iTunes 11 has been completely redesigned from the ground up. Development of iTunes has been stagnant the last few years so Apple needs to get this one right. Has Apple nailed it or is the new iTunes a mess? Read on to find out.
The interface of iTunes has been completely re-imagined. Everything is simpler and space is better utilized. In the previous version of iTunes, there was a persistent bar on the left where you can access playlists, albums, devices, and more. While it provided quick access to those features, most users didn't use them most of the time. Apple has scrapped this and has made the default album view take up the entire window.

Browsing by album is a pleasure. Click on an album and the tracks will show up below. iTunes also analyzes the color of album artwork to create a colored background for each individual album. It works well for the most part but the effect blurs the album art around the edges.

New in iTunes 11 is the "Up Next" feature, which is basically a fancy name for your queue. Add songs to your queue from wherever you are in the interface. You don't need to manage a playlist to arrange and rearrange the tracks to your liking.

Creating playlists is much improved. Instead of having to jump in and out a playlist to add and arrange tracks, playlists now have a dedicated pane on the right where you can manipulate tracks without having to jump around the program.

iCloud integration has also been tightened. Every track you've bought in iTunes will now show up in your music library, whether or not it has been downloaded. Click on it to download the album. User can now also stream directly from the cloud instead of having to download the track first. This also applies to all your TV and movies that were purchased in iTunes. There's also a dedicated tab for iTunes Match, Apple's music matching service to make all of your tracks available across devices, if they're available in the iTunes store.

The iTunes store has also gone through a redesign with featured content up top. Top lists are still there and are easier to browse. iTunes 11 will also allow you to access the iTunes store content from your music library, suggesting similar artists and tracks, without having to take you to the iTunes store.

The mini player has also been completely redesigned and is actually useful now. The mini player has gotten smaller but utilizes that small space much better than previous versions. Player controls will show up with you hover your mouse over the mini player. There's access to search and your Up Next queue can be manipulated from the mini player.

Devices now show up as a button at the top right. Clicking on it will take you to a detailed page where you can manage everything. Choose what you want synced, manage your apps, and even play music directly from your iOS device. Everything is easier to read and comprehend in the device tab.

The only thing missing from iTunes 11 is a music streaming service. iCloud gives users the ability to download tracks locally but not stream them. There is no subscription service in iTunes to compete with the likes of Spotify, Rdio, and Xbox Music. It's only matter of time before Apple releases its own music subscription service but it's disappointing that Apple didn't release it with iTunes 11.

iTunes is still one of the best media players around. It has gotten easier to use, feels less bloated, but is still missing a music subscription service.

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iTunes 11 has been completely redesigned from the ground up. Development of iTunes has been stagnant the last few years so Apple needs to get this one right. Has Apple nailed it or is the new iTunes a mess? Read on to find out.

Features

iCloud integration has also been tightened. Every track you've bought in iTunes will now show up in your music library, whether or not it has been downloaded. Click on it to download the album. User can now also stream directly from the cloud instead of having to download the track first. This also applies to all your TV and movies that were purchased in iTunes. There's also a dedicated tab for iTunes Match, Apple's music matching service to make all of your tracks available across devices, if they're available in the iTunes store.

The iTunes store has also gone through a redesign with featured content up top. Top lists are still there and are easier to browse. iTunes 11 will also allow you to access the iTunes store content from your music library, suggesting similar artists and tracks, without having to take you to the iTunes store.

Usability

New in iTunes 11 is the "Up Next" feature, which is basically a fancy name for your queue. Add songs to your queue from wherever you are in the interface. You don't need to manage a playlist to arrange and rearrange the tracks to your liking.

Creating playlists is much improved. Instead of having to jump in and out a playlist to add and arrange tracks, playlists now have a dedicated pane on the right where you can manipulate tracks without having to jump around the program.

The mini player has also been completely redesigned and is actually useful now. The mini player has gotten smaller but utilizes that small space much better than previous versions. Player controls will show up with you hover your mouse over the mini player. There's access to search and your Up Next queue can be manipulated from the mini player.

Devices now show up as a button at the top right. Clicking on it will take you to a detailed page where you can manage everything. Choose what you want synced, manage your apps, and even play music directly from your iOS device. Everything is easier to read and comprehend in the device tab.

Quality

Conclusion

Download iTunes 11.0.3 in Softonic

Features

Version 2 ("Twoflower") brings a new interface, faster decoding, support for more formats and the ability to play HD and BluRay. It still remains however the most stable, flexible and lightweight audio and video player around today. While other media players will play unusual formats after downloading a codec, or simply refuse to play things,

VLC media player handles tons of formats, from MPEG to FLV and RMBV files. Version 2 has seen some important additions too such as support for 10 bit codes plus multi-threaded decoding for H.264, MPEG-4/Xvid and WebM.

