Download Player

Download Player for Windows

The Download Player is used in over 55,000 locations, spanning 157 countries around the world, delivering foreground and background music and digital signage to retail and leisure outlets such as hotels, public spaces, restaurants, bars, shops and stores.

Capable of providing any number of zones from a single PC, the Windows Download Player is a complete audio visual music system.

The software is flexible to be able to provide multiple audio or video zones, or a mix of both, from a single laptop, PC or server to reduce the cost per zone. Below are some popular set-ups:

Audio

Video

5 Zone Mixed AV Download Player Configuration

If you need more zones or a specific build or configuration please contact us.

The following are the minimum system requirements when using the Audio Download Player in a Windows environment.
If you are wanting video Download Player requirements, please see the video hardware recommendations.

Number of zones	1 or 2	1 to 8	9 or more	Mission Critical
Hardware	Windows based Desktop PC, Laptop or Netbook	Windows based Desktop PC or Laptop	Windows based Industrial PC	Windows based fault tolerant industrial PC
Operating System	Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 *¹
CPU	1 GHz. Intel Celeron Intel Pentium or better. *²	Dual Core 1.6 GHz. Intel Celeron (1-2 zones) Intel Pentium (3-4 zones) Intel Core i3 (5-8 zones) *²	Dual Core 1.6 GHz. Intel Core i5 (9-16 zones) Intel Core i7 (17-32 zones) Intel Xeon (33+ zones) *²	Dual core 1.6 GHz. Intel Core i5 (9-16 zones) Intel Core i7 (17-32 zones) Intel Xeon (33+ zones) *²
RAM	4 GB	4 GB	8GB (9-32 zones) 16GB (33+ zones)	8GB (9-32 zones) 16GB (33+ zones)
Hard Drive	Minimum of 80GB hard drive; plus 10GB to 20GB (for SD music) or 20GB to 40GB (for HD music) of free hard drive space for music downloads per zone. *³
Sound Card	Direct X compatible analogue or digital sound card per zone. ^{Recommendations}
Sound Card	The on-board sound card (headphone socket) is normally OK for short distances (less than 10 meters) between the PC and the audio system input. For longer distances, or installations within electrically noisy environments, one of the following may be required: 1) unbalanced to balanced converter, 2) external sound card with balanced outputs or 3) Audio over Ethernet sound card.	An external analogue or Audio over Ethernet sound card is required. Analogue sound cards with unbalanced outputs are normally OK for short distances (less than 10 meters) between the PC and the audio system input. For longer distances, or installations within electrically noisy environments, one of the following may be required: 1) unbalanced to balanced converter, 2) external sound card with balanced outputs or 3) Audio over Ethernet sound card.		A high quality external analogue sound card with balanced outputs or Audio over Ethernet sound card is a requirement.
Redundancy	Not required			Redundant hard drive (RAID 1/RAID 5) Redundant PSU Automated SNMP fault reporting UPS power supply

1 to 8 Zone Players

Number of zones	1 or 2	1 to 8
Hardware	Any Windows based Desktop PC, Laptop or Netbook	Any Windows based Desktop PC or Laptop
Operating System	Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10
CPU	1 GHz. Intel Celeron Intel Pentium or better. *²	Dual Core 1.6 GHz. Celeron (1-2 zones) Pentium (3-4 zones) Core i3 (5-8 zones) *²
RAM	4 GB
Hard Drive	Minimum of 80GB hard drive; plus 10GB to 20GB (for SD music) or 20GB to 40GB (for HD music) of free hard drive space for music downloads per zone. *³
Sound Card	Direct X compatible analogue or digital sound card per zone.
Sound Card	The on-board sound card (headphone socket) is normally OK for short distances (less than 10 meters) between the PC and the audio system input. For longer distances, or installations within electrically noisy environments, one of the following may be required: 1) unbalanced to balanced converter, 2) external sound card with balanced outputs or 3) Audio over Ethernet sound card.	An external analogue or Audio over Ethernet sound card is required. Analogue sound cards with unbalanced outputs are normally OK for short distances (less than 10 meters) between the PC and the audio system input. For longer distances, or installations within electrically noisy environments, one of the following may be required: 1) unbalanced to balanced converter, 2) external sound card with balanced outputs or 3) Audio over Ethernet sound card.
Redundancy	Not required

