Winamp
 

I don't know what you guys use to connect to the Moon but i use Winamp and its looking like they are closing shop :(
http://www.betanews.com/article/Deat...amp/1100111204

Well, I've got the lastest free edition, and that's all that matters :rolleyes:

Here's hoping they leak the source out to the masses. Maybe then we'll see a Mac port of it.

Of course, with iTunes and it's superior support for various file formats, who needs it?

WinAMP was dead the day AOL bought it...just like CNN....

I was using real player, but now usually use itunes.

Still using the aluminum foil on the aerial though.....:rolleyes:

I was suprised to read that Winamp was dead - we haven't noticed it over here.
I use Winamp to listen to AM and prefer it because I use DFX add in to boost up the sound. I can't do that with Itunes. Itunes has the superior libary but Winamp rips quicker.

I will until further notice continue to use Winamp - (I rip my classical cd's with it) - It ain't dead yet - too many users for that.

I use the iTunes built-in equalizer for that myself. I use two presets: one for normal AM use and one for Gagliarchives.

It works for me. What don't you like about it? I ask, not knowing what DFX is...



I'll have to take your word for it. I never used WinAMP for ripping when I was using a PC, and they don't have a Mac port for it that I've found.

And with iTunes, there won't likely be one.

It's not dead, it only smells that way.

. rimshot

Roger -Dot- Lee, again with the cheap shots.

To Dot

Welcome to DFX Audio Enhancement for Winamp!
DFX dramatically improves the sound quality of Internet and digital audio. Whether you're listening to downloaded audio tracks or live Internet radio streams, DFX will greatly enhance your listening experience.
DFX enhances Internet-oriented audio listening experiences by correcting for the sonic limitations of nearly all the popular data compressed Internet audio formats. Data compressed audio suffers from two major problems: loss of high frequency fidelity and loss of stereo separation and depth.

DFX compensates for the loss of high frequency fidelity by carefully regenerating the missing high frequency harmonics in the audio. DFX then compensates for the reduced stereo imaging and depth by carefully generating ambience and stereo depth.

An additional factor limiting the quality of Internet audio playback is the use of speakers that are narrowly spaced and located close to the listener's ears. These location constraints reduce the perceived stereo field and reduce the natural room ambience which is important to good sounding audio.

In addition to compensating for reduced stereo depth in the audio source, DFX's added ambience and imaging works particularly well in correcting for these limitations of closely spaced and located speakers.

Typical PC-based multimedia playback systems and even home stereo playback systems also suffer from limited dynamic range and headroom. DFX compensates for this limited headroom by carefully processing the audio to increase the perceived loudness of the audio without altering the perceived dynamic range. This can dramatically increase the undistorted playback level available when listening to MP3 and other streaming audio files.

DFX performs all audio processing with 32-bit floating point precision, yielding truly professional audio quality. Since Internet audio playback systems currently only support 16-bit audio playback, as a final processing step DFX

I use it because I don't have super speakers and a seperate sound card - it enchances the sound and also gives mere more possibilites to change the sound for Gagliarchives. More so than the equlizer in Itunes - Winamp has one as well.

Everything AOL buys or takes over turnes to crap.I for one am sad winamp will soon be gone but AOL can rot in Hell along with there nose diveing stock price.

There was a link on AM's homepage to DFX for years. It's fine on the listening end, but users complained when we tried it and similar programs on the broadcasting end. The details are many and varied.

Avian

I can imagine. I could think of a few off the top of my head -- for starters, many people (myself included) adjust their settings on their players to optimize for their listening environment. Adding DFX on the broadcast end would likely throw these settings off. Consistency is important here.

Also, Avian: do we support 24 bit or 32 bit audio? I thought we did, but according to the article that Rogor Mortis posted, we shouldn't. I couldn't imagine, personally, that we wouldn't (unless MP3 doesn't support 24 or 32 bit, which I'm rather skeptical about).

Roger -Dot- Lee

Do you mean 24 bit or 32bit audio source files? mp3s aren't in that format - just bitrate (and CBR and VBR). As for wav files, I don't know what SAM supports reading - it probably supports at least 24 bit. But all of that doesn't matter - when streamed at 24k, 56k and 128k mp3, you won't hear a bit of difference between 16 bit, 24, or 32 bit files.

