Hi All - Total newbie with a Hitachi HPW-600EUT - Audio questions

Hi all,

been reading these forums recently, as I've just been given a Hitachi HPW-600EUT unit, in near MINT condition, although the battery is a little "iffy"......

I've repaired the unit (had a minor problem with power supply/backup battery area, and its now up and running really well.

Now, I've been surfing the net and trying to get answers.


It runs Windows CE Handheld PC Professional, with an SH4 processor and 16MB Ram.

I've got a PCMCIA wifi card, and I've got it on the internet pretty easily. It communicates with my laptop via active sync as well..

I've got HUM MP3 player installed and running, as I couldnt find a media player that would work - am I being silly here?


My main aim/want is to be able to stream mp3's from my 120gig SAN unit on wireless, and apparently this isnt possible? Is this still the case? I'd love to be able to stream the music to the unit.....


Also, does anyone have any good links for this unit? Hitachi don't seem to have any info, and I was wondering if it needed updating (been sat in a drawer for ages) and whether theres anything I can do to improve the software?

Many thanks all

Paul

Any help would be gratefully received!

Thanks in advance.

Check the "Downloads" section of this site for a download link for Windows Media Player 1.2 for Handheld PC.

Hi

thanks for the reply.

I've read and head that MP 1.2 doesnt support the SH4 CPU...

I installed it and it just hung the Hitachi unit...

something I'm doing wrong?

Your correct as far as the consumer release goes. There was a WMP version for SH4, but it's not available for public use - Platform Builder patch.
The biggest shame is that there is no TCPMP build for SH4 (review in the reviews section). Though as it's open source you could try and compile it yourself, or, even contact CoreCodec and explore the possiblity of them creating a port. With TCPMP you can stream audio properly.

I wasn't aware of possible compatibility problems with the SH4 processor. Sorry about that. There was a better suggestion I should have made in the first place: The Core Pocket Media Player (TCPMP). It plays video as well as audio, and I'm told that the audio quality is better than WMP. (Dunno myself; I'm pretty happy with the audio quality in WMP, as long as the H/PC has a decent speaker.) Here's the link to get the current version (.72):

http://corecodec.org/frs/shownotes.php?release_id=271

EDIT: Whoops, didn't see C:Amie cutting in front of me. And, duh, I forgot that there is no SH4 installer for TCPMP.

Edited by CE Geek 2006-03-07 6:21 PM

Hmmm ok thanks for the link. Not really sure what to look at - might be a bit more of a project than expected.

Ideally I'd like it as a remote type device as well - so i can remotely control hifi etc? I've seen some software, but not sure if its possible to use with this device?

Any decent suggestions out there?

Also, is the unit I have considered to be any good? I would think its well out of date, but for the price I got it (free!) I'm not complaining...

Well, as C:Amie said, you can contact the developer. They're pretty responsive - even if they don't get back to you right away, they have been pretty good about making improvements according to the feedback they get.

I have the Hitachi HPW 600-ETM, which is similar. I believe the EUT is the European Version. My Hitachi has 32mb RAM.

The HUM player is the only audio player besides a midi player that I've been able to find. And believe me, I've scoured the Internet.

There are some older Yahoo message boards that have software. I just tried out a registry program and lost all my favorites so I can't give you the link. Also, there is a Hitachi site, which you could find through a Google. It has some software.

Otherwise, my best searches for SH4 software have been Japanese sites.

Oh, and here at HPC Factor there is a bunch of free Ilium software, much of which works with the SH4 processor. Check out the Downloads tab above.

The price you paid was certainly right, and even if you don't find a suitable media player you'll soon find hpcs are invaluable in their own way, especially for PIM. (I came back to my senses )

can you still get spares for the Hitachi - such as battery? Just wondering, thats all..... might need one as mine seems to hold a decent charge, but the software reports 0hrs 0mins and 100% battery charge remaining.
Unless its possible to reset the software readings? Not found anything in the manual?

scratch that - my battery is INCREASING in duration/length now - Its gone from 0mins up to 36mins and still going! Looks like because its been sat in a drawer for ages it just needed running and battery given a bit of a workout

I must say I'm amazed how well it works - not sure how old it is (would guesstimate 1998 from what i've read - in fact i think i saw release dates somewhere)

Really want to see what free software I can find for it. See what it can do!

Here is the Hitachi site for a few downloads:

Hitachi USA

wow - thanks for that link. Installed several of those updates/download - good stuff

If there's no way I can stream MP3's to it from my SAN, then I want to add storage to the unit instead.

Now, I assume my options are CF card (expensive and semi-low capacities), microdrive (juicy on the power) or perhaps a USB device...

I have a 20gig laptop 2.5" harddrive. Is there anyway I can get this to work with the unit? I know I could put it in a USB external enclosure, but I don't think it'll be able to power it from the USB socket.....

I'd also like to upgrade the RAM in it if it is possible, but would want more than 32mb, but i think thats the limit?

Any ideas? I just want to make it a jukebox kinda thing. Perhaps even into a very nifty carPC project.

You may be able to find a module to update to 32mb, but I have never heard of higher than that. I don't know about using the hard drive. What I have is an old 350mb ATA PCMCIA flash storage card I got off of Ebay really cheap. That suffices for my needs.

If you do a search on this board you can find the link for USB clik drivers to use a pendrive. I also have a USB floppy drive that connects up - make is YeData - which has on its site Windows CE drivers that work on my Hitachi.

What I have found out the hard way is that with limited RAM, you have to be careful of how many programs you load on the device. Even when you are loading onto the storage card, some files with installing programs still end up in your Windows directory and you can fill up your RAM and not be able to delete or move anything. A MUST program to have to get you out of this mess is Tillanosoft SpaceFinder.