
Rockbox – Free music player firmware - mrzool
https://www.rockbox.org/
======
av500
I "caused" Rockbox, being the original firmware developer for the Archos
Jukebox 6000. apparently the firmware I wrote was so bad around playlist
handling and our CEO unwilling to open source the code so that the boys and
girls wrote their own.

at times it was one of the rather large open source SW projects in terms of
users, developers, testers, translators, doc writers. I'm kinda proud to have
caused that :)

AMA

~~~
nrclark
Just a note - I had a Jukebox 6000 and I loved it! So at least one person
didn't think the firmware was bad.

~~~
cowmix
I loved it and I loved Rockbox too.

It was my first USB 2.0 storage device I owned too. Soooo fast!

~~~
av500
actually JB6000 was still USB 1.1 I think, only the JB Recorder would add
USB2.0 speed

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jchw
I used to run this on a Sansa Clip+. It was an amazing combination: great
audio quality, expandable storage via microSD, playback of a huge array of
formats natively, it ran DOOM, and it only costed around $40 when it was new.

Now I just use my phone and streaming, but I sort of miss that era.

~~~
theandrewbailey
My ~7 year old Sansa Clip+ is still going. Soon after buying it, I was fed up
with it scanning everything when I turned it on. When I loaded Rockbox on it,
and it was able to reliably go from off to playing music in 2 seconds, I knew
it was a keeper! (That's a killer app right there!) I use it just about every
day when commuting. I bought another one for my dad about 3 years ago, but he
doesn't use it, so I intend to ask for it after mine dies. (Who knows how long
that will be. These things are built like old Nokia phones.)

~~~
partomniscient
You must be lucky and/or careful. I've gone through a bunch, and aside from
losing them, it's always the headphone jack input that goes. Apparently this
was common enough there were soldering how-to videos out there.

One of the things I valued most is being able to navigate the device without
looking at it - not possible with the move to touchscreen interfaces most
things have moved to.

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miki123211
I've used Rockbox since I was pretty much a child. It had pretty good
accessibility support, and a sansa Clip + was an order of magnitude cheaper
than all the players made specially for the blind. I remember being so proud
of that purchase and my tech knowledge to actually install Rockbox onto the
player. A lot of my friends were impressed that I could achieve something like
that for such a low price. I remember using Balabolka[1] to convert text
ebooks to mp3, with a speech synthesizer, and then reading those books on the
Sansa, for the lack of a build-in TTS. I switched to streaming and reading on
my phone in like 2014. I never looked back, though I still have the Sansa
lying around on my desk.

[1] [http://cross-plus-a.com/balabolka.htm](http://cross-
plus-a.com/balabolka.htm)

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DerpyBaby123
I remember loading Rockbox on a Archos Jukebox back in the early 2000's[0] as
being one of my first real exposures to using open source software. It was
glorious, thanks for the hard work!

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archos_Jukebox_series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archos_Jukebox_series)

~~~
DannyB2
Yep. Had an early 2000(s) Jukebox, 10 GB I think, that I got on clearance at
Target. I loved that thing and used it for several years. Being into open
source, I discovered Rockbox and installed it. I was already using Linux. In
fact, Linux compatibility was foremost on my mind (in those days) when looking
at buying any hardware.

I especially liked Archos earphones that hooked over the ears and wrapped
around the back of the neck. I had to order multiple sets of those earphones
separately.

Alas, all things come to an end. It was replaced with an Archos 504
audio/video player with 80 GB. That was so cool too. I had to learn my ffmpeg
settings to convert videos to play on it.

Next, I figured out the format, and technique to put videos onto my flip phone
(before smartphones). Cool, neato, but capacity was limited.

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kop316
I really wish I had more of the know how to make a Kickstarter/Crowd Supply
for this. I imagine an mp3 player with native Rockbox support would be very
popular, especially in the form factor of an iPod and/or a Sansa Clip.

~~~
hiram112
I'd love to see this too and would be interested in funding it. I know that
stand-alone mp3 players are a niche now that everyone carries a far more
powerful phone. But there has to be enough support to make an open source
Clip-like device profitable or at least break-even after costs.

The hardware that ran early Clips, IPod shuffles, and other small players
existed 15 years ago. A dozen Chinese manufacturers still sell small players,
which now are about the only option left, but they skimp on quality components
like batteries and decent software.

