jeepers, when the is my imp going to play ogg?

[terrymx]

god, i've been waiting for so long. these iriver people are so slow. it've been since christmas 2002. and they're working on stuff like the a new logo and new model names and the newer players, while they supposed to concerntrate on improving the sound quality.

i got the 1.70n beta driver for my imp400 and it wouldnt read the ogg, yet. this is just a rant. thank you.

[Lsportline43]

What I thought the iMP-400s have Ogg support. I thought it was released awhile ago. It doesn't work or something? iRiver needs to watch out for the older players too.

[vinnie97]

Yes, it works, but it's only a half-ass implementation. Only a midrange bitrate spectrum works (96-192 or thereabouts) which is very crippling for those of us who want to use ogg as it was intended, and that's in the low bitrate range (~64kbps)! Not to mention those audiophiles who want the higher bitrates (I don't see the point personally as I can't readily heard the differences between ogg & mp3 above 128 kbps, or at least, haven't trained my ears to do so). Oh, and I have the imp-350, however it's the same for all IMP units, every last one is confined in this way. Iriver LOVES to drag their heels so much so, that, they're going to find themselves in some major financial trouble if they don't own up to their original best intentions and re-focus their efforts on the customers again.

[Lsportline43]

Oh I thought that the firmware was released and it didn't play Oggs. Does it play the Oggs without problems? Or is it buggy?

[vinnie97]

I haven't tested it much because I'm waiting for full bitrate support. You can only be sure that q3-q6 will actually play, and some of have reported bugs with the unit restarting unexpectedly as well as differing volumes between ogg & mp3 files. The controls are also a little sluggish when dealing with ogg files (there is a small delay between pressing the button and the function occuring).

[Lsportline43]

Well I have the iMP-550 and I have decided to stay away from Oggs. I may go to Ogg once I get my iHP-120. Hopefully the iHP-120 won't have playing Oggs. At the moment I use MP3s encoded at 256 kbps or 320 kbps.

[vinnie97]

Yes, I remember your bitrate preference.

If & when 64-kbps ogg support ever comes to fruition, I'm on it like flies on a carcass.

[Lsportline43]

I just tested once more. I listened to the original audio file, MP3 320 kbps, and MP3 VBR 192. I honestly could barely tell the difference between 320 and VBR 192. But the thing is I can tell the difference. The better quality of 256 and 320 makes its size no problem for me. I'd rather have quality over quantity. Hey Vinnie97 can you tell the difference between your compressed files and the original? If you can don't you feel like you are missing out when you are listening to compressed music?

[vinnie97]

160 kbps is when I start hearing a difference, and that's if I listen very closely, so I increase the rate to 192kbps for that little bit of a safety margin. It's very difficult for me to hear any differences between vbr ~192 and the original. However, if I'm in the car or jogging or in the gym, then I have no qualms with 128 mp3's and even lower bitrate Ogg's, because high fidelity isn't my priority in those situations. As long as the reproduction is decent, I'm content, and when I'm in a noisy environment, it's even easier to tolerate.

[Lsportline43]

Yeah I understand what you mean in those cases, but I mainly listen to my music in quiet non-active times. That is why it is important to me.

[terrymx]

i hate using internet slangs and acronyms, but
ROFLMAO @ thread title!

[FlameGrilled]

*starts punching targeting co-ordinates into the tac-nuke & dungball launchers*

If you feel so ignored, deprived and otherwise let down because the implemented Ogg codec in the iMP firmware aint up to scratch - try directing about 99+% of your complaints directly to iRiver.

After all, noone here can fix the situation - everyone here has, in some way, been either a victim of other things not implemented or resolved whilst iRiver took it upon themselves to cave into the fanatics of the Ogg world, so in reality... we all suffered putting up with some unresolved and/or faulty issue and learn't to live with it til some progress got made.

I'm not saying that these forums are a bad place to air the grief, just maybe send most of it to the place it should be directed to.

*passes co-ordinates along to the other regional launch sites..., and wavers paw over the launch button*
*disclaimer - no reponsibily taken for misfires, noone builds a claw-compatible keboard yet*

[terrymx]

i get your point, but you shouldnt take peolpe rants so seriously, mr. upright.

[FlameGrilled]

wow.. if you think i'm being 'mr upright'...., you clearly aint seen me get seriously forensic in how i respond to 'rants' before :P

I guess after all the time i spent trying to smooth the peace, when real rants (rational or otherwise) come into play, it's hard to forget that it makes no difference to me if something gets sorted or fixed or whatever.

The only time a firmware release matters to me, is when the current owners of my old kit need or want firmware mods - and based on recent releases, 'want' is more likely to be why i end up flashing someone else's bloody deck(s).

That' a price, sadly, of having been in possess of the instructon manual 5 mins longer than the owner, in that he/she with the extra experience.. takes liability for the nail-biting & claw-ruining jobs.

*re-targets the launchers at iRiver Int, and sits back.. on alert.*

[Lsportline43]

Hopefully after iRiver is done releasing the new products they will focus on firmware upgrades. Their firmwares are not at the highest quality that they can be.

How about hacking the firmware? Is it possilbe to add OGG format support yourself? Well I do know that iRiver doesn't like it when people do this, but if they don't do it then who will?