Giant Pygmy Audio : Software Players & Databases Test Results

Recommended Player/Database: foobar2000

Though it's possible to spend more time configuring foobar2000 than actually listening to music on it, if used as a straight player much of the configuration hassles can be avoided. Leaving a very powerful player with a heap of very useful features and utilities (particularly for musicians, audio professionals and enthusiasts) such as its ABX Comparator, format converter, file operations, playlist and tagging capabilities.

foobar2000 is a component-based player, with the foobar2000 core (foobar2000.exe) hosting optional components (.dll files). It's these additional components that make foobar2000 an extremely flexible and extensible program. In addition to this there are 2 available user interfaces (UIs): The Default UI (DUI), which is part of the core program; and Columns UI (CUI) which is an optional third party component.

foobar2000 has it's own scripting language (called Title Formatting) which can be used for renaming files based on tags and visa versa, displaying song/technical info in any way imaginable, defining naming conventions/destinations for outputted encoded files, and defining sort patterns. Title Formatting allows the user to define what information appears in each column and how that column will sort (when clicked on). So this allows users to display and sort songs differently depending on, for example genre.

foobar2000 makes extensive use of the context (right-click) menu. If you get stuck or can't find an option, the general rule is "right-click". This is the reason why foobar2000's main menu remains uncluttered relative to most other players. Use of the context menu means that only relevant options are presented to the user.

So what all this means is that foobar2000 can be a very lightweight yet powerful player, database, converter and tagger, and it can also be made to look fancy with lots of display options and additional functions (see screenshots below). What's so good about foobar2000 is that almost all of these choices are left to the user.

Getting started

A good way to approach setting up foobar2000:

Be very clear about what you want foobar2000 to do, and how you want foobar2000 to do it.
Assume foobar2000 will be able to do it (even if you can't get it to at the moment).
Check if this function is already provided by the core program, or whether you'll need a specific component for the task.
If you get stuck, ask on the official foobar2000 forum at Hydrogen Audio.

Below is a list of helpful resources:

Lastly ...

Configuring the various elements under "preferences" looks more daunting than it actually is. It does take a little while but the pain really is worth it.

Finally, here's a thread on the foobar2000 forum where fb2k users explain why they prefer foobar2000 over other players.

Screenshots

A simple Columns UI setup:

A simple Columns UI setup with the Album Art Panel component:

An advanced Default UI setup, with multiple view options:

An advanced Columns UI setup, with multiple view options:

Miscellaneous add-ons: The VU Player developer has created a couple of nice add-ons: VU Meter (a standalone analog VU Meter for monitoring sound levels, more eye-candy than anything) and VU Recorder (a simple audio capture tool with timed recording and file splitting features which supports direct encoding to Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WMA & WAV formats). These can be downloaded from the VU Player site.

Previous pages in this sub-section:

For a brief summary of all the software (editing, encoding, tagging etc.) recommended in the Play (Listening) Section click here.



			> home > play > software players & databases > test results & conclusions
	Play (Listening) TRANSFER ENCODE TAG GAIN PLAY SUMMARY Related Information RECORD PAUSE (analysis) GiantPygmy.net BLOG (HOME)		SOFTWARE PLAYER/DATABASE: Test Results & Conclusions Recommended Player/Database: foobar2000 Though it's possible to spend more time configuring foobar2000 than actually listening to music on it, if used as a straight player much of the configuration hassles can be avoided. Leaving a very powerful player with a heap of very useful features and utilities (particularly for musicians, audio professionals and enthusiasts) such as its ABX Comparator, format converter, file operations, playlist and tagging capabilities. foobar2000 is a component-based player, with the foobar2000 core (foobar2000.exe) hosting optional components (.dll files). It's these additional components that make foobar2000 an extremely flexible and extensible program. In addition to this there are 2 available user interfaces (UIs): The Default UI (DUI), which is part of the core program; and Columns UI (CUI) which is an optional third party component. foobar2000 has it's own scripting language (called Title Formatting) which can be used for renaming files based on tags and visa versa, displaying song/technical info in any way imaginable, defining naming conventions/destinations for outputted encoded files, and defining sort patterns. Title Formatting allows the user to define what information appears in each column and how that column will sort (when clicked on). So this allows users to display and sort songs differently depending on, for example genre. foobar2000 makes extensive use of the context (right-click) menu. If you get stuck or can't find an option, the general rule is "right-click". This is the reason why foobar2000's main menu remains uncluttered relative to most other players. Use of the context menu means that only relevant options are presented to the user. So what all this means is that foobar2000 can be a very lightweight yet powerful player, database, converter and tagger, and it can also be made to look fancy with lots of display options and additional functions (see screenshots below). What's so good about foobar2000 is that almost all of these choices are left to the user. Getting started A good way to approach setting up foobar2000: Be very clear about what you want foobar2000 to do, and how you want foobar2000 to do it. Assume foobar2000 will be able to do it (even if you can't get it to at the moment). Check if this function is already provided by the core program, or whether you'll need a specific component for the task. If you get stuck, ask on the official foobar2000 forum at Hydrogen Audio. Below is a list of helpful resources: foobar2000.org (official site) Offical foobar2000 forum at Hydrogen Audio foobar2000 wiki at Hydrogen Audio List of foobar2000 components Title formatting reference page Lastly ... Configuring the various elements under "preferences" looks more daunting than it actually is. It does take a little while but the pain really is worth it. Finally, here's a thread on the foobar2000 forum where fb2k users explain why they prefer foobar2000 over other players. Screenshots A simple Columns UI setup: A simple Columns UI setup with the Album Art Panel component: An advanced Default UI setup, with multiple view options: An advanced Columns UI setup, with multiple view options: Miscellaneous add-ons: The VU Player developer has created a couple of nice add-ons: VU Meter (a standalone analog VU Meter for monitoring sound levels, more eye-candy than anything) and VU Recorder (a simple audio capture tool with timed recording and file splitting features which supports direct encoding to Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WMA & WAV formats). These can be downloaded from the VU Player site. Previous pages in this sub-section: Tested Freeware Audio Players & Test Criteria Tested Music Library/Database Freeware & Test Criteria For a brief summary of all the software (editing, encoding, tagging etc.) recommended in the Play (Listening) Section click here.
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