Korg Forums

[Randelph]

Hi, I’m seriously considering picking up a PA700. One of the most compelling features for me is the Video Out. I grew up singing around the piano, which was really what got me into music, one of the best things about growing up in my family! Have often been stymied by the problem of having lyrics for others to read during a singalong. It’d be cool as well to have chords for songs I’m learning. And, I know how great a feature can look on paper, but whether or not its well implemented and user friendly is not something to take for granted!

I perused the manual a bit, and looked online a bit, didn’t answer my questions:

1. My laptop has a HDMI port, would I be able to use it to display chords/lyrics?

2. How many lines of chords/lyrics would display if I’m using an external monitor and am not in mirror mode? The same number as would show up on the PA700? That would be pretty limited.

3. So I could manually enter in chords/lyrics in the Mac/PC Songbook software? How well/easily does that work?

4. I essentially would probably never use auto accompaniment to turn the pages, would either assign a button or foot switch. Does that work well?

5. Is there any adjustment to the size and formatting of the chord/lyrics on an external monitor?

6. How well has the video out and Mac/PC software worked for you?

Thanks, Randy
_________________
Keyboards: Kawai ES920 / Casio CT-X5000
Instruments: Keys / Alto Recorder and Melodica

[Musicwithharry]

I have/do not use the video output on the PA700. I am happy with using the built-in screen for now and have used it for lyrics when I have led worship. It seems to be fine in that sense. I have not gotten that deep into the video output too much.

I found their manual and it only has a couple of pages specifically for the video output setup.

http://cdn.korg.com/us/support/download/files/4a755ae3466d884d8c0ff2c497d9a5ec.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline%3Bfilename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27Pa700_Quick_Guide_E1.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf%3B

If you go to pages 129-131 you will find some information about it. You may have already seen this.

The connection for the video is an RCA jack, similar to what we used with VCRs and the like. There is no HDMI on my PA700. Maybe there is an RCA to HDMI converter or something you can use (which there is, but I have not tested one).

I hope that this helps a bit, but my experience with the video output is very limited and includes simply trying the video out function with a 13" monitor that I had lying around, just to see if it worked.

You can import *.txt files to the PA700 that have the lyrics to your songs and you can link them in the Songbook for each songbook entry you create. I have done this when leading worship myself and it works okay. If you have a lot of spaces and 'enter' presses between paragraphs, it will make the lyrics hard to read because these spaces and such transfer over in the TXT file. I ended up having to go single-space for everything and trial and error so everything would fit right. There was a lot of word/sentence wrapping in the beginning until I got it right. I have never used the software with my PA700, so I cannot say anything about how that works.

I wish I could tell you more, but I hope that any of what I said has helped.

Grace,
Harry
_________________
Alesis Vortex Keytar, Alesis QS6.2, Alesis QSR, Alesis SR-16, Behringer Deepmind-12, Ensoniq Avista 7600, Ensoniq VFX, Ensoniq VFX-SD, Ensoniq SQ1+, (2) Ensoniq SQ-R+/32, Korg i3 (2020 Version), (2) Korg Kross 1-61, (2) Korg Kross 1-88, Korg Minilogue XD, Korg Minilogue XD Module, Korg M50-61, Korg PA700, Korg X5DR, Korg Z3, Kurzweil SP1, Lowrey EZP3 (bascially a Kawai), Roland D-05, Roland E-09, Waldorf Streichfett, Yamaha Reface CP, Yamaha Reface CS, Yamaha Reface DX, Yamaha Reface YC

[Randelph]

MwHarry,
Thanks for the reply, very much appreciated! Seems to be a sleepy forum.

TBH, the display of lyrics and music in the display and on a video monitor are a major compelling reason to get this keyboard. Apparently not many have explored this capability.

I may have to buy a PA700 just to try it out, luckily there's a GC I can return it to locally if I don't want it. But i'll have to wait, don't even have the money for that right now.

Perhaps there'll be some YouTube videos that demonstrate how many lyrics and music that can be displayed on the built-in screen. Hopefully an external monitor will show more than the small screen on the board.
_________________
Keyboards: Kawai ES920 / Casio CT-X5000
Instruments: Keys / Alto Recorder and Melodica

[ORGANGRINDER]

it will show exactly what is on you 700 screen has to be set to mirror. Should work with any tv that have rca in jacks such as vcr or rca in jacks.
MEL
_________________
KORG PA 1000, KORG PA900. BOSE COMPACTS 2 BOSE S1 PROS 2 YAMAHA STAGEPAS 500, ROLAND VP7.

[Biggles]

There are RCA input to HDMI output adaptors available.

An Amazon search should find them.

With one of the above any LCD monitor with HDMI input should work.

Or if you have or can get an old LCD monitor that has a VGA input then yes an RCA to VGA adaptor will get the system working for you
_________________
Biggles
Lancashire, UK

[Randelph]

Thanks for the info!

I wonder if this seems like a must-have feature that I wouldn't actually use all that much. Does seem like a great thing that would allow me to input chords for all the songs I want to play, expanding my repetoire from 30-40 songs i can play off the top of my head to hundreds and hundreds- just need the chords.

And of course, being able to do singalongs would be pretty sweet. I guess it partly depends on how this is implemented. You use Songbook, right? From your description Harry, once you understand the quirks of inputting, it should be straightfoward, right?

I would probably never use it with auto accompaniment, I prefer to play myself. So I guess I would have to trigger page turns with one of the assignable buttons.

Randy
_________________
Keyboards: Kawai ES920 / Casio CT-X5000
Instruments: Keys / Alto Recorder and Melodica