a few questions for some rockbox in waiting

[Synaptic Flow]

Ok. I haven't taken the plunge yet, as my Clip is only a week new to me.

I had a few questions based on some features I want.

With Rockbox on the Clip can I bookmark several mp3s to "resume" later?
I wish the Clip could do that alone.

Can Rockbox emulate the Clip's normal user interface? (looking the same but runnning Rockbox)

This is a V2 Clip. Rockbox is supposed to be pretty stable for that now, correct?

How much of my Clip's memory does Rockbox consume? I'm only putting it on my 2gb model.

I guess that's it for now. If I have more questions, I know where to look.

[CrowdAds]

[saratoga]

Rockbox doesn't have the same interface as the OF, and an install is about 8 MB if you don't add anything extra like more themes or fonts.

[Fofoca]

Rockbox has excellent bookmarking support. You can bookmark a file, directory, or playlist, and you can have a menu of recent bookmarks that is really handy. You can configure which of your bookmarks you want automatically updated when you shut down.

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by Synaptic Flow

... If I have more questions, I know where to look.

The Rockbox Sansa Clip+ manual should answer every question you have, I always recommend reading it even if you don't install Rockbox.

[Synaptic Flow]

Well I am boxed with about 2 hours of use so far. I like it and I don't like it. There is too much on offer. I never thought I would make a complaint like that, but it's kind of true. There is way too many menu things to look through and things to do. I guess the small screen makes the amount seem even more daunting. I am impressed at the many options but there are just to many.

I was also irked that my playlists made from WMP can no longer be played back when I go to playlists in Rockbox. I guess I'm gonna have to delete my songs and start over. Oh yeah and read that super honkin huge manual.

[epithetless]

Originally Posted by Synaptic Flow

Well I am boxed with about 2 hours of use so far. I like it and I don't like it. There is too much on offer. I never thought I would make a complaint like that, but it's kind of true. There is way too many menu things to look through and things to do. I guess the small screen makes the amount seem even more daunting. I am impressed at the many options but there are just to many.

I was also irked that my playlists made from WMP can no longer be played back when I go to playlists in Rockbox. I guess I'm gonna have to delete my songs and start over. Oh yeah and read that super honkin huge manual.

I can certainly see how the depth of settings might be daunting for a new initiate...But keep in mind that, since everything runs fine in its default state, you don't need to understand or tweak every available option to use and enjoy Rockbox. The blessing of Rockbox is that, when you find you do want to adjust something, there's likely a way to make it happen. If you think about it that way, and only dig into the manual when you have specific cause to, it's really no more difficult than any other firmware.

Of course, there's also something to be said for thoroughly knowing a given piece of software's capabilities...and for reading that sizable manual front-to-back...but it takes a certain temperament to relish all those complexities, and I'd make the claim that such a temperament is not mandatory to keeping Rockbox in your life.

As for the WMP playlist incompatibility, yeah, that is a bummer...but I'm pretty sure you can open up your old playlists in WMP and re-save them as .m3u files, which are what Rockbox uses. As long as you make sure the playlists are pointing to the actual song files on the device, and not the computer, I don't see why this wouldn't work. I believe WinAmp reads both playlist formats and will allow you to convert between them as well. In case it matters, my external, Rockbox-compatible playlist-maker of choice is oddgravity's Playlist Creator, which I save as a portable installation on my player and can then fire up on any (Windows-based) computer I attach it to.

Keep on Rock(box)in'!

[Mikerman]

I wholeheartedly understand and agree with the above comments. My biggest recommendations: (1) download and skim the manual; (2) just use the Rockboxed player and enjoy it, and ignore all the complexities beyond what you originally need; and (3) when you are comfortable with the player and Rockbox, return to the manual to see what Rockbox further can offer you.

And yes, the main Rockbox screen can look just like the original SanDisk firmware. You easily can apply any of a number of different "themes," or even create your own, that will change the look. Themes can be browsed and downloaded here. Especially note the Classic theme--the original firmware recreated--and the botio theme--similarly simple but with further information.



