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DIY linux-based MP3 player Appliance
An anonymous reader submitted "LinuxDevices.com has just published an interesting how-to article about converting a GCT-Allwell set-top box into a linux-based TV set-top MP3 player. As a helpful aside it does useful things like email and web browsing through your TV. Looks like a fun project. A related article shows how to turn the same set top box into a router."
Last week I hacked up a microwave oven by putting fluxcapacitor on it and installing a custom Linux in its tiny memory. It got zapped into next Tuesday, so I can't verify that it worked until next week.
"Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
This is good, but I feel a lot of home users are somewhat intimidated by Linux. Perhaps it would make more sense to use an industry standard OS such as WinCE
Mind you, I guess if they have no real way to find out what you have done then the DMCA doesn't come into it. What kind of soundcard to these things have ? Is it 16-bit or 24-bit ?
If I was making a home mp3 component, I would want one of the newer 24-bit soundcards like the new soundblaster.
The Allwell 1030n is a National Semiconductor Geode based machine, not the Celeron that he claimed he bought.
Go to the Allwell website and look up the STB1030N from the products pulldown. Right now, they're selling these things for "router appliances" and really cheapo set-top boxes. In the router appliance arena, they're not too bad; in the set top box arena, they're weak (though usable for many things.).
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Open-source and Linux-friendly, Media Box looks to be about the keenest solution that I can think of for this sort of thing. Aside from the fact that it requires at least a Book PC-sized form factor in your entertainment center and all the heat and noise that comes with it.
Easy does it!
This comment has been submitted already, 276865 hours , 59 minutes ago. No need to try again.
'Nuff said.
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To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion.
This is in regards to the non-closed Italics Tag which will probably be fixed by the time most moderators read this.
CmdrTaco recently spoke about making a slashdot pay site for readers that don't want to be spammed with ads. I must ask, what are we getting for our money?
I'd suggest that if you intend on people paying for it you start spell/grammar check articles to be posted, and check your tags
Something as simple as an Italics flag not being terminated (which should be in the code, because extra terminating flags don't hurt a thing) definately discourages anyone from paying for slashdot.
If I am going to pay you for your services, then I'd expect you to do more than click a button all day saying "this article is in" and "this article isn't."
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No, you're probably not my type.
PS: Slashdot's HTML is horrible, go check out XHTML and CSS.
At the risk of sounding like a flame, this is not a hack. It's an STB with a motherboard, a fairly hefty (233Mhz) CPU, DIMM slots, an IDE header, etc. If "hack" is defined as "open the box, add a hard drive, reboot" then I guess upgrading my hard drive in my PC is considered hacking. And what's with the $299 price tag? I can build a custom PC for that. And buy a linksys router for $80.
vorbis?
The Apple player is nothing more than a Nomad or the like (No real big deal, and it was LAME of Apple to make one of it.).
This article is about an overview of a hacking project for people to do- big difference.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
I have been "running" a group for a while now (almost a year old) dedicated to the task of hacking the Acer NT-150 set-top box - this box was intended for an actual service that never made it during the .com era - a lot of people have put a lot of work into getting this box to do things it wasn't meant to do.
Go to my site, follow the links, and see what has been happenning (actually, the mailing list archive is the most useful and up-to-date - I haven't had a lot of time to update the site for a while, but the majority of stuff is there as well).
While not an "MP3" playing powerhouse, there has been a ton of hack value...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
Why, if you want a set-top mp3 player (why I have no idea) don't you just buy an Apex DVD player and burn mp3's on CDs? It works quite well. And why, if you need a router, don't you just BUY one? There's plenty out there that are actually DESIGNED to be routers, and some are very good deals.
"Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig."
AC's cheerfully ignored
ogg-123
Uh, did you even read the article closely?
1) It's not as simple as plugging a HD in, despite the availability of an IDE header- the box can only accomodate a laptop HD at best. It also needs a special cable to adapt the 40 pin to the 44 pin on the HD (and you DON'T have a standard power header for the standard interface either...)
2) He used a Disk-On-Chip instead of an HD.
3) $299 gets you a box with a Fansink and a nifty space heater with a moving HD and NO TV interface- or you spend $299 on an embedded system with no moving parts whatsoever and a TV interface built into the box.
