Newbie questions

[box]

Hi everyone. I'm in the market for a new HD-based mp3 player (my circa-2000 Archos is showing its age), and I've got a few questions about the iHP series. Please forgive my cluelessness.

1. I have read in several places about relatively long boot times. Does the iHP boot faster if you don't enable the database features, and instead strictly use folders to organize/navigate? Would I be crazy to even consider this option?

2. After all the negative iPod battery publicity, I'm curious: is a replacement iHP battery commercially available anywhere?

3. Is anyone trying to swap in a larger drive or make other hardware modifications?

4. Is anyone working on alternative firmware (like the rockbox project for Archos players)?

5. Besides this one, what are the most active and knowledgeable forums for iHP users?

I've probably got more questions, but that's all I can think of right now. Thanks for your attention.

[Odie]

1. Yes it boots faster with DB disabled. No, you wouldn't be crazy to use file/folder navigation, a lot of people do (me included), just make sure you have a good file structure to make it easier on yourself.

2. No, but iRiver have announced the rolling out of a very reasonably priced official battery replacement service in Japan, hopefully they will be doing the same in other countries.

3. If you are referring to the ihp-120, then at the moment there are no larger hard drives available because the next step up from the 20gb (eg 30gb or 40gb) have two platters, and are thus thicker and due to the design of the ihp-120, they will not fit, even if you could purchase them, which you can't since Toshiba do no currently sell them to end users. I am not aware of any other hardware modifications.

4. Apparently there is a group of developers working on one, however it is not clear whether this is a hoax or (if it is not) then how much progress they have made.

5. To be blunt, none. Lately the official iRiver International forums have deteriorated considerably, lots of trolls, etc.

Good luck with your choice, I hope my answers are of some help to you.

- Odie

[sweetspot]

Welcome...Here are answers in order:

1) I've heard that the boot time will vary with the DB feature enabled, and is longer than with file tree method. I use the file tree method exclusively for a few reasons..but first off, boot time in file tree mode takes 10 seconds. That's a totally cold boot..not like the iPod which is on all the time, but goes into a sleep mode.

No, you wouldn't be crazy to use the file tree method..lot's of people prefer it. Here are my reasons:

I've always been comfortable with creating and maintaining my folders in Windows Explorer. I like to organize and structure my folders the way I see fit. This is the most simple way to do this. The data base mode at this moment, for some stupid Iriver reason, doesn't support Ogg or WMA ?! Would you believe that ? It's pretty bizarre if you ask me. Plus, if you're using DB mode, you'd better hope that all of your files are tagged properly, or you're gonna be in a big ol' mess.
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2) First of all, I wouldn't invest too much stock in the "bad iPod publicity" concerning the battery. Yes, it's true that the iPods battery isn't as efficeint as the IHP's, Karmas, or especially the Dell DJ's, but for some people, it's not an issue. They have a battery replacement plan (allbeit an expensive one), which covers their asses.

Iriver, has implamented a battery replacement plan, but as of now, is only available in Asia. We hope to see this world wide soon. The plan costs $30 to replace and ship your unit back. Pretty good.

3) It has already been said that a larger drive would not fit into the IHP 120, but I'm not sure about the 140..it may be possible. No one has attempted to do this as of yet.

4) Some guy claiming to be part of a group of programmers, caused a bit of controversy a little while back, saying that they had the source code to the IHP firmware. Unfortunately, we've not heard from him since the alleged law suit threat, which was handed to the group by Iriver. The whole thing seemed a bit hoaky though, because who in their right minds would publicly expose themselves in such a fashion?

So we don't know what happened there. Someone else by the name Gacel, made his own DB software to replace Irivers crappy DB sorftware, but unfortunately, people were reporting crashes and other glitch like things...some still use it, but are cautioned when doing so.

5) There's a yahoo group for the IHP, and they seem like nice people, but the whole yahoo thing is a bit unorganized. You can go to Head Fi for a broader view on DAP's, but it's not a dedicated IHP forum. Great place though.

S.

[gdog]

Originally Posted by box

Please forgive my cluelessness.

Don't mention it. Being a noob myself, I can appreciate your questions.

1. I have read in several places about relatively long boot times. Does the iHP boot faster if you don't enable the database features, and instead strictly use folders to organize/navigate? Would I be crazy to even consider this option?

As others have said, it boots faster in file tree mode, and boot times seem to range between 10 and 20 seconds (per user).

4. Is anyone working on alternative firmware (like the rockbox project for Archos players)?

Not if they want to stay out of court (or are smart enough to black box reverse engineer). Of the latter I have not heard of anyone being in the process of doing so.

5. Besides this one, what are the most active and knowledgeable forums for iHP users?

You found it! The "official" iRiver site is largely frequented by those who are somewhat less than mature, helpful, or friendly.

Good Luck,

gdog

[box]

Thanks, everybody, for your help. If I have more questions, this'll be the first place I go.