Karafunplayer - Free next-generation karaoke player
Turn your PC
into an interactive karaoke machine with the KaraFun free karaoke software
for Windows. More than just a karaoke player, KaraFun offers a
complete solution for playing and creating karaoke at home.
Fun and exciting, it plays nearly every karaoke file: KFN, KAR,
CDG, KOK, LRC, AVI, MPEG... The user-friendly
KaraFun editor enables you to create,
quickly and easily, your own karaoke songs from Audio and MIDI
music files : MP3, OGG, KAR, MID...
Based on a powerful and revolutionary 3D animation engine for animated lyrics
and background, your karaoke party in full screen has every chance of being a
success!
KaraFun is 100% free. No charges, no ads, no nags, no banners, no
spyware and virus free. KaraFun free is for home use only - for public use
(karaoke bars, karaoke parties etc.), you must
purchase a KaraFun
Studio licence.
KaraFun is a complete solution for playing and creating karaoke at home. It
offers not only a much richer graphical experience, but also a significant layer
of interactivity and control. Play the new KFN format with the
KaraFun Standard Software
and control key and tempo, set the volume of guide vocal track and melody,
personnalize your own training mode, toggle the sync bubbles mode, change text
typo and so much more!
The KaraFun Standard
package consists of a player and an editor. It's totally FREE. The
Player plays all major karaoke files : KFN, KAR, CDG, LRC, KOK, AVI, MPEG...
The Editor allows you to easily create your own karaoke tracks!If you
want to go further in karaoke's creation, paying version
KaraFun Studio is
for you.
KaraFun redefine the karaoke on PC. Powerful and easy-to-use, KaraFun improves
constantly the playback and the creation of your karaoke songs. Well up on users
feedback, our development team works hard to grant your wishes and offer the
best PC karaoke software. For many fans, KaraFun has become one important part
the success of their karaoke parties! We hope that KaraFun will give you a lot
of fun and pleasure, and we will continue to share our passion.
After installing KaraFun, 4 windows are displayed on the screen: the main
window, the control window, the karaoke library window and the display window
when a track is played.
First, you can check that KaraFun is correctly configured for your PC:
right-click on the main window or click on the upper left corner to display the
main menu, then click on Options. In the Audio / MIDI tabsheet, check that
playback and recording devices are OK.
Karaoke player: the main window
(1) The main menu: which is common to the player, control and karaoke
library windows. The main menu consists of the following items:
About...(14): software version, keyboard shortcuts and system info
View file info...: Display general and technical information about
the karaoke you are playing. Change the background (image or preset) if the
karaoke file type allows it (KAR, CD+G, KFN, KOK or LRC type file)
Control (12) and Karaoke Library (13): to show or hide theses
windows
Open... (11): to open and play a specific karaoke
Playback (4): same functions as the navigating buttons
Display: this menu is equivalent to the one from the display window
witch can be displayed by a right click or from the upper left button of the
display window when a track is playing
Various links to KaraFun and Karaoke version website
(2) The main display screen: display on the left the title, the author
and the year, and on the right the state (active, inactive, combined) of the
different playback mode about the track you are playing
(3) Track Slider: Move it to jump from one part of the track to another
(4) Navigation buttons: go to the next or previous track in the playlist
with the << and >> buttons. If the playlist is empty, pushing Play is like
pushin the Eject button
(5) Training Mode: this mode is optimized for an easy and customized
reading. It helps to become more familiar with the lyrics. You can modify the
font type, size, style, text position and maximum lines count in the options
(6) Text Highlighting Mode: There are two ways for highlight the text
when the karaoke is playing: per blocks or gradually (line per line). The kind
of highlighting can be defined in the KFN file, in that case, both of the BLOCKS
and LINE lights are on
(7) Syncs Mode: to be warned when the next syncs are coming. Each bubble
means a synchronization, it's now easy to know when you have to sing again after
a solo!
(8) Extra Tracks: by default, no guide is activated (note icon). An extra
track can be a guide melody (guitar icon), a guide vocal (upper microphone icon)
or your voice (upper microphone icon with note icon) if you've recorded it. All
these additional tracks are mixed with the backing track. You can also reduce
their volume level individually in the control window
(9) Volume slider: adjust the volume by moving it
(10) Microphone Recording: click on the microphone button to activate the
recording device set in the Audio/MIDI options. The recording device must be
activated to click on the record button. Choose a song and sing!
More info
about voice recording...
Karaoke player: the karaoke library window
This window contents both the playlist and the list of all your karaoke files
and discs.
The left column allows to access the playlist, the default songs directory, My
Documents and your local drives. The right part fits according to the choice done on the left:
The Playlist: added tracks are displayed sorted. You can add more songs
manually, delete, sort by title, artist, file or at random, save your playlist
in KPL format, open a saved one, specify if you want to loop the playlist,
manual playlist advance, and get informations on a specific song
Another menu item: unlike the Windows explorer, only the karaoke files and
discs are displayed (the list of the corresponding file types are in the General
tabsheet of the Options). Except the folders, karaoke are directly displayed and
sorted by title, artist and length and not by filename, to make the navigation
easier. If you click on Play, the selected song will erase the current playlist and will
play. Click on Enqueue to add the selected song at the end of the playlist.
You can get information about the selected karaoke by clicking on the Info
button. If this song don't have a background, you can put one: either a jpeg
image, or a karaoke preset. All the playback information are saved in a database
("played.db" file from the KaraFun Data folder).
Karaoke player: the control
window
This window allows to modify in realtime the playback parameters of the current
played song.
In the General section, you can:
Change the key of the song, from +/- 6 semitones (= 1 octave). This function
don't modify the playback speed. This function is also called Pitch Shifting
Modify the song speed, from +/- 50%. This function don't change the tone of
the song except for the karaoke whitch the audio source is based on a video.
This function is also called Timestretching
Try to reduce the level of vocal range on an original MP3 songs (may reduce
instruments in same range). In the Microphone part, you can test and adjust the input and output signal of
your microphone.
In the Extra Tracks part, you can change various parameters of the active
additional audio track (keynote button) : change its volume, put an echo effect,
or activate the Automatic Guide Cancel (when a singer is listening to the guide
melody or the guide vocal on any karaoke file and starts singing into the
microphone, the guide stops, when he stops singing into the microphone the guide
comes back).
Karaoke player: the display window
In order to change the current karaoke display, right-click on the display
window or click on the upper left corner of the titlebar. The Display menu
appears. You can:
Change quickly the window size: half size (320x240), normal size (640x480)
or best size (1024x768)
Activate the fullscreen mode. If you want to active this mode by default, go
in the Options, Display tabsheet, and check "Start in fullscreen"
Activate the training mode, the syncs mode, or switch the additional audio
tracks. You can also define theses modes by default in the options
Get information about the played karaoke, change karaoke background
View display and training mode properties in the options.
