Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase - User contributions [en]

Best MP3 Decoder

2014-04-28T08:41:12Z

Forthemusic: Added comment on the broken link for Apollo.

Since what the [[MP3]] standard really defines is a decoder, there should be no such thing as a better or a worse MP3 decoder. As long as a decoder is accurate, it'll output the expected quality.

All the most popular decoders these days output accurate enough streams. These include:

* [[Winamp]]'s FhG decoder
* [http://www.mpg123.de mpg123], probably one of the most popular decoders, also used in [[foobar2000]], Otachan's winamp plugin, [[LAME]] and countless other MP3 players
* [http://mpadec.sourceforge.net/ MPAdec], a very accurate decoder based on mpg123
* [http://koti.welho.com/hylinen/apollo/ Apollo] (broken link), the most mathematically accurate decoder
* [http://www.underbit.com/products/mad/ MAD], another very precise GPLd MP3 decoder
** A MAD input-plugin for WinAmp is available in [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=46824&hl= this HA thread]

Using any of the above should be enough for all purposes. Quality differences among them are insignificant.

Older decoders could provide bad quality, due mostly to encoder implementation errors. Such bad encoders include Winamp before version 2.666 (using Playmedia's low quality AMP engine), decoders based on old XAudio, and Digideck. Also, some older decoders did not work well with VBR streams.

[[Category:MP3]]
[[Category:Software]]

Winamp

2014-04-28T03:45:50Z

Forthemusic: Added comment about broken links to Winamp plugins and skins.

{{Software Infobox|
|name = Winamp
|logo =
|screenshot = [[Image:Winamp-screenshot.png|250px]]
|caption = Modern Winamp skin
|maintainer = Team Nullsoft
|stable_release = [http://www.winamp.com/media-player/all 5.63]
|preview_release = None
|operating_system = Windows, OS X, Android
|use = Media Player
|license = freeware
|website = [http://www.winamp.com/ www.winamp.com]
}}

{{stub}}

'''Winamp''' is a music player for Windows developed by Nullsoft with a feature-reduced freeware edition. The commercial "Pro" version is also available.

The main advantages of Winamp is its ease of use. In addition, it is skinnable, and extensible using plugins. As of version 5.2, it fully supports multi-user (i.e. each user of your computer may have their own skin, playlist, and other settings).

You can download Winamp at [http://www.winamp.com/ winamp.com]. While you are there, you might also check their [http://www.winamp.com/skins/ skin library] ''(broken link)'' and [http://www.winamp.com/plugins/ plugin library] ''(broken link)''. And also check the very useful [http://forums.winamp.com/ community (forums)] where new plugins are announced and publicly tested, and very minor updates (i.e. 0.001 version increment) are posted.

== Features ==
=== Free ===
* Crippled CD burning (~8×)
* Crippled CD ripping (~8×)
* [[AAC]], [[MP4]], [[FLAC]] ([http://win32builds.sourceforge.net/flake/index.html Flake] encoder), [[WAV]], [[WMA]] encoding
* [[Transcoding]] of the different audio formats
* [[ReplayGain]] support
* ReplayGain scanner to apply Album Gain or Track Gain to the tags
* Media library
* Full Unicode support

=== Pro ===
The Pro version, which can be bought online, comes with some additional features compared to the free version.
* Burn CDs at full speed
* Rip CDs at full speed
* additional [[MP3]] encoding

== Supported formats ==
=== Playback ===
Directly supported formats (i.e. provided with installer) include: [[MP1]], [[MP2]], [[MP3]], [[WAV]], [[AAC]], [[WMA]], (Ogg) [[Vorbis]], [[MIDI]], [[FLAC]], and [[Module]]

Plugins also exist for many other formats, such as [[TTA]], [[WavPack]], [[Musepack]], [[TAK]]. Go to Winamp's [http://www.winamp.com/plugins/ plugin library] to download.

== Supported languages ==
* English

== Supported platforms ==
* Win 2000
* Win XP
* Win Vista [http://www.winamp.com/player/faq#35 with issues]

== Recommended plugins ==
* '''Playlist Separator''' – provides a customizable separator line to delimit albums in a long playlist.
* '''MojoMaster''' – sexy dancer visualization.

== External links ==
* [http://www.winamp.com Winamp: Homepage]
* [http://winamp.com/player/ Winamp: Download]
* [http://winamp.com/about/story.php More information]

[[Category:Media Players]]

Winamp

2014-04-28T03:38:01Z

Forthemusic: Added OS X and Android as supported operating systems.

{{Software Infobox|
|name = Winamp
|logo =
|screenshot = [[Image:Winamp-screenshot.png|250px]]
|caption = Modern Winamp skin
|maintainer = Team Nullsoft
|stable_release = [http://www.winamp.com/media-player/all 5.63]
|preview_release = None
|operating_system = Windows, OS X, Android
|use = Media Player
|license = freeware
|website = [http://www.winamp.com/ www.winamp.com]
}}

{{stub}}

'''Winamp''' is a music player for Windows developed by Nullsoft with a feature-reduced freeware edition. The commercial "Pro" version is also available.

The main advantages of Winamp is its ease of use. In addition, it is skinnable, and extensible using plugins. As of version 5.2, it fully supports multi-user (i.e. each user of your computer may have their own skin, playlist, and other settings).

You can download Winamp at [http://www.winamp.com/ winamp.com]. While you are there, you might also check their [http://www.winamp.com/skins/ skin library] and [http://www.winamp.com/plugins/ plugin library]. And also check the very useful [http://forums.winamp.com/ community (forums)] where new plugins are announced and publicly tested, and very minor updates (i.e. 0.001 version increment) are posted.

== Features ==
=== Free ===
* Crippled CD burning (~8×)
* Crippled CD ripping (~8×)
* [[AAC]], [[MP4]], [[FLAC]] ([http://win32builds.sourceforge.net/flake/index.html Flake] encoder), [[WAV]], [[WMA]] encoding
* [[Transcoding]] of the different audio formats
* [[ReplayGain]] support
* ReplayGain scanner to apply Album Gain or Track Gain to the tags
* Media library
* Full Unicode support

=== Pro ===
The Pro version, which can be bought online, comes with some additional features compared to the free version.
* Burn CDs at full speed
* Rip CDs at full speed
* additional [[MP3]] encoding

== Supported formats ==
=== Playback ===
Directly supported formats (i.e. provided with installer) include: [[MP1]], [[MP2]], [[MP3]], [[WAV]], [[AAC]], [[WMA]], (Ogg) [[Vorbis]], [[MIDI]], [[FLAC]], and [[Module]]

Plugins also exist for many other formats, such as [[TTA]], [[WavPack]], [[Musepack]], [[TAK]]. Go to Winamp's [http://www.winamp.com/plugins/ plugin library] to download.

== Supported languages ==
* English

== Supported platforms ==
* Win 2000
* Win XP
* Win Vista [http://www.winamp.com/player/faq#35 with issues]

== Recommended plugins ==
* '''Playlist Separator''' – provides a customizable separator line to delimit albums in a long playlist.
* '''MojoMaster''' – sexy dancer visualization.

== External links ==
* [http://www.winamp.com Winamp: Homepage]
* [http://winamp.com/player/ Winamp: Download]
* [http://winamp.com/about/story.php More information]

[[Category:Media Players]]