Winamp is a proprietary media player for Windows-based PCs, written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of AOL. It is freeware/shareware, multi-format, extensible with plug-ins and skins, and is noted for its graphical sound visualization, playlist and media library features. Winamp was released by Justin Frankel in 1997, and its popularity grew quickly, along with the developing trend of MP3 file-sharing.Features
Playback formats
Winamp supports music playback using MP3, MIDI, MOD, MPEG-1 audio layers 1 and 2, AAC, M4A, FLAC, WAV and WMA. Winamp was one of the first common music players on Windows to support playback of Ogg Vorbis by default. It supports gapless playback for MP3 and AAC, and Replay Gain for volume leveling across tracks. CD support includes playing and import music from audio CDs, optionally with CD-Text, and burning music to CDs. The standard version limits maximum burn speed and datarate; the “Pro” version removes these limitations.
Winamp supports playback of Windows Media Video and Nullsoft Streaming Video. For MPEG Video, AVI and other unsupported video types, Winamp uses Microsoft’s DirectShow API for playback, allowing playback of most of the video formats supported by Windows Media Player. 5.1 Surround sound is supported where formats and decoders allow.
Podcatcher
Winamp can also be used as an RSS media feeds aggregator capable of displaying articles, downloading or playing that same content as streaming media. SHOUTcast Wire provides a directory and RSS subscription system for podcasts.
Media player device support
Winamp has extendable support for portable media players and Mass Storage Compliant devices, Microsoft PlaysForSure and ActiveSync.
Plug-ins
See also: Plug-in (computing)
In 1998, Winamp was rewritten as a “general purpose audio player” with a plug-in architecture. This feature was received well by reviewers. Development was early, diverse, and rapid: 66 plugins were published by November 1998. The Winamp software development kit (SDK) allows software developers to create seven different types of plug-ins.
* Input: decodes specific file formats.
* Output: sends data to specific devices or files.
* Visualization: provides sound activated graphics.
* DSP/Effect: manipulates audio for special effects.
* General Purpose plug-ins add convenience or UI features(Media Library, alarm clock, or pause when logged out).
* Media Library plug-ins add functions to the Media Library plug-in.
* Portables plug-ins support portable media players.
Plug-in development support increased Winamp’s flexibility for, for example, a plethora of specialized plug-ins for game console music files such as NSF, USF, GBS, GSF, SID, VGM[16], SPC, PSF and PSF2.
Homepage: http://www.winamp.com/
Playback formats
Winamp supports music playback using MP3, MIDI, MOD, MPEG-1 audio layers 1 and 2, AAC, M4A, FLAC, WAV and WMA. Winamp was one of the first common music players on Windows to support playback of Ogg Vorbis by default. It supports gapless playback for MP3 and AAC, and Replay Gain for volume leveling across tracks. CD support includes playing and import music from audio CDs, optionally with CD-Text, and burning music to CDs. The standard version limits maximum burn speed and datarate; the “Pro” version removes these limitations.
Winamp supports playback of Windows Media Video and Nullsoft Streaming Video. For MPEG Video, AVI and other unsupported video types, Winamp uses Microsoft’s DirectShow API for playback, allowing playback of most of the video formats supported by Windows Media Player. 5.1 Surround sound is supported where formats and decoders allow.
Podcatcher
Winamp can also be used as an RSS media feeds aggregator capable of displaying articles, downloading or playing that same content as streaming media. SHOUTcast Wire provides a directory and RSS subscription system for podcasts.
Media player device support
Winamp has extendable support for portable media players and Mass Storage Compliant devices, Microsoft PlaysForSure and ActiveSync.
Plug-ins
See also: Plug-in (computing)
In 1998, Winamp was rewritten as a “general purpose audio player” with a plug-in architecture. This feature was received well by reviewers. Development was early, diverse, and rapid: 66 plugins were published by November 1998. The Winamp software development kit (SDK) allows software developers to create seven different types of plug-ins.
* Input: decodes specific file formats.
* Output: sends data to specific devices or files.
* Visualization: provides sound activated graphics.
* DSP/Effect: manipulates audio for special effects.
* General Purpose plug-ins add convenience or UI features(Media Library, alarm clock, or pause when logged out).
* Media Library plug-ins add functions to the Media Library plug-in.
* Portables plug-ins support portable media players.
Plug-in development support increased Winamp’s flexibility for, for example, a plethora of specialized plug-ins for game console music files such as NSF, USF, GBS, GSF, SID, VGM[16], SPC, PSF and PSF2.
Homepage: http://www.winamp.com/
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