Dino’s Jukebox – jukebox software for Windows

Touchscreen jukebox software for Windows – made for home, good enough for the pub.

Dino’s Jukebox is jukebox software that turns a Windows PC and a touchscreen into a proper jukebox, not just another media player. At home, it runs on Free Vend, so every song is free. In a pub or bar, however, it takes coins, keeps its own chart and has a hidden menu for staff. Best of all, one switch changes between the two. It’s nearly finished, and the planned price is £29.99.

Dino’s Jukebox jukebox software attract screen showing a wall of album art
When nobody’s using it, a moving wall of album art invites people over.

What the jukebox software does

  • Browse five ways – Artists, Albums, Genres, Hot Here and Search, with big photo tiles and an A–Z jump strip
  • Hot Here chart – a live Top 50 built from what people actually play, with up, down and NEW badges
  • Top 50 countdown (adjustable length) – introduced by a natural-sounding DJ voice that runs on the PC, with no cloud service
  • Free Vend or coin credits – free at home, or a coin mechanism with your own prices and Priority Play
  • iPhone remote (iPad version coming soon) – so you can queue songs from the sofa over home Wi-Fi
  • Built-in radio station – so you can listen in other rooms or on smart speakers, including an Amazon Echo
  • Volume levelling – every record plays at the same loudness, but your files are never changed
  • Seasonal looks – spring, summer, autumn, winter, Christmas and New Year

Jukebox software for home or the pub

At home

  • Free Vend – everything is free and the prices disappear
  • Add Album to Queue on album pages for whole-album listening
  • iPhone remote (iPad version coming soon) – queue songs from the sofa; phone requests are always free
  • Built-in radio station – so you can listen in other rooms or on smart speakers, including an Amazon Echo
  • Background music that fades out the moment someone picks a song
  • Seasonal looks – spring, summer, autumn, winter, Christmas and New Year

In the pub

  • Coin credits – works with a coin mechanism, with your own prices
  • Priority Play – customers can pay a little more to jump the queue
  • Hot Here chart built from what customers actually play
  • Top 50 countdown (adjustable length) introduced by a DJ voice
  • Hidden operator menu for staff – test credits, skip, clear queue and more
  • Volume levelling so every record plays at the same loudness

Name, prices, music location, DJ voice and stream quality all live in one plain settings file. As a result, it’s easy to set up for either job.

Screenshots

Artists screen with large photo tiles for each artist and an A to Z jump strip
Artists: big photo tiles and an A–Z jump strip.
An artist's page listing their songs with artwork and prices
An artist’s page, sorted by popularity or title.
Pop-up asking whether to Play Song for 1 credit or Priority Play Song for 2 credits
A clear Play or Priority Play choice before any credit is spent.
Genres screen with tiles for decades and music styles
Genres, plus decades worked out automatically from each track’s year.
Search screen with an on-screen keyboard and live results for the word love
Search artists or songs, with results appearing as you type.
Hot Here chart listing the most-played songs with up, down and new badges
Hot Here: the 50 most-played songs on this jukebox, with up, down and NEW badges after every play, and genre filters.

Specifications

PlatformWindows 10 (1809 or later) or Windows 11, 64-bit, with the free .NET 8 runtimes
DisplayFull-screen widescreen (16:9) touchscreen
MusicMP3, FLAC, M4A, WAV, WMA and OGG from a local drive or NAS, with tags and embedded artwork
PaymentCoin mechanism (one pulse per credit) with configurable song and priority prices, or Free Vend
Remote controliPhone app over home Wi-Fi with automatic discovery and PIN pairing; iPad version coming soon
StreamingBuilt-in MP3 internet radio (128–320 kbps) with now-playing titles and optional access key; can play on an Amazon Echo
VoiceOffline Piper neural text-to-speech: British female or American male voice (commercially licensed), with a Windows voice as backup
AudioEBU R128 / LUFS loudness levelling with adjustable target; honours ReplayGain tags
Built withWPF / .NET 8, NAudio, TagLib#, SQLite

Frequently asked questions

Can I download Dino’s Jukebox yet?

Not yet, although it’s nearly finished. The planned price is £29.99, and the download will be on this page as soon as it’s ready. In the meantime, you can follow progress in the Dino’s Jukebox build post.

Can I use it at home without coins?

Yes – Free Vend makes every song free and hides the prices, so it works like a jukebox at home rather than in a pub.

Will it take coins in a pub or bar?

Yes, because it works with a coin mechanism (one pulse per credit), with your own song and Priority Play prices. In addition, staff get a hidden operator menu for test credits, skipping and clearing the queue.

Which music files does it play?

It plays MP3, FLAC, M4A, WAV, WMA and OGG from a local drive or a NAS. It also reads the tags and embedded artwork, so albums appear with their covers.

Does it need an internet connection?

No, not to play music, because the DJ voice downloads once and then runs offline on the PC.

Can I play it on an Amazon Echo?

Yes. The jukebox has its own built-in radio stream, so you can play it on an Amazon Echo. My Echo streaming guide shows how to set it up.

Is there an iPad or iPhone version?

The remote is an iPhone app, and an iPad version is coming soon. In addition, a dedicated iPhone music player based on the same software is on the way.

What do I need to run it?

First, you need a Windows 10 (1809 or later) or Windows 11 64-bit PC with the free .NET 8 runtimes, and a widescreen (16:9) touchscreen. Also, for the remote, you need an iPhone on the same home Wi-Fi.