AVForums

Our philosophy in our forums, reviews, podcasts and feature videos is to promote audio and visual excellence by gathering and sharing the best information and resources available.

Help

To begin please visit our help section »

Not a Member Yet?

It only takes a minute to start enjoying the benefits of AVForums membership, and it's free!

Member Log in

Software for playing music at a party

Post Reply
Old 03-07-2009, 11:45 PM   #1
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sheffield
Experience Points:
6,523, Level: 19
Points: 6,523, Level: 19 Points: 6,523, Level: 19 Points: 6,523, Level: 19
Activity: 0%
Activity: 0% Activity: 0% Activity: 0%
Thanks: Gave 192, Got 97
Posts: 1,507
Software for playing music at a party

Got a friend's house party tomorrow and, owing to having the largest library, I've been asked to compile a playlist. I have done so and now want to know what software is the best for playing the music through over 4 1/2 hours with about a 3 second overlap on the tracks and, if possible, a tamperproof interface to stop people changing the order of play.

Any recommendations?
  Quote
Old 04-07-2009, 6:41 AM   #2
Moderator
 
unique's Avatar
Join Date: Aug 2005
Experience Points:
18,504, Level: 32
Points: 18,504, Level: 32 Points: 18,504, Level: 32 Points: 18,504, Level: 32
Activity: 5.7%
Activity: 5.7% Activity: 5.7% Activity: 5.7%
Thanks: Gave 51, Got 1,110
Posts: 8,402
Re: Software for playing music at a party

winamp is good for making giant playlists and you can add/remove/change order as it plays. you can also get plugins that do the simple crossover you want

as for stopping people changing it, if you can "lock" the computer, like when you log out, it should keep playing. i'm not sure how easy it is to do that on a home pc/laptop though. you could maybe play with the screensaver as you can set it to that and need a password to bring the pc out of the screensaver
  Quote
Thanks from:
Astraeus (04-07-2009)
Old 04-07-2009, 7:59 AM   #3
Prominent Member
 
Scholes18's Avatar
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Republic Of Mancunia
Experience Points:
8,335, Level: 21
Points: 8,335, Level: 21 Points: 8,335, Level: 21 Points: 8,335, Level: 21
Activity: 4.9%
Activity: 4.9% Activity: 4.9% Activity: 4.9%
Blog Entries: 25
Thanks: Gave 109, Got 229
Posts: 3,179
Re: Software for playing music at a party

Not sure if it still does ( as it doesnt play well with itunes wich i need for the phone ) but it used to have a crossfader built into the player which could be adjusted within the preferences..

And its free..
  Quote
Thanks from:
Astraeus (04-07-2009)
Old 04-07-2009, 9:23 AM   #4
Prominent Member
 
Chadford's Avatar
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Headingley
Experience Points:
7,662, Level: 20
Points: 7,662, Level: 20 Points: 7,662, Level: 20 Points: 7,662, Level: 20
Activity: 0.4%
Activity: 0.4% Activity: 0.4% Activity: 0.4%
Thanks: Gave 577, Got 742
Posts: 3,416
Re: Software for playing music at a party

Try MediaMonkey....

MediaMonkey » Free Media Jukebox, Music Manager, CD Ripper & Converter

It has 'Crossfade' and also a 'Party Mode' that can be configured for all sorts of levels of access including 'Lockdown' (I think that's what you're looking for).

Oh.. and its free.
  Quote
Thanks from:
Astraeus (04-07-2009)
Old 04-07-2009, 9:49 AM   #5
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sheffield
Experience Points:
6,523, Level: 19
Points: 6,523, Level: 19 Points: 6,523, Level: 19 Points: 6,523, Level: 19
Activity: 0%
Activity: 0% Activity: 0% Activity: 0%
Thanks: Gave 192, Got 97
Posts: 1,507
Re: Software for playing music at a party

I've already got both Winamp and MediaMonkey on my PC so I'll start having a toy around with them and figuring it out then. I could remember a Party Mode on one of them - it must have been MM.

In MM, do you know how to set Party Mode so the only thing displaying is the Now Playing window and not the list of folders to the left?

