Beta 1 will be released to the alpha test team tonight, and if they don't break it horribly it will go public on Monday. If they do break it horribly, we might release their home addresses to the BBS *grin*

To maximise the anticipation, I've decided to post the release notes to the BBS. This will give you time to familiarise yourselves with the new feature list - and hopefully persuade you that we haven't just made the whole thing up!

Enjoy.

Rio Car Beta Release 05-October-2001
Version 2.00-beta1

Copyright (c) SONICblue, Inc. 2001


* Notes

This is a Rio Car beta release. BY DEFINITION, BETA SOFTWARE MAY NOT
PERFORM AS ADVERTISED. It may not be stable. It may eat your music
and spoil your day in any number of ways. Please do not install this
release unless you understand these important points.

Release 2.0 has been in development for many months. These notes are
by no means comprehensive, if you notice a significant new feature that
isn't mentioned then please let us know so we can add it to the list.


* General

Please submit bugs to [email protected] - preferably after reading
the BBS (http://empeg.comms.net) to check that the bug has not already
been discussed.

Release notes are not cumulative. If you are upgrading by more than one
release then please read each set of release notes.


* Installation

Download either the consumer or developer images and emplode (or emptool)
from the empeg-car upgrades site.

You should install the new emplode or emptool before installing this
release. If you fail to do so your empeg-car unit may not function and it
will be necessary to apply the upgrade again using the correct version of
empegUpgrade or upgclient.

We strongly recommend completely de-installing the previous emplode before
installing the new one, which installs into a different location.

Connect your computer to your empeg car using the supplied serial cable.
Switch off your player at the wall or unplug the IEC cable from the brick
power supply.

The upgrade can be installed by serial only. Run the Upgrade Wizard and
either enter or browse for the upgrade file. Click Next and select the
serial port that your unit is connected to. Click Next again.

When instructed to do so by the upgrade program re-apply power to your
player by switching it on at the wall or connecting the IEC cable and brick
power supply. If you have an all-in-one power supply then switch it on at
the wall if possible or plug into the wall. The upgrade should then be
applied. If it fails, try again.


* What's New Since 1.03 - Player

NB: Features which require a real time clock may not work on Mk.1 players.

MP3 playback is now done using the ARM decoder. There should be little in
the way of audible difference but the VBR support is much improved, and
certain tracks that would not play before may now play.

WAV files are supported.

WMA files are supported, apart from DRM encrypted files.

Significant improvements to caching performance (turn on the disk
indicator to see this in action).

Gapless playback of properly-constructed MP3 files has been improved. Note
that this is dependent upon how the MP3s were created - most MP3 encoders
will add artificial silence to the beginning and end of each track as it
is being created. The car player will no longer insert its own gaps between
two consecutive tracks on playback.

Play counts and last played times have been implemented.

The running order and programme are now preserved over synchronise
operations.

Three bookmarks may now be stored and restored.

Repeat modes are now selectable from the player itself. An "r" (repeat all)
or "R" (repeat track) appears in Track info modes.

Tracks can now be marked for attention on the player. This is done by
pressing "7" on a Kenwood remote or "Mark" on a Rio remote. The function
is also available from the Bookmarks menu (we're looking for a more logical
home for it). Marked tracks appear in emplode with a distinguishing icon,
and can be a search criteria.

It is now possible to toggle timecode display modes by pressing "1" on the
remote. It is marked with "Time" on the Rio remote. Display modes are:
- Time of Day
- Track Elapsed
- Track Remaining
- Total Elapsed
- Playlist Elapsed
- Playlist Remaining
- Playlist Elapsed / Remaining
A number followed by "d" indicates days (!).

Balance, beep volume, and loudness are now remembered separately for in-car
and in-home use.

Several alternative shuffle behaviours have been added..
- Random: As before
- Least often played: Tracks played less often will tend toward the start
- Least recently played: Tracks played less recently will do as above
- By year: There will be an approximate progression through history
- Off: As before

Toggling shuffle with the remote will switch between no shuffle and the
last shuffle mode selected. When shuffle is active an "S" is shown on
the Track info screen.

