45 minutes before anyone sings

Open karaokemo on the device that will stay on the TV — a laptop on HDMI is more reliable than most built-in TV browsers. Avoid in-app browsers (Instagram, Facebook, hotel “tap to connect” windows). Start a karaoke screen and leave that tab in the foreground.

Write the Screen ID where people put their drinks, or leave the QR large enough to scan from two metres. Play a thirty-second test track. If you see a play icon or a mute badge, press OK or click once. That gesture is what unlocks unmuted autoplay. Do it now, not when the first shy singer is already standing there.

Sit where the back row will sit. If you cannot read the lyrics, neither can they. Full-screen the player. Confirm the TV will not sleep after ten minutes of “no remote presses” — screen savers have ended more nights than bad song choices.

15 minutes before the door

Join from your own phone with the code on screen — the Android app on Google Play is the smoothest remote, and the website still works. Add one throwaway track, then remove it or skip it, so you know remotes and the TV are talking. If search is empty, that is a server/YouTube API problem, not a broken room: paste a YouTube URL instead and keep a short note of three opener links.

Check guest Wi-Fi. Captive portals (cafés, some offices, Airbnbs) need each phone to accept a login page before karaokemo will load. The TV can be online while every guest phone is stuck. A hotspot for remotes is a fine backup; the screen device still needs its own path to YouTube.

The first three songs

Ask two people you trust to queue first, with display names they will answer to. When a video ends, karaokemo can show a short playful score, then an “Up next” card for about ten seconds. That pause is the room’s chance to clap and for the next person to find the lyrics. Do not skip through it on song one unless the upload is wrong.

If the first result is a concert, a lyric video with the original vocal, or a ten-hour loop, skip on the screen immediately. Teach the room that skip is normal. A frozen “now playing” slot is almost always a YouTube embed error, not a guest who forgot the words. See how to pick a YouTube karaoke upload.

Who stands where

One host stays within reach of the screen remote: volume, skip, next, and “is this actually karaoke.” Everyone else stays on their phone. If you try to run skip from the kitchen, you will spend the night waking the TV. Point singers slightly off to the side so they do not block the lyrics for the rest of the room.

Optional greetings (birthday, anniversary, congratulations) are for the big screen, not for filling the song queue. Send them when the honoree is in the room. They are not a substitute for a song.

When to call it

Close the karaoke screen tab when you are done. Idle rooms are cleaned up after a day without activity, but a tab left open on a store-demo TV will keep a code alive that nobody should join. If you start again tomorrow, you get a new Screen ID. Guests cannot reuse last week’s scrap of paper.

If guests arrive while you are still unlocking sound

Stop socializing at the door for two minutes and finish the test track. A room that hears the first song fail will decide karaoke is broken. A room that hears a clean chorus while coats are still on will queue. The host mistakes page is the longer list of ways to stall after this moment; tonight you only need the test to succeed.

Point the first two singers slightly off the screen so lyrics stay readable. If you have a mic, keep the TV under the vocal. Physical layout is room, mics, and volume — do not invent it during the opener.

If you only remember four things

The karaoke screen tab stays open. Navigating home creates a new code.
Sound needs one OK or click on the player before guests arrive.
One person owns skip. Guest phones search and add; they do not fight the TV.
The first three songs should be choruses the room already knows. Save audition pieces for later.

Party layout and queue etiquette: How to run a karaoke party. TV browsers: Karaoke on a smart TV.