I don't know hwo this could be done w/o the source code to the empeg.
Sure, you'd have to make a new kernel, and if you're lucky you could use one choice color, but as for muliple colors, it's all have to be re-written to support more bits per pixel.

I believe that the visuals are actually run as a separate process, so it might be conceivable to replace the stock visuals with full color ones by rewriting that application.

Of course, it wouldn't be trivial, but it'd probably be easier than rewriting the entire player.

Also of course, I could be totally wrong about that.

See the kernel code already supports 4bpp - 16 color, which gets squashed to 2 color, then to 1 color, but with PWM grey scale. But the application doesn't mean to write it in color, jsut grey scale. So I could give you from black to [insert your favorite color here], rotate thgouhg colors and such, but the entire display woul dbe shades of one color. As far as I know the "application" is not open source... adn that would give us a really cool display!

Also of course, I could be totally wrong about that.

You are. They're mapped into memory as a location independent binary image, and then called in-process. The API consists of some kind of jump table, and the registers have to be set to various things. It's been a while since I looked at it, but that's basically how it works.

Nuts. I could have sworn I saw a separate process running having to do with the visuals. I suppose I should just keep my ill-informed answers to myself from now on.

pthreads makes each thread appear as a separate process under 'ps'. This might explain your hallucination. Or maybe it is the drugs. Or the lack of saturated fats.