Winamp 5.1 Surround Sound

Yesterday, Winamp 5.1 Surround Sound edition was released. There are several notable features included in this version. I am posting the list of what's new and what's been fixed from the What's New.txt file included with any Winamp version. Here it is:

Winamp 5.1 Surround Edition:
* New: CodingTechnologies AACPlus encoder!
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

Personally, I'm having lots of fun playing with the different XM Radio stations. Granted, there aren't many of them and they are in mono, but hey, where can you hear free samples of a few XM stations at all? Also, the play list bug with screen readers (which is not the fault of screen readers), has not been fixed. This bug first appeared in Winamp 5.093 and 5.094. However, if you don't create any play lists, then this may not be a big deal to you. If you do, then just install the new version to a different directory, and either rename the shortcuts on the Desktop, or put them in different locations.

If its true that Winamp is capable of picking up podcasts, then that will be a huge boost to Winamp itself and podcasting fans. The only thing Winamp is lacking in my humble opinion is support for playing DVD's, but perhaps that's coming.

Anyway, you can get the new Winamp from the White Stick Downloads site. Enjoy!