Winamp 5.1 Released (Almost)
Posted by Rustee on 30 August 2005 - 19:44 · 53 comments & 16152 views
Thanks to Copernic, Simon and Toxicfume for the heads up

Nullsoft Winamp is a fast, flexible, high-fidelity media player for Windows. Winamp supports playback of many audio (MP3, OGG, AAC, WAV, MOD, XM, S3M, IT, MIDI, etc) and video types (AVI,ASF,MPEG,NSV), custom appearances called skins (supporting both classic Winamp 1.x/2.x skins and Winamp 3 freeform skins), audio visualization and audio effect plug-ins (including two industry dominating visualization plug-ins), an advanced media library, Internet radio and TV support, CD ripping, and CD burning.

Earlier this evening, a beta of Winamp 5.1 was available on the Winamp servers for download. It appears that this release was not meant for the public, and has since been removed. For the official word from Winamp, see this thread on their forums. We have removed the links from this news post, and any links to this release in the comments are for BETA software and as such you should use caution when installing on your system.

Updated news will be posted here as and when we get it.

Click Read More to view the beta change log

Downloads removed from Winamp.com
View: Winamp

Changelog:

Winamp 5.1 Surround Edition

  • New: CodingTechnologies AACPlus encoder!
    The MP3 Killer!
    Awesome at low bitrates too!
  • New: Grand Prize Winner of the Internet Surround Music Project!
    KAJE - Hey Buddy (featuring Afrika Bambaataa)
  • New: SHOUTcast Wire - A Media RSS Browser and Subscription Service
  • New: Predixis Smart Playlist Generator
    (Mix your tracks based on what they sound like!)
  • New: AOL Radio featuring (((XM))) Free Sampler!
  • New: CD Ripping now available at 8x in free version!
  • New: Microsoft WMA encoder
  • New: Over 200 new Milkdrop presets!
  • Update: in_vorbis now returns bitrate in getextendedfileinfo
  • Fixed: WMA stuttery playback
  • Fixed: out_ds copy button on status tab now works all the time
  • Fixed: Much improved ripping and playback with Sonic engine
  • Fixed: Video window now resizable regardless of Sidecar
  • Fixed: Length of long mp3's now reported properly
  • Fixed: Silent install switch now works properly
  • Fixed: Simultaneous CD Playback and Ripping

    Thanks to Coffeee for changelog


There are 53 additional comments
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(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #1 Posted by hoginhaze on 30 Aug 2005 - 19:50
Does it require system reboot after installation?
Quote this comment #1.1 Posted by Simon on 30 Aug 2005 - 19:50
It didnt here
Quote this comment #1.2 Posted by jdb264c on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:12
Nope.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #2 Posted by Zxian on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:13
Score....

Thanks for the update!!!
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #3 Posted by green_geeky_dude on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:15
Oh joy of joys yet another update "is starting to think winamp and nero are teaming up against me"
Quote this comment #3.1 Posted by cork1958 on 31 Aug 2005 - 11:46
No doubt about that. I've totally given up on updating Nero anymore. Will stay at version 6.6.06, or something like that. Newest version always tells me that cd may not play correctly because I didn't use "just speed" while burning. I see no options for any such thing either. Don't use either of these programs so often that any of these stupid little updates are no longer necessary, IMO.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #4 Posted by hoginhaze on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:18
All right, one more question - why does it create "My Music" folder in my Documents folder every time it starts ? Is there an option to turn this off? The previous version never did that.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #5 Posted by crp on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:24
<< Removed >>

Last edited by 25729 on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:34
(3 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #6 Posted by nic on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:25
QUOTE
New: CodingTechnologies AACPlus encoder!


Is this compatible with iPods? They play AAC files, but if AACPlus is significantly different, then probably not. I guess only one way to find out!

QUOTE
New: CD Ripping now available at 8x in free version!


Awesome!

QUOTE
New: Over 200 new Milkdrop presets!


Nice....

This might win me back from iTunes (use to use Winamp all the time). I like iTunes a lot, but some things are really starting to bother me. For instance: lack of any real way of removing missing files from your media library.. Just a stupid "!" next to a lot of my songs whenever I move things around. Very frusterating.
Quote this comment #6.1 Posted by youngmc33 on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:04
If you want a great program with a balance of Winamp and iTunes functions, try MusikCube. It can get rid of non-existent files (no more !'s for you!).

Same search features as iTunes, and just as quick with large libraries.
Quote this comment #6.2 Posted by Rekoil on 31 Aug 2005 - 01:30
or just get ml_iPod
Quote this comment #6.3 Posted by Danrarbc641 on 31 Aug 2005 - 07:58
The good news is AACPlus files when played on devices that only support standard AAC (aka AAC-LC, AACPlus is AAC-HE) will still work just fine, they just won't have the extra audio quality benefits.

