Category: accessible Devices
Hey, just wondering, before I buy one, has anyone used the rockbox program on any of the portable MP3 players like Sandisk and exactly how well does it work? I was told that once installed on a compatible player, it will speak menus and stuff, but need some info before I buy a player and download/install rockbox on it. Any help appreciated.
Not anything I'm familiar with, but on another note, nice to see you back.. You may not remember me, but we spoke somewhat regarding one of the stories you posted in here several years ago, and you gave me some helpful information about publishing. Just wanted to say hello and hope the writing is going well.
Why would you want to bother with an entirely out of date program when
there are so many MP3 players that come with screen readers installed?
@Remy
Things are going well, but self publishing is a lot of money so still saving up.
@SilverLightning
Just got an iPod 5G so going to use that as Apple has awesome speech on this thing. Way better than that dang android XTE phone thing that my mom got...has voice, but drives me nuts!
@silverlightning Sansa clips and the rockbox hack are known for their
superior audio quality and compatibility with external DACs and Amps.
The internal DAC and AMP on apple mobile devices will suit the average
listener, it does nothing for people into lossless audio. Hope that explains
it for ya.
Chief among the big reasons to get a Sansa with Rockbox is that Rockbox is still in development, and a Sansa MP3 player is a whole lot cheaper than an iPod. It's also a dedicated player, so no fussing with menus, apps, or on screen buttons just to start playing music.
Kithri: I myself use a Sansa Clip Plus with Rockbox, and it works pretty well. It is an involved process, though, so take that into consideration. You'll need sighted assistance initially to go into the Sansa's system menu to change the USB mode from the default to Mass Storage (MSC) mode. You also need to track down the firmware files that Rockbox requires, which can sometimes be a pain. Once you install Rockbox onto the device with the Rockbox Utility, you will also need to have the program generate the voice clips for you, and it will use which ever TTS voice is compatible on your computer. If you don't want the player to spell out file names, you'll also need to generate clips for files every time you add new ones.
I tell you all that in advance so you know what you're getting in to when it comes to setting this up. You can of course buy it from people that do that kind of setup fo you already, but they charge a premium for the service, and you buy the product sans the warranties you might have received from mainstream retail establishments.
If you need help with it, assuming you decide to go through with getting one, I'd be more than happy to help you set it up, beyond the initial stage of changing the USB mode.
Kai