Why so out-of-date?

[codeking]

Why aren't there rockbox firmwares available for the newest MP3 players (Besides iPods) The only GOOD MP3 players that support rockbox aren't in make anymore, and I've had my share eBay. Any plans for a rockbox for the newer Gigabeats or anything?

[musichound]

The reason is simple: Rockbox for specific players is developed by someone who is bored with the original firmware and wants to use Rockbox instead. It takes patience, skill, and a lot of time to implement. Are you up to the task codeking?

[codeking]

I've only made programs for computers. I took a look at the source code of rockbox, and it's programmed in a language familiar to me, but I wouldn't know any of the code meant for MP3 players. If somebody could give me the information, I would start programming a RockBox for Creative Zen or Zune right after I finish my current programming project.

[JazzBone]

you may start looking here

[codeking]

Sounds great, but... Did they say take the mp3 player apart? I'm not exactly prepared to risk damage to my Zen. I took a long time to save up money for that thing!

[DD]

Well before you can start development you need to know what chips/components are in the DAP so you can write the necessary drivers/code for them. You can either plead to the manufacturer for details and datasheets of every component in the player (not likely to happen), or open it up and find out for yourself (and usually datasheets are a google search away), working out pinouts, etc. There are other things you might need to do with the player open which I don't understand - that BDM/JTAG stuff, etc.

But yea, to call it "out-of-date" is a bit false. Rockbox is always up to date, because there's nothing else to make it go out of date, and what is up-to-date anyway? You mean to say there aren't many ports for up-to-date players, but as said these only happen if someone wants to put the time and effort into making a port happen and seeing it through. Surely the iPod 5g is up-to-date?

Anyway, Rockbox can give older players more functionality than the stock-firmware on these new players. Plus, if you finish a full port of Rockbox to a Zen then you'll have the same features on that as on one of the other Rockbox targets (providing there aren't features which cannot be ported or target exclusive - not many), so was it really worth it?

[Arathis]

Instead taken your player apart by yourself you could search the net for someone who is willing or already took it apart and listed the components somewhere.

[codeking]

Well if anybody is willing to take apart a Zen (Or any other MP3 player, just not an iPod) I might do it, but I'm not guaranteeing success. Plus, it will be a while until I have enough time to do it.

[Didgeridoohan]

There is some work being done on the Creative Zen Vision:M.

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/vie...reativeZVMPort

[traut]

I'd love to have Rockbox on a U10, a clix, a clix2 or anything else (Meizu M7 would be cool) - but the CPU is proprietary. As long as iriver does not open the docu, there's no chance to build anything on your own.

[Karashata]

Rockbox will undoubtedly only end up working on players that are *relatively* outdated, because of the time it takes to research the parts and the original firmware in order to be able to write working code that can be executed on the player.

Also, in the case of the newer iPods, they're making them with some different components than the older ones and currently no one working on Rockbox has figured out what some of the new chips are, since Apple won't release documentation on them. I suspect this move was quite likely made specifically to thwart those third-party developments that take their hardware and make it better.