Winamp

First Edition

WinAMP 0.20a was released on April 21, 1997 and was distributed free of charge . The graphical interface of the first version consisted of a simple menu bar , however, it supported the ability to drag a file onto the window for playback. This version included the MP3 - AMP decoder, created by Tomislav Uzilek (the abbreviation AMP stands for Advanced Multimedia Products, advanced multimedia products ) for non-commercial use. Justin Frankel and Dmitry Boldyrev included this handler in the WinAMP user interface.

Free WinAMP 0.92 appeared in May 1997. The program has its own graphical interface called Winamp Classic: a dark gray rectangular window with silver buttons, a red-green slider for volume level, status indicators, playback time (in the form of a seven-segment indicator ), song name, stream speed and sampling frequency. Support was provided for dragging and dropping multiple files into the playlist . However, the standard title, frame and menu of the Windows window were used, which were styled in subsequent versions. Also, an empty space was left under the time indicator, which was subsequently taken up by the spectrum analyzer .

Winamp 1

Version 1.006 was released on June 7, 1997. The name has been changed to “Winamp” (lower case). This version acquired a spectrum analyzer , when moving the volume slider, its color changed. A nonprofit license for AMP has been included in the help menu.

Under the terms of Tomislav Uzelak, Justin Frankel licensed the AMP 0.7 handler on June 1, 1998. In January 1998, Justin Frankel officially established Nullsoft, Inc. and continued the development of the project, which changed the status of Winamp from free software to paid (the cost at that time was $ 10). In March, the recently founded Uzelac PlayMedia Systems company sent a note of discontent to Nullsoft to refrain from using AMP illegally. Nullsoft answered them and replaced AMP with its own Nitrane processor, but PlayMedia still didn’t like it and they continued to fight.

Version 1.90 was released March 31, 1998 as a multifunctional audio player and was documented on Winamp.com to support plug-ins, including two plug-in input modules ( MOD and MP3 ) and a plug-in visual unit. After 18 days, the installer was released for version 1.91, which included WAVE , CDDA and plug-ins for managing from the notification area, a DEMO.MP3 file was also included with the famous phrase (taken from Wesley Willis 's song) “Winamp, it really whips the llama's ass” .

Winamp 2

On September 8, 1998, Winamp 2.0 was released. Second-generation versions (2.x) were some of the most downloaded Microsoft Windows applications on the Internet. In the new version, they improved the playlist for convenience, made the graphic equalizer more accurate, added additional plug-ins, and made cover art to style the playlist and graphic equalizer.

In June 1999, Nullsoft was acquired by AOL for $ 80 million. Soon, PlayMedia won the lawsuit and in the same month, Nullsoft replaced the Nitrane processor with the ISO processor from the MP3 developers Fraunhofer Gesellschaft . On March 14, 1999 Winamp 2.10 was released, which included a new version of Llama demo.mp3.

In December 1999, Nullsoft re-launched the Winamp project at winamp.com to provide more convenient access to covers, plug-ins, streaming audio, a music directory, conferences, and development resources.

On June 22, 2000, it was recorded that more than 25 million users use Winamp.

Winamp 3

On August 9, 2002, a version of the next generation was released - Winamp3 (the name Winamp3 was written together, thereby reading both MP3 and Winamp, which thereby separated it from the second version). We completely rewrote Winamp 2 source code , based on the Wasabi application framework, which provided additional capabilities and flexibility. Winamp3 was developed in parallel with Winamp 2. Many users complained about the significant load on resources and the instability of the third version. In general, the project was in jeopardy. Winamp3 was not compatible with Winamp 2 covers and plug-ins. SHOUTcast plug- in was not supported in Winamp3. SHOUTcast for Winamp3 has never been released.

At the request of many users, Nullsoft decided to continue the development of Winamp 2 and released 2.9 and 2.91. Beta versions 2.92 and 2.95 contained some functions of the future generation of Winamp 5. During this period, part of the source code from Winamp3 was taken for the Wasabi cross-platform application framework and GUI tools with skin support.
On October 9, 2001, Nullsoft released the alpha version of Winamp3 for Linux , however, despite the convenient user interface, Winamp3 was no longer updated for it.

Winamp 5

Soon Winamp 2 and Winamp 3 were connected in Winamp 5: 2 + 3 = 5, Nullsoft decided to use this principle - the best parts from both applications were taken. They had a joke “nobody needs the cover of Winamp 4 (nobody wants to see a Winamp 4 skin)” , because if you read “4 skin” in English, you get a pun - the foreskin of the penis ( from the English foreskin ). Winamp 5 was based on the source code of Winamp 2, with several Winamp3 features (for example, modern covers). Winamp 5.0 was released in December 2003 . Most of the Wasabi framework was built to create Winamp3 and its components were published as source code . In 2005, they actively intensified the development of the standalone Wasabi version.

