Karaoke Format

The most popular formats in Karaoke are VCD & CDG, which means the song you want to sing is either available in VCD or CDG.

When playing a Karaoke Video-CD (VCD), you will see on the TV screen the lyrics of the song and also a motion video background. Because any video movement or action, e.g. people walking, jumping, etc. occupy memory space in the disc, VCD has to be compressed by a special compression technique (MPEG). The audio sound tracks in the discs will likewise be compressed. In playback, the musical instruments will not be as clear as they should be.

Karaoke CD-Graphics (CDG) contain no video background. When playing a Karaoke CDG disc, you see a blue screen with lyrics of the song only. And, as a result, no compression is involved and the instruments played out are just like playing a regular music CD and are therefore very clear. If you sing along with a CDG Karaoke, you have a better feel of the music and your singing is just like being backed up by a live orchestra. Therefore, any song that is arranged with a full orchestra or with more instruments can only be lively if recorded in CD-Graphics. Fast songs and in particular, country songs are mostly available in CDG. That is why in bars and restaurants, most professional DJ’s use CDG for their Karaoke.