November 16, 2008 at 02:36Using Amarok on Windows
Many KDE users also use this wonderful player, and when working under Windows, the question arises of finding a worthy alternative to it. A usable version for Windows simply did not exist until recently, and you had to either use systems based on coLinux (andLinux, Ulteo Virtual Desktop), or try to assemble the player from the sources yourself.
Not so long ago, the KDE On Windows project began to gain momentum , and with the release of version 4.1, Amarok assemblies for Windows began to appear in the repositories. Unfortunately, the first versions did not even know how to reproduce sound, but recently the situation has changed and the player has become a player. :)
So, the recipe for cooking Amarok under Windows is as follows.
Actually, that's all. Launching a freshly installed application, and selecting "About Amarok" in the menu, we will see something like the following:
Adding something to the multimedia library, let's get closer to the familiar look:
Cyrillic from tags in Windows-1251, as expected, did not pick up correctly, but tags in Unicode work fine.
Internet album covers are also pulling up - you just need to enable this option.
When changing a song, we observe On-Screen Display (and where without it):
For complete happiness, I personally lacked one little thing: hot keys. And here, unfortunately, I had to put crutches, since the built-in hotkey system in Amarok did not work. But if there was a sound, we will complete the rest. :)
It was decided to control the player via DBus: in the KDE / bin folder there is a wonderful dbus-send.exe file, which we will use. We will catch the hot keys with any convenient third-party utility, and hang the corresponding handlers from the list on them: For starters, I limited myself to these five. This, respectively: the previous track, the next track, play, pause, and show / hide the player window. In the KDE / bin folder also lies the qdbusviewer.exe file, with which you can view all the possible methods and call them.
Next, hang up the handlers on the hot keys - a technical matter. I used my favorite PowerPro . Create a new action on the Key / Mouse tab of the graphical configurator:
Customize the action. Pay attention to the “Show at start” parameter, which is set to “Hidden”, so that the dbus-send window does not flash every time on the desktop.
That, in fact, is all. Of course, the functions of the Windows version are still not enough, but in the end we got a player, which after a little revision with a file becomes quite suitable for use. We wish him good luck in the further development. :)
UPD : I make from the comments the answer to the question about the resources consumed. Unfortunately, memory consumption is still very inefficient: about 70MB consumes amarok.exe, and about 35-40MB consume KDE libraries: kioslave.exe x 2 pcs., Kded4.exe, klauncher.exe and kwalletd.exe
CPU consumption, in my opinion estimated at and slightly below WinAMP.
UPD2: Gentlemen, I hope everyone understands that comparing a bleeding-edge, unstable, and all-and-such player with monsters that have long been developing on the Windows platform is somehow incorrect. And the topic is not for player holivars intended. :)
Thank you for your understanding.
UPD3 : For those who are faced with the fact that not all MP3 files are played: you need to download and install MP3 Parser , this software fixes the problem.
Not so long ago, the KDE On Windows project began to gain momentum , and with the release of version 4.1, Amarok assemblies for Windows began to appear in the repositories. Unfortunately, the first versions did not even know how to reproduce sound, but recently the situation has changed and the player has become a player. :)
So, the recipe for cooking Amarok under Windows is as follows.
- Download the latest version of the KDE installer for Windows, run it.
- Choose a mirror, then select the only amarok package for installation - the dependencies will be automatically tightened.
- Wait until ~ 80 MB of archives are downloaded and unpacked.
Actually, that's all. Launching a freshly installed application, and selecting "About Amarok" in the menu, we will see something like the following:
Adding something to the multimedia library, let's get closer to the familiar look:
Cyrillic from tags in Windows-1251, as expected, did not pick up correctly, but tags in Unicode work fine.
Internet album covers are also pulling up - you just need to enable this option.
When changing a song, we observe On-Screen Display (and where without it):
For complete happiness, I personally lacked one little thing: hot keys. And here, unfortunately, I had to put crutches, since the built-in hotkey system in Amarok did not work. But if there was a sound, we will complete the rest. :)
It was decided to control the player via DBus: in the KDE / bin folder there is a wonderful dbus-send.exe file, which we will use. We will catch the hot keys with any convenient third-party utility, and hang the corresponding handlers from the list on them: For starters, I limited myself to these five. This, respectively: the previous track, the next track, play, pause, and show / hide the player window. In the KDE / bin folder also lies the qdbusviewer.exe file, with which you can view all the possible methods and call them.
dbus-send.exe --type=method_call --dest=org.kde.amarok /Player org.freedesktop.MediaPlayer.Prev
dbus-send.exe --type=method_call --dest=org.kde.amarok /Player org.freedesktop.MediaPlayer.Next
dbus-send.exe --type=method_call --dest=org.kde.amarok /Player org.freedesktop.MediaPlayer.Play
dbus-send.exe --type=method_call --dest=org.kde.amarok /Player org.freedesktop.MediaPlayer.Pause
dbus-send.exe --type=method_call --dest=org.kde.amarok /amarok/MainWindow org.kde.amarok.MainWindow.showHideNext, hang up the handlers on the hot keys - a technical matter. I used my favorite PowerPro . Create a new action on the Key / Mouse tab of the graphical configurator:
Customize the action. Pay attention to the “Show at start” parameter, which is set to “Hidden”, so that the dbus-send window does not flash every time on the desktop.
That, in fact, is all. Of course, the functions of the Windows version are still not enough, but in the end we got a player, which after a little revision with a file becomes quite suitable for use. We wish him good luck in the further development. :)
UPD : I make from the comments the answer to the question about the resources consumed. Unfortunately, memory consumption is still very inefficient: about 70MB consumes amarok.exe, and about 35-40MB consume KDE libraries: kioslave.exe x 2 pcs., Kded4.exe, klauncher.exe and kwalletd.exe
CPU consumption, in my opinion estimated at and slightly below WinAMP.
UPD2: Gentlemen, I hope everyone understands that comparing a bleeding-edge, unstable, and all-and-such player with monsters that have long been developing on the Windows platform is somehow incorrect. And the topic is not for player holivars intended. :)
Thank you for your understanding.
UPD3 : For those who are faced with the fact that not all MP3 files are played: you need to download and install MP3 Parser , this software fixes the problem.