Ampzilla Documentation

Ampzilla
Version 0.2 BETA (26th September 1998)
By Aalaap Ghag a.k.a. Funkzilla !!

FREEWARE MP3 Player for Windows NT4/95/98

Readme File

Disclaimer

This program is freeware. As such, I give no warranty to its accuracy, fitness for any particular use, effects of use, or reliability. It may be freely distributed, although it must be distributed with all original files in their original format intact. Please contact the author by email (aalaap@i.am) if you have questions, comments, bug-reports or any suggestions you have about the program. By using the program, you agree to have read and fully abide by this disclaimer.

There isn't much here right now, because I'm trying to concentrate on getting the player working properly and completely. However, there are a few things I have to bring to your notice, so i'll list them here.

1. What Is Ampzilla ?

Ampzilla is a freeware MP3 player for Windows NT4/95/98. It can play not only MP3, but almost all MPEG format files, and a number of other formats like WAV, RA, etc too. This is made possible by using the engine of the Microsoft Windows Media Player. Needless to say, you need to have the Windows Media Player installed. Windows NT4 and Windows 95 users will have to download it. Windows 98 already comes with the Media Player, so if you're running Windows 98, you can use Ampzilla without anything extra.

2. What makes Ampzilla different from other players ?

Ampzilla has a unique three-in-one interface, which lets you play upto three MP3s through a single player window. Not only that, if your sound card driver supports the DirectSound technology (most Windows 95 and Windows 98 drivers do), then you can mix the output of the three MP3s and enjoy the effects like flash, wave, pan, etc. provided with the player.

I basically made Ampzilla keeping a DJ in mind. Restricting my creativity to the limitations of the Windows Media Player, I was able to come up with some basic functional effects. These are:

Fade In: Gradually increases the volume of the MP3 from zero to full. If MP3 is already playing, the volume is first set to zero, and then increased. I know this sucks, but hey, this is just a beta version! I'm still working on it! The speed of the fade can be customized through the Settings Panel (Settings Panel | Show).
Fade Out: Exactly the opposite of Fade In. Optionally stops playing the MP3 after it has been completely faded out.
Fade To X: Every module of the three in Ampzilla has two of these effects. These fade the current MP3 into another one, creating a continous effect. Good for parties! This function, however, has not been implemented as of now. Still working!
Loop: This effect, and the next two, were inspired by one of the latest Sony music system. It basically repeats a small portion of the MP3. I'm not a very good DJ, and I think you can make it out from my wierd descriptions of these simple effects! Ah, well, nothing much I can do! :) Anyway, getting back to the effects stuff. This doesn't give the proper effect, because the Windows Media Player is not fast enough. I'm trying to get this to work. Might take some time.
Flash: This puts very short (again, customizable) intermittent gaps into the MP3. This a pretty OK kind of effect. I put it because it was there on the Sony system!
Wave: This one also sounds pretty much alright. Nothing great. Just waves the volume low and high. Again, I put this because it exists on the Sony system. Also customizable like the rest.
Pan: This could be the better one among the others. Pans the output from center to left, to right, and back again to the center.

These are the basic effects in Ampzilla that make it different from other players. Most of them at least!

3. What do I need to run Ampzilla ?

You must have Windows NT4/95/98. If you're not running Windows 98, then:

Visual Basic 5 runtime DLL files. Click here to download.
Microsoft Windows Media Player 6.0. Click here to download the Internet Explorer 4+ dependent version (2.4mb), or click here for the full version (4.2mb).

Both the things are freeware, so you can download them from somewhere. If you're running Windows 98, then you don't need to download and/or install anything extra.

For pleasant operation, I would recommend you run Ampzilla on a Pentium-II 233 MHz with at least 64MB RAM. Hard disk space is not essential, but could speed up operation.

*** IMPORTANT ***

If there are no error messages when you run Ampzilla, but you see no Play/Pause/Stop buttons, no tracker, or volume slider, then you have the wrong version of the Windows Media Player. This version of Ampzilla will mostly work only with Windows Media Player Version 6.00.02.0902. For this reason, I'm uploading this version of the Media Player to my webspace. You can download it from there.

4. How do I use Ampzilla ?!

There's really nothing much to it. I'll just list the basic usage.

Playing an MP3: First you decide which module you wish to play the MP3 in, and then click the "Load X" button beside the title bar of that particular module. For example, if you want to load an MP3 C:\Temp\Temp.Mp3 into module 3, then you would click "Load 3" beside the title bar of the last module. It won't start playing immediately, so you have to click the Play button to start playing it.
Using the effects: This is too damn simple! Just click the dumb buttons! But aah, make sure you have an MP3 loaded !! :)
Mixing the MP3s: This is what most people ask. Its extremely easy! I'll tell you only how to mix one MP3 thats about the end into another one. You can figure out the rest! First you must be playing one MP3 (in any module, it doesn't make a difference). Let's say its in module 1. Next, you load the MP3 you want to fade into this one, into another module, say module 2. Now when the first one is about to end (or let it be half way through, that's upto you!), you click the "Fade Into 2" button on the control panel of module 1. Then just sit back and enjoy while Ampzilla automatically fades in the second MP3 and fades out the first one!
Customizing the effects delay and repeat rates: This can be done from the Settings Panel. Select "Show" from the Settings Panel menu. Fiddle with the settings to find out what they do, because just like the rest of the stuff in Ampzilla, even this is not too tough to figure out. I'll be giving a detailed description later on.
Playlists: Ampzilla supports .M3U playlists. But as of now, there is no automatic mixing of the queued MP3s. In future versions, there will be a new continous play mode, that will automatically fade the first mp3 out (optional) when its about the end, and start playing the second mp3.

5. What happened to 3Amp ?!

I discarded the project! The control I was using, the Dialog-Median MP3Play OCX, er.. sucked to say the least. The quality was not very awesome and it played only 30 seconds because it was a demo!!! Why didn't I get the full version ? It costs some $200 !! Forget it! This WiMP control is better - free, sounds good, supports lots of formats besides just MP3. That last one is not something that really had any hand in making me choose this, but the rest did.

The formost reason, of course, is DirectSound support! When I first got the WiMP 5.2 beta (that came with Internet Explorer 5 beta) the first thing I did, was play two MP3s in multiple instances and watch the fun. It played them both at the same time!

Obviously the idea struck me right there itself. But i was busy with other projects so I couldn't start work on this. I found some free time, and the next day a working beat of Ampzilla was ready!

I would like to thank (as usual) the helpful dudes on EFNet #visualbasic for their help. Right, I don't go on IRC, but that's only if its for chatting without a purpose. You'll find me on these programming and technical talk related channels only, but I never go with the same nick twice, so you can't find me there. If you see a funkzilla somewhere on some IRC server, ITS NOT ME!!!

6. Where can I get the latest version ?

The Homepage of course! Click here to visit the page. Or click here to download Ampzilla directly. This link will always give you the latest version.

7. How do I report a bug ?

Email me - aalaap@i.am. Don't forget to give a snapshot of your system configuration. Also, the version of your Media Player is of paramount importance. You can find it out by choosing "About Media Player..." from the Help menu.

8. Do I have to pay to use Ampzilla ?

No !! Ampzilla is 100% freeware. Use it for anything. Personal or commercial, whatever it is. Just make sure you're not breaking copyright laws concerned with digital audio reproduction. And yeah, also, read the disclaimer first before you begin using the program.

...MORE STUFF COMING SOON...