Last edited by Astraeus; 04-07-2009 at 9:53 AM.
  Quote
Old 04-07-2009, 9:55 AM   #6
Member
Join Date: Aug 2000
Experience Points:
15,598, Level: 30
Points: 15,598, Level: 30 Points: 15,598, Level: 30 Points: 15,598, Level: 30
Activity: 0.8%
Activity: 0.8% Activity: 0.8% Activity: 0.8%
Thanks: Gave 393, Got 344
Posts: 5,574
Re: Software for playing music at a party

Would 1 CD full of MP3/WMA files set on random not do the job?
  Quote
Old 04-07-2009, 10:27 AM   #7
Prominent Member
 
Chadford's Avatar
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Headingley
Experience Points:
7,662, Level: 20
Points: 7,662, Level: 20 Points: 7,662, Level: 20 Points: 7,662, Level: 20
Activity: 0.4%
Activity: 0.4% Activity: 0.4% Activity: 0.4%
Thanks: Gave 577, Got 742
Posts: 3,416
Re: Software for playing music at a party

Quote:
Originally Posted by Astraeus View Post
In MM, do you know how to set Party Mode so the only thing displaying is the Now Playing window and not the list of folders to the left?
I've not used MM 'Party Mode' before so I'm not sure exactly what you can do with it, however to configure it...

Tools -> Options -> (under 'General') Party Mode

...gives you all sorts of options

To toggle 'Party Mode' on off...

CTRL + ALT + M

There you go...

Last edited by Chadford; 04-07-2009 at 10:32 AM.
  Quote
Old 04-07-2009, 10:44 AM   #8
Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Northampton
Experience Points:
2,555, Level: 11
Points: 2,555, Level: 11 Points: 2,555, Level: 11 Points: 2,555, Level: 11
Activity: 0%
Activity: 0% Activity: 0% Activity: 0%
Thanks: Gave 111, Got 79
Posts: 687
Re: Software for playing music at a party

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chadford View Post
Try MediaMonkey....

MediaMonkey » Free Media Jukebox, Music Manager, CD Ripper & Converter

It has 'Crossfade' and also a 'Party Mode' that can be configured for all sorts of levels of access including 'Lockdown' (I think that's what you're looking for).

Oh.. and its free.
Crossfade, sounds interesting. Damn, it's Windows only (Mac owner here).
  Quote
Old 04-07-2009, 12:00 PM   #9
Conspicuous Member
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Norwich
Experience Points:
37,374, Level: 47
Points: 37,374, Level: 47 Points: 37,374, Level: 47 Points: 37,374, Level: 47
Activity: 28.0%
Activity: 28.0% Activity: 28.0% Activity: 28.0%
Thanks: Gave 4,650, Got 1,519
Posts: 9,555
Exclamation Re: Software for playing music at a party

Hi,

Quote:
Originally Posted by RMCF View Post
Would 1 CD full of MP3/WMA files set on random not do the job?
A standard CD disc wouldn't be able to store enough music (if the OP meant having enough music to fill 4-hours worth of party time, with no songs being repeated) on it, either in MP3, WMA or standard audio track format, unless they were so severly compressed, that they would be worse than listening to old mix cassettes, from the 1980's! A CD can only hold about 70-minutes of actual music, or a max of about 690mb of data.


Pooch
  Quote
Old 04-07-2009, 1:52 PM   #10
Member
Join Date: Aug 2000
Experience Points:
15,598, Level: 30
Points: 15,598, Level: 30 Points: 15,598, Level: 30 Points: 15,598, Level: 30
Activity: 0.8%
Activity: 0.8% Activity: 0.8% Activity: 0.8%
Thanks: Gave 393, Got 344
Posts: 5,574
Re: Software for playing music at a party

Quote:
Originally Posted by PoochJD View Post
Hi,



A standard CD disc wouldn't be able to store enough music (if the OP meant having enough music to fill 4-hours worth of party time, with no songs being repeated) on it, either in MP3, WMA or standard audio track format, unless they were so severly compressed, that they would be worse than listening to old mix cassettes, from the 1980's! A CD can only hold about 70-minutes of actual music, or a max of about 690mb of data.


