does Winamp ever "interfere" with other programs?

[AppleTree]

does Winamp ever "interfere" with other programs? like, how some codecs do while playing games?

would just be using Winamp (lite) to play MP3s, but wanted to know if it Winamp would ever start itself while playing a game to "decode" the sound, or some such. if you get what I mean. its just that I have dealt with media programs doing such things in the past and I wanted something to just play music no-frills and not cause me issues.

[Koopa]

Winamp is using its own audio decoders, so it shouldn't conflict with direct show decoders or codecs from your game. Winamp is also using DirectSound output as default, so it shouldn't conflict with the system sound volume.

[Aminifu]

Do not associate your media files with Winamp (during or after installation) and remove any associations with other apps. Then you will have to tell Windows which app to use to play them, when you double click on them, instead of having the associated app play them automatically.

[MrSinatra]

Originally Posted by Koopa

Winamp is using its own audio decoders, so it shouldn't conflict with direct show decoders or codecs from your game. Winamp is also using DirectSound output as default, so it shouldn't conflict with the system sound volume.

i thought on vista/win7, winamp uses wasapi, not directsound?

[DrO]

nope, it uses directsound as there is no native wasapi output plug-in (only 3rd party ones).

-daz

[Koopa]

Benski posted something about an WASAPI output plugin ages ago.
The default output plugin under Win7 is DirectSound output, so the volume will be handled independent from the system volume.

[DrO]

posted about a possible one but nothing ever came from it due to other things going on and the maiko one seems to be the generally accepted one to use (once you get over the hideous config dialog).

-daz

[MrSinatra]

ok, i clearly misunderstood what was being said here:

http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=342691

so winamp uses DS out, but vista/win7 use wasapi, and a legacy DS "interpreter" to get to wasapi, but thats all in the OS and unimportant to winamp.

please correct me if i am wrong.

[DrO]

correct, Directsound and the other multimedia API were basically re-implemented on top of Wasapi (according to what was mentioned when Vista came out).

-daz