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[[Image:Rockboxlogo.png|right]]
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'''Rockbox''' is a [[GPL]]-compliant [[open source]] operating system for portable digital audio players (DAPs). The Rockbox Project began in 2002 and was first implemented on the [[Archos]] Studio DAP because of owner frustration with severe limitations in the manufacturer-supplied user interface and device operations.
'''Rockbox''' is a [[GPL]]-compliant [[open source]] operating system for portable digital audio players (DAPs). The Rockbox Project began in 2001<ref>https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2011/12/07/ten-years-of-rockbox/</ref> and was first implemented on the [[Archos]] Studio DAP because of owner frustration with severe limitations in the manufacturer-supplied user interface and device operations.


Rockbox can completely replace the host device's operating system firmware and has matured to become an extensible, flexible platform that provides a plug-in architecture for adding PDA functionality, applications, utilities, and games, and has also managed to retrofit video playback functionality onto DAPs first released in mid-2000. Recently, Rockbox now includes a voice-driven user-interface suitable for operation by blind and visually impaired users.
Rockbox can completely replace the host device's operating system firmware and has matured to become an extensible, flexible platform that provides a plug-in architecture for adding PDA functionality, applications, utilities, and games, and has also managed to retrofit video playback functionality onto DAPs first released in mid-2000. Recently, Rockbox now includes a voice-driven user-interface suitable for operation by blind and visually impaired users.


Although Rockbox's official title is "Rockbox: Open Source Jukebox Firmware", in many instances it is not actually installed to (or run from) flash memory. Instead a minimal bootloader is installed in the supported device's flash which is capable of either loading Rockbox from the hard disk or, alternately, the original factory firmware.
Although Rockbox's official title is "Rockbox: Open Source Jukebox Firmware", in many instances it is not actually installed to (or run from) flash memory. Instead a minimal bootloader is installed in the supported device's flash which is capable of either loading Rockbox from the hard disk or, alternately, the original factory firmware.
== Codecs ==
Rockbox on software decoding platforms (non-Archos) supports playback of eleven [[lossy compression|lossy]] codecs (depending on how one counts), five [[lossless data compression|lossless]], two uncompressed and six miscellaneous formats.<ref>[https://download.rockbox.org/daily/manual/rockbox-sansaclipplus/rockbox-buildap2.html#x17-335000B.1 Supported audio formats], Rockbox Manual</ref> This makes a conservative total of 25 supported audio formats, although a few of them do not operate in realtime on all platforms. Extensive work has gone into optimizing each codec, with FLAC, Ogg, WMA, APE and WMA Pro among the fastest known implementations for those formats.<ref>[https://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=82125&view=findpost&p=716976  Codec performance comparison], Hydrogenaudio Forums, accessed 2011-03-12</ref>
=== Lossy formats ===
* MPEG audio layers I-III ([[MP3]]/[[MPEG-1 Audio Layer II|MP2]]/[[MPEG-1 Audio Layer I|MP1]])
* [[Vorbis|Ogg Vorbis]]
* [[Advanced Audio Coding|MPEG-4 AAC]](-LC/HE/HEv2 profiles) (in [[MPEG-4 Part 14|MP4]] or [[RealMedia|RM]] containers)
* [[Musepack]]
* [[Dolby Digital|AC3]] (raw or [[RealMedia|RM]] container)
* [[Windows Media Audio|WMA Standard]]
* [[Windows Media Audio|WMA Professional]]
* [[Speex]]
* [[Cook Codec|Cook]]
* [[Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding#ATRAC3 (LP2 and LP4 Modes)|ATRAC3]]
* The lossy portion of [[WavPack]] hybrid files
* [[Opus]]
=== Lossless formats ===
* [[Free Lossless Audio Codec|FLAC]]
* [[WavPack]]
* [[Shorten]]
* [[Apple Lossless]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[TTA (codec)|TTA]]
=== Uncompressed formats ===
* Intel-style [[WAV]]
* Apple [[Audio Interchange File Format|AIFF]]
Together they include over a dozen different [[Pulse-code modulation|PCM]] and [[Adaptive DPCM|ADPCM]] formats.
== Rockbox features ==
Beside the ability of playing and recording audio files, Rockbox offers many playback enhancements that other firmware packages may not have implemented yet. Listed below are a handful of these features.
* [[Gapless playback]]<ref>[https://download.rockbox.org/daily/manual/rockbox-sansaclipplus/rockbox-buildap2.html#x17-339000B.1.4 Codec Featureset], Rockbox Manual, accessed 22 May 2011</ref>
* [[crossfader|Crossfading]]<ref>[https://download.rockbox.org/daily/manual/rockbox-sansaclipplus/rockbox-buildch7.html#x10-1220007.7 Crossfade], Rockbox Manual, accessed 22 May 2011</ref>
* [[ReplayGain]]<ref name="soft_decode">Software decoding targets only</ref>
* 5 band fully parametric [[equalization (audio)|equalizer]]<ref name="soft_decode" />
* Variable speed decoding with pitch correction<ref>[https://download.rockbox.org/daily/manual/rockbox-sansaclipplus/rockbox-buildch4.html#x7-630004.3.3 Pitch], Rockbox Manual, accessed 22 May 2011</ref>
* [[Crossfeed]]<ref name="soft_decode" />
* OTF ("on the fly") playlists
* True random shuffle (fresh randomly shuffled list every time)
* Custom [[Theme (computing)|UI themes]]
* Dynamic Playlists (queue files to play next, or in other parts of a dynamic playlist)
* Stereo recording to WAV/AIFF/WavPack (lossless) and MP3<ref>MP3, WavPack and AIFF are available on non-Archos devices. Multiple sample rates and bitrates available (hardware-dependent).</ref><ref>[https://download.rockbox.org/daily/manual/rockbox-sansaclipplus/rockbox-buildch10.html#x13-14900010 Recording], Rockbox Manual, accessed 22 May 2011]</ref> (supporting devices)
* [[FM broadcasting|FM radio]], including FM recording (supporting devices)
* Remote control (supporting devices)
* Digital [[S/PDIF]] input/output (supporting devices)
* [[Last.fm]] support (even on players lacking [[Real-time clock|RTC]])
* [[cue sheet (computing)|Cue sheet]] support
* Changeable selector bar
* Album art<ref>[https://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/AlbumArt Some limitations] – Details at Rockbox Wiki, accessed 2011-03-12</ref>
* Sleep timer