Finally, don't hesitate to customize KaraFun with the options. But most of all,
have fun and sing some great songs!
If you want to control the karaoke parameters and the playlist in one screen and
output the karaoke display on a TV or a widescreen, just read this:
First, you need some hardware and software:
TV Output on your graphic card or two graphic cards
The latest drivers for your specific card
Windows 98 SE or better (Windows XP recommended)
Launch KaraFun and select the Options menu in the main menu (Right-click
in the KaraFun player window or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P ).
Select Display tabsheet in the following options window:
Select the second monitor in the Output monitor. If you have only one
monitor in this box, check your drivers and the cable between the TV and the PC.
Ensure also that the TV cable was set when starting the PC, a lot of graphic
cards are doing the TV screen detection at the boot time. If you always want to display karaoke songs on that second screen, select the
Start in fullscreen option. When you are in fullscreen mode, notice that there is no border at all.
Click OK and start a karaoke to check the result. If it doesn't fit, you
can try to set a smaller resolution (640 x 480 on a TV screen is enough!). You
may also have to set the number of frames per second to 50 Hertz (PAL) or 60
Hertz (NTSC) to have a correct TV display.
KaraFun enables you to record your voice on a
karaoke song. To proceed, you shoud have a
microphone with a mini jack mono connector, as showed
opposite. If you need it, there is 6.35mm mono female
jack to 3.5mm mono male adapter, if you have a micro
with a standard 6.35 jack connector. Plug your micro in
the Mic-in sound card input, showed as a pink circle
generally on the back of the PC: Your microphone is plugged, let's test it!
Test the microphone in the karaoke player
Activate the input
signal: click on the little button pictured as a
microphone. It will activate the microphone. If you
click again, the microphone input will be turned Off. A
LCD indicator on the karaoke player will show you the
state of the microphone. Be warned, some soundcards have a stereo connector, even
for the microphone. In that case, if you connect a
microphone with a mono connector and stick it in at
maximum, you may hear nothing. A solution, traditional
but efficient, is to push the connector in a middle
position.
In order to test the
input level, open the control window and talk in the
microphone, the colored "LEVEL" bar should go up and
down. Fit the input level (IN) as necessary, to get a clean
and not saturated signal. The ouput level (OUT) is the
level of the microphone sent on your speakers. You're now ready to record your voice.
Voice recording
Click on the button
pictured as a red circle, just right after the
microphone button. You can't click on that button before
activating the microphone. Select a karaoke file and ... sing! During the recording, a red REC caption shoud blink on
the top left of the karaoke screen. Stop the recording by clicking on the record button
again or on the stop button.
KaraFun automatically
plays the additionnal track "Your voice" pictured with
the couple of indicators "music note" and "microphone"
.
Come back to the beginning of the song and listen to
your performance. You can change the additionnal audio
track any time by clicking on the "music note" button.
If you're not completly satisfied by your recording, you
can record a part of the music again, while keeping the
rest of the recording. KaraFun will replace only the
newly recorded part.
If you want to keep the WAV files of your recordings, you modify
the options: set the options in the Voice recording
part of the Player tabsheet. You should know that a WAV audio file is not compressed and have
a bigger size that the same file in MP3 format.
Of course you can add an echo effect on your voice, change the
pitch (KEY) and the speed replay of the song (TEMPO), your voice
will follow. That's certainly a real FUN part of KaraFun!
Note: We're going to simplify the way to convert a karaoke
file to audio soon in a next version of KaraFun Studio. For the moment,
you've got to "Convert karaoke to video (AVI)" to export in audio
format! Sorry for the inconvenience...
In the karaoke library, right-click on your karaoke and select "Convert
karaoke to video (AVI)". As you can see on the screenshot, only a few
parameters matter:
Output file: this is the destination folder where your
WAV file will be saved
Check the Output WAV file(s) separatly option
Audio tracks: Select the additional audio tracks you want
to mix on the main audio source of your karaoke
Start conversion: A small window appear. The conversion
take place in 2 steps: "Processing music..." and "Processing
frame...", when you get the "Processing frame" message, click on
Cancel.
Burn an Audio CD
The WAV files you got are automatically in CD format (44.1Khz, 16bits,
stereo).
With Windows Explorer (or from My Computer), go to the destination
folder you have specified
Delete the AVI file
Add the WAV file(s) in your CD-burning program, don't forget to specify
"Audio CD" and burn!
Convert KAR or MIDI KFN files to Audio
There are 2 music types for karaoke files: Audio (MP3, OGG, WAV, WMA, AVI, etc.) and
MIDI (KAR or MIDI KFN files). The MIDI karaoke files do NOT contain music but
only datas that can be performed by an external source (soundcard, external MIDI
synth, virtual General MIDI bank, VSTi instrument, etc.). That's why the size of
KAR and MID files are so small. So, from a configuration to an other, the MIDI
music is played differentelly : better with a pro synth, poorer with a AC'97
sound card for example.
Only Audio karaoke can be converted to WAV files with KaraFun Studio.
However, if you really want to convert your MIDI karaoke to Audio
karaoke, it's possible:
In our example, we will use
SynthFont to
convert MIDI to WAV, but there are many other sharewares that can do it.
Click on the "...To File" icon, select "MP3 file" type, select your
destination folder and Save
Then, click on the Play icon and wait the end of the song
When the conversion is done, you can exit SynthFont. Note: you can
specify many things with SynthFont like changing MIDI instruments, panning,
volume, mp3 quality, etc. Don't hesitate to test it!
Go to the KaraFun Editor and import your KAR file from the File menu, to
get the lyrics and the syncs
Now, open the library and add the mp3 you got with SynthFont
Change the main audio source: replace the KAR file with the MP3 file
Play and test if music and lyrics are still synchronized properly. From
a converter or a midi file to an other, syncs can move. In that case, click
on the text track, select all the syncs (Ctrl+A) and move them (with the
mouse or Alt+left/right). Try also the Stretch progressively option in Edit
menu.
Remove the KAR file from the library and save your new KFN file
Now, you can
record
your voice on it and export the result in Audio: just read again the
begining of this page!
With KaraFun Studio, you can convert your karaoke into video. This process
requires some CPU ressources and free disc space. So avoid to lauch other
programs at the same time and be sure to have free disc space enough available
on you hard disc: if you're working in uncompressed frames for example, output
files will be great but huge (several gigs).
There are several ways to open the "Convert karaoke to video (AVI)" window:
from the karaoke library: right-click on a song,
from the karaoke screen: right-click on the current karaoke or from the
display menu,
from the File, Export, AVI file menu in KaraFun Studio Editor.
