Is Rockbox Really That Much Better Then The Original Firmware

[Guynuir222]

I've heard a lot about how Rockbox is so much better the the original firmware for any mp3 player and I've heard a lot about how it sucks. Which is better?

[BBD]

Depends on what you want/need. RB has far greater functionality (gapless, OTF playlists, etc.), but it's not quite as easy as stock FW.

[erikizam]

OF: nice user interface, radio
rockbox: access to the OF +

GAMES, EMULATOR, ALBUM ART, WPS', PLUGINS, MORE CODECS (ogg, flac, acc), MPG PLAYER

you decide which you like better

[ngc1967]

I've just taken the plunge a couple of days ago and so far I like what I see.

It has lots of games (basic but fun) as well as lots of different WPS (while playing screens) which I've downloaded from the rockbox site.

The menu system is a bit confusing but the more I play with it the more I am getting used to it.

Its worth trying out and see what you think. I'm going to keep with it.

[theonlyCossar]

If you get bored with the original games, you can get Angryman's or Blackinadz's (sorry black, I keep forgetting how to spell your name) builds. They include rockboy, which is a gameboy emulator.

[TrueJournals]

Actually... the rockboy patch got committed a while ago. Even the main build includes rockboy now.

[garryg]

i been sticking my head to the original fiirmware bec i am afraid that rockbox would ruin my player. if i put rockbox on it can i delete it and go back to the orginal firmware. if something goes wrong will that lead to loosing my pic, movies, and songs in my player?

[BBD]

Originally Posted by garryg

i been sticking my head to the original fiirmware bec i am afraid that rockbox would ruin my player. if i put rockbox on it can i delete it and go back to the orginal firmware.

Yes.

if something goes wrong will that lead to loosing my pic, movies, and songs in my player?

Not necessarily, but you can lose your data with the stock FW, too. Just back up your files on your PC, or burn the contents to a CD. (That's a good idea regardless of what FW you use.)

AFAIK, the RB builds are quite stable and mature. The only reason I haven't switched is I have time left on my extended warranty, though I doubt BB knows to check the FW, so even my concern re: RB is silly.

[richybaby]

I used the stock firmware on my h120 for about 3 months and have now been using rockbox for almost two years. Every so often I go back to see the difference as it dual boots but would never go back. It is so much quicker and has so many functions that go beyond it's original use. My favourite feature is bookmarking as it is so easy to use and you can have a whole library of bookmarks for talking books or podcasts.
I also now run it on a 5g ipod and think it is great.

So which is better? Well personal preference, I love my rockbox. Give it a chance, it dual boots so you won't have to worry about not being able to do what you want.

[sweetspot]

The only person I've ever spoken to who had a halfway valid reason to not use RB, is a friend whom has an iAudio X5. He claims to be satisfied with the features / codecs it offers, and I agreed that it does come stocked pretty well out the box. However, he's also kind of weird with things which are backported, and he also likes to be argumentative and contradictory.

IMO though, RB would only improve an already decent DAP. I think that it would enhance its audio quality as well as its features. As for other DAPs, RB beats all other stock firmware like gravy from a diner beating the hell out of old weak coffee. When I recently switched back to the iRiver FW on my H120 as ^ did up above, my observations were similar. Really slow, really ugly, and lacking in any features which I had loved from the start, and which should have been featured by iRiver themselves.

Same goes for my iPod. If RB hadn't been ported to the iPod, trust me, I'd NOT have an iPod !

[Llorean]

Honestly, I personally wouldn't recommend Rockbox on H10 or iPod to someone I don't know. The features of Rockbox are AMAZING in general, but on the PortalPlayer based targets (H10, iPod) there are still some performance issues (partially to be resolved by the dual core patch) and battery life issues (you can expect somewhere between 2/3 and 1/3 of your original battery life, partially because we have some hardware problems to resolve and partially because users tend to use a lot more CPU intensive features in Rockbox).

As it is, if you're okay with reduced battery life (or don't mind plugging it in while you use it) I say go for Rockbox. If you're already happy with the features of your player, wait until Rockbox can offer competitive battery life (it's likely to eventually, though it may be quite a while).

[Storm_1699]

I've actually been using Rockbox for about 5 years now. I started with a 6GB Archos Jukebox, then moved up to a 20GB recorder. When that came apart (the charging jack came off of the PC board), I used my Zaurus as an mp3/ogg player.

Since Rockbox gave me ogg on the iRiver, I picked up an H10 (which seems to be about the last large/hard drive based player aside from the ipod). I had rockbox installed within 2 hours of getting it home. I'm quite impressed with the Rockbox install on the H10, even though it has never had an official "release" version.

--Storm

[HT2791]

i'm not sure. i'm actually missing my original firmware now because of some things that i dont like in rockbox. well, one thing anyways: it's slow.. like trying to open folders or going back a page or 2.
The original firmware was slightly nicer.
ALthough i do love the Themes you can use on rockbox. ONly thing that is really keeping me on RB

[olways_tipsy]

i love RB,hands down..i mean we can customize the looks of the player for cryin out loud..im not really impressed with the ogg and aac codes though...but i love the plugins..its sweet!

if the rockbox can only deliver a good battery life then we wont need the dual boot anymore...screw the radio..nobody uses it anyway..haha..

[DreamTactix291]

Well from an H140 user's POV Rockbox is far superior to the original firmware in every way. It has BETTER battery life than the stock firmware, is gapless, customisable, plays many more formats, and the word Rockbox is just awesome . Seriously though you couldn't get me to own a DAP anymore than didn't run Rockbox because it has spoiled me that much.

[sweetspot]

Originally Posted by HT2791

i'm not sure. i'm actually missing my original firmware now because of some things that i dont like in rockbox. well, one thing anyways: it's slow.. like trying to open folders or going back a page or 2.
The original firmware was slightly nicer.
ALthough i do love the Themes you can use on rockbox. ONly thing that is really keeping me on RB

For me, RB works just as fast, if not even faster than the original iRiver FW, but you have to be utilizing the directory cache feature in order to actually achieve that kind of browsing speed. Are you ?

[Angryman_H10]

....it's slow..

Hmm, this really depends on your settings. Dircache is a good help and the equalizer effects this also. The devs now also outsourced the main thread on the Co-Processor... a new custom build could proove if this raises performance again (battery/speed/equalizer capabilities).

[olways_tipsy]

hey guys i downloaded the recent release of rockbox, rockboy isnt included in the plugins..how come?

Actually... the rockboy patch got committed a while ago. Even the main build includes rockboy now.

?????????

[TJHooker]

Originally Posted by olways_tipsy

hey guys i downloaded the recent release of rockbox, rockboy isnt included in the plugins..how come?

?????????

Because its a viewer not a plugin
to use it dowload a gameboy rom, put it on the h10 and open it in the browser screen

[BiGRED84]

i love rockbox on my h10 i have had it since it first came out for the h10 bugs and all and i still like it better than the OF. in fact once im not grounded i plan on being ao active member of the rockbox community

[HT2791]

Originally Posted by iSweet Spot

For me, RB works just as fast, if not even faster than the original iRiver FW, but you have to be utilizing the directory cache feature in order to actually achieve that kind of browsing speed. Are you ?

actually i didn't touch a thing that relates to this dir chache. can you enlighten me on what to do? i konw i should be searching, but a reply would be so much easier

edit: actually i just went into system settings and enabled it lol!
wow yeah it really is fast now.
I wonder why it's not enabled by default? is there some sort of set back by using it?