foobar2000: The ultimate Windows audio file player
To make sure you have the most functional and up-to-date version of foobar2000, head to the
foobar 2000 blogsite and download the newest installer. For SHN support and a plethora of other plugins, download the Special Installer. For a list of extra addons you can install (it's as easy as dropping a .dll in the plugins folder), check out the
foobar 2000 3rd Party Plugins Page
Note: You may become frustrated with the default playlist window as it's very dull. The special installer includes something called Columns UI as a replacement playlist window interface. I highly recommend using this as it is rich in customizability and viewing features. The screenshot below uses the Columns UI interface.
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foobar2000 is the ultimate audio media player for the Windows platform. It has a rather utilitarian interface and lacks many of the resource-sucking graphical features of it's competitors. The list of features that it does have, however, should make all of the commercial players out there embarassed. The open API license for foobar2000 permits users to create plugins for features that may be missing from the default installation, and thus the amount of features available for this player is only limited by the resourcefulness of it's userbase.
For lossless audio traders, this program is a godsend. Here's a list of the advantages this program has over any other media player out there:
- Small footprint, runs smoothly on virtually any system.
- Plain but simple, fully customizable interface.
- Plays FLAC, SHN, APE, WAV, AIFF, MP3, OGG, AAC, etc, etc, etc.
- Convenient masstagger feaute works as an id3, id3v2, Vorbis, and APE tagging utility.
- Customizable user interface allows the viewing or sorting by of any tag, standard or non-standard.
- Fully customizable database feature allows you to setup your own way of viewing your files.
- Open API with a huge community of developers creating helpful plugins.
- Plays everything you need, right "out of the box", without having difficult plugins to install.
- Dynamic creation of seektables for SHN files without them. Never worry about seeking again!
- (the list goes on and on!)
This program takes some persistence to get the hang of, but don't give up on it. Once you get used to the interface, play with some of the third party plugins, and realize just how powerful customizable this program is, you'll never go back. If you need help with setting this program up or want some help writing custom display strings, check out
the hydrogenaudio.org official foobar2000 forums. If you need further assistance with this program, please don't hesitate to email me.
And now, for a gratuitous screenshot of the fully customizable music database browser:
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