Options
Output file: name of the destination file. By default, in the the same
directory.
Video format: size and number of frames by second
Video compression: according to the video codecs installed on your PC.
No compression = Uncompressed frames
Audio compression: according to the audio codecs installed on your PC.
No compression = PCM
Audio format: Frequency, resolution and output channels type
Display: select the modes and display options you want to put on your
video: the training mode, the syncs and the start up info screen
Audio tracks: select among the additionnal audio track available, these
you want to be mixed on the main audio source. Don't check if you just want
the backing track.
What's the purpose?
There are many reasons to convert karaoke files to video. The main reason is
to play the video on TV with a home player. But what kind of supports (CD or
DVD) and video formats could it play? Is it a DVD, VCD, SVCD, DivX... player?
So, first of all, answer this 2 questions:
The karaoke file you want to convert is based on an Audio (MP3, OGG,
WAV, AVI, Audio KFN...) or MIDI (KAR, MIDI KFN) music?
What kind of media (CD or DVD) and video formats your home player can
play?
Tips
To play video, you must have proper video codecs. We advice you to
install DivX 6 or
Xvid or
ffdshow video pack.
The file size created on a FAT32 partition is limited to 2Go, so if you
work in uncompressed trames and your AVI file reaches this limit, conversion
will stop halfway. You will have to
convert your
FAT32 partition into NTFS...
A DVD is not an AVI file! Create a DVD is not easy : you must use
an authoring DVD software, create menus, respect the structure and the video
format, etc.
The
rendering of the video conversion is similar to its display in the KaraFun
karaoke window. So, all parameters, except tempo, are taken into account:
key, highlighting mode, preset or picture used in the background, etc.
When you start conversion, a small output preview window appears. A
conversion is done in 2 steps: the music (Processing music...) and the video
(Processing frame...). When it's done, you can explore the directory of the
AVI file, open the video in your default AVI player or close the window.
We advice you to convert uncompressed with KaraFun Studio and compress after
with an other appropriate software according to your aim: for example
VirtualDub for DivX,
Nero Express for VCD or SVCD or any other
DVD authoring tool for DVD...
To convert uncompressed, use these settings:
Video format: according to what you want to do (see the last help
page)
Video compression: Uncompressed frames
Audio compression: PCM
Audio format: 44100Hz stereo (48000Hz for DVD)
Virtual Dub
Nero Express (VCD or SVCD)
Open your uncompressed (hudge!) AVI video file in Virtual
Dub
Video menu / Compression: select video compression
Video menu / Full processing mode
File menu / Save as AVI...
Select Video CD or Super Video CD in the Video menu of Nero
Express
Add your AVI files and click next
Create the menu of your (S)VCD and click next
Select your CD-R recorder and burn your (S)VCD
DVD Authoring Tools
There are many (but not free!) DVD authoring tool to create a DVD from
your AVI files:
The video files music are always in audio format (WAV PCM, Mpeg Layer 3 MP3,
etc.) never in MIDI format. To convert a MIDI karaoke to video (AVI), you must
convert the MIDI music source in MP3 or WAV audio first.
Solution 1
Without going through KaraFun Editor, convert MIDI music source in MP3
or WAV audio to be able to convert MIDI karaoke to a video (AVI).
1. Convert your MIDI karaoke to video without audio
In the karaoke library, right-click on the MIDI karaoke file you want to
convert and click on "Convert karaoke to video (AVI)". Choose export options
(format and video compression, display options) explained in the other pages
of this help, and start the conversion. Thus, you get a AVI video file
without audio.
2. Convert the MIDI music to WAV
Note : if your karaoke is a KFN file (based on a MIDI file like KAR or
MID), you must extract this file from the KaraFun Editor library first.
Open your MIDI file (.KAR or .MID) from the File menu (if you don't
see your file, choose "All files" at "Type files"
Click on the "...To File" icon and save your .wav file
Click on the Play icon and wait the end of the song who must be
fully played to be converted
When the conversion is done, you can exit SynthFont.
Note that you can change many parameters with SynthFont like the
instruments of the MIDI channels, panning, volume, etc.
3. Add Your Voice (optional)
If you have
recorded your voice with KaraFun, and you want to hear it on your video,
you have to mix both WAV files (music + your voice) together:
Locate the WAV file of your voice recording. According to your
KaraFun options (see Audio/MIDI tab, "Voice recording" part), the .wav
file is either in the folder C:\Program Files\KaraFun\Temp, or in the
folder of your karaoke, or in a folder you specified.
Download, install and run
Audacity
or any audio editor. We recommand you Audacity because it's free and
easy-to-use.
Drag and drop your WAV files on 2 different tracks, check their
synchronization and adjust their volume: in the example, music has been
lowered of 9db to bring out the voice (red circles). To care of
saturation!
Export in a new wav file from the File menu, and exit.
4. Add the audio track to the video
It's easy to add the audio track on your video:
Download, install and run
VirtualDub
-> Virtualdubmod
Open your video AVI file
In the Audio menu, click on WAV Audio and open the final WAV file
In the Video menu, click on "Direct stream copy"
Save as AVI...
Exit VirtualDub, you're done... play your video!
Solution 2
By going through KaraFun Editor, convert MIDI music source in MP3 or
WAV audio to be able to convert MIDI karaoke to a video (AVI).
Use this solution if you get a lag between audio and video with the first
solution.
1. Convert the MIDI music to MP3
Same way to proceed as step 2 of solution 1, except the output file
format: choose MP3 (icone "To File...")
2. Create a new (MP3) KFN in the KaraFun Editor
In the KaraFun Editor, import your KAR file from the File menu, to
get lyrics and syncs
Open the library and add the mp3 you got with SynthFont
Change the main audio source of your project: replace the KAR file
by the MP3 file
Play and test if music and lyrics are still synchronized properly.
From a converter or a midi file to an other, syncs can move. In that
case, click on the text track, select all the syncs (Ctrl+A) and move
them (with the mouse or Alt+left/right). Try also the Stretch
progressively option in Edit menu.
Remove the KAR file from the library and save your new KFN file.
Here are some conversion examples used usually for information only!
It depends on each configuration. Don't hesitate to make some tests...
KaraFun export into AVI format only (no Mpeg 1) : you have to use an other
application to create a VCD, Super VCD or DVD discs like Nero, Ulead DVD
factory, etc.
PAL or NTSC?
Easy to choose: this standard depends on countries. See the card: brown for
NTSC, green for PAL...
Burn Karaoke DVD with 'My DVD Maker'
There are many software and also many ways to create a karaoke DVD,
we've chosen simplicity and selected this easy tool to create and burn
simple karaoke DVD (with chapter menu) from AVI converted files.
