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 Developer:
J. River
OS: Win 95/98/NT/ME/2000/XP
Installed Size: 12.1 MB
Function: Ripping, Decoding, Burning
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 Media Jukebox is another program that goes for the gusto, trying
to fit almost any conceivable feature related to digital audio in one
program. OK, I am exaggerating but it does do a lot. However, the
massive amount of features create a bit of confusion for the new user trying to
get used to the interface. If you want a program you can learn in under a
minute, this is not the one. A trip to the help files is a necessity.
Getting the player to load and play files was a bit more tricky
than necessary I thought. After giving it a few tries, it sure made me
appreciate the easy directory add feature found in WinAMP. Once play
started, I noticed one file sounded scratchy in Media Jukebox and just fine in
WinAMP. . . go figure.
Another annoying problem is that the help files sometimes did
not coordinate well with the actual user interface, especially since some icons
are hidden behind a collapsed view bar at the top of the page you are expected
to customize yourself. Some options are also hidden in the organizational tree
on the left that you have to expand to find.
To rip and encode, selecting the 'settings' tab at the top of
the page will allow you to navigate to an encoding button that will let you
alter encoding parameters. Interestingly, the program only comes equipped
with a WMA and Ogg Vorbis encoder. LAME or any other external encoder must
be downloaded separately. Once set up, I had no idea where the encoded
file had been deposited since nowhere in the above process was I given an option
to set the output directory. Back to the help files. Once I could actually
listen to the file, it didn't sound too bad encoded at 128kbps with LAME v.3.89.
When I did convert the MP3 back to WAV, Media Jukebox responded
fast and furiously, producing a nice uncompressed WAV in very little time.
More on the Media
Jukebox decoder here. Burning wasn't as much an ordeal, I already knew
where to look in the help files and was starting to get a rudimentary feel for
this program. In the free version, burning is crippled to a slower speed
that can only be reversed by coughing up $24.98. However, the burn process
was still pretty quick, a lot faster than Music Match's free version. One
bonus is that Media Jukebox will let you either burn audio or data CDs.
When I did an audio test on the MP3 burn files, I did notice some had inherited
some decay not found in the original MP3s on the hard drive.
Overall, for the basic (free) version, you get a lot of features
if you are willing to take time on the learning curve. After speaking with
a J. River associate, he let me know the company is working on the usability
issue as they are dedicated to improving the product. Upgrading for
$24.98 may give you more features but you don't get free updates for life, much
like Music Match. Bottom line: Media Jukebox has potential, decent MP3 conversion,
and a lot of features. However, the difficulty of use at first will turn off many users who
are used to easier jukebox programs like WinAMP. For an all in one MP3
conversion program, I don't think Media Jukebox beats the clear and easy to use
functionality of Music
Match.
Try
Media Jukebox
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