Windows Media Center out of the box doesn't recognize .CDG files (along with their mp3 counterparts) as playable media, and even if it could, it wouldn't know how to play them.

Here's how to change that. Exit Windows Media Center to Windows, then:

1. Install Karaoke for DirectX - this tells Windows Media Center how to play CDGs. Get it for free at:

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/karaoke-dx/karaoke-2.3.zip?download

2. Add a registry key to make Windows Media Center recognize .CDG files:

Run the program REGEDIT (Start File-Run...regedit). Double-click on the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT line and scroll down to the ".cdg" entry. Right-click on it and from the pop-up menu select "New" then "String value". Change the default name of "New Value #1" to "PerceivedType" (no quotes). Now double-click on that name. In the "value data" field, type the word "video" (no quotes) and press enter. Close the REGEDIT program - you're done!

3. In your My Videos directory, create a shortcut to the folder containing your CDG files (or move the folder itself) into the My Videos folder.

4. Now, start up Windows Media Player and try to play one of your CDG files. You should get a warning dialog - checkmark it to go away permanently. Your CDG file should now play. Close Windows Media Player.

5. Now, start up Windows Media Center again and navigate to My Videos. Double-click on the shortcut you created (or moved karaoke folder), to see all the karaoke CDG files! Double-click on any file to play!

This doesn't work for me. I can see the folder(s) that the karaoke are in, but MCE tells me there are no video files. I added the folder to My Videos through the settings of that section in MCE. I see you physically added the shortcut. Is that my problem?

I haven't tried it through explorer but on my XP box it DOES work via clicking on a cdg file.

 

Any ideas?

Maybe the registry entry is not correct? Open NOTEPAD and put the following 3 lines into a file called karaoke.reg, then double-click the filename:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.cdg]
"PerceivedType"="video"

Fantastic worked fine for me. just to add do not mess around with the decoration settings in karaoke dx, mce will not play the files after.

don't mean to sound ungratefull cos i am very happy now, ive been looking for a solution to this for well over 6 months now.

but would like to see a stand alone app for cdg, where i can use the search functions, and playlists like in my music. Any developers listening i would pay good money for something like that.

 

Thanks Again

 

Andy

Yes, it would be nice if when you played an MP3 in My Music, and a corresponding .CDG was found in the same directory, that it would play the karaoke version instead of just the MP3. This way, you could still have all of the mp3-tag based searching available while allowing cdg playback as well.

Developers: is there a way to "hook" into the logic that executes just before an MP3 plays, that checks if a file with the same prefix but a .cdg extension exists. If it does, then instead of playing the MP3, transfer control to the directx filter ("Directx for karaoke") handling .cdg files?

I fixed it! I closed MCE and went to media player and tried to open a cdg file. It gave me some sort of warning and then played it.

Now it plays in MCE perfectly. Thanks!

I succeeded in installing the karaoke filter as described above as my PC's administrator.

It does work inside Windows Media Player 10 and MCE 2005, when ran as the admin.

However, my MCE PC is set up so that it is a regular user (without admin rights) that usually runs Media Center.

As this user, Windows Media Player says it doesn't recognize the format, and MCE says "Can't play video".

 

Does anyone know how to fix this ?

What I did was this:

Set temporally administrator privileges to your User, login as the User,

After: "

1. Install Karaoke for DirectX - this tells MCE2k5 how to play CDGs. Get it for free at:

http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/karaoke-dx/karaoke-2.3.zip?download

2. Add a registry key to make MCE2k5 recognize .CDG files:

Run the program REGEDIT (Start File-Run...regedit). Double-click on the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT line and scroll down to the ".cdg" entry. Right-click on it and from the pop-up menu select "New" then "String value". Change the default name of "New Value #1" to "PerceivedType" (no quotes). Now double-click on that name. In the "value data" field, type the word "video" (no quotes) and press enter. Close the REGEDIT program - you're done!

"

Logout,

Set back your User as "User Account"

Cheers

 

This was awesome!
Thank you very much!

Just have a question.
Do anyone of you know if a I can list my songs in a "list mode" instead of in "thumbnail mode"? Kind of disturbing that it displays the thumbnail view with no picture in it (the blue videocamera that always shows when no preview is available).

If it would be possible to enable a list view of the songs, it would also be better since more song would be visible without scrolling.

Hoping you guys know what I mean...

stoporder,  I am attempting this very thing and after much MCE SDK research I think I have found a way of doing it.  Are you still interested?

Hi all,

Any luck on getting this working on MCE Vista?

Patrick

Hey Guys,

            I'm new to the board, this is my first post.  I downloaded the Karaoke Plug-in for MCE 2005.  I've played around with it on sound files and it's so, so.  I picked up a Karaoke CD+G disc the author is "The Singing Machine".  I've been unable to play these files as anything other that CD audio.  I've tried the method suggested but Windows doesn't see any files on the disc accept a file called "SMC-CD~1".  Inside the file it says "Data file -- SMC-do not make unauthorized copies" No CD+G files are found on the disc. 

I went to the manufactures website www.singingmachine.com and it looks like they sell Karaoke machine.  I think they may have deliberately written the disc in a format other than CD+G that's compatible only with their machines.  Would any one here be willing to send me a CD+G file to test it, has any one else experienced a similar issue?  Any suggestions on how I can get Windows to recognize the files on the disc?  Do any of you guys know of Karaoke disc that play on Windows PC’s with out any issues?

Thanks,

 

Coast

<Quote>

but would like to see a stand alone app for cdg, where i can use the search functions, and playlists like in my music. Any developers listening i would pay good money for something like that.

</Quote>

 

See http://www.activeaspsoftware.net/

 

patjuh:

Hi all,

Any luck on getting this working on MCE Vista?

Patrick

bump. I'm also trying to find out how to play CD+G files in Window Media Player on Vista.

Anyone know?

Karaoke-DX  does not install/work on Vista?