This tool has not as much options as a complete DVD authoring software,
but enough to create simple karaoke DVD. Again, the purpose is to make
it simple!
Moreover My DVD Maker is one of the cheapest DVD authoring tool
available ($32 or about €28). First of all, we advise you to test the
product and download the trial version in order to burn your
first karaoke DVD.
With
KaraFun Studio, you should now have created some AVI files, here is
the way to burn a DVD from these video files.
Start by selecting Convert to DVD from
the My DVD Maker main window.
The first step is to select the DVD format and output
directory.
First, be sure you've sufficient free space on your hard disk because
the DVD creation process is requiring a free HDD space.
Then, you can change if you want the output directory where will be
created the VIDEO_TS DVD directory.
Select PAL or NTSC and specify 4:3 Standard TV.
You can try to modify the DVD settings, but the default settings are
working...
Click on Next when you're ready to add the AVI files.
The second step is to add video files to your DVD.
Click on Add to select the video file you want on your DVD. After
each file selection, you can preview the video, select the image for the
menu (stop the playback on the frame you want) and cut the video if
needed.
You can add several AVI files to your DVD and then click on Next
to continue.
The last step before the DVD creation, is to
modify the chapter menu.
You can now move all the thumbnails and all the texts, and also change
the background.
Simply double click on the text to change it.
Click on Next and the DVD creation process will start.
All the files will be converted into a DVD structure. Many PC DVD
players will be able to play the DVD from your hard disk, but if you
want to play it with a home DVD player, you'll need to burn the DVD
structure (VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS directories) on a blank DVD-R disc.
If you have a DVD recorder and if you want to play the DVD in home
DVD players, select Burn DVD from the My DVD Maker main window.
Insert a blank DVD-R(W) or DVD+R(W) disc on your DVD recorder. You can
change the DVD label if you want.
Click on the Choose DVD Directory button and select it (default
directory should be C:\dvdmakertmp\mydvd).
You're now ready to burn it... Click on the Burn DVD button to
create the DVD.
For PC
Video format: [PC] 640 x 480 25 fps (or customize to 512 x 384,
etc. It doesn't matter. Just respect the 4x3 ratio)
Video compression: DivX 6 Codec, Home Cinema (780 kbits/s)
Audio compression: WMA or MPEG Layer-3
Audio format: 44100Hz stereo 128kbps
Media: All
For DivX Players
Video format: [PC] 640 x 480 25 fps
Video compression: DivX 6 Codec, Home Cinema (780 kbits/s)
Audio compression: MPEG Layer-3
Audio format: 44100Hz stereo 128kbps
Burning options: Just add your AVI files on your CD or DVD and
burn
Media: CD or DVD
For VCD or SVCD players
Video format: [VCD] or [Super VCD] according to your player
Video compression: Uncompressed frames
Audio compression: PCM
Audio format: 44100Hz stereo
Burning options: Use Nero...
Media: CD
For DVD players
Video format: [DVD]
Video compression: Uncompressed frames
Audio compression: PCM
Audio format: 48000Hz stereo
Burning options: Use a DVD authoring software and Nero...
A KFP file (KaraFun Preset) is used to play KAR, KOK, LRC and CDG karaoke
files in an appropriate visual environment. It does not contain music, lyrics
and syncs, but it is used to "package" your karaoke files. You can also use it
as a starting point for KFN file creation.
The KAR, LRC (+MP3), KOK (+MP3) and CDG (+MP3) files contain only the music
and the synchronized lyrics. With the KaraFun preset system, you can clearly
enhance the playback quality by adding some related materials (backgrounds,
video, fonts, trajectories…). KAR/LRC/KOK/CDG and KFP are therefore
complementing each other.
To make it simple, we can say that a KFP file is a KFN file without the music
and the synchronized lyrics! But there are also an important difference between
the KFP and the KFN properties.
A KFP file can not be locked. You can always open it in the KaraFun editor
except if it has been made with KaraFun Studio and you just have the free
KaraFun version.
Convert a KFP file to KFN file:
Open the KFP file in the karaoke editor,
Save as KFN file,
Open the new KFN file,
Import the MID, KAR, KOK or LRC file, or add manually the music source,
lyrics and syncs,
Check and ajust the length of text lines if some of them exceed the screen
width,
Complete the properties,
Save. It's ready!
How
to use a KFP karaoke preset?
There are many ways to use a KFP file:
The easiest way: In the Karaoke Library window, right-click on a karaoke
file, then select Karaoke background and Set a karaoke preset... Now select the
KFP file you've just downloaded and play.
The other ways: When you have downloaded the KFP file, you can save it
either in the Presets folder (default directory is C:\Program
Files\KaraFun\Data\Presets), in that case it will be randomly played if it’s
selected in the options, or in a folder containing some KAR, LRC, KOK or CDG
files, and in this second case, it will be used in priority.
There are different ways to select a special preset for one or several karaokes.
Here they are, in order of priority:
1. The KFP file is located in the same folder and has exactly the same
name than the karaoke file to read. Ex: C:\KAR\Disco\YMCA.kfp => C:\KAR\Disco\YMCA.kar
2. The KFP file is located in the same folder. Ex: C:\KAR\Disco\Disco Fever.kfp => C:\KAR\Disco\YMCA.kar
3. The KFP file in the Presets folder has the same name than the played
karaoke file or the same subdirectory name. Ex: C:\Program Files\KaraFun\Data\Presets\Disco Fever.kfp => C:\KAR\Disco
Fever.kar
Or: C:\Program Files\KaraFun\Data\Presets\Disco Fever.kfp => C:\KAR\Disco
Fever\YMCA.kar
4. The KFP file is in the Preset folder. Ex: C:\Program Files\KaraFun\Data\Presets\Disco Fever.kfp => C:\KAR\YMCA.kar
If there is more than one KFP in the same folder, they are selected randomly.
We advise you to sort your karaoke files by musical genre or by artist in
specific subdirectories, and to put KFP files in these directories according to
the genre or artist.
You have just installed
the latest version of KaraFun (very good initiative!). You clicked
innocently on the "KaraFun Editor" icon in the Start Menu (or right click on the
player, and "KaraFun Editor...") ? And now, your are lost in space?
Don't panic! Follow this little tutorial which will show you how it's easy to
make your own karaokes with the KaraFun Karaoke Editor...
In addition to the menus, the tool bar (icons) and the status
bar (at the bottom), there is three specific parts in the editor
:
On the left, the realtime preview of your karaoke.
If your PC seems to slow down too much (everybody doesn't have the latest
GeForce gfx card!), you can stop rendering the preview with the F4 key, and
refresh it manually with F5.
On the right, properties of the selected track, event or effect.
In the bottom, two time bars, under which are displayed the different
tracks of your project.
- The first time bar (above the numbers) represents the total duration of
the audio track.
