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MP3 chipset for set-top boxes.
Will Johnston
sent us a link to a wired story about a new
mp3 chipset that
manufacturers can slap into cases and use to sell set top MP3
players. It's only a matter of time now.
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Since Public Enemy has released an mp4 version of their music, and since there is already an mp4 standard in place, is this going to be an obsolete format in the near future? I'd like to get a Rio but I don't want to drop the change for a system that may be obsolete in a few months.
>Unfortunately, it's *damn near impossible* for a >hobbyist to get a chipset like this to develop >with.
This is simply wrong. You can order this chip
from nearly every Micronas-Intermetall
distributor.
Grant Stockly, which has developed an parport
mp3 player based on this chip (this was reported
on slashdot already some time ago) does also
sell this chips for very low price. Look at
his page on http://gussie.alaska.net/acplay/
20-30%???????
Must be a Intel user.
Does it work under Linux - the only OS mentioned is DOS
Look back in /. articles and you'll find a mailing list dedicated to creation of just such equipment.
So far it's mostly DIY stuff, but there will probably be commercial spinoffs of the ideas here. There's already a car version of what you describe near completion at www.empeg.com, I believe.
Essentially, they're headless Linux boxes with player control through a simplified LCD display and often with a remote control based on a lirc-compatible reciever.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
I'd like to see a soundboard that features one of those thingies. That would reduce the load on the processor, and let computers that don't have enough oomph to play perfect MP3. Too bad manufacturers want to make other things like this a software feature (wavetable synthesis, MPEG video playback, etc).
In Soviet Russia, Jesus asks: "What Would You Do?"
...seeing as the Micronas Intermetall part (the 3507) is the one in the MPMAN and the Rio. But, it looks like MP3 decoding appearing in the sound chip itself (if it's like other ESS chips): the thing is, most STB's have enough CPU to do mp3 decoding in software anyway...
Yes, an ENCODER card would make a lot of people happy. Remember the $25 licence for use of the encoder to Frauhofer IIS though, and that to do MP3 encoding at a decent speed requires a fairly hefty DSP. Ideally, you want one with a IDE/SCSI bus, so it can rip & compress itself, to alleviate the CPU having to throw data around for no good reason (and hopefully, with a fast enough DSP, being able to rip and compress at say 10x).
Now that's something I'd like to see. Not only should it be able to decode mp3' but it should also be able to encode mp3 files on hardware. Such hardware with proper open standards sell like hotcakes!
... hmm
I know mpeg boards have been out for almost a decade and most of them can (with slight modifications) do mp3 decoding..
And these would be cheap! Would you rather spend 20-50 bucks on a hardware based mp3 solution than waste 20-30% of your precious cpu cycles? Not to mention the added speed of encoding if you had a hardware solution. I saw a mp3 based chip a few months ago.. why hasnt this been put on addon cards?
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I don't think anyone should worry about mp3 becommig outdated.
Mp3 is so wide spread, and has so much original (and unoriginal) music alwredy encoded, that no MPx is likely to take it's place, in the near future
So, does this open the handheld player market further by providing pre-built MP3 chipsets?
I'm guessing that with a bit more development, the chipset could possibly be merged with a portable CD player and become a *very* big player in the market.
I'd love to drop all the CDs I own onto a half-dozer or so CD-R's. You can't argue with convenience like that. Any comments? POKEY NOW
æeee!
What else are we going to see in a set top box? BTW- i'd rather have a console style stereo piece, like a CD Player...