Avian

That's what I thought. According to the article that RM posted, the DFX utility is supposed to be able to convert from "16 bit to 32 bit".

First off, I wasn't aware that MP3, or any format for that matter, supported "16 bit" or any other "bit" audio in a streaming format. It made no sense, and I thought that I was missing something. I'm glad I wasn't.

So I guess the answer to the question is: We support 44.1k constant rate sampling rate, and since we don't play .WAV files, the issue of x bit to y bit conversion is a moot point.

Roger

Your quite right in saying that DFX should'nt be used for broadcasting only for listening. I'm just compensating for lack of good speakers for one.

But I don't think one should write off Winamp just yet - I use several plugins now that are not made by so called AOL. So I will continue to use WInamp for listening on my PC.

ON the PDA, however, there is no Winamp for Pocket PC. I use GSPlayer v.1,95 written by Green Software which is good.

And that seems to be one of the uses that it's designed for. If it helps matters, then there's no need to change at all.

My comments were directed at whomever wrote the piece, extolling the virtues of a package that addressed a problem that didn't exist. Either they need to clarify what they really mean or have a tech go over their documentation and fix the technical errors.

Roger -Dot- Lee, proving that he can be just as anal as Spaz should the situation warrant.

Nicely done. For us non-techies, answer this please. Will I still be able to use WinAmp, and for how long? Will the latest version be obsolete soon?

DFX
 

I use Winamp to listen to AM and prefer it because I use DFX add in to boost up the sound


I just downloaded the free version of DFX 7.2. It is really astonishing what it does with the stream together with Winamp.

Does anybody have the full version? It is worthwhile the US$ 30.00 ?

Thanks for the tip Rogor. Never heard about it before..

You will be able to continue to use WinAMP for as long as I have control over the technical aspect of this station. And here's why:

I tend to be technically conservative when it comes to activities such as software upgrades for the station, and the thought of changes tends to give me a case of the collywobbles nearly as bad as pictures of your leg did. As long as I don't 'upgrade' the station to the point where MP3s will no longer work, WinAMP will work just fine.

Obsolescence is a relative concept. Will something come out that makes upgrading from WinAMP worthwhile in the next six months? I don't know. Will *I* do anything that will make WinAMP obsolete? You can bank on the fact that this will not happen. Period.

So if WinAMP becomes 'obsolete', it will because something superior has come out and you upgrade, not because of anything that I've done. Until the day comes that there is a viable reason why I should start streaming content that is not compatible with WinAMP (The Second Coming, someone holding a gun to my head, or the promise of perpetual, unending physical pleasure coupled with the complete removal of my back pain being the only three that come to mind right off the bat, and number two is REAL iffy), we will continue to support formats that WinAMP will read without problem. Period, end of story.

So, in short and to answer your question (too late for the former, about time for the latter): No, WinAMP will not be obsolete any time soon, at least not due to anything I've done.

Roger -Dot- Lee, and if that doesn't answer your question, I do NOT know what to do with you.

A valid reason. I wasn't criticizing your use of it. I was simply pointing out the technical fallacies in the 'technical' document you posted. It appears to me that, in this instance, it would be like a man going in for a hysterectomy. Totally unneccessary since we lack the plumbing they're trying to remove.



Bingo. The fact that the company that produced it no longer exists will have no effect on already installed software. If it works for you, then by all means use it. If DFX improves the quality (likely because of the higher frequency enhancements and best-guess sampling and stereo algorythms), then by all means use it.

OK, are you streaming AM to the PocketPC or is this MP3s that you have stored on it? Just curious, mind...

Roger -Dot- Lee

I'm currently using Winamp version 2.95, and it's certainly not obsolete. After you get to version 3 and beyond, Winamp turns into a buggy memory hog. I'm going to stick with my old version as long as I can.

Message to Lotus among others:

Yes it is worth getting the full version of DFX - thats what I've done and you also can use DFX for other applications as well

And Dot -


Quite right - just keep on using it - the sound part can hardly get better anyway. The latest version was really only the video bit and libarary they tinkered with.