~~~
kop316
There are a bunch of niche ones still, they either go way low end or way high
end. I have a FiiO X5 for my "regular" mp3 player and a Sansa Clip Sport for
my workout one.

Sadly, I work a daytime job and don't really have the time or will to actually
capitalize on this. I do think that'd be a great way for Rockbox to fund
themselves though. Make a Kickstarter with Rockbox officially supporting it,
and the profits could go to the upkeep of rockbox.

~~~
hiram112
I've looked at the FiiO lineup and they do seem like some really sweet
hardware, though more geared for the audiophile.

But like you said, they're geared towards either the high end like FiiO or the
very very lowend (i.e. third world countries where smartphones are only
beginning to become ubiquitous in the last few years).

~~~
kop316
I have a Gen 2, and there are some firmware warts, but it works reasonably
well. Sadly, their new offerings all use Android, so now I have all of the
hassles of a Phone (spying, out of date, etc.) in my mp3 player!

I just want a simple self contained mp3 player. If mine breaks, I think my
next one will be an iPod loaded with Rockbox.

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epapsiou
Remember using it a lot in mid 2000s. On iPod Mini and the HP Player. Also
Sansa. IIRC , on iPod it let you play more codecs and then there were a few
games thrown in. Loved it and that is what switched on my "change the native
firmware" mode. Before this I did not know it could be done. I also realized
how OEM hobble the hardware with restrictive firmware. Now I try not to buy
Hardware (phones, routers etc) that can't be flashed with custom firmware.

------
nicolasp
As a student I learned C and how OSS projects work through hacking Rockbox to
add features to my iRiver H320. Fond memories and a very valuable learning
experience.

~~~
gbjw
Oh, I have fond memories of the H320 (it was released right around the time of
the click-wheel iPod with the grayscale screen). I could watch movies on my
portable music player _in colour_! My friends' minds were blown.

~~~
magduf
I still have my H320, though I haven't powered it on in years. I even replaced
the battery (with an iPod battery, with the wires swapped on the connector),
and I replaced the hard drive with a 30GB model. I also got some accessories
for it: a dock for your desk, and also a remote control. It was great for
listening to music on airplanes.

I'm planning to try selling it on Ebay now, since I just use my phone now.

~~~
skore
That brings back memories! Installing Rockbox, switching the battery… I also
found out later that you could get a ATA-to-CF Adapter and basically switch it
to an SSD.

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apocalyptic0n3
Man that name brings back memories. Was anyone here involved in the iPod
Wizard community? I was one of the guys that worked on mapping hex string
locations to sprites and characters in each new firmware release. I wouldn't
be surprised if I spent more time bricking and salvaging my iPod G4 with
Rockbox, iPod Wizard, iPod Linux, and the iPod Wikipedia port than actually
playing music on the thing. I ended up doing the same thing with the MacThemes
community, specifically in mapping and documenting the iTunes files and
enabling that to be themed. I really miss the time spent trying to figure out
how to change a single black pixel on the screen that we missed somewhere or
figuring out how to display gradients and images when all you have is black,
white, and two shades of gray

------
neilsimp1
I had both an Archos and a Cowon MP3 player back in Middle/High School that I
loaded Rockbox onto one of (can't remember which). I remember being able to
play Doom, watch pirated Family Guy, and listen to my music all on one device
and thinking this was the pinnacle of technology.

~~~
anotheryou
totally watched family guy on my cowon, too :)). Way before my first
smartphone

------
squarefoot
It run great for years on my two old Sansa Clip Zip, and now that the only
barely surviving one is about to go (dead keys, defective phones connector,
reduced battery life etc) and attempting to open it is a nearly destructive
operation, Those of us who wouldn't use a cellphone for multiple reasons need
an alternative, but most modern players are either costly due to being niche
market products or can't run Rockbox for having not enough resources.

I think Rockbox badly needs to be ported to other architectures. The cheap and
powerful Esp32-WROVER modules (4MB Flash + 8MB PSRAM) could probably be a
capable candidate, and i2s for the external DAC is already supported. Not an
easy task though.

