Introduction
We are working on supporting KAR files (Midi+Lyric) on TKaraoke. For the rest of this topic, MIDI and KAR are used interchangeably and has identical meaning. As of March 2010, the development is still in an early stage. We are opening up for comments on how this feature should be implemented.


Background on KAR Files
For those who don't know KAR files, they are MIDI file with timed Lyric. Midi file contains musical notes (nhạc lý - example) of a song. Because it just contain notes, it requires the computer to *play* the notes in real time. Hence, the quality of the song is dependent on the computer playing the song (i.e the quality of the sound card's midi synthesizer). Also because it's just notes, the file size of midi is very small (like a text file). In addition, because it's just notes, changing the KEY and TEMPO of a song is easy to do and can be done very accurately.


Sample Midi Song
Here is a sample of a MIDI song played on a Creative X-Fi USB sound card. This song was recorded to mp3 by TKaraoke at 128Kbps.



KAR Pros and Cons
From Karaoke perspective, KAR has advantages and disavantages comparing to DVD Karaoke (VOB, MKV, VIDEO_TS, etc.).
Advantages:
a1. KEY and TEMPO can be changed to match the singer's unique characteristics.
a2. Small file size - Ideal for streaming, mobile karaoke, and large quantity of songs can be downloaded/shared quickly.
a3. The background video (behind the Lyrics) can be customized. For example, you can play your favorite movie as the background video and TKaraoke will just overlay the song's Lyrics on top of your movie. As another example, you can set the background to be a fixed picture (perhaps to reduce the load on your PC).
Disadvantages::
d1. Karaoke mode only - No "Nhạc" mode (w/ professional singer voice) to guide you sing a new song.
d2. Song quality is highly dependent on the computer playing the song and tend to be of lower quality than DVD sound.
d3. No music video (of the song) in the background.


KAR Playback in TKaraoke


More to come...
Screen shots coming..

[quote=DJ Vcdz;1554]Introduction
We are working on supporting KAR files (Midi+Lyric) on TKaraoke. For the rest of this topic, MIDI and KAR are used interchangeably and has identical meaning. As of March 2010, the development is still in an early stage. We are opening up for comments on how this feature should be implemented.


Do you have an update on this feature? When will it be available? Will it be for the pro version, free version, or both?

Also, I agree with Aeron by making this feature available as a plug-in.

Thanks for all the hard work in making TKaraoke available to us all!

I am with Locky on this.

I absolutely agree that midi karaoke is outdated, but for those that are still using midi for whatever reason or just don't want to let go of their extensive library of midi files would like to see some software that supports multiple formats. To me, a software that is feature-rich is a pro not a con. Don't get me wrong, I am aware that TKaraoke is multi format already, and adding another format to it would only be a plus not a minus!

I have no problem supporting something by spending money on it if it fulfills my needs even if it costs more than the competition. Thus, what's holding me back from upgrading to tKaraoke Pro is that it still have not fulfilled my needs.

Anyhow, cheers to TKaraoke for setting out to become "The Ultimate" karaoke experience.

hiepcii...I too have a big midi collection, just not as big as yours. Like you, I'm switching between Tkaraoke and another program for my midi. It can be cumbersome, but it'll have to suffice for now. To throw away my collection is like just throwing money down the drain. I find it impossible to convert midi to other formats that Tkaraoke currently supports, that's why I'm reluctant to spend money on Tkaraoke without the features I want. I suppose we'll just have to wait.