Whether you know the difference between videoke and karaoke is only important when used in the context of a discussion. “Videoke” actually means video karaoke and is a contrived combination word, used primarily in the Philippines.
The Karaoke Invention
Karaoke was actually invented before the Japanese coined the word and it was invented in the US. AudioSynTrac (a US-based company) offered sing-along tapes and audio equipment in the 1970s. When some Japanese electronics companies saw the products introduced at computer and electronic shows, they copied the concept and then invented the word “karaoke”.
Roberto del Rosario, a Filipino inventor, now holds the patent for the device now commonly known as the “karaoke machine”. Following a court battle with a Japanese company which claimed to have invented the system, del Rosario’s patents were issued in 1983 and 1986. The word “videoke” was coined in the Philippines in the 1990s.
Karaoke Machine Rentals and Specialty Microphones
During holidays and birthdays, the local Filipinos will rent karaoke machines to use at their homes. It isn’t too expensive to do so, but it’s much cheaper in the long run to buy something like one of the “WOW Magic Sing” microphones. They aren’t cheap, but they pay for themselves after a couple of years of not renting the karaoke machines.
The karaoke machines are essentially huge boxes containing a television monitor, audio equipment and a control panel that resembles something you would expect at a video game arcade. The speakers are included, but plugged in separately (due to the size, obviously). There are thousands of songs stored on the included hard drive.
The karaoke microphones look like any other microphones except they also have a control panel of sorts on one side. Open them up and you’ll see places where song cartridges can be plugged in. The standard mikes have a limited number of songs included and the cartridges are a way to extend that number. I bought a “WOW Magic Sing” microphone within two months of arrival in the Philippine in 2006. It has been used hundreds of times since then.
Filipino Karaoke Singing
As I said earlier, karaoke machines (and microphones) are brought out during birthdays and holidays. I don’t have anything against people doing this as I do it myself. There are a couple of things that bother and annoy me though.
Nighttime is for sleeping, not for listening to others practice karaoke. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been kept awake by karaoke machines blaring in the neighborhood at all hours of the night because I lost count a long time ago. I can’t say that thoughtfulness and respect for the sleeping go hand in hand with talent, because it’s not always the case.
The most annoying thing is that there are a lot of people who have absolutely no talent when it comes to singing and karaoke machines can’t help them. Add excessive alcohol use to the mix and it gets even worse. Some people sing so badly that it actually hurts my ears. In fact, the people abusing the alcohol all start sounding alike (horrible) after a few hours of drinking.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of talented singers mixed in with the untalented and I really enjoy listening to them during the daytime. I’ve been told that I have a lot of singing talent, but unfortunately I have to have a few drinks in me myself in order to loosen up enough to enjoy doing it.
Karaoke of the Future
As video equipment and audio equipment gets better and cheaper, more and more people will get into it and more people will actually own the machines instead of renting them. Something like an LCD flat screen TV or monitor will make a karaoke machine smaller and more portable than they are right now.
I don’t know if my poor ears will be able to handle it when karaoke machines get as ubiquitous as regular televisions. Here’s an interesting and related blog post: In the Philippines, We Take Karaoke Seriously
[Originally published in January, 2009. I took my Magic Sing bag with me on vacation to the US in November, 2012 and inadvertently forgot to retrieve when I left in February, 2013. Regardless, I still hear karaoke sessions at parties around the neighborhood (just not at my compound).]
I have a karoake machine and love to see how much fun the kids have with it. Also love to see the adults act like kids with it.
Ah. I’ve used a Magic Sing a couple of times. :) I think that in the Philippines, a family party isn’t quite a party without one of these contraptions for guests to sing along with, and then compare scores after each song.
I like how you end your post! And I agree with you – too much karaoke would be painful to our ears. Then again, maybe people would learn to sing better and everything would be OK again.
I guess I’ll have to visit Japan and see what it’s like to have a karaoke machine in every bar. Sounds scary!
I had a neighbor with a karaoke machine. Luckily they only made their noise during the day but it was simply painful to be around. I don’t think I could live in a place where Karaoke was the thing to do.
I am a male from America. I suspect my girl friend is scamming me. She has 10 game machines located through out Baybay area AND 2 videoke machines.
She said a few years ago she made about 30,000 pesos per month ; but now there is lots of competition and she makes only 4,000 pesos per month; not enough for her to live on.
Is this POSSIBLE? that would average only about 12 pesos per day.. Why would someone stay in business at such a smalll income and it seems weekly her machines “breakdown”
I would appreciate input to my email . Thanx
As imported technology increases in the Philippines, the income generated by a business like hers will definitely decrease.
The machines break down due to the high humidity and corrosion, the enemies of electronics.
Staying in business isn’t a question as long as there’s some kind of profit. There are way too many unemployed Filipinos and even 4000 pesos per month is better than nothing.
i heard there is plan to ban videoke machines 24/7 in the phil. bakit naman po. hello, marami na pong problema ang ating bansa that needs our attention most. ur complaining of the noise the videoke causes esp. in residential areas. bakit araw araw po ba nagvivideoke cla? usually they do that during occasions di po ba. y deprive them of the chance to be happy and enjoy kahit paminsan minsan lang.
is the videoke the only one causing us noise nuisance? kapag pinatigil nio po yan, make laws na rin para wala ng busina ang mga sasakyan. wala ng mga programs sa schools, alisin nio na ang lahat. better if wala na rin magsalita wala ng magusap. coz usually most of our actions causes noise nuisance, unknowingly.
paano naman po ung mga nageenjoy na gumamit ng videoke during occasions? paano din po ung mga nagpaparent. idadagdag ba natin cla sa milyon na filipinos na walang income.
ayusin nio muna po ang ibang kinds of pollutions before ito.
nakakafrustrate coz u hav time complaining of this stuff pero naiignore ung mga importante.
I haven’t heard of any attempted ban. If it’s happening, it must be local to a specific area. The loudspeakers used to announce elections, outages, and other related nonsense is much more annoying.
Bought a small videoke machine for less than five thousand pesos last year at The DIY Shop at The City Mall in Olongapo. It has a disk with about 30.000 songs on it and you can buy more disks. It included a binder with all the songs and you can get a buy aecond Microphone separately. It is about the size of a dvd or cd playe and is rack mountable and can be added to a home theater system, stereo or plugged directly into your TV. I also have a Magic Sing which has 2.084 songs vs 30.000 songs for the videoke machine). I like the Magic Sing it can run on 4 AA batteries or plug in electriciry (it’s auto-volt). I would recommend the Videoke machine over Magic Sing due to the greater number of songs (30,000 English and Tagalog) The Magic Sing that I have has only english songs). Song chips are available for the Magic Singt but are costly.
I enjoyed this article. You should’ve lived in San Juan, we seldom hear videoke singing here at night. Hehe
Yes, video-oke is very popular in the Philippines. Whatever occasions they are celebrating, video-oke is always there. Even in the provinces, most houses have their own video-oke. Whether there is occasions or not, they are still enjoying singing using that video-oke.
Videoke is a common thing in the Philippines.The Filipinos , obviously loves to sing.They can’t go on with their lives without music.
Videoke is common in the Philippines. But, what I can say is that: Filipinos have the talent of singing and I’m proud to them. They even sing like many international singers did worldwide that they even grab the standing ovation of the crowd. They’re really that talented. Keep it up!