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Will Rockbox solve my H10 20G woe's?

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SunKing:
Hello - I just got my iRiver H10 20GB for Christmas and am already seeing lockup's, which after some basic searches appears to be a common problem with this player.  My first question is: Is this a firmware issue that is addressed by Rockbox?

Also I am also disappointed with the slowness experienced when copying files to the player.  I tried the UMS trick and it works great, but when I go back to the iRiver firmware, it doesn't recognize the music files I have placed there.  I tried the "Database Refresh" but that still didn't allow me to access the copied files.  Questions #2: Does Rockbox address this somehow?

I also am looking for Crossfade functionality in an MP3 player and it seems like Rockbox is the only firmware that allows this functionality.  Question #3: Does the Crossfade function really work well in Rockbox?

I am also looking for good Shuffle capability across folders, which I typically use the categorization of Artist\Album\Track# - Song Name.  From reading posts, it seems like iRiver firmware users are not happy about the shuffle functionalty.  Question #4: Does the Shuffle function work well in Rockbox? How is it improved over what the iRiver firmware?

Right now I am between returning this player and trying out Rockbox.  The thing is, I don't have allot of time to tinker around with getting it to work and likely if it takes allot of time (as it might appear to be the case in reading posts in this forum for the H10), then I might seriously consider sending the hardware back and waiting for an mp3 player to hit the market that allows me the ability to have a descent dimnesional size player that offers the ability to:

1. Act like a real slave drive
2. Doesn't lock up regularly
3. Provides gapless/crossfade and good shuffle functionality
4. Store 20+ GB of data

I am thinking that perhaps the hardware that I purchased is just a POS, but I am willing to entertain the likelihood that the manufacturer simply didn't put the effort into the firmware that they should have.

Can someone with Rockbox experience with the H10 20GB please enlighten me?

Also - I am curious...does development still continue on this firmware fot his model, or has it become outdated?

Thanks!!!

Llorean:
You're unlikely to find many modern MP3 players that act like a real slave drive. This seems to be becoming less popular for manufacturers to do.

The regular lockups in the retail firmware might be a concern though. That probably shouldn't be happening, and if it's caused by faulty hardware of course Rockbox won't address that. Rockbox is a replacement firmware, so doesn't strive to fix problems with the original, but rather just is itself, with its own advantages and problems.

Rockbox has good crossfade and a very good random shuffle, allowing you to easily create playlists of any segment of, or all of, your music, and shuffle it all, or play individual folders (shuffled or unshuffled) and then move from folder to folder (sequentially, or randomly).

In regards to development, Rockbox is one piece of software that runs on multiple players, so really, there is no real point at which development stops for particular models.

There are some concerns with the H10 port: Specifically it has poor battery life, and does not have its own USB mode (which means you still have to depend on rebooting to use iRiver's USB mode). As well, I believe the radio is not implemented yet. This is due, in part, to a lack of hardware documentation, and while the situaiton on all three of these fronts will improve, these factors may dissuade you.

That being said, I think you may find it difficult to find an MP3 player with the depth of features that Rockbox offers on any target it supports.

SunKing:
Hi Llorean,

Thanks for the candid discussion and explanations!

druidfire217:
There are several freezes that are a problem of the OF with the H10.  The USB support has an easier way of booting into UMS (there isnt a way to get into MTP from Rockbox) by completely turning off the player every time, eliminating the need for a reset button.  It doesnt take a whole lot of time to get it up and running.  All you really need to do is download the bootloader .mi4 file, replace the iRiver .mi4 file, and I would personally head to Misicriver.net, and check out a patched build by Angryman that has several different features that are not commited to the daily builds.  I would also look at misticriver.net in the Rockbox for H10 section, as we seem to be pretty popular over there.

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