Customer Reviews

Rockford Fosgate Omnifi DMP1 20GB Jukebox Car Digital Media Player Kit

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Before going into my review. I must say that my rating for this product is a 5 only because of the open source software (openfi) that is available to replace the stock software.

[...]As far as I know, there's no other device in this price range that has the capabilities or user-based support that the DMP1 does.

The Stock Software
The DMP1 comes with some pretty poorly written software. It gets the job done. I can easily say it lacks something to be desired.
It also requires proprietary synching software (called simple center) to be installed on a PC. There are modified versions of the software which will run on Macs and user-developed software for Linux. As far as I know omnifi has no official support for any platform other than Windows. Music can be added to the drive either by connecting it to your computer through the provided USB cable, or through an optional wifi (802.11b) adapter.
Simple Center converts your mp3s and wmas into a proprietary format, and then puts these new files onto the hard disk. If that weren�t enough it also has trouble keeping track of duplicate files and deleting files from the HDD if you've removed them from your computer. If you modify your ID3 tags after synching... the software leave the old song on the hdd and copies over the new song with the modified ID3 tags.
Managing your music through SimpleCenter is rough to say the least.

The Alternative!
Up until recently this was the only option for owners of the device. There were efforts to make simple center a bit more robust and less buggy (by users, no the makers of the software), but it was still SimpleCenter :-/
Then the magical day of freedom came. An alternative software which didn't require reflashing the firmware (or anything damaging) was released.

openfi has become a great replacement to the stock software. It is more stable and even has features that the stock software doesn't (like ff and rw).

It doesn't modify the stock software either, so it's risk-free to try it out. It is compatible with SimpleCenter synced files, but it will also play mp3 files that are loaded directly onto the HDD (so you can copy your music collection directly to the DMP1's HDD from any OS without any extra software).

The best part about it all is that openfi is constantly being developed and new features are always being added. Openfi has only been around for a month or two and it has already surpassed what the stock software can do.

Conclusion
If you're looking to buy an media player/hdd for your car the DMP1 is a great choice when openfi is coupled with it.

visit the openfi webpage: <a href="http://openfi.sf.net">http://openfi.sf.net</A>

I have had this installed in my car for about a month now, and I am thrilled with it. You have your complete mp3 collection with you all the time, and it is accessable within about 30 seconds of starting your car. The interface is decent at least, and if you set up playlists it works even better. Your mp3's get syncronized every night with your computer, although I would recommend having a secondary computer for your mp3 server, as SimpleCenter (the sync software) is pretty memory intensive, even when it isn't doing anything. (bloated javaware)

You will need your MP3 tags to be accurate and organized, SimpleCenter can help you do this (although there are much better ways to do that, MusicMatch software for one).

I love it. No more FM modulation, no more using my Zen in the car. It's built into the dash (any car-sound system place can install it for you, it really isn't a bad install as long as you have a place for the face plate).

If you are looking into getting this, the only active forum group I know if is http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/omnifi/
If you go there, you can see photos of installs from different people who actually own the device. Mine isn't up there yet, but it will be!

The only real downsides are:
1. SimpleCenter. It is bloated and your computer will run slower because of it. However, it does the job and if you have a second computer that you don't use for gaming and such you'll be fine. Also, you don't technically have to use it, unless you need to sync up your files.
2. Navigation. It isn't perfect, but it does work well enough.
3. Boot up time. But come on, 30 seconds is longer than it took me to hook up my zen and get it started anyway.

Very recommended for car audio people.

This is a great product idea. However, the functionality is pretty poor. The menu system is weak, crashes fairly often (requires the harddrive to be ejected and put back in,) there's no fast forward or rewind capability while an mp3 file is playing, the server software is not very good, the unit only does .11b wireless and the firmware/OS update support is almost zero. I think the last firmware update available for this product is from 5/2004.

When you have a 20GB disk full of music to sync up and you want to use the wireless adapter at ~11mbps (802.11b) that is going to take quite a while. I believe there was going to be a DMP2 that was to improve on several things. However, I don't think the 2nd gen model ever made it to production.

Don't get me wrong - this product could be great - but it has too many 'if only it did this' items (and I'm just talking simple intuitive things like fast forward and rewind.)

I found more use for the 20GB disk that came with the DMP1 as a portable storage device.

Save your money and buy a decent Alpine unit.

I have 2 of these, one in my S10 PU the other in my Jetta... with the open source updates the Simple Center software does a find job of sorting my music. Yes it does have some difficulties with regards to the ID tags.. but like anything else computer oriented, garbage in gives you garbage out. If you have preconceived ideas of how the software is supposed to work, you might find it a disappointment. If you work with it the way it was designed, you will not have a problem.

