EarTrumpet vs Twinkle Tray

EarTrumpet

• Windows users who want a different volume for each app
• People who switch often between speakers, headsets and other outputs
• Anyone who wants a free volume mixer that matches the Windows 10 and 11 look

Twinkle Tray

• Windows desktop users who want to dim external monitors from the taskbar
• Multi-monitor setups whose screens differ in brightness
• People who script brightness changes or bind them to hotkeys

EarTrumpet

• Windows only. The README lists Windows 10 version 1803 and later and Windows 11 as supported.
• When the app crashes it sends diagnostic details, such as exception, version and system settings, to Bugsnag, as its privacy document describes.
• Automatic updates are listed as coming through the Microsoft Store; winget and Chocolatey are offered as command-line installs.
• The license is the MIT License with a preface that bars three named companies from reproducing, distributing or adapting the software.

Twinkle Tray

• Windows 10 and Windows 11 only.
• Monitors must support DDC/CI, which can be switched off by default in a monitor's own menu; VGA and DVI connections may not be compatible.
• USB, Thunderbolt and Surface docks with HDMI or DisplayPort may not work, and the AMD Radeon Control Panel can interfere.
• The README warns that DDC/CI commands such as brightness and power state can make certain monitor models behave poorly.

EarTrumpet

Per-app volume

Controls the volume of both classic and modern Windows apps, app by app, from a flyout opened at the system tray icon.

Move apps between devices

An app's audio can be moved from one playback device to another, so different programs can play through different outputs.

Default device in two clicks

The flyout manages the default playback device, and the context menu keeps shortcuts to the legacy volume mixer and app volume preferences.

Standalone mixer with peak meters

A standalone volume mixer window is included, and audio activity is visualized with peak meters that are aware of multiple channels.

Hotkeys and scroll wheel

Hotkeys are configurable and can adjust several devices at once, and optional settings change the volume with the scroll wheel anywhere or over the tray icon.

Matches the Windows look

The flyout follows light and dark mode and every accent color, and the interface has been translated into more than 20 languages.

Twinkle Tray

Brightness sliders in the tray

A system tray icon opens a flyout with a slider for each compatible monitor, similar to the Windows volume flyout. Sliders can move one display or all of them together.

Time-of-day and idle adjustments

Brightness can change automatically at set times of day, or when the computer has been idle.

Backlight normalization

Levels can be evened out across monitors of different models. Version 1.17.2 added calibration points for a custom brightness curve on each display.

Hotkeys

Keyboard shortcuts can be bound to raise or lower the brightness of a specific display or of all displays at once.

Other DDC/CI controls

Beyond brightness, the app can control DDC/CI features such as contrast, volume and power state, and the default slider can be swapped for a custom VCP code.

Command-line arguments

From version 1.13.0, a running copy accepts commands that list displays, set or offset brightness for one monitor or all, and send a specific VCP code.

EarTrumpet

• EarTrumpet$0

  The complete app. The Store terms allow installing it on up to ten Windows devices while signed in to a Microsoft account.

Twinkle Tray

• Twinkle Tray$0

  All features, from the GitHub installer (which the site recommends), the Microsoft Store or winget. MIT licensed.