For instance, 64k encoding that you might use for a flash-based mp3 player playing back on a decoder that doesn't support AACPlus would play back at 22,050Khz (it could even be mono too, don't remember all the details), because of the way AACPlus works. AACPlus is basically using the same ideas behind MP3Pro, just using the different base codec.
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #7 Posted by ghos on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:38
Odd to me how the main Winamp page doesn't show this update yet.
I really like some of the additions. I also wish I could use WMA all the time, but that isn't Winamps fault. Its the manufactuers of CD players since the one I have only supports MP3. Of course same goes for the AACplus. Still a good release to show that Winamp certainly isn't forgotten by AOL.
Quote this comment #7.1 Posted by danzorx on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:59
yeah i don't understand why, either. someone posted the same thing on one of their forums, referencing neowin... -.-
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #8 Posted by Mystical112 on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:45
thx
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #9 Posted by Apollo on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:47
WOHOOOO!!!

why is it called Surround Edition?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #10 Posted by zapdsl on 30 Aug 2005 - 20:55
5.1 surround edition as in 5.1 surround sound (5 speakers 1 subwoofer), just making fun of their own version number

Quote this comment Reply to this comment #11 Posted by Metshrine on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:06
FROM WINAMP.COM FORUMS

As some of you may have seen on other sites, a pre-release version of 5.1 has been published accidentally, and is currently pending removal.

Be advised, this version contains checkin's of fairly widely modified code, and as such, has some stability issues, the most predominant of which occurs in versions of windows outside of XP, as well as having received no internal QA, and having unfinished new functionality.

The version on the servers is designated "beta 3" (but is not marked as such) and we advise people that it remains unsupported and very much not a production release.

In the meantime, while waiting for the files to be removed, we will be taking action to remove all links to the files as published on the forums to stem a multitude of reports about already known issues.

I'll be posting updates to this thread, as and when i get them.

Thank you for your time.

CraigF, on behalf of the mod squad.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #12 Posted by ghos on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:10
Well guess we know what we have to look forward to at least.
(2 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #13 Posted by ivand67 on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:14
THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL RELEASE... IT'S A BETA. As a Winamp user, I hate how some people don't seem to realize that this is a beta!

It's happened a number of times but as posted on the Winamp forums, this one's the worst.

It's gonna be unstable, and some people are gonna think it's a final release. It's gonna be all over P2P and torrent sites, and won't be labeled as a beta, people will think Winamp sucks.

Whatever...
Quote this comment #13.1 Posted by Howard on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:19
The news post has been updated with an appropriate warning.

Edit: The files have been pulled and the article is updated to reflect this.

Last edited by 19990 on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:31
Quote this comment #13.2 Posted by net-cruizer on 01 Sep 2005 - 05:38
Works great for me. I don't see what would be "Beta" about it, in a sence that it would be buggy. So it has some extra media links, and a couple other things.No reason for it to be unstable.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #14 Posted by linsook on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:28
anyone got an alternative link?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #15 Posted by thenay on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:44
Seems to be working well for me
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #16 Posted by jimbo11883 on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:52
I've finally decided to stick with foobar... My left brain says winamp, my right brain says foobar... I've managed to get the sound quality i want from foobar (4 channel upmix is now working great)
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #17 Posted by Alien Venom on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:53
>> New: SHOUTcast Wire - A Media RSS Browser and Subscription Service

Sounds like it's Winamp's version of iTunes' podcasting...
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #18 Posted by Alien Venom on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:57
C'mon, someone upload it to an alternative server and give us all a link! :-D
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #19 Posted by briangw on 30 Aug 2005 - 21:59
I got my Full beta. Thanks Neowin!
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #20 Posted by bostonfanx on 30 Aug 2005 - 22:11
Anyone gonna throw a link at us?
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #21 Posted by metallithrax on 30 Aug 2005 - 22:22
you can get it here.

http://metallithrax.moonfruit.com/

on the files page.

