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Now Playing: Airfoil for Windows 5!
Posted By Paul Kafasis on February 18th, 2016
It’s a very big day here at Rogue Amoeba, as we’re now shipping major upgrades to both Airfoil for Mac and Airfoil for Windows! If you’re unfamiliar with Airfoil, it’s our tool for playing audio from your computer to remote speakers anywhere on your network. Now you can hear the music from your computer anywhere you like. Airfoil gives you your audio, everywhere.
This post is dedicated to the brand-new version 5.0 of Airfoil for Windows.1 If you’re a Mac user, please be sure to read the corresponding Airfoil for Mac post.
Bluetooth Joins the Party
Perhaps the biggest change in Airfoil is that it now supports sending audio to Bluetooth devices. Airfoil has always been able to send audio to AirPlay outputs, like the Apple TV and AirPort Express. Now, it also works with the thousands of different Bluetooth speakers, headphones, and headsets available. With Airfoil 5, you can stream a single application’s audio to a Bluetooth device (or multiple Bluetooth devices!), and keep the rest of your audio on your computer.2
Powerful Audio Capture Improvements
The audio capture engine used by Airfoil for Windows has been completely rewritten for version 5, and it’s more robust than ever before. It’s now possible to capture audio from any application on-demand, without needing to quit and relaunch that app. As well, the new Airfoil can capture audio from both 32-bit and 64-bit apps, including applications downloaded from the Windows Store! With Airfoil 5, you can stream anything you like.
Team It Up With Airfoil Satellite
Airfoil for Windows 5.0 includes full compatibility with the new Airfoil Satellite applications, available for iOS, Windows, and Mac.3 If you want to hear your computer’s audio on another computer or iOS device, just run the free Airfoil Satellite there. Airfoil will see it and enable you to send audio to it! Airfoil Satellite also offers remote control of both supported source applications, as well as Airfoil itself. Now you can control playback, toggle outputs off and on, and much more, all remotely.
A Shiny New Interface
Airfoil for Windows and Airfoil Satellite for Windows have both been improved, all without changing too much. The interface will still be familiar to users of older versions of Airfoil, but it also features many improvements. There are improvements like longer volume sliders in Airfoil’s main window, as well as beautiful new graphics. Meanwhile Airfoil Satellite has been updated to include the new controls for controlling Airfoil, while retaining all that the previous “Airfoil Speakers” application offered.
Many More Great Additions
Of course, there’s much more to see in Airfoil 5, including:
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Speaker Groups – A group is a collection of multiple speakers which appears as one in Airfoil’s main window. Use a Group to send audio to multiple outputs with a single click. Create one group for all the speakers in your house, or divide your speakers into zones. Now you can send audio exactly where you want even faster.
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Silence Monitor – Great for workplace or shared home setups, the new silence monitor allows Airfoil to automatically disconnect itself when it’s streaming silence. The output device is then freed up for others to use.
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Hide Speakers – If you regularly connect to a shared network which contains devices you don’t control, you may wish to hide them entirely from Airfoil. Now you can do so, from the “Advanced Speaker Options” window.
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Adjust Sync – Airfoil automatically keeps all outputs completely in sync. However, there may be rare situations where you wish to adjust this, such as when an output is connected to a receiver which adds its own latency. The new Sync sliders in the “Advanced Speaker Options” window make this possible.
Try Airfoil for Windows 5 Right Now
Use Airfoil to send any audio from your computer throughout your house. Airfoil gives you your audio, everywhere, and the best way to experience it is to try it out yourself. Airfoil for Windows 5.0 is available for immediate download. You can visit the Airfoil for Windows page for more details or just download the free trial immediately. Airfoil works on Windows 7 and higher, and it’s fully functional in its trial mode, so you can explore all that it offers.
When you’re ready to purchase Airfoil for Windows, get it exclusively in our online store.
Discounts for Previous Airfoil Owners
As always, we’ll be providing free upgrades to recent purchasers of Airfoil. If you purchased Airfoil on or after November 1st, 2015, you’ll be provided with a complimentary upgrade to version 5. We’ve sent you an email with details, so just check your inbox.
If you previously purchased Airfoil for Windows 3 (or earlier) before November 1st, 2015, you’re eligible to upgrade to version 5 for just $15. Download the new version to try it out, then use our form to access the heavily discounted upgrade.
Enjoy!
We’re delighted to get this major upgrade into your hands, and we hope you’ll be glad to have it! You can learn more about the new version on the Airfoil for Windows page, then download it and try it out. Let us know any questions or feedback you have right here.
Footnotes:
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The most recent version of Airfoil for Windows prior to today was 3.6.7, and now we’re shipping 5.0. That means we skipped Airfoil for Windows version 4 entirely! Microsoft set the precedent of skipping whole version numbers, and we’re just following their lead. In all seriousness though, we wanted to reflect the fact that Airfoil for Windows and Airfoil for Mac now have a nearly identical feature sets, and having the major version number match is one way to emphasize that.
