| Product: |
Winamp |
| Date: |
18/03/04 (1015 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Great visulations, Free music videos, Playlist composer
Disadvantages: No free CD Burning, A bit of a complex window interface
*********What is Winamp?*********
Winamp is software which plays multimedia of many formats(including MP3,WMU, AVI, M3U, MPEG). I have used Winamp for ages just upgrading from version 2 (as seen in pic) to version 5.
*********What it offers?*********
Winamp(5) offers Internet TV, Internet Radio(a good selection), bookmarks, vizulations, related content to the artist and plays multimedia.
*********More about features*********
Well it also lets you open from an URL(web address) e.g. a remote MP3 file.
Also, there website lets you play music videos. The good thing is that Winamp is inderpent ulnike Windows Media and Quicktime who are biased to there Operating systems. Also, it lets you create playlists.
Windows Media Player is famous for its vizulations. Well bad news Bill(gates), Nullsoft have beat you. With great vizulations, you won't be bored. Also you create vizulations or download user created ones! Plus it has great themed skins(example: Scooby Doo 2).
Plus, you can download great add-ins! One cool free tool what comes built in is a playlist maker.
*********So?*********
On Windows Media Player I can burn to CD's! Well, you have to pay for a pro version to do this, but it is understandable saying that they can't rely on people upgrading there OS to handle the newest version(like Windows Media Player and Apple Quicktime) and make money that way.
*********So how do I get it*********
Visit www.winamp.com
*********Alternatives*********
Theres alot, but here are a few:
Real ONE Player (4/5)
Microsoft Windows Media Player 9(for XP, otherwise 7.1)(4/5)
Apple Quicktime 6 (3/5)
Liquid Player(Untried)
*********The downside*********
A bit of a complex interface when closing and looking through file meus as it run in multiple windows.
Summary:
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Last comments:
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- 21/03/04 I agree with The Duke :)
A sound opinion, but perhaps a little more hand-on information would have been nice.
I have used Winamp for years, and I find it is the most consistent MP3 Player available when it comes to performance, quality, and features.
I would HIGHLY recommend the 'Ozone' DSP (Digital Sound Processing) plugin; made by a company called 'Izotope'
htt p://www.izotope.com/produ cts/audio/media/ozone.htm l
This will increase the playback quality of all your music files hugely, by adding a 'room simulator' (much better than cheap 3D/spacial sound) and other features (such as bass compression). It really is the best sound plugin I have EVER heard, and has presets for every kind of music imaginable!
One more thing of note - there is a bug in Winamp that can change your 'Wave' volume settings when it loads up. In my case, this overloads the internal amp of my 'Soundstorm' sound chip - pushing levels into the red and causing distortion.
If you get a distorted sound from playing your MP3s in Winamp - check this out.
For minimal audible noise (a hissing sound for non-music-tech-people), unless you have noisily amplified speakers, it is better to lower the Master and Wave controls to about 1/4, and then increase the volume externally. Just try and find the best balance for your system.
You can notice noise alot more if you whack the volume up - so turn your speakers high up, adjust the windows volume controls to balance volume and noise; then turn your speakers down to the required level.
I find that increasing the wave output too much will cause distortion - whereas increasing the Master control creates noise. Thus, it is best to keep these low and amplify externally.
In addition, you can minimise noise by muting inputs you don't need/use, e.g. Aux in, Line in. Most modern CD drives use 'digital audio extraction' for CD audio playback, so it is generally best to mute the CD playback in the volume controls as well. Dont worry, if your system is using DAE (digital vs analogue playback) then the sound will be coming out of the 'Wave' section anyway...
I use a 130w RMS pair of floorstanding speakers, coupled with a Sony amplifier, and I find that more noise is created by having the Master control on full - than having my 140w amplifier on full!
I hope this is of use to anyone who loves loud music and doesnt like eevil hissing sounds!
Dave :) |
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- 19/03/04 I would have liked to have read more about your thoughts and expereiences using this piece of software - this does read somewhat like a simple "features list" otherwise. |
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- 19/03/04 My brother always downloads Winamp and uses it, but I usually just use Media Player (or Real Player) - they're all pretty much the same in terms of what I do, great review |
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