My preferred player for Windows will always be Winamp. Always. Because Nullsoft.
Winamp is a lean, solid piece of software that’s been stable for a long time. MPEG Streams have been supported since version 2.5.
If You Have It Installed
Then you have my deepest respect.
Easy-Peasy
First, try the standard Listen link.
If that doesn’t work, click this Winamp Listen link. It outputs a specific playlist format that Winamp prefers.
The Hard Way
The Winamp Menu is opened from a tiny square in the upper corner of the Player.
The icon could be a little [X], or a little [N] / lightning-bolt.
From the Winamp Menu Menu, choose Play > URL ….
Power-users can press [Ctrl-L] (⌃L).
You’ll get a pop-up dialog. Then right-click on and copy the following Listen link:
http://sleepbot.com/ambience/cgi/listen.pls
Paste it into the input field, and click OK. The stream will play.
Troubles Launching with a PLS
I did run into issues trying to click the PLS link above. Even when I chose Open with > Winamp – which was the default – when prompted by my browser. Winamp would launch, but it wouldn’t play anything.
The same thing happened when I saved the PLS as a file and then opened it from Explorer. The ‘.pls’ file extension is mapped correctly, but the stream will not load & play. Even when I tried Winamp Menu > Play > File …, it still would’t work.
Fortunately, cut-and-pasting the PLS Listen link works just fine.
Installation
It’s available for Windows only … which might be self-evident, given the Application name.
- Download the Installer
- Perform a Standard Install
Upon first launch, Winamp will prompt you about which File Associations to make. Specifically, it says:
To associate files with Winamp on this version of Windows, you need to go to ‘Set Default Programs’ in the Control Panel once Winamp’s setup is complete.
Note: This can also be accessed via Winamp’s ‘File Types’ preference page.
For ease of use, you may also want to keep the following checked;
[x]Show Winamp in the folder context menus in Windows Explorer
Click Next, and there you have it.
Making the File Associations
Please proceed to the Setup Manual for forcing Winamp to be the default player.