Fix your Ipod, install Rockbox.

[asdf]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IDrZ6dG7rcE


A few weeks ago, I installed Rockbox on my trusty 30GB iPod Photo. Rockbox isn't one of the many applications that run on the iPod software platform; rather, it's firmware that completely replaces the iPod's, with the goal of expanding the possibilities and the limits of the existing hardware.

In its current state, the Rockbox interface is utilitarian, graphically sparse, and reminiscent of a command-line system, and it lacks the flash of modern commercial MP3 players. But where it comes up short in pizzazz, it more than compensates in options and settings, many of which would make the default iPod jealous. Using RockPod is fun, and though it doesn't benefit from a seamless iTunes relationship (you can, however, manually transfer songs within iTunes) and is missing a few familiar features that make the iPod so popular with the masses, I personally dig it--enough to use it exclusively for a while.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6450_7-6513844-1.html

[rockgremlin]

Do you have an Ipod with RockBox installed Summit?

Just wondering what others' experiences have been with this. Seriously considering making the switch.

[asdf]

I have a Toshiba Gigabeat f40 that I installed Rockbox on about 4 weeks ago. The Gigabeat build is a bit younger then the Ipod builds... so I waited a few extra months for all the bugs to get worked out.

I love rockbox! My player is pretty much a portable hard drive. I can connect it to any PC and drag and drop files in windows explorer. I can view my music by ID3 tags or by the folder structure on the player itself. The EQ is much better the the stock firmware and I love the themes.

I am so stoked on a rockbox I am getting used Ipod to install rockbox on.


Rockbox on the gigabeat -
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ul8RoMWB4wg

[stefan]

Do you have an Ipod with RockBox installed Summit?

Just wondering what others' experiences have been with this. Seriously considering making the switch.

a friend of mine who's used it said that it tends to consume more battery than the standard-issue ipod software and that installation can be a pain. it may depend on what ipod you have.

never used it myself, but i admit it does look pretty cool.

[asdf]

a friend of mine who's used it said that it tends to consume more battery than the standard-issue ipod software and that installation can be a pain.

At first I thought my battery had lost some life but I am no longer convinced that is the case. With my old OS I got a generic icon for battery life... with rockbox I set it to display a percentage. I think that seeing the numbers drop one point at a time is what got me worried.

Install was pretty easy. I just renamed the old system folder, pasted the .rockbox folder on player, then updated the bootloader. It booted up first try.



I love it more and more every day!
There are so many options .. I can even adjust the brightness on the backlight on my power and volume buttons.
With the stock OS my player only displayed photos, now with RockBox I can watch Mpegs and play video games. I have played a bit of DOOM but I have not installed any gameboy roms.... yet.

[stefan]

a friend of mine who's used it said that it tends to consume more battery than the standard-issue ipod software and that installation can be a pain.

At first I thought my battery had lost some life but I am no longer convinced that is the case. With my old OS I got a generic icon for battery life... with rockbox I set it to display a percentage. I think that seeing the numbers drop one point at a time is what got me worried.

Install was pretty easy. I just renamed the old system folder, pasted the .rockbox folder on player, then updated the bootloader. It booted up first try.



right on. his comments were based on an older version of rockbox so some of this likely would have improved, i see i neglected to mention that.

but i am interested in how software can affect the battery life, though.


what used ipod were you thinking of buying, by the way? if you do get it and install rockbox, would you be interested in doing a test of duration of play before and after the install of rockbox?

i think it'll be different if you're constantly using different features of each os, and one could use more power (like games?), but i was just thinking of a constant play test to see how if they result in the same hours. i would hope this would be roughly the case.

[asdf]

You got me curious so I started looking around some forums to find more info. The battery problem is a known issue with Ipods only, all other supported players seem to work fine.

Looks like they are still working on the problem ... here is the best explanation I could find.


> > The problem here is that there is no available documentation for the important parts of the Ipod. This means that the developers are to a large degree in the blind about how to operate the chips. The result is that some parts of the Ipod are most likely in an "awake" state, consuming power, when they really should be turned off and the developers practically no idea how to turn them off. Finding out these details by reverse-engineering the Apple firmware is a hard and very time-consuming job and not something a lot of the developers are very keen on doing.
> >
> > So you can really only blame Apple and PortalPlayer for using and producing chips with no documentation.

I also found a few posts talking about dimming the backlight to get a few more hours of playing time..... but there is still a loss in battery life with ipods.