Windows users have lots of choices when it comes to playing music on their computer. They can make use of Windows Media Player for instance, or download and install a third party music player like iTunes, Winamp or AIMP3. The choice of available program shrinks significantly when it comes to software that not only plays music but also offers management capabilities.
And if you add other requirements like CD ripping and burning, music conversions, synchronization or sharing, you probably end up with less than a handful of tools that offer all of that to the user.
MediaMonkey 4 Gold is one of those programs. But music is just one of the things the program handles. The big new feature of the latest version of the product is video support. This basically means that can use many of the program’s management options for video files as well.
Installation, First Start
All users install the free version of MediaMonkey first. Gold users can enter the registration key in the program to enable the Gold features.
First thing that new users may want to do is to add their music collection to the program. This can be done with a click on the Insert key or the selection of File > Add/Rescan Files to the library. This opens a file browser where one or multiple folders can be selected. MediaMonkey can scan the selected folders once, or include them in the program’s folder monitoring feature to scan them continuously for new media. This adds new media automatically to the program’s database.
The options button loads the library preferences which define how files are added to the program library. Information are taken from file names and tags, with options to use file paths as well. MediaMonkey will furthermore scan the directories for artwork, ignore files shorter than 20 Kilobytes, remove unused attributes and generate thumbnails for videos. Additional options that need to be selected include analyzing files for duplicates, ignore files that are shorter than x seconds and removing unavailable items.
The file types button highlights the supported file types. Not all media files are automatically selected. Ogg video and RealMedia video files are for instance not included in the scan by default.
A click on ok starts the scan which may take a while depending on the performance of the PC, the amount of media files and the structure they are stored in.
It took less than five minutes to scan two large folders on a test system with thousands of video and music files. MediaMonkey offers to import data from programs like iTunes or Windows Media Player if they are detected on the system.
Working with the program
Once you have started to add media to the program you are ready to make use of the functionality offered. You can play media with a double-click on a file. Both music and video are played in the program interface.
MediaMonkey users with a less than perfectly organized media collection may want to use the program’s automatic tagging and organization features to bring order to their collection. All media files that cannot be identified properly are listed under unknown. It makes sense to start there to identify those tracks properly.
A click on Tools > Auto-Tag from Web scans the collection for music that is not properly tagged. MediaMonkey tries to match the music with albums, and displays the finding in its interface. Information are retrieved from Amazon.
Auto-organization of files can move and rename files to a new destination based on file tags. This can be useful to create a distinct structure that all media files follow.
Options are available to analyze the volume of selected music files and level it if necessary. Other options include converting media files into different formats, burning music to CD or creating virtual CDs. The virtual CD option can be used to create a mixed music CD easily or to have virtual copies of your music CDs on your computer.
Selected music can also be synced with mobile media players like Apple’s iPod, Iphone or Android phones. Plug-ins need to be downloaded and installed for some devices.
Advanced features
MediaMonkey 4 Gold supports the creation of multiple media collections which can be configured with their own distinct display modes and playback rules.
For example, a Classical Music collection can be configured to display a Conductor node and an Original Year column, and play with cross-fading disabled, whereas Contemporary Music wouldn’t.
Advanced playlist options leave little to desire. It takes a single click to create a playlist with the overall top 50 songs of a collection, to fill an audio CD with music, or a playlist with songs from a specific year, genre or composer. Custom playlists using any of the parameters shown below can be created in little time.
Another interesting option is the ability to right-click on files to find more of the same (by artist, genre, year, album or location).
Sometimes you may want to organize different types of media files differently. Classic music for instance by composer, videos by date or tv series by season. The auto organization rules, configurable in the options, allow you do configure specific organization rules for collections, genres and playlists.
MediaMonkey 4 Gold introduces additional new features, like a new portable mode to run the program from an USB device, secure ripping of CDs to improve the accuracy of the ripping, tabs to browse different parts of the music collection at the same time, automatic synchronization with mobile devices and a new sharing option to share via UPnP/DLNA with compatible devices such as Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony’s Playstation or compatible telvisions and media stations.
Verdict
MediaMonkey 4 has improved a lot in the last year. The addition of video support improves the capabilities of the software significantly. Not all video formats are supported right now, but the developers promised to add support for additional formats like mkv in future releases.
