What is a rockchip?

[Ruriko]

What's a rockchip? is it something good to have?

[thalion]

It is a Chinese-developed processor for portable multimedia players. Compared to previous chips only supporting proprietary MTV or AMV video formats, current Rockchip players such as some Onda and Teclast players support Xvid video (up to QVGA resolution @24fps), FLV as well as various uncompressed audio formats (FLAC, APE) in addition to mp3.

Cheers ...

NB: The actual Mfg is Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics - most info about the actual chip design is in Chinese such as here http://www.itime.cn/Article/mp3/apply/9946.shtm

[_Odyssey]

Ruriko,
Basically a rockchip based mp4 player is far better than the standard Actions/AMV based players on the market today. They are faster, can multitask certain functions and play .Avi/xvid videos as well as your collection of mp3's. Rockchip players are also far more reliable and less likely to have hacked memory.

[Ruriko]

So these are better than a Ipod, Creative Zen, Samsung?

[_Odyssey]

I would say YES because you don't have to wrestle with a special piece of software to put mp3s and movies on a Rockchip player as would with an Ipod.(iTunes)
With a rockchip you can just drag and drop the files you want.

They are also alot cheaper than all those players you've mentioned.

[knob]

I would agree with that. I think it's getting hard for Apple to justify the high price for Ipods now, memory prices have got lower and things have moved on.
Another thing I like is I dont need to have a another special USB connector, it's a stanadard mini USB on a Rockchip, same as my camera and other stuff.

[NOLA MPx Fan]

Originally Posted by knob";p=&quot

I would agree with that. I think it's getting hard for Apple to justify the high price for Ipods now, memory prices have got lower and things have moved on.
Another thing I like is I dont need to have a another special USB connector, it's a stanadard mini USB on a Rockchip, same as my camera and other stuff.

At the risk of making you and _Odyssey mad, I'd like to point out a couple of things:

First, I like my rockchip players. Really. But I also like my iPods. I don't have a video capable iPod, and wont, as I can't justify laying down that kind of cash for a third one. That's how I got introduced to these other ones.

Hard for Apple to justify the price? Except for the nano and shuffle, full sized iPods are not flash based. And as for the two that are, when was the last time you saw folks posting that the memory was "hacked"? Wait, I guess if we consider the iPhone an iPod (iDon't) then that would be three kinds.

Wrestle with iTunes? Only if you are trying to make it work like another app, like MusicMatch. I do understand, some folks are just not iTunes compatible, and I often suggest they use a third party app that meets their needs. I believe there are even third party apps that let you drag and drop. Personally, I do that into a playlist that is then automatically synced when I plug in my aging 1st and 3rd gen iPods to charge.

For me, the "nonstandard" cord was the mini USB. When the one I got with my player was defective, I had no others in the house to substitute...believe it or not. And there was a time when iPods didn't have dock connectors. My first gen is run over a firewire cable. Not PC centric, maybe, but definitely a standard cable ;-)

I'm saying this with a big smile on my face. I understand your points, and as an owner of both am happy with both for what they do.

I don't want my iPod to play video. It's a hard disk full of music and will be that for me always. And even though the sound is great, my rockchip mp4 player is primarily for video playback. I'd rather have a $50 player go missing when traveling or while waiting than a $300 iPod!

So, Ruriko: I wholeheartedly endorse the rockchip players. But as for being "better" or a replacement for the ones you mentioned? Nah, they're just different critters.

[knob]

No I'm not mad. I guess I forgot a lot of people here live in the States, you use Macs a lot? am I right, then I guess it makes more sense to you.
We never seem to use Macs here in Europe and plenty of other places too, Austrialia? so it can cause problems for us, I use Linux as well as Windows for example.
I can say something good about an Ipod, it is well supported with 3rd party software, and you can use open source Rockbox on it.
Shame you can't easily swap the battery though (sorry), and the Meizu is better (sorry again).

[lite]

I just want to point out Because it may be missleading

"and less likely to have hacked memory. "

This is not a statememnt i assume because ofcourse hacked memory is nothing to do with the processor chip... They are less likley because rockchip soloutions are higher in price and you would only use them if you wanted quality in your player > Therefore be willing to pay the extra for the advertised memory, This is not reason to say all rocket chipers are as advertised , as you can still get hacked memory size players.

[NOLA MPx Fan]

knob:
yep, guilty on both counts. Mac user and rebel ;-)
I know plenty of folks in Europe and Australia who use Macs. Then again, I met them on Apple's own discussion boards, so I guess that makes sense.

Also...I hate that I risk damaging the wonderfully smooth shiny surface of my iPod when I need to change its battery, and have not had a chance to play with a Meizu, so you could well be right!

I'm not the typical fanboy, I love all toys.