Many nostalgics like to think back to one of the most popular media players of the 2000s. At that time, Winamp impressed with extensive functions, ease of use, modern user interface and compatibility with countless audio formats. After the takeover by AOL, further development came to a standstill. Finally, the new owner Radionomy brought the latest version 5.8 onto the market in October 2018.
What is winamp
Short for WA by abbreviationfinder, Winamp is able to play a wide variety of file formats such as MP3 or WMA. With Winamp you can play and manage your CDs, DVDs and MP3s conveniently and easily. The software is offered free of charge and its functionality can be expanded with various plug-ins. It runs smoothly on different operating systems. Since version 5.8 came onto the market as a beta in October 2018, Winamp has also supported macOS X. Of course, the media player also runs on Windows and common Android devices.
What functions does Winamp support?
The most important features of the media player include:
- Playback of media in various formats, also with DRM protection
- Create, manage and save playlists
- Synchronization with other Winamp installations
- Media library that shows all playable files on the device
- Possibility to evaluate music and films
- Filter option in the lists
- Reception and playback of Internet radio and web streams
Winamp already offers an extensive range of functions in the basic version, but this can be easily expanded. For example, input plug-ins are available with which the system is able to play formats such as SPC, SID or NSF. Output, visualization and effect plug-ins can also be found mostly free of charge on the Internet.
How did Winamp come about?
At the end of the 1990s, the American Justin Frankel had an idea. Due to his dissatisfaction with the media players popular at the time, he decided to write his own software for playing music and films. Its version should not only be able to play the new MP3 file format, but also offer great convenience in operation and use thanks to various other functions. Together with Dmitry Boldyrev and Gianluca Rubinacci, he programmed Winamp, a media player that came onto the market as shareware for free. Winamp was a real hit right from the start. In 1999, AOL bought the program for a block of shares valued at $ 60 million.
What will the further development of Winamp look like?
After the takeover by AOL, the further development of Winamp fell asleep for the most part. Version 5.8 of Winamp was only published as beta in October 2018, under the leadership of the owner Radionomy.
Foobar2000 – an alternative to Winamp?
The first differences become clear as soon as you download them. Foobar2000 is a comparatively small file, while Winamp is large and more difficult to download. Both Winamp and Foodbar2000 in the basic version are intuitive and easy to use, even for beginners. The functionality of both media players can be expanded by installing plug-ins. They support a wide range of audio formats and have a good playback quality. Winamp only leaves something to be desired when playing Internet radio. Clear playlists enable you to quickly find the piece of music you want.