Winamp 5 comes in three versions: simplified (lite), full (full) and Pro-version (pro), requiring registration, costing $ 19.95. The simplified version has significantly less functionality (for example, some plug-ins are not included). The full version offers a richer set of functionalities, including copying from discs and recording music at reduced speeds (6x for copying, 2x for recording). The pro version removes all of the above limitations.

Starting with version 5.2, built-in support for syncing iPod devices.

Winamp 5.5

Version released on October 10, 2007. This event is associated with the tenth anniversary of the release of the first version of Winamp. Many new features are included: support for album cover images, support for a large number of languages ​​(for example, Russian, French, Spanish, etc.), a common interface with the library (Bento cover). Starting with this version, support for Windows 9x was discontinued.

Winamp 5.666 (Build 3516)

It was released on December 12, 2013.

Winamp 5.8

Released on October 18, 2018.

The first update of the player after a long break, aimed at ensuring compatibility with Windows 10. ^[12] Removed all licensed components that were purchased from partners and now Winamp has become an absolutely free player. Winamp also got a new logo. ^[13]

Winamp 6

The next major update of the player, the release of which was scheduled for 2019. The new version should have been distinguished by focus on mobile devices. The updated Winamp was supposed to be restarted as a single platform for various streaming services, podcasts and other subscriptions. ^[14]

Winamp for Android

December 30, 2010 Winamp for the Android mobile operating system was released . Android versions starting from 2.1 are supported, any screen resolutions. The program is fully translated into Russian.

Functions

• Sync with computer and iTunes library
• Play Radio Shoutcast
• Home screen widget
• Headset control
• Play mp3 and other music formats

Sale

On November 20, 2013, the following message appeared on the official website of the developer: “Winamp.com website and related web services will not be available after December 20, 2013. In addition, Winamp Media players will no longer be available for download. Please download the latest version before this date. See release notes for information on improvements in this latest version. Thanks for supporting the Winamp community for over 15 years. ” ^{[15] [16] [17]} The following message has been posted on the community website:

“AOL management has decided to close Winamp and all related web services. Winamp was discontinued, and Nullsoft was liquidated. We officially declare that Winamp ceases to exist! The websites Winamp.com and ru.Winamp.com will become unavailable after December 20, 2013. Therefore, have time to download the latest version before this day. We express our gratitude to everyone who has been with us for 15 years! The legend is gone ... The era is gone ... The Winamps era ... "

- ^[18]

November 22, 2013 it became known that Microsoft is interested in acquiring the Winamp team and the Shoutcast service from AOL and is in talks ^[19] .

On the day of the project’s supposed closure, Yandex opened a page modeled for the Windows 98 desktop, and in it a working Winamp with a classic skin. The choice of users is invited to listen to free popular tracks of past decades ^[20] .

On January 2, 2014, it became known that going to purchase a Winamp media player from AOL. On January 15, 2014, Radionomy officially became the owner of Winamp. The transaction amount is not yet called.

On December 21, 2015, it announced the purchase of a 64% stake in Radionomy by Vivendi SARL . The new owner claims that Winamp and SHOUTcast have become one of their most significant assets ^[21] .

• A large number of playable media file formats .
• Support for covers and their high functionality ^{[to clarify ]} .
• Support for compact modes in covers, as well as the ability to work in the form of “traveling” panels.
• Support for plug-ins to extend functionality; An open plug-in format that allows you to create your own plug-ins.
• Support for external devices: Apple iPod , Creative NOMAD Jukebox , Microsoft PlaysForSure , USB-drives , ActiveSync devices, for example on Windows Mobile .
• A broadband equalizer with dozens of presets for all genres of music .
• Ability to record and copy audio discs with CD-Text support.
• Ability to convert to various formats .
• 24 bit playback.
• 5.1 Surround support for related formats.
• Continuous playback support for MP3 and AAC.
• Support for normalizing sound levels .
• Ability to select the next file and set the playback sequence (Jump To File).
• Track search system and information about them:
  • in the playlist (there is a built-in search on the J key)
  • in the local file database (there is a very functional library with support for complex query structures)
  • on the Internet (built-in search tools for tracks / albums / artists with the ability to purchase discs and order tickets for concerts, etc.)
  • on portable devices (through the library)
  • on Wikipedia , Google , AOL , Truveo (in versions from 5.5)
• Free access to many types of streaming media:
  • Internet radio and Internet TV ( SHOUTcast technology)
  • XM Satellite Radio
  • music tracks
  • video clips
  • AOL Video
  • In2TV classic TV programs
  • SHOUTcast Wire ( podcast directories and the ability to subscribe to feeds )
  • Singingfish audio / video search engine

• The ability to play video AVI , MPG, MPEG , M2V - using the filters installed in the DirectShow system, WVM , ASF and NSV (streaming video from Nullsoft).
• Support for keyboard shortcuts ; support for global keyboard shortcuts.
• Support for ID3v 1 tags, and starting with version 2.62 and ID3v2, versions from 5.5 have support for album images and ID3 tag extensions.
• Support drag and drop .
• Support installation with keys. NSIS based installer .
• Support for various localizations (including Russian).
• Built-in DirectX visualizer - MilkDrop .

