A2 features extension patch v.5 - help needed

[dap_pad]

Wow... that is the single most awesome thing I've seen for the A2... you are amazing! Too bad I'm on 1.91 though...

[class2cd]

Originally Posted by class2cd

I hooked up my sandisk sansa m240 to A2's usb-host socket and it worked just fine plus i could play mp3s directly from /.usb/* w\o copying to A2.
When i try to copy files from A2 HDD to /.sub it says on the sansa that it writes data and i also see indication of the file being copied in the A2.
After the file has been copied A2 read the sansa's file list again and nothing changes. I also double-checked with my PC and there was no change in the sansa whatsoever.

Any idea how to fix it?

btw. i have -
Firmware ver. 1.91F Syntex patch v.7
Application version 1.81F by Valery(FoxStream)

sorry for double posting but i really want to make this feature work

[FoxStream]

Originally Posted by class2cd

sorry for double posting but i really want to make this feature work

This is compatibility issue. Try other flash memory cards if possible. Only A2 knows which of them are "good" or "bad".

[class2cd]

OK I'll try it's just strange that it says it's copying while doing nothing actually

[Duff Man]

hey FoxStream
can you improve the zoom? a stepless zoom would be cool.

[FoxStream]

COWON A2 Octopus patch v.8

Download 3MB english package (patched 'a2_player' is included too) -> http://rapidshare.com/files/78172383...us-en.zip.html


1. Rectangular 3D style selection bar looks better on the modded main menu.


2. MP3 tags area now includes album YEAR.

...existing ID3 tag processing code also retrieves Genre & Track# values, but do anyone really needs them ?!

3. Better control over HDD <-> USB file transfer operations using realtime bytes counter on the bottom left.


4. Pretty THUMBNAIL PREVIEW MODE - true gem of this release !




Excerpts from 'a2_Octopus-en.txt':

------------------------------------------------------------------------
This patch extends basic A2 player features in many areas, especially in
"Menu"/"Music"/"Radio"/"Photo"/"Text"/"Browser"/"USB-host" modes

There is a list of improvements applied to the software v.1.81 by this patch:

...
...
6. Music Player GUI has changed - 3D silver transparent style gives more space
to the Track/Artist/Album titles as well as to the background image.
Pretty colors are added to the playstate indicators.

Album(YEAR) is shown in brackets in the MP3 tags area (if present).
...
16. Low battery alert is issued once the charge level lows to 0 value.
This is not the case in standard version, where the special LOW_BATT_ALERT
register is used solely, opening the way to unrecoverable discharge when A2
microchip's logic fails (in some cases).
This patch tends to prevent dangerous situations like:
- unability to restart player next time
- unability to charge player by normal way
- ... and all similar cases posted to forums under "HELP!" topics.

17. While performing file transfer operations, the amount of bytes copied is
shown in the [A] key comments area (bottom left), simplifying control over
this lengthy process.

18. Very handy (and unique) THUMBNAIL PREVIEW MODE is introduced for images
(6 small icons per screen) with the easy navigation and ability to switch
into/from singlemode preview.
...


Numerous GUI changes are added too:

- at boot time, Linux OS logo and "Octopus patch v.8" startup message is
displayed on initial splash screen, branding the patched version of the
COWON A2 software. This info is also available via "Setup" -> "Info".
...


Tips
----
...


3. WARNING: before attaching external USB-UMS device please verify that
the total number of files on both HDD & USB FAT32 storage
devices does not exceed A2's 14996 files limit !
...
'BACK' key returns to the Main Menu leaving USB link active, so you can
(as an example) play music from USB drive and read text from HDD
simultaneously !
Umounting USB drive do not throws A2 into shutdown mode anymore, so wider
range of USB flash drives is acceptable for A2.
...


Additional resources
--------------------
...


To remove "COWON" watermark from movies converted by JetAudio utility, copy
'VideoConvert_WMK_A2.dat' file over existing one (10.294 bytes) in the JetAudio
installation directory.

'VideoConvert_WMK_A2.dat' is a standard BMP file with modified extension.
...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[jmuk]

hi...btw thanks very much for this patch
i was just going to install it and extracted all the files in the zip folder to the main directory. It asked whether or not to replace the system folder. Should I do this??
Thanks

[jmuk]

i extracted all the files from the zip folder to the root directory and turn the player on. It is still the same as it was before (using firmware V.1.85). Do you just transfer only certain files from the zip folder and not all of them.
help??

[FoxStream]

Originally Posted by jmuk

i extracted all the files from the zip folder to the root directory and turn the player on.

That is wrong. Read 'Installation' #1 section in a2_Octopus-en.txt first.

[jmuk]

Sorry for my ignorance. Thanks for the help. Wow, amazing work, thank you so much. The new photo viewing is fantastic.

[shaynet]

a great patch. i really like it.
thanks again foxstream.

did anyone try to connect sandisk cruzer micro u3 to his A2 since my seems to make the A2 freeze and the only thing that responds is the shutdown button.
and after i restarted it (and the u3 is disconnected), it still shows some of the u3 file tree.
any ideas what that means?

[centus]

FoxStream,
you did it again, thank you my friend, you are truly a reverse engineering artist!

[Leva]

Hi guys, I got my Cowon A2 few days ago with firmware 1.91F installed. First thing I did is I uploaded firmware 1.81 patched with Syntex 7.0. Today I patched 1.81 with Octopus 8.0 made by FoxStream. In both cases I still have a problem with USB host both way copying. I mean I connect a flash drive (FAT32) or SD card reader with SD card formatted with FAT32 and still cannot play a file from the card or even to delete a file on it. Cannot also copy a file from Cowon to the card.
Any ideas...?
FoxStream I really appreciate your work, that's priceless. Валерий - ты просто молодец, нет слов!

[FoxStream]

Originally Posted by Duff Man

hey FoxStream
can you improve the zoom? a stepless zoom would be cool.

The way ARM926 assembler opcode handles floating point operations stills unclear for me... So I can use 3 fixed state zoom values only. And the sequence 1x-2x-4x fits better for A2's 4" screen (IMHO).

[Tostino]

Originally Posted by shaynet

a great patch. i really like it.
thanks again foxstream.

did anyone try to connect sandisk cruzer micro u3 to his A2 since my seems to make the A2 freeze and the only thing that responds is the shutdown button.
and after i restarted it (and the u3 is disconnected), it still shows some of the u3 file tree.
any ideas what that means?

I connected mine, and it did EXACTLY the same thing. =/...