↩︎ -
The support for sending to Bluetooth devices in Airfoil for Windows 5.0 is currently labeled as “experimental”. We’ve tested it extensively, and expect it should work well for most users. However, if you run into any issues, please get in touch. We’ve also got some improvements and updates planned to enhance things for users with multiple Bluetooth speakers, so watch for further updates. ↩︎
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If you previously used “Airfoil Speakers” on Windows or iOS, the new Airfoil Satellite replaces it entirely. You should install Airfoil Satellite on any devices you like, and delete the old “Airfoil Speakers” application. ↩︎
Richard Smit says:
February 18th, 2016 at 5:47 pmI got this message:
Crash occured in Airfoil 5.0.0 at 18-2-2016 23:27:21: Mono.Zeroconf.MissingProviderException
OS Info: Windows 8 64bit (Microsoft Windows NT 6.2.9200.0)
————- exception level 0 ————-
Message:
No Zeroconf providers could be found or initialized. Necessary daemon may not be running.
Source
Mono.Zeroconf
Stack Trace:
bij Mono.Zeroconf.Providers.ProviderFactory.GetProviders()
bij Mono.Zeroconf.Providers.ProviderFactory.get_DefaultProvider()
bij Mono.Zeroconf.Providers.ProviderFactory.get_SelectedProvider()
bij Mono.Zeroconf.ServiceBrowser..ctor()
bij RogueAmoeba.AirTunes.SpeakerCabinet.Start()
bij RogueAmoeba.Airfoil.App.Application_Startup(Object sender, StartupEventArgs e)
bij System.Windows.Application.OnStartup(StartupEventArgs e)
bij System.Windows.Application.b__0(Object unused)
bij System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.InternalRealCall(Delegate callback, Object args, Int32 numArgs)
bij System.Windows.Threading.ExceptionWrapper.TryCatchWhen(Object source, Delegate callback, Object args, Int32 numArgs, Delegate catchHandler)
Target Site:
Mono.Zeroconf.Providers.IZeroconfProvider[] GetProviders()
—-end exception—-
——– end dump ——–
Yours faithfully
Richard Smit
richardhendriksmit@gmail.com
Paul Kafasis says:
February 18th, 2016 at 6:21 pmRichard Smit: It looks like the zeroconf/Bonjour service isn’t running on your computer. Airfoil needs this to already be running, in order to see and connect to remote speakers. Further, it looks like we’ve got a bug on our end – Airfoil shouldn’t crash in this case.
We’ve emailed you directly with details. If anyone else has issues, be sure to contact us directly through our support form: http://rogueamoeba.com/support/supportRequest.php
Eric Brady says:
February 19th, 2016 at 9:46 amThe Windows update removed version 3. I found that you can find it at https://rogueamoeba.com/legacy/ if you don’t feel like paying to upgrade. This was found in the comments in the mac section, I don’t appreciate it replacing my previous install one bit and then asking for money.
Paul Kafasis says:
February 19th, 2016 at 10:38 amEric Brady: The Airfoil 5.0.0 installer does indeed overwrite Airfoil for Windows 3 at present. We try to make it clear everywhere we can that this is a paid upgrade, and we provide a download of the previous versions, as you linked to. Our goal is never to trick anyone into upgrading.
Legacy versions: https://rogueamoeba.com/legacy/
Unfortunately, on the Windows side, it’s a lot harder to have multiple versions of the software installed at the same time. We’re currently working to see how we can improve things for 5.0.1.
Edward Hart says:
February 20th, 2016 at 5:16 amWont be upgrading and its a shame you’re asking me to pay. We’ve struggled with an unstable program for years and now you’ve finally fixed it so it does what it was always supposed to (apparently) you want me to pay again? Seriously? And Bluetooth – big deal. Virtually every device can connect to Bluetooth without airfoil thanks.
Blatant money grab. Shame on you, shame on you.
Edward Hart says:
February 20th, 2016 at 5:19 amOh and I’ve just seen you’re closing comments in four days. Well we can have new customers see how badly you’ve treated existing customers – can we?
Well done Rogue Amoeba – you just entered the ranks of the bad guys.
Tom B says:
February 20th, 2016 at 11:43 amAwesome update and thank you Amoebas! I’ve used AirFoil for many years and it’s always been great. Using it with Bluetooth too is even better.
To Edwart Hart(less): get a clue! The bad guys are jerks who go around leaving whiny comments not the companies making cool software.
Paul Kafasis says:
February 20th, 2016 at 12:09 pmEdward Hart: I’m sorry you’re feeling wronged here. We’ve updated the application significantly for version 5, and added a great deal of new functionality. If that’s not useful functionality for you, however, you’re not at all required to pay for it. However, on our end, in in order to sustain our business, we need to charge a fair price for adding substantial new functionality. Airfoil for Windows has existed for almost a decade, and this is the very first paid upgrade we’ve sold for it. This is most certainly not a “blatant money grab”.
If you’ve had years’ worth of issues with Airfoil, we’d certainly like to know more. On our end, I can find only one email from an “Edward Hart” using Airfoil for Windows. It was sent to us one year ago, at which point we answered, and received no further questions. We’re here to help with problems you might be having.