9+ Zones or Mission Critical

Number of zones	9 or more	Mission Critical
Hardware	Windows based Industrial PC	Windows based fault tolerant industrial PC
Operating System	Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10
CPU	Dual Core 1.6 GHz. Core i5 (9-16 zones) Core i7 (17-32 zones) Xeon (33+ zones) *²	Dual core 1.6 GHz. Core i5 (9-16 zones) Core i7 (17-32 zones) Xeon (33+ zones) *²
RAM	8GB (9-32 zones) 16GB (33+ zones)
Hard Drive	Minimum of 80GB hard drive; plus 10GB to 20GB (for SD music) or 20GB to 40GB (for HD music)of free hard drive space for music downloads per zone. *³
Sound Card	Direct X compatible analogue or digital sound card per zone.
Sound Card	An external analogue or Audio over Ethernet sound card is required. Analogue sound cards with unbalanced outputs are normally OK for short distances (less than 10 meters) between the PC and the audio system input. For longer distances, or installations within electrically noisy environments, one of the following may be required: 1) unbalanced to balanced converter, 2) external sound card with balanced outputs or 3) Audio over Ethernet sound card.	A high quality external analogue sound card with balanced outputs or Audio over Ethernet sound card is a requirement.
Redundancy	Not required	Redundant hard drive (RAID 1/RAID 5) Redundant PSU Automated SNMP fault reporting UPS power supply

If you are considering using a mission critical or Audio over Ethernet solution or have any questions, please contact us.

* ¹ We strongly recommend using the latest version of Windows which is still supported by Microsoft; such as Windows 10.

* ² We recommend using a processor with the equivalent performance of an; Intel Celeron (for up to 2 zones), Intel Pentium (for up to 4 zones), Intel Core i3 (for up to 8 zones), Intel Core i5 (for up to 16 zones), Intel Core i7 (for up to 32 zones), or Xeon (for more than 32 zones). We would advise not to use the Intel Atom processor.

* ³ This space estimation is based on an average audio only music profile using tracks of 4Mb (SD) or 8Mb (HD) in size. Some music packages may vary in size. Video players will reqire more space.

Using the specifications above, click through to one of our preferred suppliers.

Video Player Hardware

We can provide the player hardware pre-configured with our software and music so you can plug and play. We offer two industrial grade PCs in 1U rack mount or vesa form factors, should you require more zones please contact us for a quote.

1U Rack Mount Hardware

View Specification

CPU: Intel Quad Core 2.0Ghz
Graphics: Intel with Quick Sync Video
RAM: 2GB
Hard-drive: 320GB SATA
Audio Outputs: x2 providing x4 channels on 3.5mm mini jack.
Video Outputs: x2 (HDMI & VGA) supporting up to 1920x1080
Remote control via website
Dimensions (mm): 489 x 285 x 45

Mini Hardware

View Specification

CPU: Intel Braswell N3150
Graphics: Intel GEN8
RAM: 2GB
Audio Output: x1 providing x2 channels on 3.5mm mini jack.
Video Output: x1 HDMI supporting up to 1920x1080
Remote control via website
Dimensions (mm): 118.5 x 110 x 46

Prefer to supply your own hardware for your video player?

Click to view the minimum hardware requirements for a video Download Player

If supplying your own hardware please ensure it has at least:

CPU: Intel i3 2.0Ghz
RAM: 4GB
Video Card: A DirectX Compatible Video Card (Recommendations)
Sound Card: A DirectX Sound Card (Recommendations)
OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10

The following sound cards have been successfully tested with the Download Player and are recommended for use.