Shuffling the running order is now much less likely to glitch the audio.

When selecting tracks to play using the musical note icon only the tracks
are played, not the playlists.

It is now possible to skip tracks/fast forward/rewind while the disk is
spun down with the UI not hanging.

Soft power on/off now works during synchronise.

It is no longer possible for the player to pick the wrong menu item if an
item is selected very quickly after moving to it.

Wendy filters have been implemented. These provide a means to completely
hide content on a player, for example if your mother is in the car.
Filters can be combined for more advanced applications. They are defined
from within emplode. An 'F' appears in track details view if a Wendy
Filter is active.

A new "hush" mode has been added which reduces the volume by a configurable
(from emplode) amount rather than muting it completely. This is achieved
by holding the pause button on the Rio remote (there is no Kenwood
equivalent). An 'H' appears in track details view if Hush is active.

A detailed info screen is now available for tracks. Press and hold the
"Info" button on the Rio remote to see this screen. Not available on the
Kenwood remote.

Pressing the rotary knob now toggles through the various Sound menu
settings (Volume, Balance, etc).

The external mute line can now be configured (from emplode) to cause mute,
pause or hush.

A large number of new visuals have been added, and existing visuals have
been enhanced. Note that there are random elements which reseed from time
to time, so any one visual could have several random looks.

Implemented visuals for Aux-In and Tuner.

A transient line info visual has been added which appears and disappears in
a "Top of the Pops"(tm) style. The graphical visual behind it squashes into
the remaining space rather than clipping. The timecode pops up in isolation
when scanning within a track.

Volume now ramps up gradually at startup when in the car to avoid pain the
morning after the heavy night before. This can be configured from emplode.

DHCP client now does uPnP address allocation in parallel with normal DHCP.
This means it can be plugged directly into a PC with no network setup (ie,
set to "automatic") and ethernet will work.

Time zone now works correctly.

Position is remembered in playlist menus - press and hold the playlist menu
item to return to previous level. This does not currently work across
reboots.

Minor UI enhancements, e.g. round corners of menus.

Added support for insert/appending to playlist when the menu button
is held in the playlist hierarchy. A submenu opens with the appropriate
options.

Added insert as well as append during search. Use "Select Mode" on the Rio
remote or "CDMDCH" on the Kenwood. Multiple insert operations will insert
after the last inserted item, not just after the current play position,
allowing proper cueing of new tracks

Improved download efficiency.

Implemented Hate Music buttons - press and hold the appropriate remote
tweak function to remove tracks from the running order. e.g. If a
Britney track comes on, press and hold Artist (2 on Kenwood) to remove
all further Britney tracks from the running order.

Aux-In detects track transitions, and guesses at track numbers and
timecode.

Fixed the cumulative duration calculations.

The visuals information is now updated via RDS if the selected
channel is FM.

The EQ UI has been changed to allow more features and make things a little
easier for the user. In particular:
- The settings that used to live in the centre of the display have been
moved into a menu structure. Access this by pressing left/right until the
preset name is highlighted in the top centre of the screen, then press down.
- This menu also includes a "copy from" feature for copying entire presets
- The number keys 1-9 select the the n-th band, or the n-th preset
- The rotary can be used to adjust levels, and can be pressed to select
gain/freq/Q adjustment
- Saving has been made automatic

The powerfail indicator now stays on the screen for as long as the voltage
is beneath the threshold.

Long track names now scroll in info screens.

Search By Playlist has been implemented.

When you un-shuffle, the player will properly un-shuffle "around" your current
tune according to the order of the playlists you've specified in Emplode. If
you want the player to always "un-shuffle around the current track" so that
you're dropped into that track's album, then make sure your album trees are
listed first in Emplode (based on the Position column).


* What's New Since 1.03 - Emplode

(emplode has been completely rewritten, what follows is far from
comprehensive. Please refer to the built in help.)

New player discovery dialog, which continuously monitors for players on
the enabled interfaces.