- The second one represents the enlarging of the karaoke part in seconds
and hundredths of second. You can enlarge this display with the four zoom levels
(+ and - key or with the magnify icons). It will be very useful to have more
precision when completing perfectly your synchronization (we will talk about
that soon!).
- Then comes the "Background management" track which allows to modify the
colors, the images and the filters applied to the karaoke background.
- At last, the "Vertical text" track which is divided in two 'subtracks'
: the text and the events relative to the display of this text.
Note :The tool bar and the status bar can be hidden by unchecking the
related items in the display menu.
After every step, don't forget to save your work!
Select Save in the File menu and set the name of your kfn file.
Then, remember to use the Ctrl+S key shortcut for the next file saving...
Maybe you notice on the status bar (in the right bottom) the "No music!"
message. The first stage is to set the audio source (MP3, OGG, MID or KAR) of
your karaoke. Open the dialog "Audio source" (icon
or Project / Audio sources menu...)
There are two ways for setting the audio source :
Make a link towards an audio file located somewhere on your
hard disk, Advantage: the KFN file will be smaller, because the audio file
is NOT included. Disadvantages: this link will be broken if the audio file is
moved and it's more difficult to share your KFN because you
always have to distribute the separated audio file with it.
Include it into the KFN file using the library (icon
or Project / Library... menu).
We prefer to use the second way: making one big KFN file. This solution makes
the karaoke sharing easier.
Select "Source in the library". A warning message is displayed.
Click
on OK and add your audio file to the library. Close the library. The
audio source is automatically selected and set. Click on OK : the "No
music!" message should disappear.
Push the space bar to start or stop the music replay.
To move the music position, click on the blue circle of the time bar and move
it. In the status bar, the elapsed time is displayed with the best accuracy.
Click on that label to display the remaining time.
If you click in the center of the higher time bar, a blue horizontal line is
displayed on the left of the mouse pointer and the music position is now in the
middle of the song.
To understand the difference between the two time bars, click on the small
cursor of the higher time bar and move it, then move the second time bar with
the blue circle cursor.
Double-click on the "text" subtrack of the "Vertical text" track. A kind
of notepad is opening. Enter the lyrics of your song (without spelling mistake !) and cut out
the words in syllables using the character "/".
A sync (abbrev. of synchronization) is the time position of a piece of
text separated by a space, a carriage return or by the "/" character.
To cancel the function of separation of the space character,
replace it with the "_" character. The invisible character
allows to group several words in one sync.
Example:
"Ka/ra/Fun_!" count for three syncs : "Ka", "ra"
and "Fun !".
Note: A succession of spaces or carriage returns counts
only for one separation.
Make short lines: the text should not go over the width of the
lyrics window. Otherwise, the text will exceed the screen width.
click on OK when you are finished. Note that you can
modify the lyrics at any time.
Select the text subtrack and go to the start of the song ( . key of the
num pad).
Breathe a great blow before starting to record the syncs! (icon
or * key). Let's go! You should hear the music, the cursor is moving and a red
circle is blinking in the status bar.
Press the space bar to add a sync to each sung word. Press
Escape to stop the recording.
You can reconsider your work in normal mode by moving manually
the synchronizations in order to stick perfectly to the music :
Move the cursor back, check the synchronization (space bar),
select the sync which is not accurate (click on a word of the
texte) and move it forward or backward. Start again this
operation for all the karaoke.
Warning: If you start a recording on existing syncs, they
will be erased.
If you wish to move a whole syncs block, click on the first,
press on the shift key and click on the last. Then click on one
of them among the selection and drag the whole block with the
mouse.
Tip : use the copy paste system on syncs or events blocks
to avoid useless recordings. This operation is very useful to
duplicate redundant verses or refrains...
Notice : It's possible to remove the recording
confirmation message in the settings.
Select the "Background management" track. In the properties (on the right), there are 3 parameters:
Color is the background color (default color is black). Click
on
and select a new color. If you want to set an image as background, this
parameter is useless.
Image : This picture from the library covers the background. The
library contains all the elements of your project (audio source, images, fonts,
etc). Click on
and add an image to the library (JPG, PNG or BMP file). You should respect the
4/3 format (its size can't exceed 1024 x 768 pixels). The editor stretches the
image to use all the background. Close the library and select your file in the
combobox.
Filter color: allow to apply a filter color to the background (use it
with parsimony!).
Note: When you move the mouse over the parameter labels, they turn to
blue and become underlined. A little explanation is displayed in the status bar.
Right click on the "Background management" track and add an event. Then click on
that event and add the effect "Change the filter color" to the event list on the
right. Select a new color for the filter, and set the time, in seconds, for
changing the color of the filter (fading time). Place the bar time cursor a
little bit before the event and press the space bar to see the result.
Note: The effects of an event are active until the end of the song, or a
forthcoming event. This remark is valid for any kind of track and event.
Select the text subtrack and change some settings :
- The font name, size and style,
- The color of the text before (inactive) and after (active) the sync. You can
also modify the transparency color, - The text trajectory among the preselected list,
- The trajectory of the text after the sync (active effect) and its speed,
- The text positioning in 3 dimensions - To apply a fade when the text display starts and ends.
You can also use an external font: open the library and
add a TrueType font (TTF file format). It will be added to the
available font list. You just have to select it in the font
property combobox.
Click on the events subtrack, it becomes selected (the color is
changing). Right click to add an event. Click on the added event and add one or several effects to the list (color
change or text trajectory modification). Set the music position a little bit before the event and press the space bar to
display the result.
If it's an original composition (music and lyrics), do not hesitate to contact
us: after our validation and your diffusion authorization, we will put it in the
download section on our website.
You can also edit the KFN file of
"When the
Saints Go Marching In" and other KFN files available for free at
www.karafun.com. This song will
help you to look further into some editor features...
To end this tutorial, here is the list of the main
keyboard shortcuts of
the editor :
Before you begin, we advise you to read the
How to
build your first karaoke tutorial. Indeed, we will not explain the karaoke
editor bases, considering they’re acquired to you.
We’ll start with an empty project, but you could also start with a KFP file
downloaded from the karaoke preset page, to
familiarize with the preset concept.
Run the KaraFun editor, then click on File / New / KFP Preset (by
default, the editor start with an empty KFN karaoke project). The three letters
KFP should be displayed in the status bar and the time bars are now enabled.
Notice: unlike a KFN file, a KFP file is not dependant on an audio
source. A KFP contains neither an audio source nor synchronized lyrics. The text
and the syncs that are displayed are "virtual" and are not saved in the KFP
file. They are simply used to check the display when the lines are short or
long.
Open the properties and fill the two first fields Name and Author. Select
a smart and original title and indicate your name, email or website, and the
names of the author of the pictures and fonts you use.
