How To Set Up Karaoke Using Youtube

(Last Updated On: March 31, 2023)

Whether you would use it to add that extra oomph to a celebration or you would simply want to while away your time, a karaoke system will always prove to be valuable equipment at hand. Singing through the karaoke system, of course, adds life to a party. Moreover, it is a healthy way to de-stress oneself after a hectic day. 

Not all homes, however, have the luxury of having a karaoke system at hand. This is because buying a karaoke system can put a dent on one’s savings. Besides, after you’ve bought a karaoke system, you still need to update its music library to include new hits. Thus, aside from the karaoke system, you need to buy additional memory cards. 

Yet, not having a stand-alone karaoke system should not deter you from enjoying karaoke singing, for you can assemble a karaoke system using YouTube. As long as you have speakers and working mics, you can always enjoy singing karaoke-style.

Here are the things that you would need to assemble a workable karaoke setup:

• You will need one or two working microphones. 
• You will need an output for the mic sound or home speakers. You will also need an output for the music coming from YouTube that leads to the speakers. You can use the same set of speakers as those that you have used for your mic output. 
• Then, you will need a smart TV. You can also use Chromecast if your TV is not connected directly to WiFi.   

Below is a more detailed explanation of how to set up an improvised karaoke system at home.

Equipment and Tools Needed for an Improvised Karaoke System

Setting an improvised karaoke system at home with Youtube is not that difficult nowadays. If you remember a couple of decades ago before the rolling out of open-source platforms of Google and the availability of YouTube, setting up an improvised karaoke system was almost impossible. Yet, with all the technological innovations at hand, including the Internet of Things (IoT), you can now connect devices via the use of the internet.

You can, for example, connect your smartphone to your smart TV. Moreover, you can connect your speakers to your smartphones. We call this Internet of Things (IoT). A couple of years ago, due to the absence of smart devices, you won’t be able to do that. Google, however, introduced Google Chromecast before. This device is inserted into the USB port of the TV, allowing you to broadcast songs to your TV from your smartphones. 

Nowadays, however, you don’t need the Chromecast to broadcast because most TVs nowadays, are smart TVs, meaning they can now communicate with any smart device like your smartphones. Hence, you can readily use your smart TVs to broadcast songs from YouTube. This makes it easy for you to set up a karaoke system at home. To help you in the setting up process, here are the steps that you can take to assemble your improvised karaoke system:

Microphones

You can either buy two smart wireless microphones or use any existing mics at your home. You should have two mics because you will get more fun while singing if you can duet with your wife or your friend. Moreover, your joy is doubled if you can amble around using a UHF wireless microphone. Of course, UHF mics are preferable to VHF mics because VHF mics tend to lose connection intermittently; hence, they are a bit unreliable.

One highly recommended UHF mic is the Fifine UHF Microphone. The good thing about this mic is that it can also serve as a mixer, allowing you to mix two audio sources to a speaker. If you have an amplifier or mixer, however, that is connected to a speaker, you can connect any mic to this equipment. This lets you use mics for singing. You simply need to mix the sound of the mic output to make it sound good while you sing. 

Mixer

If you have a mixer, the process of improvising a home karaoke system becomes even easier. A mixer can do many things for your karaoke system. First, a mixer has mic inputs and sound output. Hence, you can input the mic onto it. You can also input the sound music from YouTube onto it. You can then mix both the sound of your mic and the YouTube karaoke songs to create a cohesive mix that will come out nicely of the speaker.  

The good thing about mixers, however, is that they come in a variety of designs. Some have many microphone inputs allowing you to input several mics for a more enjoyable karaoke experience. Some speakers, however, have inputs for microphones. In such a case, you would not need any mixer.

Once you’ve connected all the audio inputs into the mixer, you can then work on mixing the different audio inputs to make the audio output coming from the mixers pleasant to the ear.

Set of Speakers

Most homes, of course, have a set of speakers at hand. So, you need not buy a specialized set of speakers to have an improvised karaoke system. You can use the speakers you have at hand as audio outputs for your mic and YouTube music. It would be fine if you have a home theater system. Yet, the home theater is not specifically made for karaoke use, and it might get damaged.

If you don’t have a set of speakers, however, you can purchase a set that is specifically designed for karaoke use. These speakers, however, come with a built-in mixer and amplifier, so if you could buy one, you could make it easy for you to set up your karaoke system.

You can also use any available PA system in your house. PA systems, of course, are more appropriate for karaoke singing because they are designed specifically for broadcasting live sound. Moreover, they come with effects console, allowing you to adjust the reverb, treble, and other aspects of your audio inputs.

Set Up Your Existing TV Set

Most households also have a television set. So, you already have one of the important equipment for a karaoke system—your TV set. Your TV set, of course, already has a set of speakers, so more often, you would not be needing a speaker for your YouTube music output. Most TV sets also come with a TV output port. If you have an extra jack, you can connect one end of this jack to the audio output port of the TV, and connect the other end to your speakers or your mixer if you have one.

Some old TVs, however, do not come with a headphone output port. Instead, these TVs utilize for audio output an optical cable. A TOSLINK cable can do the trick for you to convert digital audio output to analog audio output. Afterward, you can connect the analog audio output to the mixer.

YouTube Playing Device

It is a good thing that nowadays, you got plenty of device options when it comes to broadcasting YouTube songs. Given the availability of IoT, you can now use any of your devices like computers, smartphones, or even iPads to broadcast YouTube songs. You don’t need an HDMI cable to connect your laptop to your home theater for you can sync them together if they are smart devices. 

However, you can also use an HDMI cable to connect your devices, allowing you to mirror the screen of your laptop on your TV screen. If your TV, however, is a smart TV, then the process becomes even easier because you simply need to connect your TV to the internet, and immediately, you can play songs on your TV via YouTube.

A couple of years ago, the Google Chromecast lorded it over among other devices when it comes to mirroring what you have on your phone screen onto the TV. The Chromecast, of course, allows you to seamlessly play karaoke videos on your TV from your smartphones or laptop. So, you got the following options when it comes to projecting YouTube songs onto your TV screen:

• Use your laptop and HDMI cable.
• Use a smart TV using IoT. 
• Use your Google Chromecast.
• Use Karaoke apps via mirror function.

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Conclusion

Several decades ago, having a karaoke system was a luxury that only those who can afford can enjoy it. Moreover, those who had one before were often envied by other households who did not have one. However, it is no longer a luxury, for almost everyone can enjoy a karaoke system as long as one has the above-mentioned tools and equipment for setting up a working karaoke system. We are fortunate enough to be living in a time wherein there are unprecedented progress and innovations in technology like the IoT, smart TVs and devices, WiFi, and many more.