The tree includes views by Artist, Genre, All Tracks and so forth. Tracks
are automatically sorted into these views.

Tracks no longer have to exist within playlists. All tracks on the player
are shown in various views from the tree, of which Playlists is one option.
If a track is erased from all playlists it will not be removed from the
player - this will only happen when it is erased from one of the fixed
views. In future it will be made more obvious to the user whether they
are erasing a reference to a track, or removing the content entirely.

Implemented "emplode today" HTML view. This is the first view presented
when a player is connected, and provides some useful links. Tunes can be
dragged & dropped onto HTML view (in which case they will not be added to
any playlist and will be accessible only from within searches - in future
the emplode tree structure will be recreated on the player).

Now allows drag and drop onto "Artists", "Albums", etc in which case the tags
will be updated appropriately. This is useful for mass retagging of tracks
using multiple views.

Tracks can be dropped onto the player icon in the tree, in which case they
are added as content but not added to any playlists.

It is now possible to scroll whilst dragging and dropping.

A search capability has been added with both simple and advanced
interfaces. Advanced searches can be saved to disk.

Dragging and dropping from Search results onto the tab control switches
tab appropriately.

Wendy filters have been implemented.

The free disk space tracking code in emplode is much better, in particular
it now copes with deletions.

Files already on the player can now be trawled automatically to fill in
extra information (such as codec, bitrate etc. information) that has been
supported for newly added files since before v1.0.

Dropping files is now much more user friendly. Items dropped are now sorted
alphabetically by filename.

Implemented Yes to All confirmation in appropriate dialogs.

Dragging an item from the search results onto the tab control in emplode
now switches tabs.

Implemented context menu in RHS views in Emplode.

Implemented redirector URL for product support.

Users can now name AUX channel in emplode, to match whatever hardware you
might have attached.

The volume can be capped at 0dB from emplode.

The Kenwood remote control can be disabled from emplode, to prevent clashes
with other Kenwood head units in the vehicle. The Rio remote uses different
(unique to Rio) codes.

Implemented buttons to allow reordering of tracks.

Group-editing multiple selections has been implemented. For instance, you can
group-select ten tracks, get their properties, and change their Artist field
in a single operation.


Rob Voisey 2001/10/05 20:12 +0100 (BST)
[email protected]

"Top of the Pops"(tm)

And whats the story behind this one?

Top of the Pops is a pop music chart show on British TV (BBC1 to be precise):

Top of the Pops

__
Unit serial number 47 (was 330 in the queue)...

...wow!...

Paul G.
SN# 090000587 (96GB Smoke)
SN# 030103046 (10GB Blue - Emergency Spare)

Can't wait!

Tony, what was the feature that made you drool and type a note in all caps???

- Jon

I think this will be the first time I've wanted the weekend to finish just so's it can be Monday again Can't wait to play with this puppy

Marcus (beaker)
32 gig (various colours)

The anticipation will be awful, but what a great way to make my weekend seem like forever...

-Doug
Mk2-12G Blue (Now A/R Green)

Wow great, but I wonder:

.... A new "hush" mode has been added which reduces the volume by a configurable
(from emplode) amount rather than muting it completely. This is achieved
by holding the pause button on the Rio remote (there is no Kenwood
equivalent). An 'H' appears in track details view if Hush is active....

Does this feature have a command for it on the serial port??

...A detailed info screen is now available for tracks. Press and hold the
"Info" button on the Rio remote to see this screen. Not available on the
Kenwood remote....

Does this mean that these features are not available when I only have the
Kenwood remote??

....Implemented visuals for Aux-In and Tuner....

Does this work for the MKI as well??

TommyE

Since its my job to complain...

Lots of features that require a Rio remote.

No Rio remotes @ the store.

Do we have an ETA for Rio remotes @ the store?

D

Tony, what was the feature that made you drool and type a note in all caps?

Anyone want to hazard a guess?

___________
Tony Fabris

Wow wow Wow! (and that's only after reading the first three lines!

I think I am gonig to need training to get full use out of this!