4) It could be argued that this could be a hack as there's at least a few of these boxes floating about that were shipped as set-top boxes (I know, my employer used to sell the boxes, rebranding them for people like NetFrontier, etc.)
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Many many of us did this and have been using our GCT allwell mp3 players (and Divix players) for over 1 year now. but we weren't robbed by GCT allwell for the tune of $500.00 for the box, we paid $59.95 for the exact same hardware (sans the ethernet) from compusa called the websurfer pro.
:-)
Dont do the Disk on chip route, stuff a 20 gig laptop hard drive in there and store the mp3's on that. (Or 2 of them for 40 Gig of storage.)
Me? I added a hollywood+ mpeg card and use my box as a movie on demand system... now to get a server with a couple of tv tuner cards to record tv shows and pipe them to the allwell box for later playback
Oh and the article is no-where near a step-by-step to getting an mp3 player running, it only covers really basic steps to getting linux on the Disk on chip.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
About a year and a half ago, a company tried selling these rebadged thru Comp USA as "Websurfer Pros". At first, they didn't make you sign an activation contract, so you could get them for $50 out the door, for a 233 with 32 and and Disk on chip.
See: http://www.linux-hacker.net/websurfer/ws.html
A friend of mine had one of these- it's an OK piece of hardware, but not anything to write home about, when you can pick up complete PPro systems for under $100, which have none of the space and configuration limitations of that slimline formfactor (limited expansion slots, small case, etc). As a set-top, it's underpowered, for my taste. The IR keyboard (at least the one that came with the WSP) is nice, tho. TVout is decent, also. The WSP also did not have the built-in ethernet.
Note that you also can't swap out the CPUs on these beyond the Cyrix MediaGX processor (it has on cpu video and sound).
--I hate people when they're not polite -"Psycho Killer", Talking Heads
Do you know of anyone building a set top box Linux distribution? The AudioRequest I bought a year ago ($800) is nice, but I don't trust that they'll keep my interest in mind with software upgrades.
It'd make good sense to have an open source MP3/MPEG/OGG/Web Browser set top box OS. It's not like we don't have all of the software and hardware components available. It's mostly an integrated UI design issue.
Dave
Is that a missing shouldn't happen in a pay site. Especially as frequently as it does here. Admittedly, when I saw it, I had to double-check the author to see that it wasn't Timothy. He's the most common offender there. Taco usually just demonstrates that US public schools can't teach spelling.
Best Slashdot Co
Please go away and take all the grammer, html, spelling, nazi's with you.
Nice product. All you need to do is add a two port 10/100 NIC in the PCI slot, like this one (for a mere $275) and you can even have it manage a DMZ.
::grin::)
(we'll refrain from mentioning the Quad port NIC for $600
This space for rent. All reasonable inquiries will be entertained at proprietors discretion.
The clue is the MB1030 Ver 2.0A on the motherboard. (BTW, My current employer is responsible for the design and software that was on those- it's QNX based for that model, subsequent models used our own homegrown Linux distribution...)
I've got 5 of these things sitting on the floor of my office right now. There's more elsewhere in the space- it's my understanding we're planning a fire sale on these and a few other things on EBay shortly.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Slashdot has editors, right?
/. system closes it for you. Why can't the articles borrow the same code?
What, per say, do these people do?
BTW - the italics tag STILL hasn't been closed.
Try making a comment w/o a closing italics flag. The
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Yes, I'm single.
No, you're probably not my type.
It sucks!
I can imagine how crappy the sound coming out of that box is. Any computer claiming to be a music player can't be taken seriously unless the output is digital. Analog computer outputs are good when driving 2-inch low quality computer speakers but start sucking royally when you are driving a real home Hi-Fi system.
hahahahaahha Thanks for posting this. This was the funniest thing I've read today. RMS sounds like one of those guys on the streets with tinfoil hats that talks to himself.
Just for fun and geek value, I'm working on an old 486 to play mp3's, by sticking it into my stereo cabinet and plugging it into my home network.
The challenge? I don't want a keyboard or display plugged in. Sure, I could work something out with a wireless keyboard, but here's what I'm doing instead:
I'm taking an LRP distribution, stripping out much of the networking stuff and adding mpg123. By streaming mp3's to specific ports on my server, I can have mpg123 play whatever is streamed to it. And no moving parts after it boots.
