Rockbox Development > New Ports
Step by step - How to port a new MP3 player?
LEKO:
Hi,
I'm new here, but I have good background in electronics and programming (not professionnaly, but for fun). I bought an RCA Lyra RD2840 MP3 players a couple of months ago on eBay.
I'm satisfied with it. It has some software bugs, but they are not very annoying... And it has a very good sound output (quality and power).
I would like to take that MP3 player one step further with the ROCKbox Firmware.
Here is what I plan to do...
1. Search the forums here. DONE! No progress..
2. Open my MP3 player and check how it works. Chips manufacturer/models/etc... <= TO DO!
3. Install the Software needed to apapt ROCKbox. <= TO DO
From your personal experience with ROCKbox coding/developing is there some very useful tips that would help me shorten my integration time?
By the way, the Lyra player seems to have a "preloader" and from this preloader it's lauch the actual MP3 player software. On the player HDD, a directory is called "lyra_sys" which contains a couple of executable files. And I guess that the ONLY file that I will need to "rebuild" with ROCKbox is the one called "mp3.exe".
Do you think I'm in "danger" of renaming or changing that file only. From what I know about hardware (PC, routers, FW, switches, etc...). Most equipment have their "preloader/bootloader" and I don't need to mess with anything else than the application that is actually processing audio files.
Thanks In Advance! I do really hope to be able to do something helpful with this ROCKbox project. Keep on working guys!
Llorean:
Well, firstly: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/NewPort
As for the rest, you should probably figure out which of those files are loaded as the OS, or if the OS itself is in flash or ROM. If one of those files is the OS, do some research to find out if you can still get into the player if those files become corrupt. If this is also true, then working on Rockbox because a much safer prospect.
That being said, you wouldn't be "rebuild" anything. Rockbox is a full replacement for most or all functions of an MP3 player. If you can figure out how to compile it for the right architecture, create drivers for the hardware that doesn't have drivers in our repository, and get it to load the code, you're done. See, simple, no? Alright, in all honesty, it's not an easy job, but if the firmware is loaded from disk, it's a bit less difficult simply because experimenting is usually safer. *Usually*
LEKO:
--- Quote from: Llorean on April 06, 2006, 01:45:48 PM ---Well, firstly: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/NewPort
As for the rest, you should probably figure out which of those files are loaded as the OS, or if the OS itself is in flash or ROM. If one of those files is the OS, do some research to find out if you can still get into the player if those files become corrupt. If this is also true, then working on Rockbox because a much safer prospect.
That being said, you wouldn't be "rebuild" anything. Rockbox is a full replacement for most or all functions of an MP3 player. If you can figure out how to compile it for the right architecture, create drivers for the hardware that doesn't have drivers in our repository, and get it to load the code, you're done. See, simple, no? Alright, in all honesty, it's not an easy job, but if the firmware is loaded from disk, it's a bit less difficult simply because experimenting is usually safer. *Usually*
--- End quote ---
I just read the New Port section... HE HE HE!!! Quite a job, but it could be gratifying if I get it to work.
From what I understand, I'll have to do code the interface between the "hardware" and the ROCKbox "common base".
Basically, am I correct to say that I will need to code the hardware DRIVERS for the "ROCKbox OS" and of course, compile the whole stuff for my specific MP3 processor.
Llorean:
Basically, yes.
LEKO:
--- Quote from: Llorean on April 06, 2006, 01:57:43 PM ---Basically, yes.
--- End quote ---
First, I must you are quite fast to answer!
Is there any known limitation that would prevent a player from being portable. Is there any minimum for the ROCKbox software to "work". Like the minimum RAM/CPU power.
I doubt that my player would not be able to run ROCKbox, since it's currently able to play MP3! But just in case... There is no specific information about this on the "NewPort" page.
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