Is there a part in the FAQ that describes the "auto" listing of tracks not in playlsts? For example, I have an "Artists" playlist. Within that, I have "#-C" "D-F" "G-I" etc etc. In each of those is the appropriate artist and within artists are the albums or individual tracks. So emplode can automatically create this? Can it be customized?

32GB Mk. II in a WRX
Detroit, MI USA
www.PfeifferBeer.com

Is there a part in the FAQ that describes the "auto" listing of tracks not in playlsts?

There's no FAQ entry for it, and you don't need one. When you see it, it will be self-explanatory.

Just so you don't panic now, here's how it works:

Your playlists are there, as they always have been. Nothing has changed about your playlists, how you organize them, or how you use them.

But... Playlists are no longer the only thing you see in emplode. Now, in addition to the playlists, there is a whole other set of trees. These trees categorize all the tracks based on their tag data. There is a new Artists tree, a new Genres tree, a new Albums tree, etc. These are totally unrelated to your playlists. They are simply a different way to look at your tag data. Internally, these new trees are affectionately known as the "soup" views if I'm not mistaken.

You could, for example, have put David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans" into your Nine Inch Nails playlist. This is fine, and this would not change. However, if the Artist field for that track says David Bowie, then that track will show up under David Bowie in the new Artists tree.

At the moment, if you've got tracks in your Soup views that haven't been put into a playlist, there's no way to play them from the player's front panel. The player only has an option to play playlists at the current time (so you still need to have at least one playlist for anything you want to listen to).

Eventually, the player will allow you to see and play from the Soup trees via a new menu item. This has not been implemented yet. When it does get implemented, it will make it so that you don't need to create playlists if you don't want to. You will be able to Play By Artist/Play All with zero playlists on the unit. For those that own a Rio Receiver, you have already seen how this works so you know what it will be like.

The only thing this really changes now is: If you delete a track from a playlist, it does not disappear from the player. It's still there in the Soup views. If you want to get rid of the track completely, then delete it from the Soup view and it'll go away for good. Note that this feature now makes the "Unattached Items" folder obsolete. There is no longer an Unattached Items folder visible in Emplode. Everything that would have gone into Unattached items now appears in at least one or more Soup views.

Clear as mud?

___________
Tony Fabris

WOW! Cool feature setup. Can't wait to try this out!

But eh...wasn't the player going to support 100base/T ethernet also? Or have I got my wires crossed?

Riocar 10gig (for now) S/N : 10101747 red

Unless I'm very much mistaken the actual player hardware would have to be changed for this to be implemented.

Marcus (beaker)
32 gig (various colours)

But eh...wasn't the player going to support 100base/T ethernet also?

I started laughing when I read that, then I realized there was a chance you might not be joking about it.

In case you aren't joking:

100baseT ethernet isn't something you can update with a software change. In order to do 100baseT ethernet, it would need some special hardware on the player's motherboard. Among the things needed would be a 100baseT ethernet chip set, and a PCI data bus to support that chip set. The car player has neither.

If you were joking, then my reply is as follows:

"They had to leave that one out along with the Cure For World Hunger feature."

___________
Tony Fabris

"They had to leave that one out along with the Cure For World Hunger feature."

Well, I guess Etheopia (sp?) isn't going to buy up the last batch of Rio players then!

Relax guys, it was a joke. At first I was going to say firewire implementation instead of 100base-T, but then I thought that would've been TOO obvious!


Riocar 10gig (for now) S/N : 10101747 red

yeah, yeah, yeah, of course you were joking. we believe you, honest.

Marcus (beaker)
32 gig (various colours)

Tracks can be dropped onto the player icon in the tree, in which case they
are added as content but not added to any playlists.

so they're invisible on the player?

Now allows drag and drop onto "Artists", "Albums", etc in which case the tags
will be updated appropriately. This is useful for mass retagging of tracks
using multiple views.

Entirly too intuative!

Volume now ramps up gradually at startup when in the car to avoid pain the
morning after the heavy night before. This can be configured from emplode.

YES YES YES!!!