The only user interface, then, is the floppy itself. I can stream drum 'n' bass to one port, house to another, techno to another, etc. By choosing the right floppy, I select which stream I listen to.
I haven't gotten very far (this isn't a top priority for me right now), but I'm convinced it'll work. I just gotta get around to running more Cat5 through the house...
It now reads like it's supposed to.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
Wonder if it works? Since linux is such a dog to install oneself.
On a related note, does anybody have a recommedation on good small desktop cases that could be used for a settop box? I'd like to build my own Linux mp3/divx player and can't find any desktop cases with front panels that would look good in a stereo cabinet. Black would be nice but I can paint it if need be.
Isn't there more economic opportunity in the underground economy than web page development?? How is this going to entice a dealer who is making more in a month than most of us in a year?
This is to be a component. It should function as reliably as your cd changer. 'May not be hugely reliable' pretty much rules out an OS that is to be used for a consumer electronics style interface. Particularly since there was to be a car version. What will you say when you crash your car because you were trying to play an mp3 when your os hung?
This is a box that you might stick on top of your 5x100 watt receiver in an enclosed space - do you want the os to be unreliable?
Yes, the DMCA clearly states that you cannot wipe your ass without having microsoft's permission in triplicate.
Did you happen to notice this was not a cable box? Does your cable box have a 10/100 Base T Ethernet connection? RCA stereo out? 256 MB Ram?Keyboard and a mouse? Does it run Microsoft Win95, 98, NT, WinCE, RTOS QNX, Citrix, and Linux?
And let me guess.... you own a cable ready tv or vcr and you've never realized you don't need a set-top cable box (unless you have A/B channels).
You would want a 24 bit soundcard.... why? Because 24 is higher than 16? To play what? What mp3s are you going to find where that would matter? What level of encoding are you going to use where you'll be able to hear the difference between playback on a 16-bit versus 24-bit soundcard? MP3 is a lossy format, the bottleneck in quality will be in the mp3 files, not the sound card. Even the software you use to play back the mp3s will probably make a much bigger difference in the perceived sound quality than the 16/24 bit difference. Not all mp3 playing software is equal.
Sorry, I couldn't resist. Go ahead and mod me down; why did I earn that Karma if I can't blow some once in a while?
If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
Via has all the parts to make an awesome STB.
Start with the Cyrix C3 at about 800mhz. This chip doesn't even need a heat-sink.
Give it S3 graphics with TV output, 128 megs of ram, 32 megs of on board flash, and eth.
Given Via's production capacity, they could probably build it for a hundred bucks. All of a sudden, you have a set top box that can do real things. Divx/Mpeg video 4 decoding, DVD playback, multiple web browser windows, Cheapo webs servers, and maybe even Tivo-type PVR stuff.
Via could move a lot of thier Cyrix chips, and take advantage of buying S3. System integrators could get a STB with enough grunt to do real work. Imagine if DSS, switched from mpeg 2 to mpeg 4 compression. 2000 channnels, anyone?
Has anyone in congress actually read the Constitution?
A better or at least a lot cheaper and easier alternative is to buy a Sampo DV631CF DVD player. It has a Compact Flash reader built in that supports playback of MP3, JPEG, and MPEG files from standard CF media. More importantly, the CF reader is just an IDE interface and so it is possible to disconnect the CF reader and replace it with a standard IDE hard drive. This provides an audio/video jukebox controlled by the normal remote and on-screen menus of the player. The firmware from the DV631CF can also be flashed onto the older Sampo 620 and 660 models as well as a few clones from Afreey and others.
Info is available at http://www.area450.com and at http://www.nerd-out.com
As all purpose as all purpose can be ! /.
it could play any know format onto tv screen or out the speakers (mp3, mpeg, ogg, divx, you name it) a bit of linux, and a small foot print, it is a neat multimedia box.
It misses one thing : an opening for a DVD drive. You can put in, but the pictures don't an opening in the front of the device... May be the manufacturer is reading
Happy hacking with that box ! By the way, what's the status of divx under linux ?
