Winamp's latest official moves have been, to say the least, disappointing. We still vividly remember the scandal surrounding its code — first with absurd restrictions, then with a blown-up issues section, and finally, with removing its presence from GitHub. However, none of that affected the Winamp Community Update Project, which offers an updated and optimized version of the classic player. Its latest beta has already been released to the public, and we downloaded a copy...
I can't deny it: I tried them all. PotPlayer, AIMP, Foobar, VLC, SMPlayer... in one way or another they passed through my computer, and I always return to the combo of MPC-HC for video, with Winamp taking care of audio. Maybe it's a combination of stubbornness and habit, but when a piece of software works and does everything you need, resistance to replacing it is much greater.
Now, there's an important detail: MPC-HC is actually a fork of the original Media Player Classic, which concluded with the 6.4.9.0 release in 2006 and received an additional build in 2010. So why not do the same with Winamp? The answer is in the Winamp Community Update Project (WACUP), and although technically it's not a fork, it offers very similar results.
A Look at the Winamp Community Update Project
How exactly does it work? WACUP uses a standard installation of Winamp 5.666 and applies a broad set of modifications, with patches and alternative plugins. Without going too far, the configuration section is full of options, and each entry deserves careful exploration. Support for modern skins has been completely updated, and among its features are custom scaling controls (in addition to the included presets), multiple color palettes, and transparencies.
But we must also talk about what didn't change, and it's good news. Classic skins, DirectSound, WASAPI, equalizer presets, everything is there. The very nature of the Winamp Community Update Project allows us to keep two separate installations of WACUP and traditional Winamp, simplifying any comparison. One of the most important examples is the interface: I personally don't usually go beyond the classic skin, but I must admit that the ability to apply a larger scale in modern skins is essential for any user with high-definition panels.
In short, if the plan is to replace Winamp but the alternatives aren't convincing enough, I think WACUP has the answer. Regardless of its beta status (which carries the possibility of bugs), it has worked very well here. The only recommendation? Install the 32-bit edition for better compatibility.
Official website and download: Click here
