Nullsoft Winamp is a fast, flexible, high-fidelity music player for Windows. Winamp supports MP3, CD, Audiosoft, Audio Explosion, MOD, WAV and other audio formats, custom appearances called skins, plus audio visualization and audio effect plug-ins. Winamp 5 comes in three versions. Lite and Full are freeware, and Pro requires registration. The Lite version has far less functionality (largely supplementable with plugins) while still replicating most of Winamp 2's feature set in a far smaller installer. The Full version offers a richer feature set, excluding only music ripping and CD burning (available in the Pro version).
(Picture: Winamp 5 featuring the popular MMD3 skin)
Features (Pro version):
- MIDI, MOD, MP1, MP2, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WAV, WMA, Chiptunes and many other audio formats supported.
- AVI support, which is played through the appropriate DirectShow filters installed on the user's system; MPEG; and NSV (Nullsoft Streaming Video).
- Plug-in support for additional input and output formats, sound effects (via DSP plugins), and visual effects (notably Advanced Visualization Studio, or AVS, and MilkDrop).
- Support for both Winamp 2's "classic" skins and Winamp3's more flexible "modern" skins(via official plugin provided in "Full" install).
- Freely available access to many types of streaming media, including:
- Internet radio and Internet television (via the SHOUTcast technology).
- XM Satellite Radio.
- Music Tracks.
- Music Videos (not available in all territories).
- AOL Video Content.
- In2TV classic television programs.
- SHOUTcast Wire (podcast directory and subscription functionality).
- Singingfish audio/video search engine.
- Support for ripping data from audio CDs, optionally with CD-TEXT, into MP3 or AAC formats, a feature enhanced in Winamp Pro.
- Support for burning music to CDs, a feature enhanced in Winamp Pro.
- True alpha channel (per-pixel transparency).
- Support for winshade mode as well as docking, which allows Winamp to operate as an always-on-top media bar.
- Support 5.1 Surround where formats and decoders allow.
- Support Gapless playback for MP3 and AAC.
- Replay Gain support.
- Support Unicode metadata for media files.
- Extendable Portable media player support, currently offering device plugins for:
- Apple iPod.
- Creative NOMAD Jukebox.
- Microsoft PlaysForSure.
- Mass Storage Compliant devices.
- ActiveSync devices, such as those running Windows Mobile.
- Support Global hotkeys.
- Customized install options packaged with NSIS.
- 24-bit playback.
- Format conversion (transcoding).
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