Rockbox Player - Project to design and build a Free/Open hardware audio player

[JdGordon]

but... isnt the whole point of the mini2440 to show how geeky you really are? hiding it behind a plastic case just feels wrong :p

(mine is still in a semi broken state )

[casainho]

but... isnt the whole point of the mini2440 to show how geeky you really are? hiding it behind a plastic case just feels wrong :p

Ahah :-) PLA plastic is a bit translucid, maybe I can lower the thickness of the enclosure so we can see the board inside :-)

But I want that the system be robust, because my girlfriend and future son will use it...

(mine is still in a semi broken state )

Why? what is missing? -- you know, BoB_C, me and Domonoky, we both have Rockbox running on it :-)

[JdGordon]

I decided running rockbox would be a waste, I'm working on getting linux going and then rockbox as an app so I can have storage on the network

[casainho]

I decided running rockbox would be a waste, I'm working on getting linux going and then rockbox as an app so I can have storage on the network

Wouldn't be better to hav some Linux on it and play the multimedia files with VLC or any other player? What are the advantages of Rockbox over VLC, for example?

[JdGordon]

stop talking crazy!
rockbox as an app is one of our long term goals and this seem to be a perfect testbed

[casainho]

stop talking crazy!
rockbox as an app is one of our long term goals and this seem to be a perfect testbed

Ok, I readed now the Bagder blog message about this subject.

If we could manufacture our electronics boards, we could also print the enclosures and then make at home our full costum Rockbox device :-)

My dream is to use new tecnhologies to make a simple and cheap player/recorder, just for audio. If anyone want video or games, then go with Rockbox as an app on Android or anything else.

I wish I could build a board using cheap ARM Cortex M3, with external 4MB RAM and small and cheap color LCD. Then I could also print at home my enclosure for it and have a full portable DAP running Rockbox at my hands :-)

[casainho]

I went to IRC Rockbox channel and developers told me there that ARM Cortex M3 will not work, lack of power processing/speed.

While Opendous quit the idea of using LPC313x for a multimedia device system, he is pursuing with another ARM. I am waiting for see what he can do. At least I am working in plastic enclosure, so I think if he can produce the boards including the LCD and battery, I can put it inside a plastic enclosure and create a complete device :-)

[torne]

No, you were told that the Cortex-M3 will not work because it can only run Thumb2 instructions, and Rockbox cannot currently be compiled for Thumb/Thumb2 (it's been tried in the past and makes things go wrong for reasons nobody spent enough time to figure out).

Whether a specific M3 setup is actually fast enough is a totally different issue. In terms of raw CPU performance the M3 is unlikely to be *slower* than an ARM7 (e.g. PortalPlayer) at the same clock speed, and may be significantly faster (ARM has gotten a lot better over the years)... but memory accesses might be too slow, perhaps (not sure what the caching arrangements are for the available M3-based chips).

[casainho]

No, you were told that the Cortex-M3 will not work because it can only run Thumb2 instructions, and Rockbox cannot currently be compiled for Thumb/Thumb2 (it's been tried in the past and makes things go wrong for reasons nobody spent enough time to figure out).

Whether a specific M3 setup is actually fast enough is a totally different issue. In terms of raw CPU performance the M3 is unlikely to be *slower* than an ARM7 (e.g. PortalPlayer) at the same clock speed, and may be significantly faster (ARM has gotten a lot better over the years)... but memory accesses might be too slow, perhaps (not sure what the caching arrangements are for the available M3-based chips).

Thanks for the clarification :-)

I wish there was more developers interested in playing with hardware...

[casainho]

I think it would be a waste to develop something like this for 1 messly custom made MP3 player because nobody on here would be able to use it or develop for it except you...

The idea is to develop something we can build at home or a small fab, and being Open Hardware. Like now we have the possibility of making our own plastic enclosures thanks to Open Hardware 3D printers like RepRap. We can also design/assembly our custom electronics boards and make small fabs at home - peole is being doing this and selling directly on communities.

Maybe you should help me with my Rockbox Port for PSP GO PM Me...

Go and ask help for the company who make and sell it to you. Maybe you could start asking them for the schematics and datasheets of electronic components.

[torne]

I don't want to be mean, but if you want to use atmel arm, you will need to be able to embed the system to introduce a firmware like Rockbox.

...what?

[casainho]

I don't want to be mean, but if you want to use atmel arm, you will need to be able to embed the system to introduce a firmware like Rockbox.

...what?

I think Opendous will next try to make a board using i.MX233. You know, it is used on actual version of Chumby which have some parts Open Sourced.

Let's see if we will see an Open Hardware device based on that i.MX233 and Opendous selling it on Ebay.

[casainho]

casainho,
That would be an excellent board, what will be an approximate cost? Looks like around $200US.

I don't know. We have to wait.

[agdurrette]

hay would mined explain how you would make an mp3 player cus i would like to build one myself.


Thanks.

LoL This is not something I recall posting O.o  Oh well  at least It's a Golden Quote 

[ean611]

I would love to put something like that in my car, with one catch, I would want the screen to be external.

I already have an in-dash screen that runs off a composite video cable, and I'm feeding that with a Western Digital WDTV. (it has S/PDIF and reads any HD).

I would love to upgrade/replace it with something running rockbox, but I'd need the same integration I have now.

Any way to get rockbox with S/PDIF out and an external screen? (besides a port of Rockbox to WDTV, which I doubt would be trivial and popular)