Winamp3 isn't just another MP3 player upgrade, as Nullsoft now tout it as a full media player. Does it make the grade? Check out our Australian review.
Nullsoft, the makers of Winamp have undergone major changes with this new release. Winamp3 has been developed from the ground up around a new source base called Wasabi. When first installed the first thing you will notice is that it installs itself independently and will not override current Winamp installations. Although this is a very useful feature it does leave you wondering if Nullsoft really want you to convert to their new product.
Loading up the new version, users notice the similar interface from previous versions but with an added panel called a “Thinger”. This panel allows users to access common features such as playlists, the new video window and the advanced visual studio at just a touch of a button. The new panel is a little clumsy as it uses horizontal scrolling, which can be confusing to users. The panel is configurable so features can be added or removed to suit your preferences and if you decide you do not like it you can simply disable the Thinger.
Winamp3´s main new feature is video playback. While we liked its simplicity of use, we were somewhat concerned with the lack of support for MPEG-4 or Apple's Quicktime format. The interface itself is quite simple to use, which makes a nice change from other over-complex players. Files were quick to load and ran well in our tests.
On the downside, experienced Winamp users will notice that there is no native support for Winamp 2 plug-ins at this time. Nullsoft claim that Winamp 2 skins should work on the new upgrade. In tests none of the four skins that we attempted to use from previous versions worked on the new platform. At present there are very few native Winamp3 plug-ins or skins available for download. If Winamp3 is as popular with developers as Winamp 2 then you can safely expect to see a wad of plug-ins soon.
The Playlist editor has gone through a few changes. It is now has two windows within the one panel. On the left is the traditional list of songs and on the right is a new window for playlists. This means you can now drag and drop files from your list of songs straight into a new or existing playlist. This makes the process of making playlists easier than previous versions. Listening to loaded playlists is then yours at a touch of a button.
The new Winamp library panel is a new feature that is a bit of a mixed bag. The new panel handles all supported media files. Although Winamp claims that any content you play through Winamp is automatically added to the media library we found that video files were not automatically added. This aside, the media search function is a feature that runs rings around Windows Media players´ version of its search function as it is almost instantaneous and makes finding media almost too easy. It supports searches on artist, album, genre and year.
This visualisation studio has been improved from the previous versions of Winamp. Whether you care for them or not, Winamp3's newer graphical styles make other media players seem like mere screen savers. There is a price to pay for all these graphic goodies though -- songs tended to idle for a few seconds when the panel was blown up to full screen, and the almost instantaneous library searches slowed down considerably when running visualations simultaneously.
So does Winamp3 stack up to other media players on the market already? Yes and no.
It is totally configurable, relatively easy to use and has no gratuitous ads running through it. It does provide some innovative new features and best of all it's totally free. However with scant support for plug-ins, and features such as CD copying that have become embedded in other media software missing, there's still room for Nullsoft to make improvements.
Winamp3
Company: Nullsoft
Price: Free via download
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