A newer version of MediaMonkey Standard is available.
(Download doesn't provide access to previous versions of this program.)
- Average user rating: stars out of 1015 votes Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars Write review
Full user review
-
5 stars
Version: MediaMonkey Standard 3.0.6.1190
"I tried every media player out there...this is the one!"
Pros: Podcast support is far and away the best of any player out there. Synchronizes with any device, including iPods. Converts on-the-fly to format supported by your device. Manages huge music libraries, and cleans up your tags.
Cons: It's nearly impossible to order the Gold edition because they use a horrible third-party order processing company called "element5". I had to submit my order three times even though my credit card company said everything was fine.
Summary: I'm sure many people are in the same situation as I was last month. You have a huge music collection that is out of control. You have an amazing portable media device (iPod, Sony Walkman, Zune, etc.) but you are extremely disappointed with the media player that came free with your device.
I used to have an iPod, but when it came time to upgrade last month I wanted at least 16 GB in a small, thin package. The only 16 GB iPod is the "Touch" which is far too thick and bulky for me. The Sony Walkman NWZ-A729 is perfect... 16 GB of flash memory, smaller than a credit card, about 1/4" thick and even plays video!
The problem is that the "Sony Media Manager" software that comes with the Sony Walkman is a complete joke. I won't get into it here, but let's just say that "bare-bones" would be a complement. Also, for large music libraries, the software performance is horrible... it will just sit there for minutes frozen up while you wait and twiddle your thumbs.
I considered continuing to use iTunes, but performance has always been a problem there as well (I use Windows). Mac users may love iTunes, but on Windows it is constantly freezing and crashing. Also, podcast support on iTunes is weak... you cannot set your preferences individually for each podcast, you can only set global preferences.
I tried all the other big players. WinAMP as always has a horrible user interface. MusicMatch is similarly difficult to use. Neither had acceptable podcast or device sync solutions. Windows Media Player does not support podcasts at all. Even so, I tried using it in combination with various independent pod catching utilities, finally settling on a combination of Windows Media Player and "ZiePOD". I must say I am very impressed with ZiePOD, but there was one fatal flaw. For some reason Windows Media Player cannot sync the "played" count from the Walkman. What this means is that you cannot automatically remove podcasts that you have already listened to. Since I subscribe to about 20 podcasts, this is a serious flaw.
Enter MediaMonkey. MediaMonkey has far and away the best podcast support of any music player available. You can set preferences such as update interval, number of episodes to retain, period of time to retain episodes, etc. on a per-podcast basis, or simply use global defaults. You can designate where to store your podcast downloads, and the file naming scheme. You can automatically delete podcasts once you have listened to them, when they reach a certain age, or a combination of criteria. ITunes could take a lesson from MediaMonkey's excellent podcast implementation.
Beyond podcasting, as a music player and media manager for large media libraries, MediaMonkey is the best on the market. A simple, clean, crisp tree view allows you to easily find the music you're after. You can customize the interface and display a large amount of data without appearing cluttered. One thing I hate about Windows Media Player is that you could not turn off the gigantic album art icons... MediaMonkey gives you total control over your interface. While the free version contains just about every feature you need, if you have a large library I would recommend upgrading to the Gold version, as the library management features are excellent. Also, you will eventually get tired of manually rescanning your library every time you make a change.
My only negative comment has nothing to do with the product, rather the ordering process. For some reason, the folks at MediaMonkey decided to use "element5" as their payment clearing house. Despite actually entering my "verified by Visa" password, my order failed three times. I actually called my credit card company and they told me that everything was fine and they could not even locate an attempted charge to my account. Therefore, these problems are internal to "element5". From a purely business point of view, the makers of MediaMonkey should be concerned. Once you have a customer who is happy enough to pay money for the Gold version, you should make the ordering process as easy as possible. I'm sure more than one customer has given up after submitting several orders only to have them fail for no reason. Luckily, I persevered...
Submit your review
You must be 13 years of age or older to submit personal information to CNET Networks. In compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, CNET Networks does not accept name and e-mail address information from users who are under 13 years of age.
All submitted ratings and written comments become the sole property of CNET Networks, Inc. (CNET) and may be used at CNET Networks' sole discretion. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days in batch groups, not in real time. However, CNET Networks reserves the right to remove or refuse to post any submission for any reason. You acknowledge that you, not CNET Networks, are responsible for the contents of your submission.
CNET Networks is not responsible for the content of the publisher's descriptions or user reviews on this site. We encourage you to determine whether this product or your intended use is legal. We do not encourage or condone the use of any software in violation of applicable laws. CNET Download.com does not sell, resell, or license any of the products listed on the site. We cannot be held liable for issues that arise from the download or use of these products.
