A few questions before installation: iPod Video 5.5 80gb

[Maikuru]

Hello,

I have recently discovered that Rockbox does indeed support the iPod Video 5.5th generation 80gb version.

However, before actually installing, I have a few questions/worries.
I have read over the manual and have searched the FAQ/Forums already but it has not really answered my questions.

My iPod has been synced through Winamp and has over 6500+items/songs. I have been using the default Apple firmware.
However, my actual Music library has well over 8000+

1) Will I be able to keep these songs after installation?

2) Will it create a dir folder and respective folders for artists/albums manually for the existing files? Or will I have to manually create them in order to drag and drop/sync them back in.

3) Do the 6500+ items I already have on the iPod become encrypted to the HD, and therefore become unmanagable? (I have read something similar about the Gigabeat player)

4) I plan on continuing the use Winamp to sync my iPod because it is my main music player. I believe that it is possible to change preferences after the installation of Rockbox so that Winamp will recognize it as an external drive rather than an iPod, thus keeping drag and drop capabilities. Is this correct?

5) I understand that Rockbox mainly operates on a playlist/dir system. I only have 3 of these playlists on my iPod set by Winamp. Will these playlists be kept? Or will I have to manually create new ones?

6) Lastly, the shuffle capabilities of Rockbox confuse me a little. I understand that it shuffles through the playlist itself, however, let's say my iPod's main folder that stores all the music is labeled as "Music." (After installation of course) Does that main dir folder count as a "playlist" and thus shuffle every item?

[bluebrother]

1. Yes.

2. No. Rockbox neither creates nor forces any specific way in organizing your files. This is up to you (or the sync software you're using). If you like you can keep doing it the "Apple way".

3. They don't change. If they are already encrypted they stay that way (and that's the point with Gigabeat devices, the original firmware always stores files encrypted. I'm not aware of anything like this on Ipods except for Audible files, but Rockbox doesn't support Audible at all)

4. No idea about Winamp, but you can keep the way it is working right now. You'll loose filesystem browse features in Rockbox since the Apple firmware wants the filenames scrambled (not the contents). If you plan using the database only this is no problem.

5. Apple stores the playlists in its internal database. Rockbox does not understand this format. You need to export the playlist in m3u format, but Winamp can do this easily.

6. No, but you can easily create a playlist from a folder.

7. Just try it yourself. There's no risk in installing Rockbox and you can remove it if you don't like it. A lot of your questions are likely to disappear once you used it a bit.

[Maikuru]

1. Yes.

5. Apple stores the playlists in its internal database. Rockbox does not understand this format. You need to export the playlist in m3u format, but Winamp can do this easily.

6. No, but you can easily create a playlist from a folder.

1. Does this apply for the items actually inside the iPod?

5. The playlists I have created are through Winamp.

6. So a "main" folder would not be able to shuffle because it has folders within it?

Also quick question, are EQ options part of Rockbox? Or do they need a separate plugin?

Thanks for the information.

[soap]

1 - yes

5 - Regardless of how you created them they are in the Apple Software's Format IIUC.

6 - With Rockbox inserting directories into a playlist recursively is easy.

The EQ is a core Rockbox function, but even if it was not all know plugins ship with Rockbox.

[Maikuru]

Okay thanks for the information again.

Quick update:

I have successfully installed Rockbox using the Utility without a problem. However it is building the database at the moment, I'm assuming it's searching for the files that are already inside?

[bluebrother]

I have successfully installed Rockbox using the Utility without a problem. However it is building the database at the moment, I'm assuming it's searching for the files that are already inside?

Yes. Depending on the number of files this can take a while