How does the Shuffle feature work?

E.Bola · 20th October 2003, 21:33

I would like to know how the shuffle feature in winamp works. It seems to me that the shuffle feature only pulls from directories I listen to on my own. All the other directories in the playlist are ignored by winamp, until I listen to them on my own. then the next time i use shuffle winamp pulls from that directory as well. am i just paranoid? is it just an equation? or does it somehow incorporate what i listen to, in its random music selecting process

E.Bola · 5th November 2003, 09:18

no one knows?

DrO · 5th November 2003, 15:24

Quote:

is it just an equation?

i think it is. i should think that it will create a random position part controlled on where the shuffle slider is.

i think that you might be paranoid. the nature of random is just that and it is randomly possible to play the same song after itself or to appear to hear the same files - it's just the way that it goes.

if i'm wrong someone will say

-daz

Rovastar · 5th November 2003, 21:36

There is an article on the shuffle feature written by Ryan Geiss somewhere on the winamp site it was a year or two ago now.

Most people don't understand teh random number thing. Pseudo random number generaters (they are all pseudo but that is another story) can be a complex or simple as they like it will not please everyone as must people don't understand teh probability of occurances.

Get 30 peopel ina room and the chances are that 2 or more of tehm will have at teh same birthday. Much will go for listening toi the same songs in the play. It is probably random.

killswitch1968 · 5th November 2003, 22:34

Here's my unestablished learned-through-practice theory:

You create a playlist and double click on a song. At that instance, an invisible randomized playlist is created and plays each song from that playlist. Winamp will play all songs randomly but without repeats. This is different from Winamp3's random feature. I prefer shuffle to random.
That is until you double click another file, then it'll create a new invisible randomized playlist.

WHEREamI · 6th November 2003, 01:40

killswitch: yes, that is exactly how it works (though i think the term is a "shuffle table" and is re-made on any playlist change or double-click). Also, I believe that once the table has been gone through without interuption, a new one is created.

However, the addition of the shuffle morph rate slider adds complexities to this model. Perhaps it allows some amount of repeat entries in the table, dependant on the position of the slider. Not nearly as sure about how that works.

~WHEREamI

E.Bola · 10th November 2003, 15:56

ah ha! So I assume that when I double-click a song from a directory that was not in the previous "shuffle table" then more songs from that directory are added to the table, whereas before they were skipped. see I have a large amount of (legal) mp3s, in the thousands. So I find it very odd to never hear an artist whilst using shuffle. then listen to the artist of my own free will, then next time i use shuffle that artist is included... it happens everytime. the Shuffle Table makes most sense to me, thank you for sharing <3

20th October 2003, 21:33	#1
E.Bola Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 3	How does the Shuffle feature work? I would like to know how the shuffle feature in winamp works. It seems to me that the shuffle feature only pulls from directories I listen to on my own. All the other directories in the playlist are ignored by winamp, until I listen to them on my own. then the next time i use shuffle winamp pulls from that directory as well. am i just paranoid? is it just an equation? or does it somehow incorporate what i listen to, in its random music selecting process

5th November 2003, 21:36	#4
Rovastar Moderator Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: London, England Posts: 3,632	There is an article on the shuffle feature written by Ryan Geiss somewhere on the winamp site it was a year or two ago now. Most people don't understand teh random number thing. Pseudo random number generaters (they are all pseudo but that is another story) can be a complex or simple as they like it will not please everyone as must people don't understand teh probability of occurances. Get 30 peopel ina room and the chances are that 2 or more of tehm will have at teh same birthday. Much will go for listening toi the same songs in the play. It is probably random. "Rules are for the guidance of wisemen and the obedience of fools" Visuals - Morphyre www.Morphyre.com

5th November 2003, 22:34	#5
killswitch1968 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Sverige Posts: 434	Here's my unestablished learned-through-practice theory: You create a playlist and double click on a song. At that instance, an invisible randomized playlist is created and plays each song from that playlist. Winamp will play all songs randomly but without repeats. This is different from Winamp3's random feature. I prefer shuffle to random. That is until you double click another file, then it'll create a new invisible randomized playlist. They say if you play a Microsoft CD backwards you hear satanic messages. That's nothing, if you play it forwards it installs Windows.

6th November 2003, 01:40	#6
WHEREamI Major Dude Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Wasabidev Posts: 606	killswitch: yes, that is exactly how it works (though i think the term is a "shuffle table" and is re-made on any playlist change or double-click). Also, I believe that once the table has been gone through without interuption, a new one is created. However, the addition of the shuffle morph rate slider adds complexities to this model. Perhaps it allows some amount of repeat entries in the table, dependant on the position of the slider. Not nearly as sure about how that works. ~WHEREamI Wasabidev.org \| Wasabi Wiki \| wasabi.player 499g (patch)

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5th November 2003, 09:18	#2
E.Bola Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 3	no one knows?

10th November 2003, 15:56	#7
E.Bola Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 3	ah ha! So I assume that when I double-click a song from a directory that was not in the previous "shuffle table" then more songs from that directory are added to the table, whereas before they were skipped. see I have a large amount of (legal) mp3s, in the thousands. So I find it very odd to never hear an artist whilst using shuffle. then listen to the artist of my own free will, then next time i use shuffle that artist is included... it happens everytime. the Shuffle Table makes most sense to me, thank you for sharing <3