JetAudio 8.0.17.2010

JetAudio provides users with an all-round multimedia manager. It supports the majority of both audio and video formats as well as Winamp plugins. It is definitely more than just a music player and that creates some kind of diversion given the title that it bears.

During its installation, jetAudio will offer third-party applications that you can choose to ignore and that makes it an `ad-supported` application on Softpedia. The multimedia suite asks for your attention on its first run as it displays a list of options regarding its functionality as an audio/video player or media center for multimedia files management.

Once you finally get to the main interface of the application, you learn that things can really be complicated. There are just too many functions packed within a small window and this crowded space tends to turn into a vertigo effect. The options that escape though are the `Rip`, `Convert`, `Record`, `Burn` or `Broadcast`.

jetAudio enables you to rip audio CDs and even get their details about the artist, songs or album from the Internet. It also provides audio and video conversion tools for quick and easy encoding of formats like WAV, FLAC, OGG or WMA as well as AVI, MPEG, WMV, MP4, FLV or MKV. It also brings an audio recorder featuring an equalizer, Low/High-pass filters and even a trimmer.

The Burning component comes in handy when needing to create audio CDs while the `Broadcast` button allows users to listen to online radios. Opening the COWON Media Center triggers a cleaner interface, well-organized and more attractive even though it is quite large. One thing you have to be careful about is the way this interface closes. There are two X buttons in the top right area – the first one closes the current window while the second one terminates the application.

Despite the fact that it comes with theme support, jetAudio lacks a simple and user friendly interface. Although it packs many functions, jetAudio falls short of the natural ease-of-use or intuition. If you look for an alternative to your current multimedia player or even suite and go for jetAudio, it may soon turn into the application you desperately want to replace – or not.

Read More

Winamp 5 Full 5.623 Build 3199

 The abundance of versatile audio and video players can make it difficult to decide on a particular piece of software that will serve as the default playback device for viewing movies and listening to music. One of the biggest names in the business that used to set the bar for the rest of the pack is Winamp and it still offers one of the easiest ways to play any kind of multimedia file.

The installation process allows you to configure many of the program's features, including file associations (you can tweak this later as well), but it also grants you the possibility to select which components you wish to deploy on your computer. It's worth mentioning the fact that the installer comes bundled with third-party software that can modify some settings on your system, so extra care is required during the setup process.

The user interface retains the attributes that made Winamp one of the most popular applications all over the world: strategically positioned buttons to allow effortless control over the multimedia files listed in the adjacent playlist window. It benefits from the same “Modern” skin support we've seen since version 3.0, along with support for dozens of color themes for even greater personalization.

Winamp is compatible with the majority of multimedia files out there and during our tests we didn't encounter any problems while playing all the files we had on our computer. On top of that, it provides access to a huge Shoutcast Radio Stations collection, so listening to good music is a matter of just a few clicks.

Extensive audio and video customizations are available, including an equalizer, over 100 visualizations and a handy playlist editor. With Winamp you can also organize and manage all your songs and movies thanks to the built-in 'Library'.

Aside from the multimedia player capabilities, Winamp can also burn selected audio files to a blank CD and can rip audio discs in several formats, including AAC, MP3, WMA and WAV.

Last but not least, Winamp can easily be converted into a real portable media player manager, as it can detect connected gadgets to allow you to transfer music in a matter of seconds.

Still one of the most popular multimedia players on the market, Winamp supports an impressive range of formats, sports a well-organized interface and is loaded with features and customization, attributes that help it stand out as one of the top choices in this particular software category.

Read More

AIMP 3.10 Build 1051 RC 2 / 3.00 Build 985

Each person has their own likes and dislikes, and the same applies to PC users and their software: while some are satisfied with a certain application, others might require different functions or prefer a simpler interface. When it comes to audio players, everyone is bound to find the one that suits their needs perfectly. And for some, AIMP is the solution.

After extracting the files, users need to choose the installation mode they want: portable version (for removable devices) or custom version (recommended), in a single user or multi user mode. The entire pack contains main components, skins, visualizations, input plugins, additional components (e.g. audio library, Internet radio browser, the Last.FM plugin), and languages. One can choose between full, lite, minimal and custom installation.

To ensure AIMP is seamlessly integrated within Windows, users can automatically associate the software with audio and playlist formats on the PC, as well as add a menu item to the context menu of Windows Explorer.

At first sight, the overall text and graphics might seem to be a bit tiny, considering the latest trends in software technology (with big icons, text, images etc), however after spending some time using AIMP, this is no longer an issue.

The interface somewhat resembles Winamp's, so that the playlist is visible, while the actual audio player and the visualization section are in the upper side of the window. Within the playlist, users get the possibility to rate their songs according to their tastes.

Unlike other applications dedicated to audio playback, AIMP comes with an auto-shutdown feature, an alarm clock, a quick search for songs, and the possibility to add songs as bookmarks. Furthermore, users can customize the hot keys if they are not satisfied with the default ones.

The quality of sound is pretty good, especially considering AIMP supports a wide range of formats, including but not limited to OGG, MP3, WMA, WAV, and others. Typically, the software runs smoothly and the CPU usage is kept to a minimum.

In a nutshell, AIMP can easily become the favorite audio player on one's computer, due to the numerous features it brings, the intuitive interface and customizable settings.

Read More

Media Monkey 4.0.6.1497

MediaMonkey is an audio tool that allows you to play, burn, tag, and organize music supported by the most popular audio formats.

The installation process takes little time to complete, and you have the possibility of installing MediaMonkey as a portable version, in case you don't want to risk changing the system registry files.

The user interface is pretty standard. Thanks to the well-developed online help section, users can learn how to navigate through MediaMonkey.

Party Mode is a feature of MediaMonkey that prevents any modifications from being made to your files, or to the configuration of the software, while Sleep mode allows you to configure the time to play, whether to shutdown at the end, or gradually fade the volume.

Categories include Music, Podcast, Playlists, Media Servers, and Net Radio (access to the SHOUTcast and Icecast radio).

Track managing includes editing track properties and album information, album art, auto-tag from filename, converting formats, and others. In addition, you can burn an audio CD, data CD/DVD/BD, or erase it.

For some reason, even when MediaMonkey is not performing a task, CPU and memory resources are considerably used.

The truth is that MediaMonkey has a lot of features and buttons, but they are not very well organized. Plus, the interface is too large for a media player (you have to maximize it to easily navigate). And you have to get the MediaMonkey Gold to access more advanced features.

The bottom line is that MediaMonkey still needs some work, but it's not to be ignored either. It basically intends to cover all features in the audio department. And it's free to try!

Link Download

Read More