OS X MP3 player with good "shuffle" ability?

August 6, 2005 4:55 PM

Looking for: OS X MP3 player with good ability to scroll through long files easily and accurately.

I'd really like an easy way to go through MP3 files that last about an hour or two (downloaded radio shows, commentaries, etc.) with a nice long shuffle bar. iTunes has a scrollbar where one pixel this way or that way shifts me about a minute or two in the audio. VLC doesn't seem to be any better. Audion is only slightly better. If the scrollbars were just longer!

So, what I'm looking for, is a free mp3 player that lets me say "Whoa, what was that?" and shift back 10-15 seconds, or scroll through a show to find a particular phrase or segment.

Any ideas?

posted by odinsdream to computers & internet (7 answers total)

Shuffle may also be the wrong word. Jog control?
posted by odinsdream at 4:56 PM on August 6, 2005

Have you tried using QuickTime Player? The window is adjustable and you can use the («) and (») buttons to scrub through the file, I think.
posted by mcwetboy at 4:59 PM on August 6, 2005

Scrub, that was the word I was looking for! Wonderful solution! It was right under my nose... thank you very much.
posted by odinsdream at 5:22 PM on August 6, 2005

With VLC, if you click the "rewind" or "fast forward" buttons once (don't hold down) you can skip/rewind 10 seconds.

Also, the space bar will act as pause on nearly every audio/video program.
posted by O9scar at 6:42 PM on August 6, 2005

QuickTime 7 has a jog slider hidden in the AV Controls. Window --> Show AV Controls or command-K. I'm not sure if this is available in the standard player or if it's a pro-only feature.
posted by nathan_teske at 8:43 PM on August 6, 2005

Thank you nathan_teske, great tip.
posted by odinsdream at 9:27 PM on August 6, 2005

mplayer. Use the arrow keys to skip through the file. Left/Right keys for small increments, Up/Down keys for large increments. I've found this to be more comfortable and accurate than VLC, and to require less mouse fussiness than QT Player.
posted by majick at 9:42 AM on August 7, 2005