Also useful is the fact that you can use VLC media player to preview files you are downloading since it plays incomplete parts of video files. VLC media player is not just for video playback however. It also offers superb integration with video channel streaming services such as Channels.com giving you access to channels such as ESPN, Reuters and National Geographic. Just right-click or CMD-click on the playlist, select Services Discovery and Channels.com.

Channels.com will then appear in your VLC media player playlist. Click on it to reveal the the different categories of channels available. Click on the category you want and a drop down list of all available channels appears in VLC media player. Just click on the channel you want to watch and streaming should begin almost immediately.

Usability

VLC media player also has great hotkey support and if you take the time to learn the shortcuts so it can be controlled without touching your mouse. If you're watching DVDs or video files through it, this is not an issue. For music, it plays more or less any file and features an equalizer and playlist creation. VLC media player isn't as intuitive as iTunes as a media manager, but it's a much more flexible player in terms of file formats. You can even use VLC to convert your files, and on top of all the formats and physical media it will play, many streaming protocols and TV capture cards are supported.

VLC media player makes it easy to add subtitles to your video files too - just add the SRT file to the folder where your video is kept, and it will automatically play with subtitles.

Finally, the interface in VLC media player has been somewhat improved in version 2 although it remains strictly functional. However, you can download skins to completely change VLC media player's appearance. The preferences menu is comprehensive without being overwhelming, and there is extensive documentation online.

Conclusion

VLC Media Player is quite simply the best multimedia application for Windows and Mac. It plays just about anything, hassle free - what more could you need?

What's new

Rework and fixes of the Mac OS X interface

Fix Pulseaudio initial synchronization

Fix MKV, SWF, AIFF and subtitles demuxer crashes

Translations updates and new Welsh translation

DVB-S delivery system detection

Fix audio and video track selection through libVLC

Fix system sleep issue on Mac OS X 10.5

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Complete mixer with crossfade between two tracks. Real time equalization per load with mute Integrated Automix. Automatic syncronization between the decks based on BPM Automatic Beat Detection Three effects per load (Echo, Flanger, Wha). Three memory banks pero load for CUE points or Loops. Three samples per load. Auto Loop from ¼ to 32 Beats. Scratch with an integrated wheel. Advanced traklist with two levels (Explorer and / or Playlist). Resizable to the end of the screen. Ultra-fast "Search" to scan your music library. Complete Audio Set Up (include Audio Support). Customize DJ ProDecks: Put your name into the Skin. Supported Files: MP3, MP2, MP1, WAV, OGG, AIFF, WMA, FLA, AAC.

Designed by DJs. Easy to use. Advanced features. Freeware without activation. New and attractive Multi-Wheel Good integration of the music library. Recording. You can mix for yourself with professional features (Autoloop Effects, Sampler), but also you can use Automix fuction with Shuffle and Multi-List. Customize your skin with your name or some text (max 15 characters)

The target of use is an universal user, normally music fan who wants to mix their songs without cost.

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On the surface, iMesh looks polished and easy to use. The program features a tab bar that gives you access to different areas: Library, with all the media stored on your computer; Home, which is the main screen on iMesh; Search, where you can find, download and buy music and video; Discover, a tool do find new artists and music genres; and finally DJ, which plays music you may like based on a song or band of your choice.

The iMesh community is a great place to make friends, exchange messages and also share media libraries. You can also upload photos to your profile, and send songs over to friends. On the downside, we missed a bit more integration with other social services such as Twitter or Facebook.

iMesh also includes a powerful built-in player for audio and video – featuring a 10-band equalizer – plus a built-in CD burner to create custom media CD and DVD on the spot.

iMesh is a complete P2P client with which you can discover new bands, buy the music you like and make new friends.

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- Built in tempo adaptive metronome - Shift up/down/left/right current remix sequence to explore new remixes - pause the audio playback

- Unique Slice Matrix: Innovative concept of playing with sample loops on a slice level - No need for manual editing (LoopJam automatically slices the loop into beat synchronous segments) - Automatic remix generation

LoopJam is intended for people who want to play with their music (not just listen to it). Intended users include musicians, djs, music producers, remixers, ...