If you had followed the link to the GCT-Allwell site and read the information, you would have discovered that this company sells the set top boxes. And, gues what, there are specifications too!
Come and visit us again when you've finshed being a gormless twat and learned to read the information you've been given.
Is NFS secure enough to run over the net as the author described? Would it be better to tunnel it through ssh (is this even possible)? At most he's compromising the server, which I believe he said is at his workplace. I don't mean to speculate, but I assumed that NFS was intended for a "secure" network.
I've got NFS running on my home lan, and it doesn't seem like the type of thing you want to allow open to the net.
Why doesn't Slashdot ever report about NT Embeded devices that are new on the market?
Oh.. wait..
I accessed /. for a public computer and this story was originally posted by Hemos and there was a reference to Audrey (audreyhacking.com). Why the change? Is this like when that chick quit?
Reading about set-top boxes got me thinking...
Seems like a while back there was a post about building your own really small rack-mounted servers. I was wondering about resources for building things like your own cases, perhaps resources on packing components into smaller spaces. I'd love to build a small PC-in-a-shoebox for set-top general use.
My sigs always suck.
Check out this review of a new system from Shuttle based on a MicroATX Via mobo. Its got built in NIC, sound, S-Video out, and Firewire/1394 ports plus front mounted USB. Best of all is the cool aluminum "cube case". It would make an awesome MP3/DVD/Tivo type of box for the entertainment center or else a nice portable rig for LAN parties with the addition of a better videocard.
http://www.viahardware.com/sv24_1.shtm
Sure, they're going out of style, but it runs Linux, does MP3, can surf the net, and hell, I think it plays some games too.
but with VGA, NTSC, optional remote control, PCI slot, USB, etc.
So, I can use this instead of an audiotron, and spend about the same money, but get more.
I could even make it a games machine for my younguns!
Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
This is an MP3 player. NOT a ripper.
.shn shorten file format which is lossless and does make files smaller, don't know much about it.
You would load mp3s onto an mp3 player, from the net, your harddrive, whatever. But they would have to be already in MP3 format. You would NOT rip them from a cd, not in the player at least. You could do that on your computer, where you might want to have a 24 bit soundcard. You'd then load them in thru the ethernet connection. MP3 DOES have to be a lossy format. It is by definition. It doesn't have to be an AUDIBLE difference, but data IS lost - that's how it makes files smaller than wavs. Lossy isn't a dig, or a synonym for lousy, it's a technical description. There are lossless formats, MP3 is not one of them. If you convert a wav to an MP3 and then back into a wav, the second wav is not the same as the first, data has been lost. If they were the same, it would be lossless. What software are you using for ripping? What size are your files? 24 bit soundcards and mp3 are an unnecessary combination... if you need professional sound quality you need uncompressed audio, if you don't then the 24 bit quality will be totally lost in the resulting mp3.
For the most in-depth coverage of the MP3 format, including comparisons of encoders, file size, actual audio tests, etc. go to r3mix.net By the way, if all you care about is quality and not size, just don't convert to MP3. Seriously, 320 bit MP3's don't offer enough size savings to make the conversion worthwhile. There is a
You're not going to be able to play mp3's on a 486, even my 486-75 is not powerful enough to play mp3s, fully optimized on Linux.
:-)
You're really going to need something equivilent of, say a p120 if you don't like MAJOR skipping. In a way we underestimate how slow a 486 is
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
Has it ever occured to any of you morons that the English language is not everyone's native language? It may be a second or even third language for many people. Why not swing over to some foreign forum and try to post in a language in which you are not proficient. See how well you do.
Ok, so you want to build a set top box?
Get a non-tower pc case, Mobo[etc], Floppy drive, CD-Rom and sound card.
Do your homework and make sure that all the hardware is supported by linux.
You will have to find a way to get TV output [i'm not that smart].
Put this disk into the floppy drive and put in a mp3 [data] cd.
Why bother using HD space to hold mp3s? The cd's can be used in car players, sega dreamcast and many DVD players... hell, any PC can read a data CD!
No X11, no HD, no router, any crappy hardware.
Get your Unix fortune now!
Hold as much music as the iPod?
Have as much music available without burning CDs?
Transfer the music at decent speeds between PC and player?
IANAL but write like a drunk one.