Let me continue...

You hire a sidekick to handle A/V. He/she takes live shots of the hot bods on the beach dancing and vogueing. You post up quick pics of those sitting around. Your sidekick uploads pics from customers' wallets. You have your own slide shows that are sync'd to your music, like part of the registration setting. Everybody has a great time watching the 52" screen and dancing under the flashing LED lights. As it gets darker and the mood lightens up, you switch from playing arranger/SMF type music to songs with the lyrics on the screen. The crowd watches you perform. Your guy takes more live action shots of the crowd singing along, having the time of their lives because they're part of the entertainment too.

You pump up the volume, sing another song with the lyrics up on the screen and ask that beautiful woman dancing next to the stage to come up and sing with you. BAM! Now the crowd's into it. Her boyfriend wants to sing a love song. Bring him on stage and voile, karaoke - and YOU'RE in control. Play the damn song yourself, the words will follow your lead.

The amazing part of all of this is you are controlling the music, the mix , the audio and video all from your keyboard. If you want to play, then play. If you want to watch, watch.

And you think Roland is crazy? Crazy like a fox! This is cutting edge stuff. If they don't advance this concept, you'll see some other Asian corporation take the ball and turn this into the next entertainment phenomenon. Meanwhile, the old fashioned DJs will be sulking out in the cold along with the "musicians."

It'll never work in nursing homes. Are you crazy??? Pure audio-video-musical heaven. Spend a day collecting information about the residents. Scan some family pictures. Get shots of the neighboring countryside or whatever. Sing "I Left My Heart..." and have a quick slide show of SanFran. Have a live cam on-hand. Show them singing and having a good time. Save the recording (or make a separate recording of your set) and let the NH play it during the week. Do you think you won't be the most popular guy there? You'll be asked back immediately.

Playing that retirement party, the kid's birthday party, a 50th wedding anniversary? This is a winning concept. Who wants to be the first one on the block to try this? I don't think it will be me, but one of you can do this.

Hey diki,

Kinda rings a bell - on my last gig one my audience came up to me while I was setting up and asked if I was actually going to play something or just press buttons. Makes you think. I kindly told her I would do a little of both - to which she replied "oh shit".. It seldom occurs to us that most of the folks who come to listen do so to hear "live" music.

Hammer

You guys bitch about a 40 lb keyboard. Now you want to haul a 52" TV around with you? Jeez... it's hard enough to get them to stop watching the TV if it has anything on it, and maybe just look at YOU, now you want to add to their distractions.

Hey, cassp... go for it! Best of luck. Oh, hang on a minute, you are saying you WOULDN'T do any of this, but you think someone else might...

Kind of sounds like the Roland Marketing dept.. "Well, maybe WE would never use it, but maybe possibly there is SOMEONE who might... Let's go ahead and build it anyway!"

They are having a hard enough time just selling regular arrangers these days. What better way to increase sales than add a bunch of marginally convergent features (that no-one I know would use in a million years) to an overweight, overpriced, underperforming arranger housed in an unmovable case?

Let's face it, how many of us here would lug this monster around so the could show some video during the show (and if we did, surely a DVD player is a LOT less expensive)? In fact, how many of us do this now (this ain't something that we COULDN'T do even without a VIMA)?

Darn few, if any. I don't get out in the sun THAT much... but I sure would like to know what you are smoking cassp .

Roland E80 already can synchronize pictures with registrations, and scroll lyrics on an external TV superimposed on the pictures (while you still monitor the regular touch screen. Just exactly how many players here have you heard go 'This is the greatest thing ever added to an arranger!! You have GOT to get this added to your OS!'

NOT ONE...

EVER.

I can IMAGINE someone that MIGHT like to have a mini-bar built in to their home keyboard..! There's probably at least ONE person that could use this. But I wouldn't expect for one minute that a company like Korg or Yamaha would build it and try to market it! At least, not in the US.

No, this is a product for the karaoke and camera obsessed far east. I just don't see the cultural need for this over here, and, to be honest, I hope I never do.

Then I hope I die quickly.

chas

Cass.....dont worry, this is a big world.....yo make some great points....there's enough Pie out there for everyone....
Find your slice & Eat it I say!!

I think there are plenty of people out there, maybe not here on the SZ, but out in the mix who will be doing this within the next five years.

What am I smoking, you ask. All I will say is the name of the band is TOKEN!

I agree with Diki, that no one here has jumped up saying how they have to have all these features. Of course not, most of us are still musician- entertainers. Turn the paradigm inside out and this idea becomes a frightening possibility. Carry around a 52" monitor - not me, but have you seen some of the speaker setups these DJs have? You'd think they were playing Fenway Park or something.

Hey, us over-the-hillers are content to tweak our technology a little and buy a new keyboard every once in a while. But it won't be us who start this craze. I've got a few DJ friends who come close to this now. Add live playing and singing to the mix and it's a hit.

Yamaha was showcasing a double keyboard combo organ/arranger a couple years ago. I can't find anything about on the net right now, but it would our SZ answer to the C1 if we could get it made here. But now Roland is throwing this VIMA concept out there. The boards presently available are not viable for the commercial market, but if they wanted to they could put this into a 40 lb. package in no time.

I could be wrong, but technology is moving so fast, that I can forsee a 52" screen that weighs 4 lbs or less. Would you refuse to carry that? All this stuff is possible. Just because you don't like what you see and read doesn't mean it ain't gonna happen.

So, Donny... you saying YOU might get one of these (for a couple of months, anyway!)....?

You've already got a laptop... You using that to feed monitors (video, that is!) while you perform?

I didn't think so.

That's why I find this thing so ridiculous... it fills a need perfectly, that no-one actually has..!

The patent offices are filled with designs for products that have no market, or customer. They rarely ever get made, just sit there gathering dust until someone writes a book about silly Victorian inventions, or the like. This is where this belongs, not taking up Roland's time...

There's a reason that American music gets played on Japanese radio, but Japanese music never gets played on American radio. American musicians have better things to concentrate on than whether there is a slide-show synced to their karaoke tracks. Like making MUSIC...

I’m confused; Wersi OAS instruments have been able to do this for years, (So it’s hardly new) as it has a computer at its heart.
What is it used for? Teach INS to show the screen display to the audience, Karaoke if you’re that way inclined. (Virtually all Wersi players avoid this like the plague)
The main use however is a video camera and screen to let the punters see what you are actually playing, without being hidden behind an Arranger/Organ, (Who knows whether you’re playing or not if they can’t see you) and also for mood shots to enhance the music experience.
So we come back to the beginning, what’s all the fuss about.

Bill

Integration Integration Integration. Multi Media integration. That’s the way the entertainment industry is going.
A lot of persons don’t seem to understand where new products are heading.
Lets be real, if you are playing an arranger, you are in the entertainment business not the music business.

If you want to be in the music business, play a piano.