Recommended Multi-zone Analogue Sound Cards

Sound Card	Audio Outputs	PC Interface	Specification
StarTech USB Stereo Audio Adapter	2 Channels 1x 1/8" / 3.5mm TRS (Unbalanced Stereo Jack)	USB	View Specification
Creative Soundblaster Play!	2 Channels 1x 1/8" / 3.5mm TRS (Unbalanced Stereo Jack)	USB	View Specification
PreSonus Audiobox 22VSL Discontinued (Replaced with M-Audio M-Track Eight)	2 Channels 2x 1/4" / 6.3mm TRS (Balanced Mono Jack)	USB	View Specification
PreSonus Audiobox 44VSL Discontinued (Replaced with M-Audio M-Track Eight)	4 Channels 4x 1/4" / 6.3mm TRS (Balanced Mono Jack)	USB	View Specification
PreSonus Audiobox 1818VSL Discontinued (Replaced with M-Audio M-Track Eight)	8 Channels 8x 1/4" / 6.3mm TRS (Balanced Mono Jack)	USB	View Specification
M-Audio M-Track Eight	8 Channels 8x 1/4" / 6.3mm TRS (Balanced Mono Jack)	USB	View Specification
ESI UD J6	4 Channels 4x RCA / Phono / Cinch (Unbalanced Mono)	USB	View Specification
ESI Gigaport HD+	8 Channels 8x RCA / Phono / Cinch (Unbalanced Mono)	USB	View Specification
RME FIREFACE 800 Discontinued (Replaced with RME FIREFACE 802)	8 Channels 8x 1/4" / 6.3mm TRS (Balanced Mono Jack)	1 x FireWire 400 2 x FireWire 800	View Specification
RME FIREFACE 802	8 Channels 8x 1/4" / 6.3mm TRS (Balanced Mono Jack)	1 x FireWire 400 1 x FireWire 800 1 x USB 2.0	View Specification
Roland OCTA-CAPTURE (UA-1010)	8 Channels 8x 1/4" / 6.3mm TRS (Balanced Mono Jack)	USB	View Specification

Sound Card	Outs	Spec
StarTech USB Stereo Audio Adapter	2	View Specification
Creative Soundblaster Play!	2	View Specification
PreSonus Audiobox 22VSL Discontinued (Replaced with M-Audio M-Track Eight)	2	View Spec
PreSonus Audiobox 44VSL Discontinued (Replaced with M-Audio M-Track Eight)	4	View Spec
PreSonus Audiobox 1818VSL Discontinued (Replaced with M-Audio M-Track Eight)	8	View Spec
M-Audio M-Track Eight	8	View Specification
ESI UD J6	4	View Specification
ESI Gigaport HD+	8	View Specification
RME FIREFACE 800 Discontinued (Replaced with RME FIREFACE 802)	8	View Specification
RME FIREFACE 802	8	View Spec
Roland OCTA-CAPTURE (UA-1010)	8	View Spec

Recommended Multi-zone Audio over Ethernet Sound Cards

Recommended Audio over Ethernet protocols are: CobraNet, Dante and Ethersound (AVB under review)

Important Notes:

The Download Player currently supports Window Driver Model (WDM) and DirectX Windows audio interface drivers.
ASIO drivers are NOT supported.
Dante Virtual Soundcard Release 3.7 supports up to 16 channels via WDM.
The Dante PCIe-R does not support Windows audio interfaces (such as WDM/MME and DirectX) and cannot be used with common media players available for Windows, including the Download Player.
Redundant ring network topology is highly recommended for Ethersound deployments (NOT star network topology).

Sound Card	Outputs	Interface	Specification
AudioScience ASI5308	8	CobraNet PCIe	View Specification
AudioScience ASI5408	8	CobraNet PCI	View Specification
AudioScience ASI5316	16	CobraNet PCIe	View Specification
AudioScience ASI5416	16	CobraNet PCI	View Specification
Dante Virtual Sound Card	16	Dante	View Specification

Sound Card	Outs	Spec
AudioScience ASI5308	8	View Spec
AudioScience ASI5408	8	View Spec
AudioScience ASI5316	16	View Spec
AudioScience ASI5416	16	View Spec

The ASI5308 and ASI5316 cards above have CobraNet/PCIe interfaces and the ASI5408 and ASI5416 have CobraNet/PCI interfaces.

	Video/Graphics Card	Outputs	Interface	Specification
	NVidia GeForce GT 610	Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI, VGA	PCI Express 2.0	View Specification

	Video/ Graphics Card	Outputs	Spec
	NVidia GeForce GT 610	Dual Link DVI-I, HDMI, VGA	View Spec

If you are wanting to explore, get help with or learn more about your Download Player take a look at our online guides, which explain all you need to know about your player.