F11 vs Winamp

[Stef123]

I used Foobar for many years before I switched to MusicBee. You Foobar guys should check it out.

I will. It's been a while since I tried it. My last impression was mixed, many features, easily accessible but upon trying them out - buggy beyond repair. Things may have changed. The updates don't seem to be coming on all too often, though. If highend is right, the current release has been around for 10 months.

When did you make the switch from Foo to Bee?

[ksarnelli]

I used Foobar for many years before I switched to MusicBee. You Foobar guys should check it out.

I will. It's been a while since I tried it. My last impression was mixed, many features, easily accessible but upon trying them out - buggy beyond repair. Things may have changed. The updates don't seem to be coming on all too often, though. If highend is right, the current release has been around for 10 months.

When did you make the switch from Foo to Bee?

I switched in December or January (since the 2.4 release). I can't speak for previous releases, but with 2.4 I honestly can't think of any bugs I've encountered and I use it daily.

[Stef123]

Thanks for reporting back, ksarnelli,
just so you don't get the wrong idea - AIMP is not my personal preference. I just mentioned it because it comes closest to WinAmp from what users have told me. Even the name seems to bear this heritage. I myself don't use it, never have.

When SkyFrontier said it's hard for him to change, once he gets used to a program, he reminded me of the similarity between WinAmp and AIMP. That's why I brought it up.

[SkyFrontier]

Sky,
let me know what you're after - what features. Internet radio and scrobbling? Audio functions like loops, slowdown, pitch shift etc? Tagging, playlists, compatibility with mobile devices? Lyrics and cover art and community sharing? Skins and customizable interface?

I have not found a suitable player for myself. Most freeware turns out buggy, slow to load, poor sound quality despite using the same codec. The good stuff is not portable. That's why I carry a whole lot of different tools with me. If I know your requirements I might be able to help you out.

For starters, try AIMP - it's got a much better reputation than MusicBee, and its interface comes closer to what you are used to - coming from WinAmp I mean.
PortableApps Fork: http://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/aimp-portable
Skins: http://www.aimp.ru/index.php?do=catalog ... agesize=20

Hello, Stef.

Been away for a while but took my time to play with your input enough to provide a valuable feedback worth your knowledge.

-single key shortcuts for functions ("b" [wAmp] instead of "ctrl+n" [mBee]);
-simple custom order, simple "enqueue file", remove file from list (not from disk, as mBee apparently did with a file!) [wAmp];
-visualizations [both - though mBee didn't worked here];
-crystal sound reproduction (mBee beats wAmp);
-live filter, column sorting of metadata, stats (playlist items count at least) [woooow, mBee! Hands down my favorite feature so far; by the way, I really like the 'virtual PLUS real' 2-lists approach mBee delievers];
-portability;
-OPTIONAL cover and lyrics visualization [mBee keeps reading embedded covers - can't find a way to disable this] (not important);
-modularity of GUI components [wAmp] (secondary);
-recursive or top level scan of folders [wAmp; can't say for sure how mBee handles this yet];
-rating system [not tested, but mBee looks promising];
-auto-lists: recently played/added; most played; top rated [mBee];
-randomized playing support [both];
-skins support (or at least a basic dark theme to resource to) (important!) [both];

mBee n00b questions:
>How could I enlarge the mBee's seeking bar? How to get rid of the 'details' GUI element (which forces seeing embedded album covers)? How could I copy a file full path's, optionally just its path? HOW TO ADD A SINGLE FILE TO PLAYLIST, for goodness' sake??? (lol, i HATE not finding out this one)

Thanks for the tip, Stef. F11 problem is gone real good. A pity I can't solve it in Winamp's house... but thankfully I gained a powerful (yet heavy) new music player, serious candidate to be the default one.

As posted, I'll Foobar and AIMP anytime soon... thanks much for the discussion, guyz!

[bdeshi]

>How could I enlarge the mBee's seeking bar? How to get rid of the 'details' GUI element (which forces seeing embedded album covers)? How could I copy a file full path's, optionally just its path? HOW TO ADD A SINGLE FILE TO PLAYLIST, for goodness' sake??? (lol, i HATE not finding out this one)

Right click > Customize panel settings. (re seeker, the wavebar mode is probably what you want)

add: concerning my experience with musicBee, decision pending: require better acquaintance.
Considerable customization choices, and it has some pretty impressive web connectivity action going on. This is less of a music player, more of a organizer.