Even inexperienced users can setup the program in little time. Advanced users will love the new features that the devs have added. The initial configuration may take some time, but once setup correctly it saves the user a lot of time in the long run.
Interested users can download MediaMonkey 4 from the developer website.
Giveaway
We have 25 MediaMonkey 4 Gold licenses for this give away. You will be included in the draw if you leave a comment below. Please note that comments are only open for 24 hours before they are closed down. Winners are drawn afterwards and notified by email.
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Please consider me in the giveaway, my music is all over the place.
Thanks, I love to get it.
Media Monkey is a great tool. Thought about getting the Gold version for some time. I’m not 100% sure about the new video functionality. I hope this great software will not end as another bloated and unusable tool.
Used way back. Would love to have another chance at this awesome program.
please count me in for media monkey four thanks
Looks good, really thinking about replacing foobar2k with media monkey
Great review. sounds like just the application I’m looking for. Thanks for the great giveaways. Please include me in this drawing.
I have version 3 of MediaMonkey and love it. I’d certainly like an upgrade to 4!
I’ve used MediaMonkey (free version) for several years and with several different MP3 players and it is AWESOME (imo). I have even transfered music to some older iPods . The only thing I regret is that I have been unable to connect my iPod Touch and transfer music. So I had to install iTunes on my computer .
Count me in. Great giveaway.
I’d love to try and win this. Using the free version at the moment.
I’m using MM free version for a long and the true is this is great app (for people with big discography it’s greater app,lol).I reading ghacks for long and I’m wondering why you don’t speak often about MM.I would like to participate in this giweaway.
Very good application. Thanks for the giveaway.
I keep bouncing from product to product. This looks like it is the one.
Media Monkey handles all my needs very well. I really like the way it organizes my eclectic music collection.
Hi, great giveaway, count me in
Thanks
interested me so much on this software is the feature that other media software dont have kudos to media monkey gold 4
MediaMonkey is an exquisite, powerful and feature-rich music manager.
My comment…. I first was sad when I saw the post not having the [Giveaway] in the title… then… at the end of the reading… the giveaway!!!! :D
Thanks… would love one
I used Mediamonkey long time ago, and I miss it much (now a linux user, excelent alternatives otherwise).
I’ve been using the free version of Media Monkey for several years now.
A Gold license would be very nice!
I have loved Mediamonkey for years now and it seemed like it always went overlooked by people for some odd reason.
Thanks for the opportunity to win it.
Please count me in
Hi Martin,
I’ve been a long time WinAmp user to manage my rather huge music library. A year ago I tried Media Monkey and I was rather impressed by the userfriendly interface. After some weeks I uninstalled WinAmp and since then I use MM exclusively.
Count me in for that gold license.
It can handle an iPod. Without iTunes? That would be great. Please, count me in. Thanks.
I ‘m currently using iTunes to manage my music files, but after reading this review, I ‘m really looking forward to win this one!!!
Please, please, PLEASE count me in the draw! I would love to win this because I use v3 Gold and I am not eligible for a free upgrade to version 4 Gold! This is my go to music program and would so love a license for v4 Gold! I even wrote to the developers, but they made it clear I need to buy a new license to go from v3 Gold to v4 Gold, unless I bought v3 Gold just before v4 Gold was released (which I did not). It would be so awesome to win this and I would get heaps of use out of it – thanks for setting up the giveaway!
Media Monkey is one of the best Audio Player that is why I really recommended And need to have this Software. Please count me in Dear Martin.
http://twitter.com/#!/asrielrusdyawan/status/146947373199925248
https://www.facebook.com/asrielrusdyawan/posts/326963590648205
Hope to win this Software License.
THX, LJBU!
I use this software for a long time now and it is so amazing all you can do with it.
I sure like to have it Gold.
wow nice giveaway. Thank you.
I am using the free version. Please give me a chance to upgrade to the much powerful Gold version. Thanks in advance.
Your description of MediaMonkee 4 Gold reads like what I really need for my Music (mostly jazz and classical) and TV shows like all seven seasons of West Wing.
Count me in. I’ve not won anything yet but hope springs eternal in the breast of man.