CNET Editors' review
TuneWiki's Windows Media Player plug-in is part licensed lyrics spooler for your own songs and for streaming YouTube videos, and part social project. TuneWiki's interface reskins Windows Media Player's "Now Playing" window. As the music from your library plays, TuneWiki checks its online wiki database for song lyrics--which members mostly contribute, Wikipedia-style--and plays them in time with the music. If you search for YouTube videos through TuneWiki's plug-in, it will similarly serve lyrics, if available. The lyrics tools include support for language translations, the ability to manually scroll through lyrics rather than stream them, and a process by which you can easily manually reset the timing between a song's audio track and its associated lyrics.
In addition to TuneWiki's primary visual lyrics experience is a secondary social one. TuneWiki displays music maps on which other TuneWiki users are plotted. You'll be able to see who in close proximity is playing which song, or where in the world others are playing the same song as you. Clicking an individual's name can pull up the YouTube video of the song they're rocking so you can watch along, or can show the song's real-time influence on the globe.
While TuneWikie's lyrics database especially enriches the basic Windows Media Player experience, it harbors some flaws. Some tools aren't immediately intuitive, like the resyncing process, and the fact that only TuneWiki-approved editors can edit existing lyrics. A text notice on the editor-only area would wipe away potential confusion and frustration. Also, we'd like the size of the YouTube video to be adjustable. If the YouTube video stops, as it did once during testing, we want to refresh it without closing and reopening the app. When searching for songs, we'd like a more elegant display of the artist and album information returned in the results.
TuneWiki's plug-in is good enough to use now--the lyrics and music maps adding utility and interest--but will benefit from a few more development iterations.
Watch the CNET video review of TuneWiki for Windows Media Player:
Publisher's Description
From TuneWiki:
TuneWiki brings its technology for mobile social media players to your PC. The free TuneWiki plug-in converts that boring solitary experience of Windows Media Player to a social networking and entertainment tool. TuneWiki adds lyrics scrolling as subtitles for your music, and allows you to contribute missing lyrics and timing to the community. TuneWiki includes foreign-language translations and allows you to contribute and correct translations for your preferred language. TuneWiki displays who else is enjoying the same music as you and where they are. It also shows what music is being played by other community members around the planet. TuneWiki displays what people are playing in your city as a default.
What's new in this version: Moved to the plugin category.
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All versions:
3.3 starsout of 44 votes
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Current version:
3.4 starsout of 26 votes
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My rating:
Write review
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"Scroll simply doesnt work"
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
Lyrics !!!
Cons
Scroll simply doesnt work
Summary
Scroll simply doesnt work
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"Awesome program"
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
I really liked the way that it automatically loaded the lyrics for the song
Cons
The syncing didn't work
Summary
Although I would like to be able to add lyrics for some songs this is a great program as an add on for wmp
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"I like this tool very much it works well good selection"
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
Works well very quick to find tune required. Good all round selection. Excellent fun and if in music business invaluable.
Cons
None to worry about at present.
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"besides windows having to shut down a few time it's OK"
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
It does have most of the lyrics.
Cons
sometimes windows has problems with the plug in or you have to scroll down the lyrics yourself when most of the time it's scrolls with the music.
Summary
Mind you I use it basically for the lyrics to find out what the singer is saying
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"Nice addition to WMP"
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
Doesn't seem to affect WMP at all
Great way to have your lyrics on hand at any timeCons
the synching doesn't always work
Summary
If you like lyrics with your music, this product is great. It doesn't have every song, but is very convenient.
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"works ok but seems to freeze up frequently."
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
loads quickly, syncs with music well.
Cons
lyrics not always accurate. freezes media player.
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"a very good, yet flawed, idea"
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
good presentation
gets lyrics fast
works very well as a tool for karaoke.Cons
Obtrusive and a bit clumsy
doesn't work with Jamendo albums and operas -
"Simply works"
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
I like the ability to review the lyrics as they scroll down the screen.
Cons
All of the lyrics aren't correct, and sometimes they are out of sync.
Summary
It's a simple yet effective product that works most of the time and adds to the enjoyment of listening to music.
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"Great idea; needs work"
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
The concept of syncing lyrics with the music is great.
Cons
It requires too much user intervention to keep the lyrics in sync with the musice, and it has a nasty habit of running out of lyrics in the middle of a song.
Summary
If I were them, I wouldn't plan on charging anyone for this product anytime in the forseeable future. It's a great idea, but it needs a lot of technical work and even more on the lyrics database.
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"needs A Lot of work. Takes up too much space"
Version: TuneWiki for Windows Media Player 0.1.01.5
Pros
need to give it a chance
Cons
Takes up far too much space in the player.
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