Supported Formats

By installing additional plug-ins, you can play files of other formats, such as * .ape (Monkey's Audio) , * .dsf and * .dff ( Direct Stream Digital ) ^[22] .

Functionality Details

In addition to the MP3 format, Winamp plays a wide variety of music formats and was one of the first Windows players to feature standard Ogg Vorbis support. Also, it supports streaming MP3 and AAC, is able to normalize the sound level of a track or album. Supports burning music to discs .

Winamp supports playback of Windows Media Video and Nullsoft Streaming Video . To play MPEG, AVI, and unsupported video types, the Windows DirectShow API is used, allowing you to play many formats at the Windows Media Player level. 5.1 surround sound is supported.

Winamp supports old and new covers. To this day, Winamp 5 supports the classic Winamp 2 covers (static collections of bitmaps ) and more functional - modern Winamp3 covers, which can be assembled on the FreeForm handler, use the alpha transparency channel and scripts.

Winamp supports many types of streaming media. SHOUTcast technology provides free access to Internet radio and Internet television , you can also access satellite radio XM Satellite Radio , In2Tv . You can access the AOL Video service and the SHOUTcast Wire service, which allows you to subscribe to podcasts . Use the Singingfish search engine to search for audio and video.

The Winamp library supports metadata for multimedia files that contain Unicode ; full support for unicode file names.

Winamp supports portable media players . Currently included plug-ins for iPod support, Creative NOMAD, high-capacity storage devices (USB sticks) and Microsoft PlaysForSure . ActiveSync synchronization technology for Windows Mobile devices is supported.

In recent versions of Winamp, support for remote, via the Internet , using the library using Winamp Remote has appeared. The technology was implemented using the Orb service.

In Winamp, there is a set of " Easter eggs" ^[23] .

Plugins

The Winamp development tool allows developers to extend Winamp functionality with plug-ins . Additional input plug-ins allow Winamp to play more multimedia formats. And plug-in output modules allow you to apply additional features such as sound effects (via DSP plug-ins) and visual effects ( Advanced Visualization Studio (AVS) and MilkDrop ).Other plug-ins are included in the installer of the player, which enable features such as keyboard shortcuts , etc. During the installation process, you can choose which of the plug-ins to install.

The following types of plug-ins are available:

• Plug-in input modules decode multimedia data for playback from files.
• Output plug-ins control a decoded audio stream (such as a DirectSound device ).
• Подключаемые модули зрительного образа генерируют произвольные графические изображения при воспроизведении.
• Подключаемые модули DSP и эффектов управляют аудио (реверберация, специализация, эквализация, компрессия и т. п.).
• Подключаемые модули общего назначения добавляют дополнительные функции или расширения для Winamp (функции для работы библиотекой, будильник или приостановка при завершении работы и т. п.).
• Подключаемые модули библиотеки добавляют дополнительные функции или расширения для библиотеки (подключаемый модуль gen_ml имеется в Winamp).
• Подключаемые модули устройств добавляют поддержку переносных мультимедиа проигрывателей в Winamp (подключаемый модуль ml_pmp имеется в Winamp).

Разработаны специальные подключаемые модули ввода для поддержки дополнительных форматов файлов. Например, для воспроизведения музыкальных файлов из игр, таких как NSF , USF , GBS , GSF , SID , VGM , SPC , PSF и PSF2 .

Широкое разнообразие подключаемых модулей имеется на веб-узле Winamp.

• Audacious — клон Winamp для POSIX -совместимых операционных систем, в частности Linux .
• QMMP — кроссплатформенный клон Winamp, полностью совместимый со скинами для него.
• AIMP — медиаплеер, часто сравниваемый с Winamp, совместимый с его плагинами .

• Official Winamp Website
• Official Russian community Winamp
• Download old versions of Winamp Player on OldApps.com
• Download old versions of Winamp Player on OldVersion.com
• Great interview with Justin Frankel - creator of Winamp (PDF)
• Article on using Winamp on an Android device
• Cyrus Farivar . The troubles and sorrows of Winamp: how the greatest MP3 player destroyed itself , Ars Technica (June 27, 2012). Date of treatment June 28, 2012.