Ipod classic - rockbox - its happening.
Jan 6, 2011 at 9:18 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 3,645

Br777

Headphoneus Supremus
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Rockbox for the iPod Classic
iPod 6G/6.5G/7G (Classic 1G/2G/3G) (2007-2011, 80/120/160GB)
OP v1.2
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‘I love Rockbox’ [cooperpwc]
‘My Classic runs beautifully on Rockbox firmware’ [WildmaN86]
‘I feel that the sound quality is amazing on Rockbox’ [yosh]
‘Just opened the iPod's box, and I didn't even turn it on! It's straight to Rockbox!’ [putente]

Content
  1. Disclaimer
  2. Introduction
  3. Installation
  4. Updating
  5. Uninstallation - back to Apple's original firmware
  6. F.A.Q.
  7. Useful links
  8. Credits
Disclaimer
Installing alternative software/firmware on your iPod Classic is not supported by Apple. We are not responsible in any way for any damage you might do to your iPod. If you would like to use EmCORE/Rockbox on your iPod Classic we strongly advise you to carefully read the manuals both here and on freemyipod.org. The information on installing and managing Rockbox on the iPod Classic is written for users with a Windows-based pc.

Introduction
What is Rockbox? Why should I use it?
Rockbox is an open source firmware replacement for a growing number of digital audio players. It has been in development since 2001 and receives new features, tweaks and fixes every day to provide you with the best possible music listening experience. Rockbox aims to be considerably more functional and efficient than your device's stock firmware while remaining easy to use and customizable. It is a goal to not only offer a wide range of functionality, but where possible make sure that this functionality is presented in a consistent manner that is easy to learn and use. It is written by users, for users.

Another top priority of Rockbox is audio playback quality. Rockbox, for most models, includes a wider range of sound settings than that device's original firmware. A lot of work has been put into making Rockbox sound the best it can, and improvements are constantly being made. All models have access to a large number of plugins, including many games, applications, and graphical demos.

You can load different configurations quickly for different purposes (e.g. a large font for in your car, different sound settings for at home). You can even customize your While Playing Screen to display only and exactly what you want to see when your music is playing. In addition, Rockbox features a wide range of languages, and all supported models also have the ability to talk to you - menus can be voiced and filenames spelled out or spoken.

Key features of Rockbox for the Classic
 
  1. Support for over 30 sound codecs
  2. Advanced On-The-Go playlist creation
  3. Gapless playback
  4. 10-band fully-parametric equalizer and crossfeed
  5. Standard USB file transfer, no iTunes or other software needed
  6. Navigate through music using both folder structure and database from meta info
  7. High resolution volume control
  8. Ability to create own themes or use user-uploaded ones
  9. Advanced crossfading
  10. ReplayGain support
  11. Cuesheet support
  12. Album Art support
  13. JPEG image and text-file viewing
  14. Multilingual interface
 
 
Why this topic? Isn't all the info I need on their official website www.rockbox.org?
Well, that's true for all the models supported by the Rockbox Utility and meeting certain criteria. This isn't the case for the iPod Classic, this installation involves a little more attention.
All the information and software mentioned in this topic is NOT (fully) supported by Rockbox, but they also link to freemyipod’s emCORE.

Installation
 
Click here to go to the Installation of the Rockbox bootloader on iPod Classic (80/120/160 GB)

 
 
Useful links
http://www.rockbox.org/ (Rockbox homepage)
http://freemyipod.org/wiki/Main_Page (FreeMyiPod homepage)
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b5xbw6cp4ikfxwn/MjELjmDNJ_ (a list of great custom Rockbox builds, by aroldan)
http://www.rockbox.org/dl.cgi?bin=ipod6g (Rockbox Daily builds for the Classic)
http://builds.freemyipod.org/ (all emCORE builds - use with caution as some are still under development)
http://www.head-fi.org/t/604266/review-modded-ipod-classic-7g-with-240gb-hdd-from-ebay (A topic about Classics with a custom 240GB hard drive)

Credits

 
 
  1. The people from Rockbox
  2. The people from FreeMyiPod
  3. Cástor Muñoz who introduced great powersaving patches for the Classic port
  4. [u][size=16px][color=#1155cc][u]aroldan[/u][/color][/size][/u] who has been implementing merged patches and customizing the Classic port to make it even better
  5. All those who give support in this topic
  6. [u][size=16px][color=#1155cc][u]r100[/u][/color][/size][/u], [u][size=16px][color=#1155cc][u]putente[/u][/color][/size][/u], [u][size=16px][color=#1155cc][u]jtaylor991[/u][/color][/size][/u] and [u][size=16px][color=#1155cc][u]captainwolf[/u][/color][/size][/u] for writing and contributing to this manual
 
Jan 6, 2011 at 9:57 PM Post #2 of 3,645
I got wind of this on anythingbuyipod.com from Marv The Martian the other day, and this great info backs it up even more. I can't wait for some custom EQ Rockbox goodness!!! WooT!!!
 
