Archive for Rockbox

Rockbox 3.11 is released

rockbox400 Rockbox 3.11 is releasedFour months after version 3.10 Rockbox released a new stable one, 3.11.

Highlights of this version are USB support for the Sansa Clip+, Clip v2, and Fuze v2, as well as ‘stable’ status for the Sansa c200 v2 and MPIO HD300.

Many interface- and theme-related features made it into this release as well. Customization of the main menu list items, editable shortcuts in the main menu, 32 bit alpha transparency for icons and theme/WPS images. On the audio side of things, downmixing multichannel FLAC files to stereo is now supported.

Read the full changelog here: Rockbox 3.11 release notes – or download it right away: Rockbox 3.11 download

Update: Rockbox 3.11.2 maintenance release is out – this fixes some bugs with Sansa radio tuner chips and a boot freeze issue with the M:Robe 100.

Happy 10th birthday, Rockbox – also, release 3.10 is out

rb10years400 Happy 10th birthday, Rockbox also, release 3.10 is out

Everybody’s favorite audio player replacement firmware, Rockbox, turned ten years old. On December 7th 2001 the first mail in the Rockbox mailing list was posted. Initially only supporting the Archos Jukebox behemoth, it went uphill from there on. Today Rockbox supports approximately 75 different targets, as well as running as an application on Android, Maemo, and perhaps iOS in the near future.

Well timed with this significant anniversary, a new stable version, 3.10, has been released. While this release doesn’t support any new targets, there are several feature additions, improvements, and bug fixes. Read the 3.10 release notes for more details and installation instructions.

Congratulations, Rockbox team – here’s to (at least) ten more years!

[Via Daniel "Bagder" Stenberg's Blog]

Rockbox 3.9 is Released

rockbox400 Rockbox 3.9 is Released

Three months after 3.8 we get a fresh stable version. This time there’s no new supported hardware, but a lot of updates nevertheless – some are hidden under the hood (playback engine rework), some more plainly visible (support for anti-aliased fonts, support for embedded MP4/M4A album art).

Full release notes and download links can be found on the Rockbox Wiki.

Read on for the change log.

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Rockbox 3.8.1 is Released

rockbox400 Rockbox 3.8.1 is Released

Shortly after the release of version 3.8 in March, a new maintenance release is out, fixing several issues, especially with Sansa AMS players such as the Clip+ or Fuze.

Full release notes and installation instructions can be found on the Rockbox Wiki.

Read on for the change log.

Continue reading…

Rockbox 3.8 is Released

rockbox400 Rockbox 3.8 is Released

It’s been already three months since the release of Rockbox 3.7/3.7.1.  Now the fresh stable 3.8 version adds long awaited support for embedded album art (currently only for MP3s), improved performance for various player cores and audio codecs, and several other tasty tweaks and new features. One of the best of those features is that Rockbox now has multi-track-resume similar to the Sansa Clip/Fuze firmware – though not limited to audiobooks and podcasts, but for all files.

Full release notes and download links can be found on the Rockbox Wiki.

Update: There seems to be some memory corrupting issue in 3.8 that might affect some Sansa AMS players.

Read on for the change log.

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So, Yeah…

Grahm, the editor of ABI, today saw this video I shot some time ago. He told me to post it on the front page. It’s shot with the nifty EOS MovRec tool on my Canon EOS 40D. It’s basically pixel perfect – what you see is what you get. You know what it’s about.

References: NothingButTablets, EOS MovRec, Rockbox, Doom

Porting Rockbox and Android to the Samsung YP-R0

r0 rockbox Porting Rockbox and Android to the Samsung YP R0Since October 2010 forum members slade and nik1105 have been working hard on porting Rockbox to the Samsung R0. While this port isn’t ready for prime time yet, the developers recently started to take advantage of the R0′s open source Linux-based stock firmware as well – by attempting an Android port.

While the advantages of Rockbox are obvious on any portable music player, Android might seem strange at first on a device that a) has no Wifi or other Internet connectivity and b) has no touch screen but is controlled via tactile buttons. In the end, despite the lack of Android Market accessibility, one could still install .apk apps manually on it. If the developers manage to map Android’s touch screen controls to the plethora of tactile buttons available on the R0, some apps and games might actually be easier to operate than with their intended control scheme. I for one am excited to see where this goes – especially since other Linux-based Samsung players might benefit from this effort as well in the future.

The R0 seems like the perfect candidate for such experiments – it’s  very affordable, has good sound quality, a decent screen, a MicroSD expansion slot, and a fetching full metal housing. For its low price, the R0 is a top notch player – just held back a bit by its basic (and sometimes buggy) stock firmware. If the developers succeed with either Rockbox or Android, I’m sure a lot of people would be happy about having the choice between three systems to run on the thing.

Watch the forum thread for further developments.

Rockbox 3.7 is Released

rockbox400 Rockbox 3.7 is Released

Everyone’s favorite open source replacement firmware for MP3 players got a fresh stable release.  Lots of updated features, bug fixes, and several newly supported players – many SanDisk Sansa models among those – are some of the highlights of this release.

Full release notes and download links can be found on the Rockbox Wiki.

Update: maintenance release 3.7.1 is out.

Read on for the change log.

Continue reading…

Cowon iAudio X5 Compact Flash Mod

cowon x5 cf mod Cowon iAudio X5 Compact Flash Mod

Since my first gen Rockboxed Sansa Clip died, I ordered an IDE to CF adapter for my X5L after I read the Rockbox CF Mod Wiki page.

Installation was pretty straightforward, I only had to cut/saw the plastic bit off one side of the adapter’s IDE connector to fit. I also had to shorten the master/slave jumper so it doesn’t poke the PCB and battery, use a slimmer jumper bridge, and electrical tape on the backside (see red dots in the photos).

Speed with a 300x Lexar CF is blazing, bootup is almost instantly. Too bad there’s no affordable 300x 32GB card available, so I have to see which 16 or 32Gb card is fast enough to be useful in the X5. I’m leaning towards a Kingston Elite Pro 133x (should be faster than 133x in reality), or a Hama HighSpeed Pro (should have similar speeds as the twice as expensive SanDisk Extreme III). On another note, the X5 is now also quite a bit lighter than with the 1.8″ HDD inside.

Click over to the mod thread for more pics.

Sansa e200 gets Linux

sansa linux Sansa e200 gets Linux

The Sansa e200 is one of the best selling budget players ever and that shows on the number of loyal users it has. The original firmware is buggy and somewhat limited, so when Rockbox was released on the player many people praised it. Now a new player has joined the game, SansaLinux.

SansaLinux is a port of iPodLinux, and only works with the V1 e200 players. It’s still being developed, and so far LCD, audio and keys are working, while other features are planned or in development. It’s always nice to see custom firmware for players, so hopefully this project will make it all the way through.

[SansaLinux]