About

Project to design and build a Free/Open hardware audio player (DAP) and recorder, for use with RockBox.

Objectives

• Make a good quality hardware audio player and recorder;
• Find a company to assembly and sell It online, to worldwide (already received some offers);

Advantages versus commercial players

• All hardware documented - perfect Rockbox port and support!;
• Control on hardware quality - will result in a good audio quality, longer battery duration, etc;
• Free/Open Software build and debug tools;
• Long life, will not be discontinued from production.

Disadvantages versus commercial players

• Expensive;
• Not very attractive design.

Major companies that build DAPs like Apple or Sandisk, often create new versions of hardware to get lower prices and add new functionality. Since the new versions are usually designed with different chips and are often undocumented, Rockbox developers have to struggle to find information that permits them understand how the devices work, and allow the Rockbox firmware to run on them. Sometimes, before the developers can hack some older target versions, a new version appears and the older version is not available on the market anymore!

Also the same companies make DAPs with lower quality components so they can get lower prices and earn more. Lower quality components usually means an audio signal that is noisy or a DAP with a shorter life span.

Modern micro-controllers and memory have become cheap, and tend to be very fast with a lot of resources inside like DAC and USB peripherals. This means that it is possible to build a reasonably priced and powered DAP with a fewer components. If we manufacture our DAP, we will be able to maintain a much more stable and documented hardware, with a good quality audio and a perfect Rockbox port.

License

All documentation to produce the LyreProject is under license:


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

If you use this work, you must reference this project as "Rockbox Player" and use this link: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/LyreProject

Status of the project

Here is one video: http://blip.tv/file/get/Jpcasainho-LyreProjectActualWorkingState511.ogg

Future

If needed, contact companies asking for support at assembly and selling the player on theirs online shops - example:

• Olimex build and sell a MOD-MP3 MP3 PLAYER MODULE WITH VS1002 MP3 DECODER/ENCODER.
• www.in-circuit.de.
• Makezine - they sell various DIY Kits, they sell the Daisy MP3 Player DIY kit.

Links

• Open Hardware Foundation
• Free Software Foundation

Links to others players Free/Open Source players

• DSPdap - Without display and using a Texas DSP (without Free/Open tools to build and debug). The author of DSPDap is now working on LyreProject and much parts of DSPDap will be reused.
• MP3 Development Board from SparkFun - ARM7, VS1002 - MP3 audio codec, 128x128 color LCD, microSD, FM Transmitter, Lithium Polymer battery and accelerometer.
• ARM MP3/AAC Player - Almost equal idea, no display.
• Yet Another MP3 Player
• AVR Butterfly MP3
• PJRC High Capacity MP3 Player
• microsyl MP3 player
• megaPEG
• MoP3
• EchoMp3
• ...

Topic discussions on Rockbox forum

• Rockbox Player - Project to design and build a Free/Open hardware audio player

Developers

Active developers

Please add yourself to this list.

• JorgePinto aka Casainho on forum and IRC. Developer since the beginning of the project (December 2007). EXPERIENCE: I work in a small company that develops simple electronics circuits with LEDs and AVR 8 bits. I CAN HELP IN: I have some limited knowledge in analog electronics and in GCC-AVR for 8 bits, I will be able to do some drivers for hardware. MOTIVATION: I would like to have a fully Free/Open hardware player for RockBox, without DRM; I would like to have a player for quick and simple share music files with my friends; I want to learn working with 32 bits systems with GCC.
• ThomasLloyd - aka notlistening. Joined as a developer in September 2008. EXPERIENCE: I have worked on various embedded hardware during my Computing for Real Time Systems degree working mainly with linux. I CAN HELP IN: A bit rusty having been quite ill and loosing the vast majority of my sight. I have experience in driver development under linux, most programming languges. MOTIVATION: Having lost my sight I want to see a reasonably priced unit that takes into account the visually impaired. The experience gain would be valuable in working in the embedded industry again.
• AlexCantos - also AJCantos. Joined as a developer in October 2008. EXPERIENCE: I work in a small audio electronics company. My skills include hardware, embedded software and some mechanical design. I CAN HELP IN: I can develop/test/improve hardware, implement software and do some visual/conceptual design. MOTIVATION: I love audio electronics, gadgets, open source and Rockbox, need any more reasons?

Developers inactive

• RogerQuadros - I created the DSPdap. I can contribute my hardware and firmware design skills into the Rockbox hardware player.