MANILA, Philippines - Pinoys have always been fond of singing. No wonder that it was reportedly a Filipino who invented the sing-along system. Nowadays so many videoke systems are available in the market. There are portable mics like Extreme and Wow, or the Real Sound System that you can even customize to display your library of photos instead of pre-programmed videos.

There are a lot of things to consider when buying a videoke system. They don?t come cheap so it?s important that what you buy gels with your lifestyle. Here are a few helpful hints when choosing a videoke system:

1. The song list that comes with the system contains songs you are familiar with. There should at least be 10 songs that you want to sing, learn to sing or hear other people sing.

2. The system is expandable so you can add more memory chips. Once you master the first set of songs, you can expand your repertoire!

3. It?s portable. If you want to bring your system to a party or out of town trip, you won?t need a separate car or a flatbed truck to lug it around.

4. It?s compatible with an audio system so you can still use it even without a TV set. Just in case you?re stuck in the middle of nowhere with only a boombox.

5. The system has pitch control. Admit it, not everyone sings on the same key. This way, you can belt your favorite tunes and not burst a blood vessel trying to reach the high notes.

6. It boasts good sound quality. If you?re going to be using the system a lot, make sure the sound is something that you can stand listening to over and over and over again.

7. The system can accommodate a second mic. For more fun parties and concert level duets, you?ll need a second mic.

8. It?s easy to install. So even non-techies can easily operate the mic and use it without having to listen to geeks breezily explain how the thingamajig goes into the thung.

9. It?s user-friendly. The functions, menus and other controls should be self-explanatory and not require seminars and classes to figure out

10. It has secure connections and wirings. The systems aren?t cheap so you would want to make sure they last a long time.