So my wife just bought a Rio 800. I was-amazed/loved the integration of the Rio drivers into software like Apple's iTunes and its predecessor Soundjam on the Mac. I can only assume the integration is as wonderful on Windows platforms.

So my question is... since we've got the marketing power of Rio/SB behind the car unit now, and since we have a noticeable lack of Mac support at present (we have a java app, but it certainly isn't as full-featured as emplode is), why don't Rio/Empeg/SB try to either (a) get the Empeg/RIO-car drivers into those software packages just like their other Rio products, or (b) change the car protocol so it matches the Rio/x00 series products' protocol, and have it work, or (c) have the car unit at least "understand" the Rio/x00 protocol, and even if it isn't "optimal/preferred" it would let other platforms (who DO understand the handheld units) talk to the car unit.

Thoughts from the Empeg/Rio/SB folks who lurk?

D

I don't know what os the Rio's use but I assume it's there own proprietary format probably not compatible with Linux.
But I think option (c) would be a good idea which should only require someone to write a driver I think.

Steve

I don't think it's fair to say its "not compatible with linux"... it's a data interchange... it may be that the "rio protocol" has not been documented publicly or had sample code released to the public, but if you can get to it at the hardware level, which I have to believe COULD be done, what order you toss the bits across the line is up to the two devices to negotiate.

Now, for the record, the Rio/800 works great on my Mac under OSX, so the "unixability" of the hardware-level code for the Rio/x00 series stuff must be pretty achievable. :)

D

You mistook what I meant. I meant the protocol that the Rio's use wouldn't be compatible the way they are.

I understood... and I'm unsure as to why they wouldn't be compatible as they are today. They just need some linux code to talk to them. There's basically two elements to a USB device.. "hardware identification", where devices identify themselves (by, say, claiming to be a Rio/800), and then the bit where applications say "I want to send 512 bytes of data to a Rio/800 that's on the USB bus."

The first part is fairly easy.
The second part is fairly easy.
[ although admittedly those AREN'T my field of expertise, so I couldn't do them ]

Once you're tossing data back and forth, the operating system is completely irrelevant.

So I guess I still don't understand what you're saying "couldn't work at present".

We know the Rio portable protocol intimately and currently have no plans to apply it to the car player. To do so would drastically reduce the functionality of the product. That isn't a slur on the protocol - it was designed for very different products.

Right now I think the Java download tool is a good solution for the Mac, however we are still very open to developing a specific Mac version. At the moment the demand is very small however I would expect this may change as we sell more products.

Rob

What about the "idea (c)", that is to allow the Rio-Car to support BOTH protocols? Certainly the Rio-Car protocol is more "full functioned", but as a stop-gap, it would give the Mac users greater integration than they have now. :)

Just a thought anyway. :)

D

I don't think that's very likely. Sorry I'm not going into the thousand or so reasons for this, I don't want to upset anyone in the Rio portable division

Rio are well aware of how cool it would be if our different products all talked to each other.

Rob

Fair enough. It's been considered and shot down for various internal/technical reasons that don't need to be public.

I can live with that answer.

D

I can live with that answer.

Yeah, and you better LIKE it, too!

(O|||||O)

I would consider getting a Portable RIO product if I could transfer files from my empeg to the portable for when I mowed the lawn or something...

32GB (JUST UPGRADED!) Mk. II BLUE
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

Although we have the software to do that, the car player doesn't have USB Master so it isn't going to happen yet. Perhaps a solution using a PC as an intermediary could be considered.

Rob