Open the library and drag and drop a background picture. We advise you to
use JPG or PNG file (best size is 1024 x 768). You can also add a character font
(TTF file) in order to get closer to the style or the world of a specific artist
or band.
Select the "Background management" track. Select your file in the combobox.
Such as KFN, you can add events. However, the goal of a KFP file is to go
with several karaoke files from a same category (genre or artist), not with
one in particular (in this case, the KFN format is more adapted). That's
why, events will often be limited to a simple fade in, or an image change at
the beginning of the playback.
Select the text subtrack and change some settings :
- The font, the size and the style,
- The color of the text before (inactive) and after (active) the sync. You can
also modify the transparency color, - The speed and text trajectory among the preselected list,
- The text positioning in 3 dimensions - To apply a fade when the text display starts and ends.
Now, play and check whether the length of text lines exceeds the screen width.
Modify the maximum line size of the text properties. Control and adapt the size
until you obtain the ideal size...
Save
your KFP preset either in the default preset folder C:\Program
Files\KaraFun\Data\Presets (in that case, go in the Preset Options, select the
name of your preset and unselect all the others), or in a specific folder with
one or several KAR, KOK or LRC files.
Close the Editor and play one of your KAR, KOK or LRC files in KaraFun player.
Estimate the readability level of your preset between 1 and 5 (from "Very easy"
to "Very hard") according to the font, text size, colors contrast, etc.
In window mode, right-click on the karaoke screen and choose "Half size - 320 x
240". Pause the song at a moment which speaks for itself, and press Alt+J to
make a screen shot. It will be your preview picture.
A .jpg file has been saved at the same location of your karaoke file. Run
KaraFun editor again, open your KFP file, and add the preview file in the
library. Open the properties and select it in the Preview picture list.
In the KaraFun Studio Editor, whether for a KFN or a KFP new project,
the video track works in the same way. In case of a KFN file, you just need to
set the main audio source first.
If your video file contains an audio track, you can select it as the main audio
source, but in that case, you won't have all the control features of the KaraFun
player like Key or Vocal Reducer, etc.
Because of these technical limitations, we advise you not to use the audio track
of the video files, but separate them into 2 differents files: the video on one
side (.avi, .mpeg) and the audio on the other (.mp3, .ogg).
Open the library and add your video file. You can't linked a
video file located on your hard disc to the karaoke file: you must add it in
the library. You can play video since you have the proper video codec installed on your
PC. We recommand you to download the
ffdshow codec pack. Supported Video Formats: AVI (DivX, Xvid), MPG (Mpeg). Unsupported Video Formats: WMV (Windows Media Video), MOV (Apple
QuickTime), RM (Real Media). However, there are many free video utilities that can convert your video in
what you want, like
RAD Video Tools...
In the Project menu, click on Add a Track... and select Video. A
new video track appear. If you are sure not to use the background track
(wallpapers slideshow), you can remove it: select the Backgound track and
click on Remove track in the Project menu.
Click on the video track and select the video file in the properties
(at the top on the right) and play to test...
Play at start: if you want to start the video later, uncheck this
box.
Seek time: if you want to place the video at one point
Loop the video: check it if you want to make the currently
selected video repeat. Usually checked for KFP preset files and unchecked
for KFN files.
Display last frame: by default, at the end of the video, it'll
disappear. If you won't, you can check the box to display the last frame of
the video.
Horizontal and vertical offset: usually couple together with the
Zoom option, it allows to move the video position.
Zoom: this option comes in handy when your video size don't
respect the 4x3 ratio! However we recommend you to keep it to 100% and to
adapt the video size before in a video editing software like
VirtualDub, it's freeware.
Like on the other tracks, you can put events and add video effects by
changing the properties in order to make some interesting video effects and
transitions.
Change video state: you can play or stop the video at any time
and change the seek time if you want to begin the video in the middle for
example. By default, when the video ends or is stoped, it disappear. If you
won't, you can check the box to display the last frame of the video.
Change horizontal/vertical offset and zoom: you can change the
position of the video during a certain time and with a transition type like
for the text track: smooth, linear, falling, bouncing...
You can download the
KaraFun Studio Trailer and open it in the KaraFun Studio Editor to analyse
the video track. This KFN file is unlocked intentionally and will most likely
help you to build wonderful video karaoke files!
SIS chip: http://download.sis.com/
Also update your sound drivers, if you have no sound output (midi or audio).
Windows 98/ME issue: Missing usp10.dll
According to the MicroSoft documentation, the file "usp10.dll" should
be installed with Internet Explorer 5 or better.
Anyway, if you don't have this file, you can
download it.
Copy the DLL file in the Windows system directory or in the KaraFun directory.
This issue does not affect Windows 2000, Windows
XP and better.
DirectX Diagnostic Tool
A diagnostic tool comes with DirectX, it's
installed after you setup the latest version of DirectX. In order to be
sure that your system will support KaraFun, you'll have to run that
tool.
Select "Run" in the start menu and type "dxdiag.exe".
If it doesn't work, you must know that this executable file should be in
C:\WINDOWS\System32. If you can't locate it, DirectX is surely not
installed in your PC.
Download and install it first.
In the Display menu, you can check the video
memory. It's important to have more than 16Mb of video RAM (32Mb or more
is highly recommended!).
The most important requirement to run KaraFun is to have a Direct3D
support, check if the "Direct3D acceleration" is enabled.
If you doesn't meet these two conditions, you'll probably have to
upgrade your PC.
I can't hear the music once I have converted a MIDI karaoke file in video
There are two kinds of karaoke files : the MIDI karaoke based on a MIDI music
(KAR or MID files) and the AUDIO karaoke based on a AUDIO music (MP3, OGG,
WAV... files).
Only the AUDIO karaoke can be converted into video, because the music track of a
video file is always in AUDIO format and never in MIDI format.
The MIDI karaoke files do NOT contain music but only datas that can be performed
by an external source (soundcard, external MIDI synth, virtual General MIDI
bank, VSTi instrument, etc.). That's why the size of KAR and MID files are so
small. So, from a configuration to an other, the MIDI music is played
differentelly : Better with a pro synth, Poorer with a AC'97 sound card.
So, to convert a MIDI karaoke into video, you MUST
convert
first the MIDI source to AUDIO...
How to convert a WMV to AVI file?
To convert a Windows Media Video WMV file to an AVI (DivX, XviD, Uncompressed,
etc.) video file, you have to use a video file converter like
Rad Video Tools:
- download, install and run
Rad Video Tools,
- select your WMV file and click on "Convert a file"
- check "Convert Video" and "Convert Audio" and click on "Convert"
- select your compressor type (DivX, XviD, Uncompressed Frames, etc.) and click
on OK
- wait the end of the conversion, click on Done and close.