This is the greatest update I've ever seen! Seriously, Most manufacturers would charge for a featureupdate like this, and I would have no problem with it.
Is the User manula being re-written to account for all of this features and functions? It just blows all the competition away. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it slashdotters. Build your system for less and tell me how long it takes to create such a useful feature set in software. HAH!

congrat's guys! Rio, really doesn't know what they're doing with this EOL thing.

C'mon Monday!!

Murray
Go-Wit-Da-Fro

> so they're invisible on the player?

Currently, they only show up in Search results on the player. In a (not too distant) future release, the pre-sorted tree structure from emplode (by Artist, Genre, Year, Playlists etc) will also appear on the player as a menu hierarchy.

In many cases playlists will no longer be the primary (or most convenient) way to access your music. Of course there's nothing stopping you using them in exactly the same way you do now if you want to.

> Is the User manula being re-written to account for all of this features and functions?

Unfortunately we don't have access to our Tech Writers as the product is now EOL, however I have the source for the electronic version of the manual and plan to update it when I get time. If some owners (probably Alpha Team people) are willing to help out and speed up the process then I'd be happy to share the task.

Rob

Hmm, they certainly SEEM to be at the store (both stores in fact)... a few people have posted here saying they've placed orders... I'm not saying you're wrong, but what makes you think they're not available?

Rob

Ah, I see that after adding the product to the cart it shows out of stock. I'll look into that next week.

Rob

Put one in my cart. Cart says:

1 - - Rio Car Remote - - Out Of Stock - - 29.95

If they're IN stock, then the store needs updating.

> Does this feature have a command for it on the serial port??

Probably not, but it's a reasonable suggestion.

> Does this mean that these features are not available when I only have the
> Kenwood remote??

Yes. The Kenwood remote doesn't have press-and-hold capability on all of the buttons, so some features are available only from the Rio remote.

> Does this work for the MKI as well??

Hmm, I'm pretty sure that it won't. The Mk.2 has an extra chip that allows us to sample the aux and tuner sources.

Rob

If some owners (probably Alpha Team people) are willing to help out and speed up the process then I'd be happy to share the task.

(/Tony quietly ducks out of the room.)


___________
Tony Fabris

Eeeen stock, out of stock. Zeees means nothing. Dahlink!

I ordered a fascia kit from DR that showed "out of stock" for 2-3 days before I ordered it and for at least a week after I received it (very quickly, I might add).

So, I think the rational answer is.... place your Visa offering on the altar of Rio Digitalis then drop back 10 yards and pray.

V2 looks great, BTW

Jim

Oh my God! That feature list is soooooooooo awesome... I bet you, had that been the feature list 3 months ago, you wouldn't have been able to manufacture RioCars fast enough to even worry about the cost of retooling.


Tom

Reg #2845: Mark 1 #00173, Mark 2 #119

Hi !

what about the possibility to turn on the clock-related features on a mk1-version via config.ini ?
on every startup my mk1 got the time from GPS.

please .... :-)


bobo

OK... ordered it. Also picked up a set of colored screens (since its EOL, and I might some day move the unit to a car with a different color dash)

Rob... what was the story on the mounts... are those likely to be around and available for a while, or are those "while supplies last" type of thing....?

D

Am I mistaken or wasn't there supposed to be a new plugin feature that let us put in our own visuals in addition to the standard ones.

Steve

Mark I / #102 / 48g / Smoke / Custom Fascia
Best PC/Audio Investment Ever Made

Unfortunately we don't have access to our Tech Writers as the product is now EOL, however I have the source for the electronic version of the manual and plan to update it when I get time. If some owners (probably Alpha Team people) are willing to help out and speed up the process then I'd be happy to share the task.

Hey, Tony may have bailed on you, but I'd be willing to help out with the docs. It's been too long since I've had a good Tech Writing project...I could use the practice.

BTW- I didn't see a mention of the "Replace Track" function in the release notes. Did that not make the cut?

-Zandr
Mk.I #0150 10GB
RioCar #010101243 10GB (96GB here I come...)