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Rockbox mail archiveSubject: Re: Rockbox on an ESP32?Re: Rockbox on an ESP32?
From: Jon Lewis via rockbox <rockbox_at_lists.haxx.se>
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2023 10:26:26 -0400 I’m no tinkerer but I would absolutely buy into a project like this if allowed. My two fiio M3Ks can’t live forever. Jon On Sat, Apr 1, 2023 at 8:17 AM David Mehler via rockbox < rockbox_at_lists.haxx.se> wrote: > Hello, > > Thank you everyone for your replies. Here's my end goal, I want to get > in to DIY electronics projects, and I saw an article where a guy made > a custom mp3 player with an ESP32 and 3d-printed a case. This got me > thinking that since the players I like are either getting difficult to > find, or prohibitively expensive, why not try that with rockbox? > > Solomon, from what your saying it definitely sounds like a lot of > effort for a gasping player if the ESP32 was chosen, which is well > over-my-head now, and I wouldn't want something gasping. > > What about some of the rk SOC boards, the 32xx or 33xx series? > > I really like the Raspberry Pi 0 though, I think that's a great idea. > How hard do you think it would be to pull that off? I can do the work, > I probably will have questions, but I think using the Pi 0 as the > basis for a custom-made mp3 player, with rockbox, much cheaper than > some of the offerings out there now. > > Thanks. > Dave. > > > On 4/1/23, Solomon Peachy via rockbox <rockbox_at_lists.haxx.se> wrote: > > On Sat, Apr 01, 2023 at 12:29:27PM +0200, Michael Sparmann via rockbox > > wrote: > >> I wouldn't see why not - perhaps the RP2040 could also be a good > >> candidate? > > > > The ESP32 is doable, but just barely -- It has more than enough raw > > compute performance (dual cores _at_~250MHz) but where it falls flat is > > onboard RAM -- It only has 512K on-chip. While it can natively use up to > > 4MB of off-chip SPI-attached PSRAM, that comes at a signficant > > performance penalty. > > > > So while a simple port to an ESP32 is certianly possible, it's not going > > to yield great results compared to the current set of targets. With a > > lot of additional work, rockbox could be better adapted to handle the > > ESP32's limitations (eg directly execute plugins/codecs from flash) but > > I don't really see that as being worth the effort, especially when you > > consider the lack of a viable portable physical enclousure. > > > > TBH I think a RPi Zero (or some of its similar form-factor clones [0]) > is a > > > > much better starting point, and they have far, far more capabilities > than an > > > > ESP32, at the same rough price point. > > > > But circling back, the RP2040 is _way_ too limited -- The advertising > > copy says "plenty of fast on-chip RAM" but in reality that equates to > > just 264KB, an order of magnitude too little for a rockbox port [1] even > > if we re-architect rockbox to execute _all_ code from flash. > > > > 264KB is even less RAM than the RKNano and ATJ2137-based shovelware mp3 > > players out there -- and those sport hardware codec engines! > > > > That's the problem with microcontrollers in general; even modern ones > > are very RAM limited, and only the highest-end units can work with > > external RAM. By the time you add that external RAM, the BOM cost and > > PCB footprint is such that you're probably better off with a more > > full-featured SoC such as what's on the RPi series, the various Ingenic > > parts we already run on, or Allwinner's FC100/V3 series. (Plus, if that > > "real" SoC runs Linux, a usable port requires relatively little software > > work!) > > > > [0] https://itsfoss.com/raspberry-pi-zero-alternatives/ > > [1] Or at least a port of anything with sufficient features to be > > recognizable as rockbox. > > > > - Solomon > > -- > > Solomon Peachy pizza at shaftnet dot org > (email&xmpp) > > _at_pizza:shaftnet dot org (matrix) > > Dowling Park, FL speachy (libra.chat) > > > -- > Unsubscribe: http://lists.haxx.se/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/rockbox > FAQ: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/GeneralFAQ > Etiquette: http://www.rockbox.org/mail/etiquette.html > -- Unsubscribe: http://lists.haxx.se/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/rockbox FAQ: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/GeneralFAQ Etiquette: http://www.rockbox.org/mail/etiquette.htmlReceived on 2023-04-01 Page template was last modified "Tue Sep 7 00:00:02 2021" The Rockbox Crew -- Privacy Policy |