Software issues
(installation and use)
Display problems
KaraFun needs at least DirectX 9. Nevertheless, DirectX relies on the
manufacturer's drivers. Don't forget to update the drivers of your video card.
Video karaoke files don't work!
To play video karaoke files, you must have installed the right video codec on
you PC (DivX, Xvid, Mpeg).
First, try to play a video KFN file like the
KaraFun Studio Trailer or a video KFP file like the
Jellyfish preset made with KaraFun Studio. In the Karaoke Library window,
right-click on a karaoke file, then select Karaoke background and Set a karaoke
preset. Now select the Jellyfish KFP file you've just downloaded and play...
If nothing appears in background then install a video codec pack like
ffdshow.
If the video still doesn't appear then your video card can probably not display
video. Run the
DirectX Diagnostic Tool to be set straight about it.
I've no sound when I export my KFN to AVI
Before trying other audio compression, select PCM in the audio
compression box. So the audio compression part of the AVI file will not be
compressed, and this is the most compatible choice of the list.
Another frequent cause of having no sound is using a midi file as audio source.
Check the help about
Convert MIDI
karaoke to AVI for more info.
The video export don't work or the result jerks
Some audio or video codecs are not compatible with DirectShow (so they don't
work with KaraFun).
The solution is to export the video with uncompressed video frames and
uncompressed audio. Select "Uncompressed frames" as video compressor and "PCM"
as audio compressor. This export should always works.
You'll see that the resulting file is really huge (several gigabytes) and if
you're trying to play it, you're computer may not be able to sync the audio and
the video... That's why you should recompress it with another video tool
depending of your use (DivX, DVD Mpeg2, WMV, XVid...). You can use VirtualDub
for example.
More info:
Convert karaoke to video
I can't make a KFN karaoke song with KaraFun Editor
In the Editor, the first thing you must do, in order to create a new KFN karaoke
file, is to add and define an audio source. You can't do anything before that.
Open the library, add your song file (MP3, MID, KAR, OGG...) and select it in
the audio source window. Now, you can add lyrics by double-click on the text
track... Just follow
the
tutorial...
To get used to the Editor, you can also open the song "When the Saints go
marching in" and see how it works...
My CD+G discs won't play!
KaraFun CDG playback works on the majority of the PC. Anyway, depending of your
CD or DVD drive, you may not be able to play CDG discs.
You can try to replay your discs with KaraFun on another PC with a different CD
drive. Some drives can not read digitally the CDG information, that's why
KaraFun can not display them.
But if you're successful with other CDG players, you'll maybe be able to convert
your CDG discs to CDG+MP3 files, these converted files are always readable with
KaraFun. There is many software doing the job, you may try Audiograbber which is
free.
How to move KaraFun Studio from a computer to another?
Pretty natural...
Your serial number doesn't change, so download it from the download page with
your current license information and install it.
Then, you just have to
activate it
again, like the first time.
Can't launch KaraFun, I've a messagebox talking about a WMVCORE.DLL problem
In order to export to WMV file (even in the free version of KaraFun) you need to
have Windows Media Player 9 or better. If you're not running the lastest Windows
XP version nor the latest WMP version, we simply advice you to
download and
install the lastest version of Windows Media Player (or just
the missing component) to solve this problem.
Tricks and Tips
Are there any keyboard shortcuts for the player?
Just right-clic on the KaraFun logo to get these keyboard shortcuts: Z - Previous track X, Space - Play C, Space, Pause - Pause Esc, V - Stop B - Next track F1 - Training mode: Switch to classic karaoke F2 - Guide mode: Vocal Guide/Instrumental Guide/No Guide
See also:
Keyboard shortcuts for the editor.
How to change text properties in Playlist?
- Go to the default skin folder ( C:\Program Files\KaraFun\Skins\Default )
- Edit (with notepad or other text editor) the file "skin.ini"
- Replace the bloc:
---
[ListView]
Font=Arial,8,,0,0
---
with what you want (1st parameter=Font name, 2nd=Font size, 3rd=Font style). Ex:
---
[ListView]
Font=Arial,16,B,0,0
---
Restart KaraFun and enjoy!
Note: you can copy the skin in an other folder and give it an other name ([Info]
section of the "skin.ini" file) with the aim of not losing your changes during a
next update of KaraFun.
How to remove the singer voice?
If you work with original song, the original singer voice can quickly become
annoying...
Unfortunately, there is no magic wand to suppress the vocal part of a song.
Since v0.90, we added a real-time "vocal reducer" to KaraFun. Sometimes, it
gives very good results but the instrumental part is often suffering.
For a decent karaoke party, you should buy proper backing tracks!
How to convert KFN to CDG?
The CDG format is not as flexible as the KFN format and both of the formats are
very different from each other.
KaraFun can not convert its karaoke display to CDG file, we will try to add this
feature in a future Karaoke Studio release. Anyway, don't expect moving
backgrounds or 3D effects like in the KFN format because the CDG format won't
allow them!
How to use another font in the editor?
The reason why there is only a few fonts available is because the listed fonts
are the only ones in ALL Windows systems.
To use another font, you'll have to embed the corresponding TTF file (standard
font file) directly in the karaoke file.
Hopefully, it's pretty easy, in the Library (Project -> Library menu) add a TTF
file. Then, in the text track select your file as the track font.
You can open a KFP or an unlocked KFN file in order to see how the fonts are
added; You may also find original TTF files on a lot of websites.
Miscellaneous questions
Will KaraFun be available for Linux, Mac, PS2...?
KaraFun is not planned to be converted on any other platform than Windows. The
reason is mainly technique because development tools and API are not available
on other OS.
KaraFun Preset: used to play KAR CDG KOK LRC files
KAR
MIDI Karaoke file
MIDI
KOK
DelMP3Karaoke file
Audio
LRC
Lyrics file (line per line syncronized)
Audio
CDG
Audio Karaoke file extract from CD+G discs
Audio
Locked graphics
MID
MIDI file
MIDI
MP3
Compressed Audio file
Audio
OGG
Ogg Vorbis Compressed Audio file
Audio
*There are 2 music types for karaoke : Audio (MP3, OGG, WMA,
AVI, etc.) and MIDI (MID, KAR). Both of them have pros and cons
(quality, size, availability, etc.).
Automatic Guide Cancel is the same as Guide Replace or Guide
Partner.
When a singer is listening to the guide melody or the guide vocal on any karaoke
file and starts singing into the microphone, the guide stops, when he stops
singing into the microphone the guide comes back. Thanks to this, "you may be
able to sing afterwards!"
Backing Track
Pre-recorded music used by a singer or other musician during performance and
which augments or entirely replaces other performers. This has become
increasingly popular as musicians attempt to recreate the sound of their studio
recordings live on stage. Karaoke are backing tracks.