Don't know how long it will stay up, it's a site I don't actually use for anything.
Quote this comment #21.1 Posted by intoksicated on 30 Aug 2005 - 23:14
hehe... uploaded to your website huh....

i went there and it had 96 hits... u think it will get to 1000 in a few hours?
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #22 Posted by sullysnet on 30 Aug 2005 - 22:27
will test later thanks
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #23 Posted by miguel_montes on 30 Aug 2005 - 23:14
Back in the days when Winamp 5 was new, there was talk of DVD support implementation in version 5.1. Does this mean they scrapped this future functionality? That's too bad, I kinda hoped they went along with it.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #24 Posted by BoyRacer on 31 Aug 2005 - 00:56
Winamp 5.1 really Whip's The Lamai's Ass in Surround Sound From Every Direction!! This is Evil Good!
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #25 Posted by xpgeek on 31 Aug 2005 - 01:29
Cool. Might try it, but I'm pretty happy with 5.094 and not sure I wanna mess with a beta.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #26 Posted by ambiance on 31 Aug 2005 - 01:59
Uhhh I have installed it already...doh
(4 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #27 Posted by Ravensworth on 31 Aug 2005 - 02:08
I have never liked the new WinAmps and I never will. I still use version 2.81 and I see no reason to upgrade to a bloated slower version. The old one loads instantly and plays my music files, that's all I want.
Quote this comment #27.1 Posted by bangbang023 on 31 Aug 2005 - 03:52
That's really an uneducated decision. Winamp 5.x can be cut down to run just as quickly as 2.x simply by removing the extra plugins. Also, 5.x has many security updates that simply aren't patched in 2.x. At this point, there is no real reason to not upgrade other than laziness in regards to properly configuring it.
Quote this comment #27.2 Posted by Ravensworth on 31 Aug 2005 - 07:31
Uneducated...no. I don't use WinAmp to listen to streams; in fact it isn't even allowed to go online. I only use it for listening to mp3s so security isn't really an issue. I have tried the 5.x versions several times and even if I disable every extension and feature it still takes noticeably longer to load up and start playing when I click a file. For me there's no real reason to upgrade, simple as that. WinAmp 2.x already does exactly what I need it to do, and it does it faster (without having to disable a thing).
Quote this comment #27.3 Posted by kaffra on 31 Aug 2005 - 09:47
good choice

i do listen to shoutcast radio often, and winamp 5.x without the modern skin support loads very fast
Quote this comment #27.4 Posted by net-cruizer on 01 Sep 2005 - 05:47
It's hilerious how people can't understand that Winamp 5 is pretty much exactly the same as Winamp 2x, well is the same, with a few extra plugins. Remove them and you have Winamp 2x. You can even take a Winamp 2x version and throw in those plugins from Winamp 5, and you'd basicly have Winamp 5. I've used every single version of Winamp, even done lots of fiddling with the dlls and stuff. Also, what Winamp 5 is like was the same long before it actually became Winamp 5 back when it was still 2x.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #28 Posted by bush on 31 Aug 2005 - 06:08
:|
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #29 Posted by justlooking on 31 Aug 2005 - 07:05
http://www.qfile.de/dl/232482/winamp51.rar.html
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #30 Posted by Studio7designs on 31 Aug 2005 - 07:31
I really dont like winamp since i started using foobar on my laptop...

foobar is so fast, and uses nothing for ram
Quote this comment #30.1 Posted by Syphonic on 31 Aug 2005 - 08:16
That's wierd, because here they use about the same :/
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #31 Posted by maulia on 31 Aug 2005 - 08:00
I use Windows Media Player hehe
Easy to search for all my libraries, auto added to library, doesn't need to install anything (comes predefaulted)

Used to use Winamp though
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #32 Posted by Syphonic on 31 Aug 2005 - 08:21
WINAMP.COM:
The version on the servers is designated "beta 3" (but is not marked as such) and we advise people that it remains unsupported and very much not a production release.

In the meantime, while waiting for the files to be removed, we will be taking action to remove all links to the files as published on the forums to stem a multitude of reports about already known issues.

As an addendum, the files have now been taken down.

The development cycle resumes, hopefully we'll have a production version out soon.
>>>>

I wonder if the new version will be able to pry me back from iTunes.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #33 Posted by hixxydude on 31 Aug 2005 - 08:29
i got it myself now thanks to links above and no bugs here only my 5.1 refusing to play 5.1 in it.

Anyone knows a way around this contact me on kiema.peace@gmail.com

( my forum email not my main one )
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #34 Posted by Tikimotel on 31 Aug 2005 - 09:03
bug: (guess that's why it is a beta)
5.1 surround shoutcast (tuner2.com), make the User Interface state "mono", output really is 5.1surround. See the Statusscreen in Directsound config (more than 2 soundstreams are used).
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #35 Posted by amrinders87 on 31 Aug 2005 - 15:20
Downlaoding now.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #36 Posted by 905punk on 31 Aug 2005 - 19:36
<<removed>>

Last edited by 6707 on 31 Aug 2005 - 20:39
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #37 Posted by Erftek on 01 Sep 2005 - 01:59
I hope they fixed the CD ripping errors from the previous version. I'd like to use it, but the previous version always clips bad at the end of tracks.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #38 Posted by notuptome2004 on 01 Sep 2005 - 09:29
how is winamp 5.1 surroudn sound not mutch over version 2x series versions 2x series is old old
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