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If you're looking for something a little bit more intuitive when it comes to building playlists for iTunes and your iPod then you might be impressed with that beaTunes can do.

beaTunes works by analyzing the songs in your existing iTunes library and then correcting discrepancies such as double entries, incorrectly labeled songs and artists, misplaced genres and much more. When you run the library inspector on startup, it will display the errors or problems it has found and then ask you how many of them you'd like to correct. In the trial version, you can't make any corrections but you can see what's wrong with your collection.

beaTunes can also auto organize playlists by such things as genre, rating and even beats per minute. It could be regarded as a virtual DJ although as with all apps like these, some of the suggestions and mixes it will make will inevitably be a bit dodgy. beaTunes goes beyond what you've got installed on your Mac though, and interacts with both the iTunes store and Amazon database. This allows you to discover albums related to your music that you might not have heard or just follow the Amazon charts. The Amazon charts take a little while to load but you're presented with a thumbnail of each album currently in it plus you can divide the charts into genres too.

beaTunes is a nice little application that could help clean up your iTunes collection and introduce you to new music.

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Xthree Skin features: Professional dj mixer looking, animated, full-featured equalizer Presets in equalizer with ability to save and load them Equalizer fullscreen mode with controls for touchscreen user interface Transparency Comfortable control hotkeys Opportunity to play videos with 1 frame step Steady seek step calculated as a percentage of the duration Buttons for rewinding and fast forwarding Skip playing mode for fast media preview Skin is resizeable and has alernative fullscreen mode in maximized state Mouse cursor over video automatically hides after 2 seconds Album art view mode with DVD/Blu-ray covers support Tooltips with multi-language support

It is more than just a change of appearance, standard player logic was totally recoded. So it is easy to say that this is next version of Media Player.

This skin can be used by users who use Windows Media Player on the daily basis and those who have never used Windows Media Player, because default interface is very difficult in use.

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Blaze supports most of the features you will find in a professional DJ Software. This makes it attractive as a free alternative to commercial Software. So it is easier for newcomer getting involved into the world of DJing and professional DJs don't feal restricted because of its functionality. Because Blaze is developed continuously further, there will be a lot of updates with new functions and improvements, that keep Blaze up to date.

Blaze is a DJ Software for everyone. Newcomer are able to enjoy their hobby without expensive investments and without getting overextended by the user interface. As well as professionals will get happy with its plenty of functions.

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CloudDeck is written on the Adobe Air platform so this app will work across systems. It's a good media streamer that lets you search SoundCloud's huge database of songs. As is the case with Soundcloud, the quality of songs uploaded by artists vary. If you're looking to stream songs by a particular mainstream artist, this app isn't for you. If instead you want to discover undiscovered artists and DJs remixing songs, then CloudDeck is great!

While the main function of CloudDeck is to serve you music, it adds social media integration with Facebook and Twitter. If you find an interesting song that you want to share, you can click the Facebook or Twitter icon at the top of the application to share it with your friends or followers. You can also find and follow artists within CloudDeck. Following an artist will automatically deliver their new tracks to your feed.

Users can also use CloudDeck's search feature to find new music. There's options to search by artist, user, or group. Searching by group is interesting as it allows you to find groups of people who have similar tastes in music as you.

In use, we found CloudDeck to be a bit unstable and searching was more of a miss than a hit. A few of our searches returned no results and for some searches that did yield results, they weren't very relevant. Also disappointing is inability to upload your own tracks directly from the application, although you can download tracks from other artists if they allow it, but it will open up a browser to get the link.

Overall, CloudDeck has some great ideas to make Soundcloud more social, but its developers need to work on stability and usability.

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BPM Studio is a popular choice among Softonic users which might be down to the wealth of possibilities available in this music mixer. This application will allow you to read, edit, mix, encode and write your tracks with precision.

DJs and music fans alike will appreciate the hardware look of the interface and the inclusion of all the essential buttons and functions expected in a professional mixer. It’s very easy to switch between the 3 different views: lists, mixer and ripper, streamlining your music creation process without disruptions.

Thankfully BPM Studio Pro integrates an explorer view of your music library, for quick dragging and dropping of the tracks you need. Although the application only comes with 30 original sounds and tracks you can effortlessly add all the sound you need. The program keeps a record of the tracks you searched for and the play lists you created for quick access. You can use the search function to quickly find tracks in library.

Over to the editing functions, BPM Studio lets you set up to 6 different cue points in an individual track. The sample player is nestled between the two track modules and features a sample editor to modify saved sounds. Use the wave editing view to edit more precisely.

BPM Studio also diversifies your cross fading possibilities. You can manually switch from one track to the other, let the program do it automatically or set the track lines yourself. While this last option is the most enjoyable, it’s also the least precise of the three.

