The Filter 3.1

• License:

  Free

• Editor's Rating:

  4.0 stars

• Average User Rating:

  3.0 stars (out of 12 votes) Rate it!

• Downloads:

  11,062

• Requirements:

  Windows XP/Vista

• Limitations:

  No limitations

• Date Added:

  October 27, 2008

• Previous Versions:

  Select a version The Filter 2.5 The Filter 2.3 The Filter 2.2 The Filter 2.1 The Filter 2 The Filter 1.3.1.44 The Filter 1.3.1.38 iCueMix 1.2.2.14 iCueMix 1.2 iCueMix 1.17.3.3 iCueMix 1.17.3.2 The Filter 2.5

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Publisher's description of The Filter

The Filter is a neat, free piece of software that helps you build fantastic playlists from the music stored on your PC. It's like a musical assistant who knows exactly which songs will fit together and which songs won't. To build a playlist you open up iTunes or Windows Media Player and let The Filter analyse your library. You then click on Create a Playlist to generate one based on your choice of artist or song.

Version 3.1 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.

Editor's review of The Filter

• 4.0 stars

• "Kill your Party Shuffle"

The Filter is a plug-in for iTunes that uses artificial intelligence and the All Music Guide database to create custom iTunes, Winamp, and Windows Media Player playlists based on a variety of user inputs, such as a few songs of your choice, specific artists, or music genres. It also works for video, including movies, TV shows, and Web-only vids.

Upon start-up, The Filter scans your entire music library, which takes considerable time if you have more than 10,000 tracks. It compares the metadata for those files against the All Media Guide database, as well as your own playing history to compose new playlists based around various parameters. A lot of its success will depend on your library, of course, and how well your tracks are tagged. You'll need a username and password to access The Filter service, and in fact, you can't finish the registration process without rating at least three musicians and three movies.

The interface has been improved so it's no longer buggy, although there is a bit of a delay--one or two seconds--while it coughs up a new playlist. Its icon lives on the Quick Launch bar. Right-clicking accesses a context menu, and from there users can jump to Preferences, thefilter.com, or change the default playlist generation from being based on the song to the genre. Double-click on the icon and it automatically generates a playlist, as long as a track is currently playing. Playlists are generated from Bayesian mathematics algorithms and evidence models, and you can configure how much your playlists are influenced by album sales.

The Filter offers a strong alternative to iTunes' Genius playlist, as well as giving recommended playlists to jukeboxes that otherwise would have none.

User reviews

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  This software version | All versions

• 1 stars

  Version: The Filter 3.1

  "Who knows?"

  by 9dosus on November 17, 2008

  Pros: Theoretically, the ability to built intelligent playlists is a fantastic thing.

  Cons: Unfortunately, it doesn't work with Media Monkey.

  Summary: Considering the number of people who use Media Monkey, and the raves it gets around here, I can't imagine why this has been pushed so hard more than once.

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