Automatically run video on startup?

casiokid · #1 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 9:45 am

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy 10 of these MP4 players for a project I'm working on:

2GB 3.0 Inch Touch Button MP4/MP3 Player Crystal Panel(SZM536) - US$ 31.99

I need to know if anyone has had any luck modifying the firmware to have the MP4 player automatically run a video on start up. I've seen some similar questions on this board, but I'm not sure if they have been answered.

Any help you may be able to provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

flasher86 · #2 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 12:04 pm

It's possible, if SDK works on this player, it is even more easy. Although even without an working SDK it is possible to disassemble and modify it. If you have some experience in programming you may give it a try. But if you have no idea how to do it, don't ask anyone to modify it in ASM because it's killing task, and it would require A LOT of time and A LOT of effort.

If you know what chips are exactly on board, then maybe it is possible to tell you whether it is possible to use SDK, then someone would compile it for you. Otherwise you would have to work in ASM, but you can't ask anyone to do it for you.

The SDK may work for you despite all the problems, but you may encounter several issues: keyboard malconfiguration, touch screen lost or audio working only with external speakers.

casiokid · #3 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 12:27 pm

Hi flasher86,

Thank you for that concise reply. So, if I were to get the device, open it up, and find the chip model, it's still not guaranteed that I will find the SDK somewhere floating around the internet, correct?

And even if I do find the SDK, I still might have issues getting it to run properly because basically, I'm reprogramming the entire device?

I am not a programmer, but I feel with the proper tools and information, I should be able to get this to work.

Is it possible to edit the firmware to completely eliminate other icons other than the video player so that the user only has one option?

I appreciate all of you help, thank you!

flasher86 · #4 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 12:38 pm

The SDK is easy to get, its all the same for the whole RK27XX players family. Actually opening the player is not necessary.

If I had to do things like you mentioned, I would search the internet, and find the player which for sure works well with the SDK. Then you can do whatever you want. You can eliminate any function you want.

AleMaxx · #5 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 1:03 pm

Its unlikely thats this player uses an rk27 chip since it only supports AVI files, rk27 players are normally advertised as RMVB, ... players. The 536 in the model name lets me think of the spca536 although this is a very old chip. If so, I think there is no SDK available (and that one is MIPS based btw).

casiokid · #6 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 1:44 pm

So, without having to crack open the device, what is the best way to tell the manufacturer by connecting it to a PC? Will the MP4 player tools allow me to extract that information?

Also, just to clarify, if there is no SDK available, then I'm pretty much helpless as to what I can do, correct?

Thank you again for all the help!

flasher86 · #7 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 1:47 pm

Chose another player, without SDK and programming skills you are helpless, though there are some MIPS resources available.

casiokid · #8 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 1:50 pm

Thank you flasher86.

Is there a specific set of credentials I should be researching in order to get the best player to work with the SDK? I'm assuming one of those credentials would be the RMVB compatibility that AleMaxx mentioned. Is there a part number or model number protocol?

flasher86 · #9 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 2:14 pm

I am not really sure but Ramos 970 should work well with SDK. It's a bit expensive, but maybe there are some cheap clones on a market. Just search the internet.

Another thing is that, I have a cheap RK27XX player:

8GB 3 16:9 QVGA MP3 MP4 MP5 Player FQ5-8R [MP4] - $45.97 : TinyDeal Direct Online Store, MP4/MP3 Player, Mobile Phone, Memory Card, Accessories

But SDK doesn't work very well with this player, but I am working on making it compatible with it, so if you are not in a rush, you can wait until compatibility problems go away, and then buy such a player. It's only $45 with free shipping to whereever you want.

casiokid · #10 (**permalink**) 20th Oct 2009, 4:21 pm

Great! This Ramos RM970 player is awesome! Considering that the GUI is actually pretty handsome, I wouldn't plan on changing the startup function at all...I found a 2GB model for around $10 more than I was willing to pay, but I feel like this device is a lot more valuable than the original one I was looking at. I see there are a lot of themes out there for this player as well and they seem pretty "custom friendly".

Thanks again for all the help flasher86!