Jan 6, 2011 at 10:06 PM Post #3 of 3,645
noooooooooo.....I just got myself an unopened brand new ipod 5.5 gen, while my 6th (80gb) has been retired!!!..
 
haha, nah, actually thats great news....I've been playing around with rockbox for the last few days and I must say I am pretty impressed with it. though still cant get to grips with the bloody EQ.....I will need to commit to a few days of study to figure that one out.. 
 
btw, last two charges checked how rockbox battery usage, and am happy to say I got 14.40 and 15.30 hrs with my normal usage using ALAC files. (no EQ usually except in some albums, browsing files for change of album playback etc). and still had around %10 ~15 battery left on each time, but didnt want to go all the way down as I heard is not very good for battery life.  so I would say rockbox horror stories of bad battery life are behind us, in regards to ALAC. 
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 12:53 AM Post #6 of 3,645
popcorn.gif
 I'm waiting patiently - the Rockbox team DEVS kick AZZ!!! 
beerchug.gif

 
Jan 7, 2011 at 10:16 PM Post #10 of 3,645
Yes that`s very sweet. I`ll guess  i have to look for a 160gb one now, this it`s not good for my wallet at all
blink.gif

 
Quote:
It wasn't BS, they managed to finally get the code for RB to work w/a cirrus chip - sweet!!!
cool.gif

Quote:
I taught iPod Classic 6.gen and up contained a chip that bloked 3.part software
confused_face(1).gif
was that pure bs?


 



 
Jan 7, 2011 at 10:37 PM Post #11 of 3,645
To someone with the latest generation classic 160G (Purchased toward the end of 2010) who has no idea what this means.. What does it mean? Will this improve the sound and if so why?
I use apple lossless at the moment, what advantage would flac be?
I always thought it was the chip that made the difference, if so how can software like rockbox improve the sound?
 
I have searched but a lot of what I have read assumes the reader is knowledgeable about such things!
 
To the complete imbicile who knows nothing can someone please explain why this is such a good thing!
 
Thanks in advance.
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 10:54 PM Post #12 of 3,645
Quote:
To someone with the latest generation classic 160G (Purchased toward the end of 2010) who has no idea what this means.. What does it mean? Will this improve the sound and if so why?
I use apple lossless at the moment, what advantage would flac be?
I always thought it was the chip that made the difference, if so how can software like rockbox improve the sound?
 
I have searched but a lot of what I have read assumes the reader is knowledgeable about such things!
 
To the complete imbicile who knows nothing can someone please explain why this is such a good thing!
 
Thanks in advance.


Actually the Classic software is pretty slick and will be best for 90% to 99% of users. But for the few, Rockbox is irreplaceable. My favourite features:
 
1. No iTunes synching! I drag and drop my folder system directly onto the iPod hard drive. If i want to add an album, I drop in the folder. It's like working with a USB key. Then when I want to play the Rockboxed iPod, I navigate the folders, just as I created them.
 
2. Active playlist! Forget the convoluted iPod "on the go playlist". Whenever you use a Rockboxed iPod you have access to the "active playlist" to add delete and move songs and albums. I cannot live without this feature which I use constantly. When I use a friend's iPod and we are mid-album and I want to cue up songs to play next or last, I am always asking myself What? It ain't possible.
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 11:19 PM Post #14 of 3,645
 Does this interfere at all with a car stereo ipod dock?
 
Jan 7, 2011 at 11:57 PM Post #15 of 3,645
Quote:
 Does this interfere at all with a car stereo ipod dock?


Not at all. Hardware function stays exactly the same - except that you get greater control with endless settings that can be changed.
 
My theory is that no one ever uses more than a small fraction of Rockbox's personalisation settings. But if you want to change something obscure, you probably can.
 

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