------
bschne
I‘ve been through the „I‘ll just use it as it comes from the factory“ -> „let
me tweak every little thing about this and take it as far as I can“ -> ...
cycle more times and with more devices than I care to admit.

This was that moment with my old 30GB iPod, thanks for the trip down memory
lane!

------
fbnlsr
Rockbox + Sansa Clip+ is absolutely amazing. I wish mine was still alive :(

~~~
PenguinCoder
This is precisely why I went with the Sansa Clips back in the day. They were
inexpensive enough to replace easily if one broke, and RockBox gave them a lot
more life. I still have a few of them laying around but haven't been used much
anymore due to using streaming services.

~~~
pidg
I think I picked up my first Sansa Clip+ new for £15, and my second one (just
after they were discontinued) for about £35. I imagine it's gone up again
since then!

------
sikhnerd
Much love for Rockbox. I used to run this on the iriver h120 and use it for
amazing lossless recording on the cheap. This was one of the earliest things
that got me interested in open source.

------
pathartl
I fondly remember the days of loading this on my 4th gen iPod, having access
to games and such.

I think this sort of behavior should be embraced by manufacturers, but I get
it; everything needs its own app store these days for a continuous stream of
revenue.

------
ZoomZoomZoom
For those interested, it can run fine on currently produced AGPTRocker/Benjie
T2, although it's not officially supported as of yet. More bulky than Sansa,
but there's no options left anymore.

~~~
kadoban
Would you mind linking to more info on either that device or its rockbox
support? I'm having trouble telling if I'm looking at the right device with a
different name or what.

I'd love to have rockbox running again, my last player died years back.
Unofficial support would be fine as long as it works decently well.

EDIT: Found it, it's the AGPTEK Rocker v1 or v2 (same insides apparently), or
also the Benjie T6. I could not find a T2 at all.

Found from:
[http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=52220.0](http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=52220.0)

~~~
ZoomZoomZoom
Sorry, my bad. It's definitely Benjie T6.

The most active thread is this one:
[http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,51653.0.html](http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,51653.0.html)

~~~
kadoban
Nice! Yeah the thread sounds quite positive, from the skim I did. Sounds like
not all functionality is working, but the basics seem to be.

AGPTek seems to not be complying with the GPL, which bothers me, but I doubt
I'll be able to resist the temptation to get rockbox working again.

------
conradfr
I loved it on my Cowon iAudio X5. Sadly it was never available for my J3.

Nowadays I use my phone and really miss the physical buttons that I could use
blindly while it's in my bag.

------
matthewn
Still running Rockbox on an iPod Video for tunes in a car that doesn't speak
Bluetooth but has an aux jack. Considering an upgrade, having recently
discovered there are new devices that can run Rockbox, including this one:
[https://fiio.com/m3k](https://fiio.com/m3k)

Hats off to the Rockbox developers. This project has been so solid for so
long, I kinda take it for granted.

~~~
sapphire_tomb
Heh - I helped out on the port to 80GB video which came with a rather odd ATA
controller on it that didn't work with the first cut of the ATA driver that
Rockbox had been shipping with before the 80GB model came along.

Fun times. Still have loads of friends from the dev crowd, including Daniel
Stenberg, who is better known for curl - but was also one of the original
Rockbox hackers. :D

------
electrotype
I used Rockbox a lot, I even made my own build so I can configure some buttons
to tigger specific actions. Sansa Clip+ with Rockbox has been my music player
for a long time.

The problem now is that mobile phones have killed multimedia players and it's
hard to find new players with Rockbox support :-(

------
frabbit
For those interested in helping to make Rockbox on new hardware a reality
checkout this earlier comment from the PinePhone developers:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21021001](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21021001)
Relevant thread:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20977788](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20977788)

Again, as mentioned in the original thread: the idea is cheap, light+small,
Free/Open, extensible hardware. Sansa were on the right track with the Clip.
Not everything has to be touchscreen/hi-res display. It just needs to be
reasonable in price and robust enough to withstand adventures, sleeping and
some water.

------
altereg0
This and an old iPod helped me get through rough times in the army.

