Touch Music Video

The latest videoke system to sweep the Philippines is the Touch Music Video system.

Before, you had these videoke VCD players which required you to load different CDs. And if you misplace or scratch those CDs, then you're sunk. (I won't go anymore into the Karaoke Minus 1 era.)

Then came Magic Mic where the songs are stored in a chip. No more CDs to lose or scratch. You can choose a song by punching in a code. There's a printed booklet of songs and their corresponding codes.

Now, with Touch Music Video (www.touchmusicvideo.com.ph), you can store songs and use a touch screen to choose the songs you want to sing. Yes, say goodbye to those printed songtitle lists.

But wait, there's more! :-) You can create your profile and store your desired songs in that profile. The next time you use the TMV Music Home Entertainment System, simply choose your name/profile, and the songs you previously stored there are quickly loaded. Yes, say goodbye to repeatedly typing in your favorite songs each time your barkada gets together for an evening videoke session.

Here are some of the features:

17" Touch Screen flat panel monitor
Graphic display of CD covers and controls
Light "fingertip" touch for quick selection of song, artist, and CD album
Smart menu instruction
Alphabetical search control by Title, Album or Artist
Programmable playlist mode
Repeat and Pause function
Song timer
Easy updating and loading of CDs
Large storage capacity (> 10,000 songs and > 1,000 music and video CDs)

The software costs about P45,000 and comes pre-loaded with 300 songs. I haven't figured out the cost of the touch screen flat panel monitor, but you can go to your favorite computer shop.

I wish they would allow you to change the pitch/speed of the song to better fit your vocal range, though.

And lastly, you can send them your videoke CDs and they will create a CD installer so that your CDs can be stored in the TMV system in your computer. Yes, they'll handle the scanning of your videoke CD covers and they will also manually input the song titles, artist and album names. You can also lend them your regular audio CDs, since TMV is not just a videoke; it's a total music entertainment system.

The turn-around time is not clear, since they don't know how many customers will want this free service. It will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

You can call them up at +63.2.7268249 (Bambi Fonacier).

For a home set-up, it may be pricey. But if you're a music store, and if you allow your customers to try the CDs in your store (whether it's a regular or videoke CD), having a TMV can help increase your sales.

[ First posted on 10/31/2006 by Manuel Viloria ]