Enjoy!

[Adub]

Originally Posted by epithetless

Rockbox-compatible playlist-maker of choice is oddgravity's Playlist Creator, which I save as a portable installation on my player and can then fire up on any (Windows-based) computer I attach it to.

Sweet tits! Thanks for that.

[Synaptic Flow]

Can I throw out a few more comments?

Is it just me or does it sound different, as in not as good? However changing the bass and treble settings fixed that.

The voice menu is awesome, but I did something now where the voices got so quiet that I can barely hear them.

Lastly I tried to boot to the Sansa Firmware and it said something like "not enough memory to refresh database" I have about 485mb free, so how is it not enough.

I hope that's my last questions for awhile. I'm going to dive into the "book" now.

[Adub]

What were you comparing as far as how it sounds? OF with no EQ vs RB with no enhancements on? As there should be absolutely no difference, at least there was no difference when i tried it.

I have never used the voice menu

No idea about that booting error, i haven't had that problem. Possibly keep trying i guess.

[Synaptic Flow]

It seemed to sound a little worse with no adjustments. I was comparing it to the official firmware in which I never used any enhancements.

Now that boot error seems to have me screwed. I can't do some things I need to do in the nomral OS since I can't even start it up. It looks like I am gonna have to uninstall Rockbox anyway, hope my player didn't get screwed up. I will see if it works normally, then I will reinstall Rockbox again.

[Synaptic Flow]

Originally Posted by epithetless

As for the WMP playlist incompatibility, yeah, that is a bummer...but I'm pretty sure you can open up your old playlists in WMP and re-save them as .m3u files, which are what Rockbox uses. As long as you make sure the playlists are pointing to the actual song files on the device, and not the computer, I don't see why this wouldn't work. I believe WinAmp reads both playlist formats and will allow you to convert between them as well. In case it matters, my external, Rockbox-compatible playlist-maker of choice is oddgravity's Playlist Creator, which I save as a portable installation on my player and can then fire up on any (Windows-based) computer I attach it to.

Keep on Rock(box)in'!

In reading the manual, it seemed to me that playlists can only be made within the unit itself. How do you use this playlist creator then?

[saratoga]

Rockbox uses M3U playlists.

[Synaptic Flow]

Rockbox gone = Clip working again in OFW. This isn't a happy first go around. I'm gonna wait before putting it back on there to read the manual a few times.

I still think there should be a Rockbox "lite"

[k.crabbe]

Hey Synaptic Flow---I did the same thing as you my first go round with Rockbox. I put it on and took it off 2 or 3 times. Last time I stuck with it and got the hang of it. Once you get used to the way it works, it's pretty easy. Hang in there.

[Synaptic Flow]

Oh yeah, I want to love it, but getting locked out of the Sansa OFW like I that, put a sour taste in my mouth. That scared me to death that I was about to have a mini brick. It would literally warn me that there wasn't enough memory and then it just shuts down every time. That's why I deleted it.

Of course I will try it again later. I'm still trying to get my head around the whole playlist thing to. I'll figure it out eventually.

[epithetless]

Originally Posted by Adub

Sweet tits! Thanks for that.

You're welcome! It's a handy little program. Small, succinct, and good at what it's made for.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by Synaptic Flow

Oh yeah, I want to love it, but getting locked out of the Sansa OFW like I that, put a sour taste in my mouth. That scared me to death that I was about to have a mini brick. It would literally warn me that there wasn't enough memory and then it just shuts down every time. That's why I deleted it.

Of course I will try it again later. I'm still trying to get my head around the whole playlist thing to. I'll figure it out eventually.

So you'd get a message like "not enough space please delete 90MB" or something like that?

[Adub]

I suggest formatting the player in MTP and MSC mode, then do a fresh install of rockbox making sure you follow all of the instructions correctly.

Hopefully you will get it working.

[Synaptic Flow]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

So you'd get a message like "not enough space please delete 90MB" or something like that?

It was 30MB even though I had way more than that free.