Internet Archive releases Winamp Skins Collection

Martin Brinkmann
Oct 4, 2018
Updated • Oct 4, 2018
Music and Video
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16

The Internet Archive published a huge collection of skins for the media player Winamp the other day which anyone may browse and download.

Winamp is still a popular media player despite the fact that it has not really received a meaningful update in recent years.

While a development version of Winamp 5.8 leaked to the Internet recently, it appears that Winamp development is more dead than alive.

The media player is still used by millions, however as it works considerably well, even when you run it on newer versions of the Windows operating system.

Skins were always a big part of the Winamp experience. Users could download and install hundreds of skins for the player to change its interface. From skins that simply changed colors to full conversions, custom skins offered something for all users.

Ownership changed in 2014 and while Winamp survived most of the content that was on the classic website did not. Users had to go elsewhere to download skins or plugins for the media player, and the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine offered access to most of the content.

Winamp Skins Collection

winamp skins collection

Just head over to the Winamp Skins Collection page on the Internet Archive website to browse the selection of skins for the media player. You get the usual filter, search and sort options, and a preview of each skin by default.

A click on a skin displays it as a larger preview that is sometimes animated.  Winamp users can download skins from the Internet Archive website or follow the link to the Webamp website to see it in action in any modern web browser.

webamp

Webamp is web-based version of the Winamp player. Webamp, the online player that supports Winamp skins, runs in any modern browser on any operating system.

You can load local music in the player and play it right away, or play the default playlist instead. Some features are limited, however. It is not possible for instance to play Internet Radio using Webamp.

Winamp users need to drop the skin file on the player interface to install it. Note that this may require elevation and that you will get an "are you sure" prompt. The skin is then available just like any of the default skins.

If you use Webamp, simply right-click on the player on the Webamp website and select Skins > Load Skin to select a skin from the local system.

Closing words

While I prefer AIMP over Winamp, as the former is in active developed, I know quite a few users who still use Winamp for audio playback on their devices.

A central repository for Winamp skins is a welcome addition to the Internet Archive. The organization has added numerous collections to the archive in recent years. From arcade games, DOS games and other games that you can play online or download, to computer magazines, and music collections.

Now You: which media player do you use?

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Internet Archive releases Winamp Skins Collection
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Internet Archive releases Winamp Skins Collection
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The Internet Archive published a huge collection of skins for the media player Winamp the other day which anyone may browse and download.
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Comments

  1. Anonymous said on August 1, 2010 at 12:43 pm
    Reply

    Why not make use of the mplayer.conf?

  2. Mike J said on August 1, 2010 at 2:58 pm
    Reply

    Huh, I have never even seen this “font cache” pane; videos play at once for me, using VLC & XP SP3.

    1. Martin said on August 1, 2010 at 3:39 pm
      Reply

      Mike, in theory this should have only been displayed once to you, at the very first video that you played with VLC. The time this window is displayed depends largely on the number of fonts in your font directory.

      1. Mike J said on August 2, 2010 at 2:30 pm
        Reply

        huh, I lucked out for a change?? Amazing!!
        Apparently VLC keeps this info through version updates, but I didn’t see this message after a fresh OS install about 8 weeks ago, & a new VLC.

  3. myo said on August 1, 2010 at 5:52 pm
    Reply

    yes, yes, i have the same problem. sometimes, VLC crashes when it is playing .mov file.

  4. Kishore said on August 13, 2010 at 2:55 pm
    Reply

    Error:
    Buidling font Cache pop-up

    Solution:

    Open VLC player.

    On Menu Bar:

    Tools
    Preferences

    (at bottom – left side)
    Show settings — ALL

    Open: Video
    Click: Subtitles/OSD (This is now highlited, not opened)
    Text rendering module – change this to “Dummy font renderer function”

    Save
    Exit

    Re-open – done.
    Progam will no longer look outside self for fonts

    Source – WorthyTricks.co.cc

    1. Martin said on August 13, 2010 at 3:10 pm
      Reply

      Great tip, thanks a lot Kishore.

  5. javier said on August 14, 2010 at 1:50 pm
    Reply

    @Kishore, I’ll try your tips, but does this mean it will no longer show subtitles either?
    I do use subtitles, but the fontcache dialog box pops up (almost) everytime I play a file.

    Could this be related to the fonts I have installed? Or if I add/remove fonts to my system?

    I’ll try to do a fresh install also, if your tips does no work. I’ll post back here later…

    /thanks
    /j

  6. Kishore said on August 15, 2010 at 12:38 pm
    Reply

    @ Javier, The trick i posted will show up subtitles too. If not,

  7. Kishore said on August 15, 2010 at 12:39 pm
    Reply

    @ Javier, The trick i posted will show up subtitles too. If not,Dont worry, VLC is currently sorting out this issue and the next version will be out soon.

    No probs @ Martin !! Its my pleasure

  8. Ted said on October 22, 2010 at 3:57 am
    Reply

    Try running LC with administrator privileges. That seemed to fix it for me

  9. Evan said on December 8, 2013 at 1:48 am
    Reply

    I am using SMplayer 0.8.6 (64-bit) (Portable Edition) on Windows 7 x64. Even with the -nofontconfig parameter in place SMplayer still scans the fonts. Also, I have enabled normal subtitles and it is still scanning fonts before playing a video. Also, it does this every time the player opens a video after a system restart (only the fist video played).

  10. Mike Williams said on September 6, 2023 at 1:26 pm
    Reply

    Does that mean that only instrumental versions of songs will be available for non-paying users?

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