TY <3

~~~
nemosaltat
Submariner here. Same, story. I made custom iPod minis with 64GB CF cards for
several guys after they saw mine. (God can’t see through XX##)

~~~
dbrgn
Hah, I used a modded iPod Mini as well! I was awesome, especially playlist
handling. And playing Doom on it.

------
theunamedguy
I learned C and open-source through hacking on this. Fond memories!

PS: We have a Quake port -
[https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/PluginQuake](https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/PluginQuake)
:)

------
yowlingcat
Used to run this on my old iPod 4G and later on iPod Video. Those were the
days. Play whatever audio/video format you want, could run video games. Those
were the days -- can't believe it was only 12 years ago.

------
errantspark
Wanted to weigh in here, I've got a 5g iPod (Wolfson DAC) with an SSD,
upgraded battery and rockbox. It's fantastic, I use it to listen to podcasts
before bed. I have something like 200Gb of music on it and I think the last
time I charged it was over a month ago.

I think the interface could use a little polish, but that aside there is still
no mobile listening experience that surpasses having all of your music on you
all the time and knowing that when you're at 50% battery you've still got
close to two days straight of listening at max volume.

------
rchaud
Installed this on a now-ancient Toshiba Gigabeat 40GB MP3 player waay back in
2010. The default firmware and UI for a lot of non-iPod players were awful,
despite having good hardware.

Rockbox had DOS-like graphics but it's functionality was amazing. I remember
installing it because I wanted to calculate how much battery life my 5-year
old Toshiba had left. It actually had a counter where it'd play music till the
battery died, and when you rebooted it, it'd show you exactly how long
playback lasted. Really nifty feature.

------
marpstar
A few of my friends and I went on a FLAC kick back in the late '00s and I
remember installing Rockbox on a Gen 4 or 5 iPod in order to play my FLAC
files.

------
fb03
Loved having Rockbox on my Toshiba Gigabeat F20. Ogg Vorbis playback, lots of
battery time and stable as hell.

Thank you for the trip down the memory lane.

------
shmerl
Works well on Sansa Fuze+. Unlike the stock firmware, it can play Opus audio,
which I always encode my portable collection to.

------
Endy
I remember installing Rockbox on an original iPod for a blind friend of mine,
just because with the right settings it would read out the name of the song to
her. It took me about two hours, because we were working on a WinXP PC with
JAWS and the iPod wasn't exactly Windows-compatible, even in mass-storage
mode.

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s0l1dsnak3123
I used to use this and a few other open source firmwares on my iPod when I was
at high school, so I could listen to FLACs. When my school friends (I was in
the musical crowd) saw it, they all wanted it too, so I'd install it for them.
That would've been in 2009-2010. Those were the days.

------
legends2k
I still have a working iRiver iHP-100 (40 GiB) with Rockbox on it! Switched to
it soon after purchase, as the original firmware was limiting.

Of course, I keep it around for the memories as this was my first buy with
money earned from RentACoder.com when I was in college. Fond memories :)

------
dhagz
I have this on an old iPod Video - easily the best media player I've ever had.
I think this was my first exposure to the idea of running non-Apple firmware
on Apple devices (loathe to call it a jailbreak, but it feels sorta like one).

------
michaelmrose
I still remember the neuros HD.

\- multiple swappable storage/battery backpackd

\- built in fm transmitter

\- Linux based firmware / iTunes like music management that was Linux native

\- mp3 ogg Flav support

\- radio support plus scheduled recording

\- Shazam like feature called "hear it see it" when plugged in

\- ridiculously long battery life

In 2003

------
grenoire
Oh man, Silk Icons in the navigation bar. This is true Web 2.0 nostalgia.

------
Myrmornis
ipod 5.5 80 Gig + Rockbox! Those days still beat today, when you don't have a
good network connection for your phone with unlimited data.

I wrote this software for messing about with rockbox back then:
[http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~davison/software/dbm/](http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~davison/software/dbm/)
(Not sure if the stats department know they're hosting it...)

------
temny
I use Sansa Clip Zip with Rockbox daily and mostly for audiobooks. My favorite
feature is possibility to increase playback speed while keeping pitch intact

------
syassami
Used this to run doom on my iPod in high school! Glad to hear it's still
around

------
codeulike
Had this back in the Archos days