== External links ==
== External links ==
* [http://www.rockbox.org/ The Rockbox Project]
* [https://www.rockbox.org/ Website]
 
 
== References ==
<references/>




<span style="color:green;">''~ Text taken from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbox Wikipedia entry for Rockbox]''</span>
<span style="color:green;">''~ Text taken from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbox Wikipedia entry]''</span>


[[Category:Firmware]]
[[Category:Firmware]]

Latest revision as of 09:21, 22 October 2020

Featured article

Rockbox is a GPL-compliant open source operating system for portable digital audio players (DAPs). The Rockbox Project began in 2001[1] and was first implemented on the Archos Studio DAP because of owner frustration with severe limitations in the manufacturer-supplied user interface and device operations.

Rockbox can completely replace the host device's operating system firmware and has matured to become an extensible, flexible platform that provides a plug-in architecture for adding PDA functionality, applications, utilities, and games, and has also managed to retrofit video playback functionality onto DAPs first released in mid-2000. Recently, Rockbox now includes a voice-driven user-interface suitable for operation by blind and visually impaired users.

Although Rockbox's official title is "Rockbox: Open Source Jukebox Firmware", in many instances it is not actually installed to (or run from) flash memory. Instead a minimal bootloader is installed in the supported device's flash which is capable of either loading Rockbox from the hard disk or, alternately, the original factory firmware.

Codecs

Rockbox on software decoding platforms (non-Archos) supports playback of eleven lossy codecs (depending on how one counts), five lossless, two uncompressed and six miscellaneous formats.[2] This makes a conservative total of 25 supported audio formats, although a few of them do not operate in realtime on all platforms. Extensive work has gone into optimizing each codec, with FLAC, Ogg, WMA, APE and WMA Pro among the fastest known implementations for those formats.[3]

Lossy formats

Lossless formats

Uncompressed formats

Together they include over a dozen different PCM and ADPCM formats.


Rockbox features

Beside the ability of playing and recording audio files, Rockbox offers many playback enhancements that other firmware packages may not have implemented yet. Listed below are a handful of these features.

  • Gapless playback[4]
  • Crossfading[5]
  • ReplayGain[6]
  • 5 band fully parametric equalizer[6]
  • Variable speed decoding with pitch correction[7]
  • Crossfeed[6]
  • OTF ("on the fly") playlists
  • True random shuffle (fresh randomly shuffled list every time)
  • Custom UI themes
  • Dynamic Playlists (queue files to play next, or in other parts of a dynamic playlist)
  • Stereo recording to WAV/AIFF/WavPack (lossless) and MP3[8][9] (supporting devices)
  • FM radio, including FM recording (supporting devices)
  • Remote control (supporting devices)
  • Digital S/PDIF input/output (supporting devices)
  • Last.fm support (even on players lacking RTC)
  • Cue sheet support
  • Changeable selector bar
  • Album art[10]
  • Sleep timer


External links


References

  1. ↑ https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2011/12/07/ten-years-of-rockbox/
  2. ↑ Supported audio formats, Rockbox Manual
  3. ↑ Codec performance comparison, Hydrogenaudio Forums, accessed 2011-03-12
  4. ↑ Codec Featureset, Rockbox Manual, accessed 22 May 2011
  5. ↑ Crossfade, Rockbox Manual, accessed 22 May 2011
  6. ↑ a b c Software decoding targets only
  7. ↑ Pitch, Rockbox Manual, accessed 22 May 2011
  8. ↑ MP3, WavPack and AIFF are available on non-Archos devices. Multiple sample rates and bitrates available (hardware-dependent).
  9. ↑ Recording, Rockbox Manual, accessed 22 May 2011]
  10. ↑ Some limitations – Details at Rockbox Wiki, accessed 2011-03-12


~ Text taken from Wikipedia entry

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