Retro Jukebox 1.8 Rescued
Another classic PC jukebox has been dragged back into the light for the Arcade Punks archive. Retro Jukebox is a Windows-based Wurlitzer-style jukebox created for arcade cabinets, MAME cabs and joystick-controlled music setups.
It is simple, retro, very specific in what it does, and exactly the kind of software that deserves preserving before it disappears into forum posts, dead links and half-remembered arcade cabinet builds.
Another Jukebox Mirror For The Archive
We often get asked to suggest jukebox options for various devices, especially for touchscreen PCs, arcade cabinets and home-built music machines.
After previously covering options such as the much-loved Juke Blaster, another message came through with a few files to share. There was not much information at first, just a video link and a link to the files.
Then came the update. SepticKebab got in touch with a newer Retro Jukebox 1.8 version, along with the original French information, translated and cleaned up here for preservation.
The people over at Touchscreen Machines are going to love playing with this one.
What Is Retro Jukebox?
Retro Jukebox is a Windows PC application designed to imitate the look, feel and functionality of classic 1980s jukeboxes, with a strong Wurlitzer-style influence.
Unlike some jukebox programs built mainly for touchscreens or mouse control, Retro Jukebox was designed with arcade machines in mind. It can be controlled using the joysticks and buttons of an arcade cabinet, making it a natural fit for a MAME cab or Windows-based arcade build.
The goal was simple: add a proper jukebox feature to an arcade cabinet without fighting messy tags, complicated databases or overbuilt media library systems. Point the software at your folders, let it read the directories and files, then enjoy a retro jukebox experience from your cab.
Retro Jukebox 1.8 Details
Retro Jukebox
Beta 1.8
17/06/2014
Jérôme Boulinguez
Windows PC
Visual Basic 6
1980s Wurlitzer-style jukebox
Joystick, arcade buttons, keyboard, touch and mouse
MAME cab / arcade machine
Freeware
Prohibited without author permission
MP3, AVI and MPG support
Built For Arcade Cabinets
The original idea behind Retro Jukebox came from a very familiar arcade builder problem: wanting to add a jukebox to a cabinet, but not finding software that felt right.
The author went back to programming in Visual Basic 6, jokingly calling it retro-coding, and built a homemade jukebox around a clear set of requirements.
- It had to look good
- It had to feel like an old jukebox playlist
- It had to work with cabinet joysticks and buttons
- It had to manage credits
- It had to avoid messy tag and database handling
- It had to read folders and files directly
How Retro Jukebox Works
Once you specify the startup folder, Retro Jukebox displays the sub-folders and files found inside the current folder. This makes it ideal for people who already organise music manually by folder rather than relying on a media player database.
Folder and file artwork can also be displayed if the correct cover options are enabled in the configuration window.
Folder Covers
Enable folder covers, then add a folder.jpg file inside the folder to display artwork for that folder.
File Covers
Add an image with the same name as the media file, such as toto.mp3 and toto.jpg, in the same folder.
MP3 Tag Covers
Enable MP3 tag cover display in the configuration window to show artwork embedded inside MP3 files.
Video playback is also supported. To launch a video instead of an MP3, rename the video with the same file name as the MP3. For example, toto.mp3 can be replaced by toto.avi. Recognised video formats include AVI and MPG.
Pre-Configured Controls
Retro Jukebox comes with a sensible set of pre-configured keys, making it easier to test on a normal keyboard before wiring or mapping controls to an arcade cabinet.
| Action | Default Key |
|---|---|
| Navigation | Up, down, left and right arrows |
| Validate / select | Ctrl |
| Return / cancel | Space |
| Insert credit | 5 |
| Move from one zone to another | Tab |
| Open configuration window | F2 |
| Exit | Escape |
| Previous title | F5 |
| Stop current title | F6 |
| Play current title | F7 |
| Pause current track | F8 |
| Next title | F9 |
Credits, Shortcuts And Proper Jukebox Behaviour
Retro Jukebox was not just a simple media launcher. It included credit management, shortcut support and cabinet-friendly controls to make it behave more like a traditional jukebox.
Earlier versions added multi-key keyboard shortcut handling, allowing cabinet builders to create control panels with dedicated letter and number buttons. For example, a traditional jukebox-style input could use a letter followed by a number to directly launch the track assigned to that slot.
That kind of feature makes Retro Jukebox especially interesting for arcade builders who want their cabinet to feel more like a real machine rather than just a Windows PC running a playlist.
Version History
The original translated notes included a useful version history, showing how Retro Jukebox evolved across several beta releases.
Beta 1.8 – 17/06/2014
Corrected a bug involving the use of shortcuts for multi-touch track selection.
Beta 1.7 – 26/09/2013
Added use of bass.dll for MP3 playback, fixed many bugs and started RGB LED strip management, although this was not documented at the time.
Beta 1.6 – 05/06/2013
Added a second Wood theme, introduced alphanumeric page number shortcut support, changed default player keys to free alphabetical keys and removed MP4 support due to VB6 filtergraph compatibility.
Beta 1.5 – 23/04/2013
Added MPG video clip playback alongside AVI support, fixed a bug where video remained displayed after the final clip and added a readme.txt file with early documentation.
Beta 1.4 – 16/04/2013
Added AVI video playback instead of MP3 when present, supported video display on the main or secondary screen, restarted playlists automatically after adding new titles and began credit management.
Beta 1.3
Fixed bugs and added support for preview track, stop, play, pause and next track keys.
Beta 1.2
Added a logging system for bug detection, touch support on the virtual keyboard, small bug fixes, default theme font registration and improved touch mode behaviour.
Beta 1.1
Added touch and mouse navigation, configuration access key selection, a config button in the command zone and several early bug fixes.
Ideas Suggested By Users
The original notes also listed several features suggested by users, showing that Retro Jukebox had an active little community around it at one point.
- Delete playlist files
- Add all MP3 files in a folder at once
- Favourite track management
- Improved shortcut system by page number
- Auto-play behaviour like old café jukeboxes
- Highlighting new songs with colours or labels
Not all of these features necessarily made it into the preserved version, but they give a nice look at where the project may have gone if development had continued.
Important Licence And Preservation Notes
Retro Jukebox was released as freeware by Jérôme Boulinguez, with all rights reserved. The original notes stated that redistribution, resale and commercial use were prohibited without written permission from the author.
This unofficial Arcade Punks mirror is provided for preservation, nostalgia, restoration and retro arcade cabinet enthusiasts. As always with legacy software, installation is at your own risk, especially on modern Windows systems.
Why Preserve Retro Jukebox?
Retro Jukebox captures a brilliant little corner of arcade cabinet culture: the moment when people wanted their MAME cabs to do more than just play games.
It gave Windows-based arcade machines a jukebox mode, complete with credits, cabinet controls, covers, videos and that old Wurlitzer-style charm.
It is exactly the sort of niche, useful, home-coded software that can disappear if nobody mirrors it, talks about it or keeps the files alive.
Another dead link avoided.
Another retro cabinet tool kept alive for the community.
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