I think, unfortunately, that this is probably not worth doing. I'd love it if it was, but I feel as has been said by others that the software would be the problem.

I'm working on a couple of designs using the OMAP3 processor at the moment, and I and a couple of others did discuss exactly this project some months ago. The hardware is fairly easy, although the processor itself is a bit of a sod to lay out a PCB for, being 515 pins on a 0.4mm grid, as I'm sure you're aware

We have been quoted some very nice prices, which would make the cost you mention plausible. But I suspect that either rewriting the software without access to the source code, or writing an empeg emulator, would be somewhat tedious.

It's a pity, as a 600MHz processor with 256MB of ram would be a nice performance bump from the existing system. That said, the existing one has kept the thing going far, far longer than anyone would have expected 11 years ago.

Also, as the processor doesn't have that sort of hardware built in, adding 100/1000 Mbit ethernet, Sata, etc, would certainly bump up the cost and complexity significantly. The thing is aimed more at graphics and audio. You do get a hell of a lot of processing power for the price, though.

pca