There are instructions on upgrading to larger drives for more music space and a very active open source community for support. If you are an above average techno geek, you will find this item a joy. If you are just a techouser and can learn how this device works, you too will enjoy it.

This product has made driving much more fun and safe. I have a very small car and can't store many cds in the car since there isn't much storage spage, so this product makes life very nice.

The Openfi software also is very nice and is always being upgraded.

This is a great item for someone who spends a lot of time in the car. I do about 2 hours a day and now I never listen to radio. RF stumbled a bit with the software but somehow left a hole in which the open source community blasted through and provided replacement software for the unit. Fixes have also been made to the PC side software but because of the unit's new programming, PC software is optional. The drive is removable and connects via USB. Using openfi (the aforementioned open source alternative) you can drag and drop and rock and roll. If you are like me and love the geek factor that overnight automatic wifi updates provide you will have to install Simple Center and it's updates to your PC.
In the end, you can easily cram 3500 songs on it. I currently have 600 using up just over 3 of the 20 gigs available. Playlists, shuffle play, grouping by artist, album and even genre are supported. If you don't drive a whole lot then I would look elsewhere... but for the price it's nearly a steal.
Loses a star because of buggy included software. Otherwise she's a champ.

Please note: my review is written with the Omnifi DMS1 in mind, which is made for the home system rather than the car. Because my comments mostly address the idea of putting your music on harddisk, which is how the DMP1 works, I hope you will find them helpful.


Da Bomb!

Nutshell:
This technology is da bomb if you want to enjoy your CD collection at home on your stereo system. It's the next step in the evoloution of enjoying music. We had the phonograph, then the CD, and now this.

The only caveat: It's da bomb as long as it's working well. If you have trouble, then it's useless. I am currently living with the DMS1 for a short time. So far it works OK, but if I have trouble in the future I may have to report back.

Detailed review:
This is a fabulous system that will allow you to keep your entire CD collection online in your home entertainment system. It's easy enough for grandma to use, and that's important because other systems are so complicated that only a techno-geek will be able to work them.

What you do with this system is copy all of your CDs to the hard drive on your computer. Then you replace the CD player in your home entertainment center with this little Omnifi device. Then you turn the Omnifi on, and you instantly enjoy any CD in your collection. That's just getting started, but already that is worth the price of admission because you have access to all of your CDs. You don't need to search for your CDs anymore, and you don't need to find handy space to store them. You can file them away for safe keeping in your mini-storage warehouse. You just need a large hard drive and a computer that is turned on. Using this system gives you the many advantages of having your music off of the CDs and on the harddrive, yet your music is still available on an easy to use device in your home entertainment center without having to have a computer there, which is largely unworkable.

And then we go on from there to many more fab activities.

I am a musician and music lover that, as odd as it may seem to you, is just now in 2006 starting to explore the mp3 revolution. If you are like me and don't yet understand what mp3 can mean to you, I'll explain it. I never explored mp3 because I equated it with piracy, but mp3 can be used legally as well.

You use a program called a "ripper" to "rip" your CDs into files on your harddrive. The music on CD is just computer files anyway, so all "ripping" really is is "copying" the computer files from the CD to the harddrive. In the past this was for unfathomable reasons difficult for a program to do, but now we can get it done. The Simplecenter software that comes with the Omnifi can do it, as can iTunes and a host of other programs. There is a freeware program called "Exact Audio Copy" that reads the CD and gives you a 100% accurate file, and it gives you a report of any problems that it had so you can be sure, without having to listen to the file, that it made it to your harddrive without error.

At the same time you copy the CD, you encode the files to mp3. This shrinks the file by a large factor without sacrificing any meaningful sound quality and makes the files easier to manage. That way you can fit much more music onto your hard drive or your portable mp3 player, or even copy the files back to CD and get more than 74 minutes of music on a CD! Simplecenter, iTunes, and most other programs do this for you automatically.

When ripping CDs, mp3 is the way to go, you want to avoid any other format if possible. Simplecenter gives you a choice to rip to mp3 or to windows media format. iTunes and other programs give you a similar choice. Ripping to mp3 allows you to avoid having to deal with digital rights management (DRM) and allows your music to be played anywhere. iPod doesn't support Windows media, and generic mp3 players may not support Apple's AAC format, but everyone will play mp3. Ripping to any other format is helping Microsoft or whoever lock you in to their solutions, don't tolerate that! DRM gives you onerous restrictions like having to jump through hoops to transfer a license when you transfer your music from one computer to another or only allowing you to burn your music to CD a limited number of times, and other evil restrictions. mp3 avoids all of this and it's the way to go.

