# WinPlay3

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**WinPlay3** was the first [real-time](/source/Real-time_computing) [MP3](/source/MP3) [audio player](/source/Audio_player_(software)) for [PCs](/source/Personal_computer) running [Windows](/source/Microsoft_Windows),[2][3][4] both 16-bit (Windows 3.1) and 32-bit (Windows 95). Prior to this, audio compressed with MP3 had to be decompressed prior to listening. It was released by [Fraunhofer IIS](/source/Fraunhofer_Institute_for_Applied_Solid_State_Physics) ("Institute for Integrated Circuits"),[5] creators of the [MP3](/source/MP3) format, on September 9, 1995.[6] The first versions (1.x series) were distributed as shareware and required a registration fee of DM 75,00 (~US$ 50,00). The 2.3 versions were made freeware. The latest version was released on May 23, 1997.[1] In 2000, the program was discontinued and all information and downloads were removed from the Fraunhofer IIS website.

The program became popular thanks to the [warez scene](/source/Scene_(software)).[7] The first [warez](/source/Warez) group to bring WinPlay3 to attention of a wider audience was [Compress Da Audio](/source/Compress_Da_Audio).[8] They released MP3 rips of [CDs](/source/CD), with copies of WinPlay3 included, on several [FTP](/source/FTP)-based warez sites. [Rabid Neurosis](/source/Rabid_Neurosis) emerged shortly afterwards, after which the scene exploded.[9]

Until the release of [Winamp](/source/Winamp) in 1997, WinPlay3 was the sole option for playing MP3-compressed music on Microsoft Windows. Unlike modern audio programs, such as Winamp or [iTunes](/source/ITunes), it lacked advanced features such as [equalizers](/source/Equalization_(audio)), or [playlists](/source/Playlist) as a menu option, and concentrated mostly on playback. A [playlist](/source/Playlist) can be created by hand, however, in a simple [text file](/source/Text_file) listing the system [path](/source/Path_(computing)) to each MP3 and saving the file with an [M3U](/source/M3U) extension. The m3u playlist support made it the first widely available media player application that offered a well-integrated streaming experience for the web user. Clicking a link on a webpage launched WinPlay3, which would start a stream of the mp3 listed in the m3u file.[10]

## References

1. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (1999). ["WinPlay3 / MPEG Layer-3 Player for Power Macintosh - Real-time MPEG Layer-3 Players"](http://www.iis.fhg.de/amm/download/mp3player/index.html). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/19990424170707/http://www.iis.fhg.de/amm/download/mp3player/index.html) 1999-04-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2010-08-11.

1. "1995: (...) In the same year, Fraunhofer provides a first PC based Layer 3 codec as shareware."—["*The mp3 history*"](http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/EN/bf/amm/mp3history/mp3history03.jsp). Fraunhofer IIS. Retrieved 2008-02-07.

1. ["*WinPlay3*"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080619002511/http://www.sonicspot.com/winplay/winplay.html). The Sonic Spot. Archived from [the original](http://www.sonicspot.com/winplay/winplay.html) on 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2008-02-07.

1. Zeller, Jürgen & Sieler, Martin. ["Using ISO/MPEG Audio to provide Low and High Quality audio services in real-time"](https://web.archive.org/web/19970704160721/http://www.iis.fhg.de/departs/amm/layer3/l3rt/index.html). Erlangen Germany: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. Archived from [the original](http://www.iis.fhg.de/departs/amm/layer3/l3rt/index.html) on 1997-07-04. Retrieved 2018-01-23.

1. "All title and copyrights in and to the IIS WinPlay3 v2.3b5 software product are owned by: Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen, Am Weichselgarten 3, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany". *IIS WinPlay3 v2.3b5 software product license agreement*, a document displayed in the WinPlay3 [installer](/source/Installer) window.

1. ["ReallyRareWares - FHG IIS WinPlay3"](http://www.rarewares.org/rrw/winplay3.php)

1. ["1996_DACMP3.nfo"](https://scenerules.org/t.html?id=1996_DACMP3.nfo). *scenerules.org*. Retrieved 2021-11-18.

1. Maldonado, Adrián. ["The archaeology of the mp3: review of How Music Got Free by Stephen Witt"](https://almostarchaeology.com/post/145882405468/mp3archaeology). *Almost Archaeology*. [Tumblr](/source/Tumblr). Retrieved 1 September 2024.

1. NetFraCk (13 April 2012). ["A Brief Summary of the MP3 Scene"](http://www.mp3scene.info/articles/3/brief-summary-mp3-scene/). *MP3 Scene .info*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120621063226/http://www.mp3scene.info/articles/3/brief-summary-mp3-scene/) 21 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

1. Robinson, Dom (2017-06-20). ["Chapter 4: Publishing"](https://books.google.com/books?id=fRArDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR4). *Content Delivery Networks: Fundamentals, Design, and Evolution*. Wiley. pp. 138–139. [doi:10.1002/9781119249924](https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119249924). ISBN 978-1-119-24988-7.

## External links

- [WinPlay3 Version V2.3 beta5](https://web.archive.org/web/19970704170631/http://www.iis.fhg.de/audio/) 23.05.1997 (Fraunhofer-IIS)
- [FhG IIS WinPlay3](http://www.rarewares.org/rrw/winplay3.php) on Really Rare Wares (September 1995 through May 1997) (16- and 32-bit versions)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [WinPlay3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WinPlay3) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WinPlay3?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.