Winamp <3 (Winamp)

Member Name: saucy_molecule

Product:	Winamp
Date:	04/09/03 (583 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: easy to use, quick to install, plays just about anything!

Disadvantages: Some skins can crash pc, could be too simple for some

-- Getting Started --

Winamp is one of those programs that practically every computer user knows of and has used at least once. It is widely available either from www.winamp.com or various other download sites and downloading and installing it is easy as anything. The usual pick your version, wait for it to finish transferring then click your way through the ?Next? and ?Yes? of the installation program until it is sitting snugly in your hard drive. You can choose to have an icon in your taskbar or on the desktop for easy access to the program.

The original Winamp and Winamp v.2 was instantly recognisable. Although a multitude of skins were available, the basic shape of the interface remained rectangular and buttons were always vaguely in the same place as with every other skin. Not so, with Winamp 3. Now the full creativity of a designer can be unleashed as the entire look of the program can be completely changed. The shape, buttons, playlist editor, a variety of skin colours to choose from, different shapes depending on whether its minimised or not? the list goes on with regards to the aesthetic changes that Winamp 3 has brought about.

The usage of the program however, is essentially the same as with previous versions, although you may have to search a little bit more for the components you wish to use.

-- Opening files --

Winamp is a media player that can support a variety of file types, including MP3, MPEG, WAV, AIFF, AU/SND, VOC, CDDA, MIDI, AVI, MIDI?the list goes on into unchartered territory, i.e., ones that I don?t understand and as far as I know, I don?t use.

There are two ways of opening your files for use with Winamp. You can either click on the file itself and will play within Winamp as long as you have it set up so that the particular file type is associated with Winamp. When file types are associated, it means that Winamp will be the player that the computer will automatically use to open the file
. The other way is to start with Winamp and open the file from there. This is useful if you don?t want to associate some file types with Winamp but for some reason you want to use it to open the file instead of your usual media player.

-- The Thinger --

A feature that Winamp 3 has that the other versions didn?t is ?The Thinger? and I promise, this is honestly its name! This little thing has all the other components on it. It?s a bit difficult to explain, but think of it as a mini desktop with all the icons on it for easy access to the other things. To be honest, it seems a bit pointless to me with some skins. With the skin I?m using at the moment, you have to press a button to get the thinger open, which is daft because you only have to press the buttons next to it to get the other components open. I don?t really see the point of this. If it?s supposed to be a timesaver, it?s not really that useful.

-- Playlist Editor --

Most of the skins for Winamp 3 are quite simple to look at, so finding your ?Open? button to add new files to the playlist should usually be a simple operation. For example, on the skin I currently have, I can click a button that has ?Open? on it and this opens the file browser where I can select the files I want which then play automatically.

Or, I can click a button that has ?Pl? on it and this opens the playlist editor. Within this you can choose files from different folders and it won?t begin to play until you press play, so you can take time choosing what songs you want to listen to and in which order. You can sort them by name, file size, track or reverse the order or randomise it.

The playlist editor appears in a separate window that can either be minimised or closed completely without stopping the songs playing. This is useful because it means you are taking up less space on your desktop, and it can be opened again quickly when you need it.

-- Equalizer --

I must admi
t this is a feature that I never use. It can be used for changing the quality of sound of the music you?re playing, so you can make it sound like you?re in a party hall or listening to something live, or to boost up the bass or treble or whatever. I?d imagine this is something for more seriously techy people to play about with. I know that men (and I am generalising, sorry!) like to fiddle with their stereos and turn them into some high-powered concert equipment. I?d imagine that the equalizer is the place for them to do this.

It is fairly easy to use, so if I did ever want to play about with it, I could quite easily do so. You have the choice of loading preset sounds, or creating your own by playing with the controls and then saving them so that they can be used later.


-- Added Extras --

There are a lot of features that Winamp 3 has that previous versions didn?t, and these can also vary from skin to skin, depending on what the creator decided to include. The skin I have, called MMD3 if anybody wants to download it, has a number of things that I think are either very helpful or just plain cool. It has the capability to change the shape and position completely to suit your visual wants. I can either have it as a thin bar along the top or bottom of the screen; a small squareish shape along the sides, or as a larger box shape placed wherever on the screen.

You can change the colours of the theme of the skin ? at the moment I?ve got it on pink and silver; Dad will probably change it back to just plain silver when he gets on the computer. I think this is a nice little touch as each user can change the look of the Winamp to how they prefer it. And, even better, it can easily be changed back.

There are lots of tiny buttons that open various things when you press them, such as the thinger, the playlist editor, a mini playlist editor ? and they all slide smoothly down into view and back out of the way again. This is probably
all unnecessary, but it adds a nice touch that looks good and makes the program feel quite sophisticated.

Like previous versions of Winamp, this version can have plug-ins added to it. Except now they are called components. I have honestly never downloaded a single thing for it, though I used to for previous Winamps. However, winamp.com has an amazing range of components for you to download including AVS presents (who knows? Not me?) and visualisations which I believe are squiggly graphic type things that go in time to the music. Again, these aren?t necessary ? but they?re there if you want them.

-- Music and Video quality --

I have never had any problems playing music with Winamp 3. A minor gripe is that the bass is perhaps not as strong with the player as with other media players. This isn?t a huge problem because the bass can be adjusted, either using Winamp and the equalizer, or manually with your computer?s volume control. Some songs can occasionally sound slightly fuzzier than with other players, but this again isn?t a big problem. It?s probably more annoying for people who have to have perfect, crystal clear quality on their music, but if you?re really not concerned about it then it?s never going to be that noticeable.

Going back to the plug-ins/components that I mentioned earlier, in my previous Winamp I had downloaded various plug-ins that could mix songs together or eliminate gaps between them. I?m willing to be that these can also be downloaded for Winamp 3, which can enhance your listening experience.

After trying a number of Media players, my dad now uses Winamp 3 for most of the films he watches on the PC. I?ve noticed that it seems fairly easy to use to do this, and shows the films at quite a good quality ? well as good as the file itself will allow. I can?t really say much more in this area as this isn?t what I use it for, but again ? there if you need it.

-- The Website --

The website ww
w.winamp.com could almost be seen as an extension of the program as it is here that you can download all the skins and components, get Winamp Radio, read various articles on Nullsoft and Winamp and most importantly, download the program. It is easy to navigate and to download things, but as this isn?t a review on the site I won?t go into too much detail on it. Basically, the website is extremely helpful in extending your use of Winamp and making the best of it.

-- Conclusion --

I love Winamp. Make no mistake, there are probably better and more sophisticated pieces of software out there for playing all your media bits and bobs, but for me Winamp has everything I want and need. It plays a broad range of file types; you can manipulate these with ease; open various thingamajigs; play pretty patterns in time with the music; listen to digital radio and all within a skin of silver and pink. How funky can you get?

I think that Winamp is a program that everybody can use and will enjoy using, not least because it is so customisable. It has only got even better with this new version, and it was pretty good to begin with. Winamp 3 offers more flexibility than previous versions, though this is mostly within the looks department.

I would recommend anybody to download this program and then customise it their personal likes. I think that most people would find it easy and quick to use and with the help of the website it?s even better. Winamp sounds good and looks even better. It?s definitely a media player worth trying.

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