Rockbox General > Rockbox General Discussion
Before I Buy iPOD, I have some questions
caldvd:
Hi,
I am a PC guy, tried a true. I have been reading this forum for the past couple of days and must say that I'm a bit worried I'm going to anger the gods with my questions, so please be kind. :)
I'm looking at the 80GB iPOD Video. I will not use iTUNES. I have WinXP Pro SP2. I will most likely use Explorer to Drag and Drop, and SyncToy to keep the folder sync'd. I will use Apple branded external power supply. I read the RB manual, but still have some questions.
1)Since most people are posting here with problems, I'm wondering if anyone knows the success rate of basically perfect functionality between Rockbox and 80GB iPOD Video. I would like to see a poll if possible.
2)After I drag and drop, is updating the database easy?
3)SyncToy syncs windows folders rather well. Will it work to sync the folder on the ipod just as it does on regular windows folders? If so, which folder is my music stored in, or does it matter? For example I have a folder called Music, inside is all my music in categories, do I just drag and drop Music folder to the root? again, I'll not be using iTUNES.
4)After I sync, do I perform the same database update as the first time?
5)Can I install Rockbox before I put ANY music on the iPOD?
6)How do I deal with pictures and video? Where do they go? How are they accessed? (this is not as important, as I mostly care about music, but hey, if it can do it, I'd like to know how easy it is).
7)Is there any compelling reason to go with Anapod, MediaMonkey or other rather than plain 'ol Windows Explorer Drag n drop? Sounds from the forum that these all introduce issues re: double tracks, tags, etc.
Thanks and I hope this was not too painful for all you Rockbox overlords.
Thanks in advance for any help.
caldvd
Llorean:
1) People don't post to say "Hey guys, everything turned out fine." The success rate is a pretty darn high, though in all honesty the iPod isn't the first choice I'd make.
2) This is in the manual.
3) This is something to ask the SyncToy providers. We can't know if someone else's software handles external USB drives.
4) The database update only cares about the files, not how they got there.
5) Yes.
6) This is also in the manual.
7) If you want to use the original firmware for something (often video, since on the 5G it's not going to be good in Rockbox).
As a note, please read the "POSTING IN THIS FORUM" before you post, I've moved this to a more appropriate place.
caldvd:
--- Quote from: Llorean on August 04, 2007, 10:30:34 AM ---1) People don't post to say "Hey guys, everything turned out fine." The success rate is a pretty darn high, though in all honesty the iPod isn't the first choice I'd make.
--- End quote ---
So what is the first choice? What I'm concerned with is audio quality, drive space and battery play time for audio.
--- Quote from: Llorean on August 04, 2007, 10:30:34 AM ---7) If you want to use the original firmware for something (often video, since on the 5G it's not going to be good in Rockbox).
--- End quote ---
when you say 'not going to be good', can you expand on that a bit? since there is an option for dual booting, this should be easy to just switch back if I want to watch video, yes?
What are the consequences to switching back to the original firmware to watch videos with regards to my music files? I'll mostly be watching videos I make and output to MPEG-1 or other similar playable file. I have a background in video compression, so I'm not concerned yet with which format, just know that they will not be videos i've purchased through iTunes.
--- Quote from: Llorean on August 04, 2007, 10:30:34 AM ---As a note, please read the "POSTING IN THIS FORUM" before you post, I've moved this to a more appropriate place.
--- End quote ---
Thanks and sorry for posting in the wrong place!
caldvd
soap:
--- Quote from: caldvd on August 04, 2007, 05:23:42 PM ---So what is the first choice? What I'm concerned with is audio quality, drive space and battery play time for audio.
--- End quote ---
For a large capacity player LL can speak for himself, but the Gigabeat is a very popular choice, and probably your best one if you desire video playback.
Audio quality:
It is known iPods have trouble driving sub 32 ohm loads (most earbuds and IEMs) and very high impedance loads (you don't see as many of these as you used to, few modern headphones have an impedance of greater than 100 ohms anymore, but many older ones did.)
The low impedance issue is one of poor bass response, the high impedance issue is one of insuficient power.
http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=9609.0 has pretty graphs showing the low impedance issue.
Google can point you in the right direction regarding high impedance loads.
Drive space:
The gigabeat F does not take the newer style ZIF 1.8" drives, but 40, 60and 80 GB drives are avaliable. The Gigabeat X series might take a ZIF drive, I'm not 100% sure.
Battery play time:
The newer iPods all obtain only ~ 50% of factory firmware battery life when running Rockbox.
http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/IpodRuntime
--- Quote from: caldvd on August 04, 2007, 05:23:42 PM ---when you say 'not going to be good', can you expand on that a bit? since there is an option for dual booting, this should be easy to just switch back if I want to watch video, yes? Â
--- End quote ---
Not going to be good = sub 15fps.
http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/PluginMpegplayer
Switching back is easy. The manual covers this.
--- Quote from: caldvd on August 04, 2007, 05:23:42 PM ---What are the consequences to switching back to the original firmware to watch videos with regards to my music files? Â I'll mostly be watching videos I make and output to MPEG-1 or other similar playable file. I have a background in video compression, so I'm not concerned yet with which format, just know that they will not be videos i've purchased through iTunes.
--- End quote ---
There are no consequences to your music files in switching back and forth between firmwares.
You will have to, though, convert your files to the format Apple Firmware wants, which is not MPEG-1.
senab:
--- Quote from: caldvd on August 04, 2007, 10:25:56 AM ---3)SyncToy syncs windows folders rather well. Will it work to sync the folder on the ipod just as it does on regular windows folders? If so, which folder is my music stored in, or does it matter? For example I have a folder called Music, inside is all my music in categories, do I just drag and drop Music folder to the root? again, I'll not be using iTUNES.
--- End quote ---
I use SyncToy and it works great. It's not hard to set up, just select the folder on your ipod where you keep your music, and then the folder on your hard drive. Choose the type of sync you want, then press go. ;)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version