similar to VCD but of a higher quality.
Again most DVD titles offer you Multiplex options and some even allow you to remove the video background - which makes the output similar to CDG. Most DVD players will play VCD discs, but most WILL NOT PLAY CDG.

DVD+G is a fairly new concept where tracks have no video background and the on screen display just has a coloured background with the lyrics that "swipe". These discs are in DVD format and will not play in a normal CDG player. Please note: We group DVD & VCD discs together in our on line search engine as they are similar formats and will play on DVD players - WHEN IN THE SEARCH AREA SELECT VCD IN THE ORANGE SEARCH BAR. ALL DVD titles are clearly marked as DVD

Video CD - VCD

VCD stands for Video Compact Disc, which is essentially a computer format (MPEG2) and shows moving video images behind the "swiping" lyrics. VCD has a much smaller selection of available titles and normally only features between 10 to 12 tracks per disc. VCD has mostly been superseded by DVD but are still available to buy. Most VCD Discs are Multiplex. (see below)

12" Laserdisc

Laserdisc is the oldest format and is a 12" heavy duty disc that features digital picture quality. Laserdisc players are now very hard to find and as a result most Karaoke operators have moved to one or more of the other formats. Some Laserdisc players are duel format and can also play CDG discs. Some laser titles were also Multiplex.

Additional features of some karaoke discs:

A Multi-Audio disc would generally feature an extra version of a song, including a vocal, which helps when the song is unfamiliar to the singer.

Multiplex is similar to Multi-Audio however instead of an extra track that includes a vocal version, the vocals are included with the track but can be switched on or off as desired.

To play a multiplex disc correctly your player must be Multiplex compatible. Current models featuring Multiplex are the EK250G, JVC XL-MV22 (or RSQ equivalent), Sunfly DVD & the Vtrek DVD.

DVD Zones in brief: DVD Region Locking is a system used to control which DVD movies play on which DVD Players. Due to the high quality of DVD and the movie release system used by Hollywood, 5 DVD regions were established to prevent people from watching Region 1 DVD movies before they were released on Regions 2-5.

Most DVD players on the market today are capable of being "chipped" or are already compatible with all zones (i.e. Vtrek K9 or DVD9901 which are all-zone straight from the box)