[SkyFrontier]

Wavebar: cool, thanks!

-So the other stuff is not covered at all...?

[Stef123]

This is less of a music player, more of a organizer.

My impression, too, but maybe I have to dive deeper into plugins and advanced settings, to get A-B loops etc.

@Sky
seems like MusicBee or Foobar might be a good alternative, after all. Doesn't look like WinAmp, but delivers lyrics, playlist and tagging. Features that more audio-oriented players don't excel in.

[bdeshi]

but maybe I have to dive deeper into plugins and advanced settings, to get A-B loops etc.

The only solution I found is using the start/end bookmark feature. You might have to set a hotkey for Edit > Prefs > Hotkeys > Now Playing: Start/end Bookmarks (I couldn't find this option anywhere on the GUI!) Then pres the hotkey once to set A position, and again to define B. Now you'll find the loop saved in Bookmarks.

HOW TO ADD A SINGLE FILE TO PLAYLIST, for goodness' sake??? (lol, i HATE not finding out this one)

drag the single file to the desired playlist in library panel.


Anyways, after much consideration, I've decided to stay with foobar2000. MB certainly has it's uses, but none I need -- right now.

[SkyFrontier]

I'm not a dragging-type of guy...
The more I use mBee, the more I'm dubious I'll stay with it for the very reasons I listed. Currently I'm keeping both online - mBee for the livefiltering when needed.
It seems all is going foo...

[SkyFrontier]

So Foobar's the baby.

-how do I jump to currently playing item in list?
-is there a live filter plugin for list?
-any way to force f2k to play next song based on currently sorted column, instead of (default: file path?) current behavior?
-is there a way to copy file path without entering properties? (which then has the 'File path : ' dumb prepend?)
-no way to access cooler visualizations like winamp's or soundSpectrum ones?

Despite its poor visuals, so far it appears to be my winner...

[bdeshi]

"-how do I jump to currently playing item in list?"
- Menu > Playback > cursor follows playback.

"-is there a live filter plugin for list?"
- Yes, the QuickSearch plugin.

"-any way to force f2k to play next song based on currently sorted column, instead of (default: file path?) current behavior?"
- I have columnsUI + NGPlaylist layout, and this one (at least) does what you ask, as long as play order is sequential (default).

"-is there a way to copy file path without entering properties? (which then has the 'File path : ' dumb prepend?)"
Right click file in playlist and copy.

"-no way to access cooler visualizations like winamp's or soundSpectrum ones?"
- there's a plugin called shpeck but I haven't tried it.

[SkyFrontier]

Oh-oh.












Sometimes words' just not enough...
Thanks, Sammy!
Pluggin' in...

[bdeshi]

foobarwink.png (36.33 KiB) Viewed 3665 times

[/size]

[SkyFrontier]

Two things still missing

-http://wintense.com/plugins/foo_w7shell seems to have not be replaced by a w8 pair, right? (Won't work on 8.1 anyway);

-googled for a "copy path", preferably hotkey driven, ideally with mutl-items/playlist support, no luck. The "copy" facility you pointed copies metadata, seems not to be configurable (overlooked it as I took it as a "copy file" function).

Installed:

foo_AdvancedControls.fb2k-component.zip
foo_quicksearch
foo_ui_columns-0.3.8.8.7z
foo_vis_shpeck-0_3_7.zip - to test
foo_w7shell_0_2_9_1.zip

1h30 of reading, downloading, testing, configuring... quite happy so far! (actual day-by-day may change my mind, though - for instance: will XY be able to produce f2k playlists? Let's see...)

[bdeshi]

googled for a "copy path", preferably hotkey driven, ideally with mutl-items/playlist support, no luck. The "copy" facility you pointed copies metadata, seems not to be configurable (overlooked it as I took it as a "copy file" function).

Try the texttools plugin.

-http://wintense.com/plugins/foo_w7shell seems to have not be replaced by a w8 pair, right? (Won't work on 8.1 anyway);

ColumnsUI plugin provides [rudimentary] taskbar control.