How to Pimp Your MP3 Player with Rockbox

What MP3 player to go for...

So my old MP3 player still worked, but it was getting tired. Newer models had better features and to top it all off my new operating system no longer supported my MP3 player, nor did the manufacturer. Sigh.

So unable to put any new music on my player I had to find a new mp3 player which played music really well, had great battery life and hand had all the new features I was looking for - and I wasn't too keen on going for a really expensive big brand name.

Though I found mp3 players that were technically good at reproducing sound and had great battery lives, reviews often painted a bad picture of their firmware: hard to use, or just down right lacking in the features I wanted.This was when I stumbled across Rockbox...

Rockbox, what is it?

Rockbox is free open source firmware that you can install on many mp3 players, from relatively cheap ones all the way to the pricier models. Think of it like having 2 operating systems on your computer, though it will automatically start up with Rockbox there's always the option to start it in it's default software, so you haven't lost anything, but you've gained a whole lot more usability...

So that you can understand the basics of how Rockbox works and looks, I have created a tutorial video on how to use it for the Sandisk Sansa Fuse 8GB Model. Though it is for a specific model of mp3 player, the basic usage of Rockbox should be realtively similar on whichever mp3 player you have so you'll get a taste of what it can do.

Note: The video has no sound so as not to infringe any copyright issues there me be :)

Warnings

• Installing Rockbox may void your warranty, so think about this before doing it if you're unsure
  
  

So why should I install Rockbox?

• What this means is that you can buy a relatively cheap mp3 player and not worry about the pre installed software's capabilities or failings as you'll not actually be using it.
• Rockbox is constantly being improved and upgraded, this means that it should be relatively future proof in terms of getting continued support for newer operating systems, which means you won't (like me) have to buy another mp3 player purely because the manufacturer has given up supporting it
• It's free
• There's an enthusiastic community in place that's constantly helping to make it better, and every time a new feature is added it's again free to upgrade to have this implemented onto your mp3 player.
• Rockbox also allows you to play games on it such as Doom.

Sounds great! So tell me what to do!

1. Go here:
   
   http://www.rockbox.org/
2. Check that your existing mp3 player model, or the one you're planning on buying, is supported by Rockbox.
3. I recommend you download the automatic installation version.
4. Plug your mp3 player into your computer and run the installer which does everything for you and you're ready to go!
5. Disconnect your mp3 player from the computer and restart it
6. You now have Rockbox!

How do I use it?

1. The video above shows the main ways to navigate through the various options, from here you can find everything you need.
2. The main thing to note is that hidden menus called "Context Menus" are only made visible by holding the select button down when a menu item is highlighted. Once you know this you'll have access to every option there is.

How do I delete preinstalled music on my MP3 player?

NOTE: This is only in relation to the Sansa Fuze featured in the video:

Weirdly you can’t see preinstalled music that is on your player when connected via USB and looking in Windows Explorer so you can't just select it and delete it. Here's waht to do:

•  Disconnect from your computer and in Rockbox on your mp3 player find this folder:
• Main Menu>Files>##MUSIC##
• Now you can hold down the Select key and rename this to something else, now when you plug it in to your computer it will be magically visible in Windows Explorer and you can delete it.
• Once done you need to tell Rockbox to rescan it’s music Database to make it aware of these changes:
• Main Menu> Hold down Set Button on “Database”> Initialize Now

Tips

• By default Rockbox has limits on playlist sizes, you can change these by doing this:Main Menu>Settings>General Settings>System>Limits> Set both these to Max
• Rockbox has a dual-boot feature. To boot into the original firmware, press and hold the Left button while turning on the player.
• The player will always boot into the original firmware if it is powered by a USB connection, so don't worry when this happens, once you turn it off and restart it'll be back in Rockbox mode.
• If you mess anything up while you're tinkering with it you can always reset it: Main Menu>Settings>Manage Settings>Reset Settings

I hope this article has been useful in making you aware of Rockbox and how it can help you save money on your mp3 purchase and also greatly increase the usability and functionality of your existing mp3 player.

I plan on writing more in depth tutorials on individual aspects such as playlists at a later date, until then, thanks for reading.