Teenaesh VijeeWhat is the definition of Karaoke that you can think of? For me, it’s about group of friends going out to a nearby Karaoke outlet and sing along towards subtitle that comes along with a music video- minus the words that are uttered. Another that I can think of will be getting a Karaoke DVD, playing it on your DVD player and sing along at my house. What are the cons? Well, either you have to spend big buck every time you’re out Karaoke-ing or you’re left with limited choices of songs to select from.
So what’s so special about Popsical Karaoke? Well, it is simply perfect for those who really love Karaoke-ing all the time. Firstly, you can basically sing almost all the latest songs as the cloud database gets updated quite frequently with up to 120k songs plus it is portable. Without further adieu, I hope you guys will enjoy my review. 🙂
It’s pretty straight forward on how to setup the Popsical Bundle and in case you have not watched my Unboxing video, please do so by clicking here ==> LINK . The reason you should watch my Unboxing is so that you can know what are the ports and what are the contents of the box like.
Firstly, you have to connect the USB Type-C cable to the power adapter, plug it at the back of your Popsical device. Next up you have to connect your HDMI cable to the device and plug the other end to your TV. Since I have the bundled Soundbar, plug in your Aux cable to the back of your soundbar and reach it out to your Popsical device. You may also opt to use RCA cable instead of AUX cable, I have an unused Optical cable – so I used that option instead. Though there’s also Bluetooth option for audio output, I would suggest not to use that as it may delay and audio might lag here and there plus audio quality was not that good as well.
Don’t forget to get 4 pieces of AA batteries for the microphones and 4 AAA batteries for the remotes(two remotes and two microphones) . You don’t have to get the most expensive batteries and all, just go for the reasonable one and you are good to go. Pairing is pretty simple and the first step will be connecting to the WiFi network. You may take this opportunity to connect your smartphone to the same WiFi network as well. Next up will be the system update prompt whereby would not take no longer than 5 minutes. Right after that, you will be asked to sign in to the Popsical account. Simple steps, just use your smartphone and browse to tv.popsical.com. If you still require further assistance to set up the Popsical bundle, you may visit https://popsical.com/manuals/
You may choose to create a new account via email or associate your Facebook account, which is the method that i chose. Enter the TV code that was displayed on your TV and you are good to go. You will by then have already downloaded the application into your smartphone and enter the party code manually in order to pair the TV and smartphone.
Since the Popsical Karaoke is a subscription based cloud system, hence payment is involved to get proper access to the database. Monthly subscription costs you RM14.99 while a 24 hour pass costs you RM5.99. For a test run, you are eligible for free Karaoke session for 15 minutes everyday. If you ask me, the monthly subscription is the best to go. Either if you are a Karaoke freak or not, it seems to be worth it. So if you end up getting the Popsical Karaoke, please do subscribe for the Monthly package. Why should you pay? Well, all the latest releases are there and therefore it is Karaoke version. Somewhat somehow somebody has to pay for the licensing right? Let’s just be happy that it does not cost huge for such convenient Karaoke system.
Since I used the Optical cable option, you have to toggle for the Optical option mode in your sound bar. The microphones will auto-detect as long you are not too far away from the console itself. The microphones are light-weight despite they are made of plastic but it get the job done right. Again, I will stress that only this option would be the better one to consider rather than spending thousands over a professional Karaoke home theater unit or paying the rental when you are outside at a Karaoke entertainment center.
Going slightly to speak about the specification that I am aware of of the Popsical console – it comes with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. The Android Operating System version isn’t the latest but a decent one which is 6.0.1 Marshmallow. No lags were detected as the entire system is lightweight and nothing heavy to effect the loading time and overall performance.
Though I am not a big fan of Karaoke, I actually enjoyed and managed to improve my memorization of lyrics as well as my voice tuning. I prefer to train myself in the house for certain latest songs whereby I can eventually show off once I am out there Karaoke-ing with the gang or even when they do end up having the session at my place.
Since I am an Indian, I find the list of Tamil songs to be rather disappointing and outdated. I do not find any latest tracks or any latest artists. You can only enjoy classic old hit songs which are outdated if you ask me. So “machas” out there, this is not your cup of tea for Tamil songs for now. Let’s just hope the list will get updated but I do understand that Popsical’s target group of Indians can be classified as minority based on their demand. But seriously, if Tamil genre is included – please do list out some of the latest songs which we can actually enjoy singing at times and please do take note that there aren’t many physical Indian Karaoke outlets out there, so why not be the first cloud based Karaoke system to list out all the latest Indian songs? 🙂
Rest assured, this is still the best cloud based Karaoke system out there when it comes to English songs. There are plenty to chose from and it is being updated frequently. Overall system is stable and the whole idea is practical to be honest. The party mode is also a brilliant feature where multiple devices can connect and list down the song lists rather than depending on a single smartphone or even the console itself. The option to record the songs that you sing is also present and I find the playback to be pretty decent as well. Overall, this gadget is a must have device of 2018 especially if you are a Karaoke freak rather than spending loads of money outside at your preferred outlet.
The original retail price of the Popsical Bundle is RM1399, however if you use my promo code ” TECHSLACK ” – you are eligible to purchase it for just RM999! That is RM400 off the retail recommended price. Do share this post out to the Karaoke lovers that you are aware of and spread the love. There is no physical shop available yet from Popsical Malaysia but it is in the midst of happening soon. For the time being, please place your order via their official website https://popsical.com/my
For latest happenings and updates, do stay tuned on their Facebook page where you will be able to visit to their booths during IT fairs where you can get to feel and test the Popsical Karaoke!