Pooch
My maths was based on MP3 files I have, which all tend to be around 5mb each.

So 1 single CD would hold 138 songs/tracks.

IF each song/track lasts 4mins, thats 552mins, which is over 9hrs running time.
  Quote
Thanks from:
PoochJD (04-07-2009)
Old 04-07-2009, 3:04 PM   #11
Member
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Rapture
Experience Points:
11,048, Level: 25
Points: 11,048, Level: 25 Points: 11,048, Level: 25 Points: 11,048, Level: 25
Activity: 0.9%
Activity: 0.9% Activity: 0.9% Activity: 0.9%
Thanks: Gave 271, Got 294
Posts: 3,952
Re: Software for playing music at a party

Quote:
Originally Posted by PoochJD View Post
Hi,



A standard CD disc wouldn't be able to store enough music (if the OP meant having enough music to fill 4-hours worth of party time, with no songs being repeated) on it, either in MP3, WMA or standard audio track format, unless they were so severly compressed, that they would be worse than listening to old mix cassettes, from the 1980's! A CD can only hold about 70-minutes of actual music, or a max of about 690mb of data.


Pooch
Next time you play an mp3, take a look at the file size.

Now bear in mind that 700megs can be stored on a CDR.

You should be easily able to get 9-10 hours of music onto a CD in mp3 format. I know that when I was using them in my car I was able to get 12-15 albums in mp3 format per recordable CD.
  Quote
Thanks from:
PoochJD (04-07-2009)
Old 04-07-2009, 3:28 PM   #12
Conspicuous Member
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Norwich
Experience Points:
37,374, Level: 47
Points: 37,374, Level: 47 Points: 37,374, Level: 47 Points: 37,374, Level: 47
Activity: 28.0%
Activity: 28.0% Activity: 28.0% Activity: 28.0%
Thanks: Gave 4,650, Got 1,519
Posts: 9,555
Red face Re: Software for playing music at a party

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for their corrections. Apologies too.


Pooch
  Quote
Old 05-07-2009, 2:25 AM   #13
Ex Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Experience Points:
32,091, Level: 43
Points: 32,091, Level: 43 Points: 32,091, Level: 43 Points: 32,091, Level: 43
Activity: 0%
Activity: 0% Activity: 0% Activity: 0%
Thanks: Gave 116, Got 658
Posts: 14,130
Re: Software for playing music at a party

I usually make my own music software, and SFX for parties.
  Quote
Old 05-07-2009, 5:31 AM   #14
Distinguished Member
 
Uridium's Avatar
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: North West Leicestershire
Experience Points:
33,176, Level: 44
Points: 33,176, Level: 44 Points: 33,176, Level: 44 Points: 33,176, Level: 44
Activity: 22.3%
Activity: 22.3% Activity: 22.3% Activity: 22.3%
Thanks: Gave 527, Got 1,810
Posts: 13,859
Re: Software for playing music at a party

The Free VidZone service on the PS3 if you have one
  Quote
Old 05-07-2009, 10:06 AM   #15
Prominent Member
 
Toasty's Avatar
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Staffs
Experience Points:
11,023, Level: 25
Points: 11,023, Level: 25 Points: 11,023, Level: 25 Points: 11,023, Level: 25
Activity: 13.6%
Activity: 13.6% Activity: 13.6% Activity: 13.6%
Thanks: Gave 341, Got 375
Posts: 4,924
Re: Software for playing music at a party

I did this recently and my tip is to use Winamp to not only construct your play list, but to also analyse your playlist for volumes. It will then tag each mp3 with a volume value that is used on playback so you don't get any jumps in volume between tracks.

This may not be so relevant if your playlist is all new music, however, I had a lot of early CD rips in mine and the production, volume levels on some of the earlier album tracks were noticeably lower until I did the above.

Oh, and as a bonus, my creative Zen also supports the volume tag
  Quote
Post Reply



Thread information and display options
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off