On the downside, while BPM Studio is studded with options for editing, mixing and writing, the interface often feels stuffy and overloaded and it can become difficult to read functions or drag counter switches. The equalizer for example is very complete and even offers a graphic view, yet there is no numerical indication of the changes you are making.

The audio presets are limited to 5 (lounge, DJ, party, office, radio) vague choices. We also believe that with only 30 sounds and tracks pre-included in the program, BPM Studio doesn’t have a rich enough library of sounds. However this is very subjective and it’s quite possible that you will be happy with this collection of tracks and sounds.

While there are some drawbacks to this application, we consider BPM Studio a solid application for anyone serious about mixing tracks. The interface is well structured and all your tracks, edits and functions are accessible. The extensive editing possibilities will open you up to hours of track tweaking and polishing.

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G-Force includes a host of impressive features such as anti-aliased effects, millions of effect combinations, savable and scriptable effects and video file export capabilities. You can also customize and extend G-Force in various ways.

G-Force is basically a mathematical application which takes sounds and turns them into images. It makes an impressive piece of eye-candy but with one drawback. You have to pay an annual subscription to keep using it which will no doubt put off many users. It's therefore probably more appealing to professional DJs and other performance artists that need a visual display to accompany music.

G-Force is an impressive application but will probably appeal more to professionals than general users.

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This new software is as easy to use as our CDJ turntables, and it offers many of the same features including cue/loop points, scratching, beat synchronization, and more, said Karl Detken, director of product planning for Pro DJ equipment at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. Pioneer has consistently created new DJ products to meet changes in the music world. When consumers switched from vinyl and cassette to CD, we offered the CDJ-1000 CD turntable. When DVD took off in the marketplace, we created the DVJ-X1 to enable spinning of video content. Now, we’re tracking market trends in the use of .mp3 files and offering yet another revolutionary new product for PC users.

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Features: New Dj Automix System, 5 Differents types of Mix, 18 Dj Direct Access Effects, Plug In Support, Multi-Language Support, Music Maker, Song Advice, Encoder / Decoder MP3, Cd Ripper, Dj Sample Mix, Skin support, and mucho more.

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This tool runs on most common Windows operating systems and supports all major formats such as DirectShow and mp1200 console. E-mix Pro displays audio and video play-back and has players such as monitor-player and jingle-player.

This tool also has a playlist, and database. With e-mix Pro, you can auto-mix, produce effects, equalize, mix, record and rip. This product offers a wave and beat-grid view.

It also provides video support, a navigator and a multilingual skin. With every feature you have multiple options to produce a professional sound for mp3 lovers, new DJs, bars, small discos or any venue that wants to mix sound without a large financial investment.

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You can add new categories and customize the database easilyEasily create custom reports as you need. Great for collectors, DJs, and radio stations.

This is the NETWORK version used when multiple computers will share the same datebase and add/edit at the same times. Single computer version is for use on one computer.

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In your creative phase, you won`t have to do more than load your grooves into your sequencer (Cubase, Logic, Digital Performer, ProTools) and let yourself be inspired.

Mixing more grooves you`ll get new, unique sounds. Metropolis is right for all musicians and DJs wanting to experiment. Listen to the demo and you`ll personally realize the potential of these grooves.

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This is a piece of audio editing software that has many features, but it's not hard to use, especially as you can add and test effects in real time. AV Music Morpher Gold has lots of effects to explore, from the ridiculous like 'Merry Doggy' to the more useful like 'Reverb'. It's very easy to turn effects on and off, although timing can be tricky.

There's also a wave editor, so you can cut and join tracks. It's pretty basic, and not up to the standard of Audacity. The AV Music Morpher Gold interface is pretty simple, but has a very old fashioned skin. AV Music Morpher Gold really does look ten years old, and the lack of drag-and-drop support makes this feel even clunkier than it looks.

AV Music Morpher Gold does many things, but none of them well enough. There is much better DJ software available, much better music managers, and audio editors too. This jack of all trades applications needs more focus and an interface overhaul to bring it up to date.

If you're looking for a simple way to add strange effects to your music, AV Music Morpher Gold does just that. Unfortunately it's a bit too basic, and pretty ugly to boot!

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You can also be the DJ and at any time click a mp3 on music list playing it. features are: Easy to use. Music non stop, computer plays new songs randomly.

At any time you can play a song you like by clicking it on mp3 list, be the DJ of you party. You can pause or repeat a song using buttons. Track and volume control.

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