As far as blog comments, they close a few days after a post has been published to prevent spammers from hitting them. We watch them as best we can for the few days after a post, but after that, closing them is the safest way to prevent spam.
Tom B: Thanks for the kind words about Airfoil, and we’re glad you like the update! As for the rest, let’s be sure to keep things civil here. While we don’t agree with Edward, he’s entitled to his opinion.
Kelmo says:
February 21st, 2016 at 6:54 amDear Airfoil,
I originally purchased the airfoil bundle for Mac & Windows and have been enjoying airfoil for years on both my PC and MAC. Do you also offer a bundle upgrade with the same discount? (I couldn’t find it) I’d like to continue using airfoil with both computers but then with an upgrade discount for the bundle.
Thanks and Kind Regards,
Kelmo
Jon says:
February 21st, 2016 at 11:14 amSame Jon as the Mac blog comments. I have the windows and mac bundle (which is why I posted on the Mac blog).
I have a different crash log in Windows and the automatic v5 upgrade removed version 3. I did not manually download v5. I had no idea there was a v5 until Airfoil upgraded itself Thursday night and the new version appeared on screen with a Trial Mode button.
There is a workaround. I uninstalled the v5 trial mode and reinstalled v3.67 to a unique folder. Everything looks fine. And it looks like the v.367 upgrade feature (both automatic and Check for Update) keeps you at v3.67. My paid license appears correctly. There was a big window advertising the version 5 upgrade but it only showed up the one time. I never saw this before.
Since a handful of Windows users posted this problem, it appears there is a bug in the Windows upgrade process. Maybe the Airfoil upgrade service updates itself first to v5, then upgrades the software to v3.67. I wasn’t paying attention the first time. If I had to guess, it would be the Windows upgrade workflow from a legacy paid license dating back several versions and remaining in the same folder. Without knowing windows versions, upgrade and license history, and other software installed, it would only be a guess.
For all the comment trolls here attacking other paying customers, grow up. There should be no need for a workaround for software that worked perfectly fine on Wednesday.
Paul – thank you for posting the link to the legacy section. Please let us know the upgrade cost for the bundle clients. Is it $15 for windows + $15 for mac?
Paul Kafasis says:
February 22nd, 2016 at 3:20 pmKelmo: Each platform has a new version, and each needs its own a paid upgrade. There’s no separate bundle upgrade price. You can upgrade Airfoil for Mac and Airfoil for Windows individually, right through our store.
Jon: There’s really NO way for Airfoil to have downloaded version 5 on its own. We’ve tested both our server, and the app, repeatedly. The version checker simply will not download version 5, nor ever upgrade itself (even going from 3.6.6 to 3.6.7). I’m not sure what you saw last week, but I know the software simply is incapable of what you’re describing. We’ll continue to keep an eye on this though.
The news window you saw is how we inform users of the paid upgrade, rather than through the built-in update system. This is done specifically to avoid folks overwriting their paid version 3 with the new version 5 that will require an upgrade. If you click the Download button there, and run the installer, it will overwrite the existing Airfoil, that much is so. This is why that news window, and other places, mention the paid nature of the upgrade.
As for upgrading both platforms, as mentioned above, there’s no separate bundle upgrade price. You can upgrade Airfoil for Mac and Airfoil for Windows individually, through our store.
Kommander says:
February 22nd, 2016 at 3:57 pmI have used AirFoil 3 for a long time and it’s been great! Now I’ve just learned of version 5 and it’s even better! Thank you for adding support for Bluetooth. I happily paid for the upgrade since I’ve been using this for so many years.
On my computer I never saw AirFoil update itself or anything like that. When I launched AirFoil today it showed me a new window with information about version 5 which I then downloaded. It worked great no problems here!
Steve says:
February 22nd, 2016 at 10:47 pmGuys. Former #masshole here….well, I guess that always stays with me.
Sure I groaned a bit after contemplating the cough up of 15 bucks, but the upgrade is sweet. Not just AF, but Satellite now working seamlessly with it, and Satellite supporting both iOS and Mac…The way I see it, I’ve now invested a total of $44 for a product I use for a few hours or more most every day that I’m home. I leverage my existing HW. And I don’t have to pay the big SONOS dinero.
Finally, in addition to the more contemporary looking UI, AF seems a bit more stable under the hood.
Very nice work, folks. Glad you’re still around and are ITERATING. Keep it up!
Paul Kafasis says:
February 23rd, 2016 at 1:35 pmKommander: Glad you’re enjoying the new update!
Steve: That’s about the size of it. People are seldom thrilled to pay for an upgrade, but we hope most will be satisfied with the process. Charging for upgrades every so often is a necessary part of being a sustainable business. We wouldn’t be able to add major new features like Bluetooth support or Airfoil Satellite, if we couldn’t recoup our investment with a paid upgrade.
Enough rambling – thanks for the kind words and enjoy Airfoil 5!