If you're worried about any legal restrictions on this type of activity, just think of all the mp3 players available for sale here on Amazon and that should tell you something. If you're still concerned, just punch up a few web searchs on the subject and I think you'll relax.

Don't worry about sound quality. Sound quality has never been an issue. Sound quality is an issue to people that want to sell you expensive equipment or magazine subscriptions. Your enjoyment of any music, classical or otherwise, will be the same as long as the sound quality is acceptable. That last 10% of full fidelity really doesn't matter. Do you have a $5,000 entertainment system or $3,000 speakers? If not, then it really doesn't matter. That said, this Omnifi and mp3 technology will deliver sound that is essentially equal to the CD, but it really doesn't matter. What matters is that you have your music available in ways that make it convenient to listen so that you will play your music more often. Don't listen to anyone that tells you that some proprietary format gives better fidelity than mp3. #1, it doesn't matter. #2: They are assuming the same bit rate, so if you really want to stick on this issue, just rip at a higher mp3 bit rate. The standard is to rip at 128 bits, so just rip at 160 and you're there. You can easily afford the extra space with today's prices.

This Omnifi is an alternative to a 400 disc CD changer jukebox. Those jukeboxes are not a great solution for various reasons: 1: They are huge, 2: They have a finite capacity, you may outgrow 400 slots, 3: They can damage your CDs, 4: They require hours of typing in order to set up the artist, album, and song names, 5: They can glitch and erase all those hours of typing, 6: They have limited functionality for skpping songs you don't like and random playing, 7: they are prone to mechanical failure, #8: they are slow, etc.

Using Omnifi and mp3 gives you these advantages:
+ You have your entire CD collection available in a small device

+ You can copy your music to a portable hard drive so you can take your entire collection to the office or elsewhere

+ You can easily copy your music to an mp3 player for enjoyment. iTunes is compatible with mp3, so Omnifi can even work with an iPod.

+ You can backup your music for safekeeping to DVD

+ You can use more than one Omnifi in the home so that you can enjoy your entire collection from various rooms.

+ You can delete songs you don't like so that you don't ever hear them. That's a big advantage because I usually only like a few songs, or just one, from any given CD.

+ You can shuffle play through artist or genre, which is also a big advantage. Otherwise you would have to create a custom mix CD, and that's a lot of trouble and it gets old after a few listens. This way it's always new.

+ You can buy songs from web sites like Amazon. That's a great way to pick up old favorite songs without having to buy the whole CD or music that's hard to find. Once you download them Omnifi can play them. However songs downloaded like this will often suffer from DRM.

After searching for weeks for an Ipod car kit for my Mazda RX-8 I stumbled upon this product and decided it was the best bang for my buck. The price is outstanding for all that you receive, plus this options leaves my Ipod in my pocket instead of in my car. Everything on the unit works as advertised and I can't say enough good things about it.

Like many of the users of this car mp3 player, I too find it troublesome with the software it comes with. I have no problem with the software that installs on my computer, other than that the MP3 songs are assigned strange 8 character names. The software that loads into the unit is the problem. You can not fast forward through a song, only skip, and since the music I listen to, Trance, etc., have some dull and slow parts during some songs I really need the fast-forward option. I did install the freeware OpenFi, but that too is not perfect, since about every third time I turn on the unit I am forced to reboot it, which takes time. If I don't reboot the unit it just loads the original software. Openfi also doesn't allow you to surf through your music library while listening to a song; you have to pause the playing song. But I do like the fast-forward feature of OmniFi. If you know what you're doing and are willing to install this device in your car, then the $100 I paid for it is a bargain. If you're willing to pay two or three times the price and have a portable MP3 player then I would skip this thing.

For this price I get a 20gb external hard drive and an in-car mp3 player? WOW!

I've got mine hooked up through my Pioneer DEH-P6600 AUX input and it sounds great. Actually it sounds so good that I've been forced to re-rip some of my collection at higher bitrates because I can now hear the limitations of the lower-ripped bitrate music.

This thing rocks. As discussed in the other reviews, the software is a bit of a weekpoint, and software and firmware support is totally lacking from Rockford. But the omnifi group on Yahoo is a HUGE resource, and there are programmers there who are working to totally replace the software on the unit.

I liked mine so much I bought another for my wife's car.