· What is the difference between the empeg Car and the Rio Car? |
· Has the Rio Car been discontinued? |
· Where can I buy one? |
· Will there ever be a car player Mark 3? |
· What came in the box with the Rio Car player? |
· What are the basic specifications of the player? (Entry last updated on October 30th, 2002)Originally from the Sonic|blue Rio Car site:
Player
Processor
|
|
220MHz StrongARM S-1100-DA
|
Flash memory
|
|
1Mb
|
RAM
|
|
16Mb 60ns FPM
|
DSP
|
|
SAA7705H
|
DACs
|
|
16 bit sign-magnitude, fourfold oversampling digital filters,
noise shaping
|
Display
|
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128 x 32 dot matrix vacuum fluorescent display, 2 bits per
pixel
|
IR
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SIR IrDA I/O, Consumer IR input
|
Controls
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4 pushbuttons, 1 rotary+push
|
HDD ports
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ATA 2.5" HDD standard 2MM header
|
HDD physical
|
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ATA 2.5" HDD up to 17mm, corner mounting screws
|
Serial IO
|
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9-pin PC serial port, data rate to 230Kbits/s, also docked
in-car
|
USB
|
|
12Mbit/s standard type B socket on head unit (slave only)
|
Ethernet
|
|
10BaseT RJ45 socket on head unit
|
Power input
|
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+12V on ISO connector fused at 2A with inline fuseholder
|
Grounding
|
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Negative earth only
|
Auxillary control output
|
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+12V @ 1A maximum on ISO connector
|
Audio outputs
|
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4V line level front & rear stereo RCA line jacks, 1V
stereo RCA sockets on head unit
|
Audio inputs
|
|
1V line level stereo RCA line jacks
|
Other features
|
|
On board temperature sensor
Software controlled display brightness
Display night mode input (headlight dim)
Audio mute input (for mobile phones)
|
Optional Tuner Module
Tuner (optional)
|
|
AM/FM fuzzy logic autotuning radio, RDS/RBDS capability
|
FM tuning range
|
|
87.5 to 108 MHz, 12.5 kHz steps
|
AM tuning range
|
|
520 - 1720Khz, 12.5Khz steps
|
RF input
|
|
Standard antenna socket with adaptor for euro socket
|
Audio
DAC sample rate
|
|
fixed 44.1KHz
|
DAC typical S/N ratio
|
|
110dBA
|
DAC typical output noise
|
|
3uV
|
DAC typical THD + N
|
|
1Khz, 0dB -70dBA
|
DAC typical dynamic range
|
|
1Khz (-60dB) 102dBA
|
DAC max crosstalk
|
|
10Khz -69dB
|
Aux input frequency response
|
|
20Hz to 18KHz
|
Aux input typical channel seperation
|
|
50dB
|
Volume control range
|
|
-66dB to +20dB
|
Balance attenuation range LR
|
|
0dB to -30dB
|
Fader attenuation range FR
|
|
0dB to -30dB
|
Tone control range, bass/treble
|
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-12dB to +15dB
|
Dynamic loudness level range
|
|
0dB to +14dB
|
Dynamic loudness offset range
|
|
0dB to +24dB
|
Dynamic bass boost level range
|
|
0dB to +14dB
|
Dynamic bass boost offset range
|
|
0dB to +24dB
|
Equaliser
|
|
20 band parametric set as 2 x 10-band or 4 x 5-band
|
Other audio features
|
|
Dynamic range compression
|
Electrical
Standby power
|
|
2.75 Watts
|
Standby power, drive spun up
|
|
3.30 Watts
|
Operating power, hard drive spun down
|
|
6.20 Watts
|
Operating power, peak
|
|
8.90 Watts
|
Input voltage
|
|
7 to 16 VDC
|
Switched auxillary output
|
|
1A maximum load
|
Environmental
Operating temperature range
|
|
5 deg. C to 55 deg. C
|
Standby temperature range
|
|
-20 deg. C to 60 deg. C
|
Non-operating temperature range
|
|
TBA
|
Humidity, operating
|
|
10% to 90% RH, non-condensing
|
Humidity, non-operating
|
|
5% to 95% RH, non-condensing
|
Shock, operating
|
|
150G
|
Shock, non-operating
|
|
400G
|
Physical (maximum)
Docking unit
|
|
2 inches (50mm) high
|
|
|
7.2 inches (183mm) wide
|
|
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6.8 inches (173mm) deep
|
Head unit
|
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2.2 inches (55mm) high
|
|
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7.3 inches (186mm) wide
|
|
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6.0 inches (152mm) deep
|
Weight
|
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5.5 pounds (2.5kg) with two drives
|
Case material
|
|
0.04 inch (1mm) stainless steel
|
Note: figures vary depending on hard drive type fitted, power consumption
figures are shown with a single 20Gb drive. Drives are kept spun
down as much as possible during operation.
|
· How does the Rio Car compare to other car MP3 players on the market? |
· How is the music organized on the player? Is it easy to find a given tune? |
· Do I need to know Linux to use the Rio Car player? |
· How are the hard disks going to hold up to the vibration of a car? |
· Can I use the Rio Car player in an audio competition? |
· Why were laptop drives used? Desktop drives are cheaper. |
· Why doesn't it play MP3 CD-R discs? |
· Why doesn't it have a removable faceplate? Why must the whole unit be pulled from the dash? |
· Why only 10BaseT ethernet? Why didn't you put 100BaseT on the Mark 2 player? |
· Do I need a separate amplifier, or will the Rio Car drive my speakers directly? |
· How do I put music onto the player? Do I need to bring a laptop into the car? |
· What operating systems are supported? |
· What kind of music files will it play? Will it play VQF/AAC/MPEG4/OGG/MP3Pro, etc.? |
· Does the player work with iTunes? |
· Does the player support audio books? |
· Does the tuner support XM radio or Sirius radio? |
· What RDS features does the tuner support? |
· What parts of the software are open-source? |
· I want to start encoding my CD collection for use on the Rio Car now! Is there anything I need to keep in mind? |
· What is the largest disk drive I can put in the player? |
· What do all the buttons do? |
· What does the serial number represent? |
· How do I upgrade my software? |
· How can I get a replacement blue lens? The official Rio add-on lens kits don't have blue. |
· What is the 'Security' slot on the back of the player for? |
· If my player is stolen, is there anything I can do? |
· If I purchase a player second-hand, will the one-year warranty still be honored? |
· How do I get support or repairs? |