Bit-rate
We use the term Bit-rate when speaking of video or audio quality and file size.
It defines how much physical space one second of audio or video takes in bits.
The higher the bit-rate better is the quality and higher is the size. For MP3
encoding, you can choose between constant, average or variable Bitrate. We
recommand VBR.
CD+G format
CD+G discs look like standard audio CD's when played back on regular CD players
or CD-ROM drives. The CD+G format is an extension of the standard RED-BOOK audio
format. On an audio disc there is an area known as the subchannel. This area is
used to store data for the cd player like elapsed time etc. Some of this area is
normally unused.
In CD+G discs the subchannel is used to store the CD+G data. This data consists
of commands and graphics that are interpreted by the player to produce the CD+G
display.
There are dedicated CD+G players, mostly in the form of stereo equipment or
stand-alone Karaoke systems.
Using CDDA or CDRWin to extract the CD+G data and one of the many CD audio
rippers and MP3 encoders you can convert your CD+G discs into files on your
computer. KaraFun will then play those files on any properly equipped Windows
system.
CDG file
A CDG file contains the data normally found in the subcode area of CD+G audio
discs (mostly Karaoke CD's). That area is used to hold graphics that display in
sync with the audio. In a process similar to ripping, a program (CDDA) reads the
audio disc and extracts the data from the disc and saves it to a file. KaraFun
can both read these files and read directly from the disc. There are very few
CD-ROM drives that will read the subcode area of an audio CD in order to extract
the CD+G info. To Convert CD+G discs to CDG/MP3 files you will need: Registered
CDDA or CDRWin, and CD Ripper and MP3 encoder(s).
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX® is an advanced suite of multimedia Application Programming
Interfaces (API's) built into Microsoft Windows® operating systems. In simple
words, DirectX is a Windows technology that enables higher performance in
graphics and sound when you're playing games or watching video on your PC. You
need to have DirectX 8.1 or higher installed, to be able to use KaraFun. Click here
to download the latest version of DirectX
Echo
An echo effect can be put on any kind of extra track (audio and midi). You can
change the level volume and the delay time applied to the current extra track.
Editor
The KaraFun Editor enables you to create your own karaoke files. For more
information, you can read the
tutorial.
Extra Tracks
An extra track can be anything but the backing track: It can be the guide melody
(an instrument plays the melody), the guide vocal (a real singer plays the
melody) or your voice when you've just finished recording it. All theses
additionnal tracks are always mixed with the backing track. You can reduce their
volume level individually.
Jack plug
A jack plug is an extremely common audio connector. Jack plugs are available in
two standard sizes. The original 6.5mm and the 3.5mm (miniature). Both sizes are
available in two-conductor (mono) and three-conductor (stereo) versions. You can
plug a microphone in your PC and use it with KaraFun. It's generally a 3.5mm
mono jack plug. For more informations, read the "How to use a microphone" in the
help page.
Karaoke
Karaoke is a form of entertainment where an amateur singer accompanies recorded
music. The music is of a well-known song in which the voice of the original
singer is absent or reduced in volume. Lyrics are usually also displayed,
sometimes including color changes synchronized with the music, to help with the
sing-along.
KAR file
A .KAR file or (MIDI-)karaoke file is just a special case of a MIDI file.
Key
Control
Raises or lowers all the notes to help you sing in your range. Key change
effects only the pitch, not the tempo. (also named Pitch Control or Key Changer)
KFN file
The KFN format is used by KaraFun software for storing MP3 or MIDI karaoke. It
can contain a lot of information: MP3/OGG audio tracks, MID or KAR files, images
(JPG, PNG or BMP format), lyrics, visual effects... This format is continuously
evolving and then new features will be added afterwards.
KFP file
A KFP file (KaraFun Preset) is used to play KAR, LRC, KOK and CDG karaoke files
in an appropriate visual environment. It does not contain music, lyrics and
syncs, but it is used to "package" your karaoke files. You can also use it as a
starting point for KFN file creation. Some karaoke presets are included in
KaraFun, but you can download many others in the Karaoke
Presets Download page. You can
create your own
presets with the KaraFun Editor.
KPL file
A KPL file (KaraFun PlayList) contents the list of karaoke files that KaraFun
will play automatically. You can manage your lists in the Playlist Window of
KaraFun Player. (Same as M3U files)
MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
MP3 file
An MPEG audio file (MP3) is a highly compressed audio file that can be played
back at CD quality. A typical audio track from a standard CD normally takes 30
to 40 megabytes to store. Using MP3 this can be reduced to less than 4 megabytes
while still retaining high quality.
The process of extracting the audio from a CD disc is called "ripping". This
gives you a WAV file. You must then "encode" this WAV file into an MP3 file.
There are various programs available to do this for you. Some programs combine
the ripping and encoding into one step.
A sync (abbrev. of synchronization) is the time position of a piece of text
separated by a space, a carriage return or by the "/" character. In the KaraFun
Editor, syncs are showed with little vertical dotted lines with pieces of text.
In the KaraFun Player, you can show the syncs with the "Sync Bubbles Mode"
button.
Sync-Bubbles Mode
The sync bubble mode displays incoming synchronizations: useful to anticipate
when lyrics restart after a solo.
Tempo Control
Controls the speed of the music. (also named Speed Control)
Text Highlighting
There is two way to highlight the text when the karaoke is playing: per blocks
or gradually (line). You can toggle with the TXT button on the main window of
the player. The type of highlighting can be defined in the KFN file.
Training
Mode
The training mode (the "sunglasses" button) is optimized for an easy reading. It
helps to become more familiar with the lyrics. You can change the colors and the
type of the font in the options.
Vocal Reducer
Reduces the level of vocal range on an original MP3 songs (may reduce
instruments in same range)
WAV file
Uncompressed audio file format. When you record your voice with KaraFun, a .wav
file is created.
Turn your PC
into an interactive karaoke machine with the KaraFun free karaoke software
for Windows. More than just a karaoke player, KaraFun offers a
.
Come back to the beginning of the song and listen to
your performance. You can change the additionnal audio
track any time by clicking on the "music note" button.
Options
The
rendering of the video conversion is similar to its display in the KaraFun
karaoke window. So, all parameters, except tempo, are taken into account:
key, highlighting mode, preset or picture used in the background, etc.
How
to use a KFP karaoke preset?
or Project / Audio sources menu...)
or Project / Library... menu).
or * key). Let's go! You should hear the music, the cursor is moving and a red
circle is blinking in the status bar.
and select a new color. If you want to set an image as background, this
parameter is useless.
or Project / Properties... menu).
I can't hear the music once I have converted a MIDI karaoke file in video