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AmigaAmp3 v3.4 with SmartAMP Skin
Program Tab:
"Scan Method" = "No Scan". (Guru will appear loading multiple files if not off.)
Visualization Tab:
"Mode" = "Off" (Just not enough CPU power for visualations while playing.)
System Tab / Task Priorities: (To make Workbench usable while playing.)
"Main" = "1"
"Playback = "1"
With these setting, audio can be played with the interface remaining responsive, but you can't run any other programs that need a lot of CPU time.
TuneNet v2.18 (28.6.2022)
It runs pretty well on the A1222 Plus and only uses about 8% CPU resources when just using the default GUI. Unfortunately it raised to ~22% CPU usage when using the "SkinFX Display" or "AmiDoc Display" modes. When using both at the same time the CPU usage goes to ~32%. Note that even at this usage, the systems GUI is usable and other programs can be run just fine. This is with the task priorities set to 0 for the GUI and 4 for the Player.
DAPlayer v1.14
I'll start with DAPlayer. It's one that I have tried briefly on my X1000 and at first glance it did fine playing mp3 files, but I didn't see anything special about it. However, when trying on the A1222 Plus, I discovered it has some nice features that can be very useful. Not only can it play a variety of formats but by setting environment variables and using the appropriate libraries it can play directly from audio CD's, play midi files, and stream files from the internet. In addition, you can also set a volume level which is used before playing each file to equalize the volume between different files. Unfortunately, the documentation is a bit lacking, so it's not always clear how to setup some of these features. Note that you will need to download some libraries, including id3tag, mpega, codesets, and digibooster3, to get full functionality. This is not mentioned in the documentation, but is noted in the download readme file, so make sure you download that as well. DAPlayer supports the following formats: mp3, aiff, wav, flac, ogg, CDDA raw data, midi, dbm, mod, s3m and xm. It will also support streaming from the internet with AMISSL is installed.
DAPlayer works well on the A1222 Plus and used about 8-10% cpu time when playing mp3 files. I don't have a CD in my A1222 Plus, so I wasn't able to test that feature. But I have tried in on my X1000 and it seems to work well.
RNOTunes v1.1
RNOTunes runs well on the A1222 Plus and it's nice that the required plugins are included in the archive. I've moved the plugins to the libs Holleywood directory, so they aren't duplicated on my system. RNOTunes interfaced is adjustable from showing just a volume control, position gadget and player controls, to displaying album covers, song information, lyrics and more. It only uses ~3% of the CPU, which is the lowest of all these players.
SongPlayer v1.64
SongPlayer runs quite well and uses ~ 5% of the cpu, which is the second lowest of this group of players. Its interface uses MUI so it's nothing fancy but is functional. It allows you to display song information but does not show album covers from ID3 tags but RNOInfo can be used for that. (See next item.)
One Last Item. RNOInfoScreen.
So, which player is best on the A1222 Plus?
AmigaAmp3 v3.4
Allows for the best cutomization of the sound due to it's 10 band equalizer.
Best looking interface and allows for custom skins. There many skins widly available.
Has built in support for the most popular formats and can use most TunNet plugins to play a large variety of formats,
Unfortunately, it uses 70 to 80% (with equalizer enabled) of the CPU, so doesn't multitask well.
Good if you want the best sound and just want to play music and not do much else at the same time.
TuneNet v2.18
Included with the Enhancer package and works well.
Supports a huge number of formats via plugins.
Can be used to broadcast, although I didn't test that feature.
Uses 8% CPU when playing music but jumps to 22% when using a skin or the amidock interface.
Best for finding and streaming stations form the internet.
DAPlayer v1.14
A competent all-around player which only uses ~8% of the CPU time.
Supports a variety of modern formats including CDAA, MIDI, and MOD files.
Has ability to equalize volume of each song so they all play at the same volume.
Best if you have songs with varying volumes.
Best for playing CDDA files from music CD's .
RNOTunes v1.1
A very nice player that uses the least amount of CPU time at only 3%.
Supports a variety of formats via Hollywood plugins.
Programed with Hollywood so it is about twice the size of other players.
Best for use with Last.FM scobbler.
Best for searching the internet and displaying song lyrics.
SongPlayer v1.64
A nice simple player that uses little CPU time at ~5%.
Does not support currently popular file formats, with the exception of mp3.
Second best at allowing customization of sound with bass and treble controls.
Best for creating a Sudo stereo effect for mono files.
Best for easy creation of Karaoke files and displaying timed lyrics in a window or on their own screen.
So which do I use on my A1222 Plus?
Feel free to leave comments about which player you use and why. Next month I'll cover how I installed and 10-Watt amplifier and speakers inside my A1222 Plus case to create a truly portable system. If you made it this far, thanks for reading.