Gigaware GX400 mp3 player is not recognised as audio player

Thank you.

Can you please attach the .is_audio_player file you created? The lshal info tells me the vendor/product ID of the device, but I need to know which playback/record formats your device supports (mp3/ogg/aac, and so on), and in which folder it stores music (if it has folders).

I should also refine "completely usable"; playlist support is non-existant, save through MTP.

Needs to go into libmtp's hal FDI then. Thank you!

According to upstream the mode in which you connected your media player isn't an MTP mode, but an USB mass storage device mode. Does your media player have any other connection modes? If not, it shouldn't be added to libmtp, since it would break the device.

The device ids of the media player in this mode should be added to /lib/udev/rules.d/80-usb-media-players.rules
I propose to add the following rules:

# Perception Digital, Ltd Audio Player
ATTRS{idVendor}=="aa6" , ATTRS{idProduct}=="9702" , ENV{ID_MEDIA_PLAYER}="perception-digital-audio-player"

I would be most thankful if you could post the type number a well, so we can complete the rule by adding the name of the device, which increases readability.

It appears as either a mass storage or "Audio Player" (MTP) device under Windows:
  http://mymusix.mmvoice.com/products/audio/42-420/faq.html
It has a separate firmware upgrade mode that I'd love to be able to access under Linux:
  http://mymusix.mmvoice.com/products/audio/42-420/42420recoveryonlyfaq.html
I can't do it under VMWare, sadly, due to how it works with usb. :(

Sadly, all email asking for the information to fully support the player under Linux were ignored (boo!).

The mymusix support page: http://mymusix.mmvoice.com/products/audio/42-420/
The Radio Shack page: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3268771&tab=support

Also important is that this audio player *only* understands ID3 v1.3 tags, not 1.4. When e.g. Rhythmbox converts files to mp3 for putting on the player, the ID3 information doesn't appear, for this reason.

I've attached a rough base for a describing .mpi file for inclusion in media-player-id. It could contain flaws since I can't find any documentation on the syntax.
According to the .is_audio_player file you created this player does support MTP. Did you base that on previous experiences or on the product description? Does the mtp-detect command give you anything?

A question to people that know more about .mpi files: can you make them indicate there is mtp support as well by adding mtp to the AccessProtocol attribute?

$ sudo mtp-detect
libmtp version: 0.3.7

Listing raw device(s)

Potential MTP Device with VendorID:0aa6 and ProductID:9702 responded to control message 2 with a response that was too short. Problems may arrise but continuing
Device 0 (VID=0aa6 and PID=9702) is UNKNOWN.
Please report this VID/PID and the device model to the libmtp development team
   Found 1 device(s):
   0aa6:9702 @ bus 0, dev 3
Attempting to connect device(s)
usb_claim_interface(): Device or resource busy
LIBMTP PANIC: Unable to initialize device
Unable to open raw device 0
OK.

The device seems hung at the moment; I'm trying to get a Windows box that I can use to update/fix the firmware. Stupid windows-only crap.

On my karmic system, I'm not seeing /lib/udev/rules.d/80-usb-media-players.rules
Am I missing a package, has it gone away, or Other?

mtp-detect gives the following in the syslog:
Sep 10 14:02:10 borkborkbork kernel: [14001.128409] usb 1-4: usbfs: USBDEVFS_CONTROL failed cmd mtp-detect rqt 192 rq 1 len 1024 ret -110

> It could contain flaws since I can't find any documentation on the syntax.

http://cgit.freedesktop.org/~teuf/media-player-id/tree/README

Unfortunately it isn't shipped in the .deb, I'll fix that with the next upload.

> On my karmic system, I'm not seeing /lib/udev/rules.d/80-usb-media-players.rules

It's /lib/udev/rules.d/90-usb-media-players.rules in very latest karmic now. It's shipped by the media-player-info package, pulled in as a dependency of rhythmbox.

I've adapted the file with the new information. However, we still need to know what type of playlists it supports. Could you tell us?

Is there a way of forcing the use of ID3 v1.3? I couldn't find a way to do so.

Libmtp has added the player to their list. However, they would like to also have a look at more complete mtp-detect output to determine whether additional flags are necessary.
Could you please attach the output of the command 'sudo mtp-detect' with the player connected?

All of the mtp-detect output is above (comment #10)
From my talk with support:
===
->[r],612/U<----[USA PD Technical Support]--[Re: playlists on the PD-6140]------

Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:42:15 -0700
From: USA PD Technical Support <email address hidden>
To: <email address hidden>
Subject: Re: playlists on the PD-6140
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5512

Dear Customer,

The PD-6140 supports .pla playlists which can be easily be created and synced to the PD-6140 with a program like Windows Media Player 10 or 11.

For instructions on how to create a playlist with Windows Media Player, please refer to the help guide within Windows Media Player or check these links from Microsoft.

Windows Media Player 11: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/knowledgecenter/howto/mp11/playlists.aspx#CreateandEditYourPlaylists

Windows Media Player 10: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/windowsmediaplayer/getstarted/makeplaylist.mspx

Best Regards,

US Technical Support
http://www.perceptiondigital.com/

----- Original Message -----

From: "Joseph Pingenot" <email address hidden>
To: <email address hidden>
Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 10:17 PM
Subject: playlists on the PD-6140

> Hello.
>
> I'm trying to get a playlist of MP3s onto the PD-6140, and am having
> trouble getting the playlits recognized. What playlist formats does
> the PD-6140 accept, how do the filenames need to be formatted, and
> where should they reside? For example, can the playlists be .m3u
> files with paths including the long file names and drive letters, and
> should they be in the Playlists folder?
>
> Thank you very much!
>
> Sincerely,
> Joseph
===
->[r],613/T<----[USA PD Technical Support]--[Re: playlists on the PD-6140]------

Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:34:26 -0700
From: USA PD Technical Support <email address hidden>
To: <email address hidden>
Cc: <email address hidden>
Subject: Re: playlists on the PD-6140
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5512

Dear Customer,

For the Playlist on PD6140, there is only a way to generate .pla file through Windows Media Player.

WMP will create a playlist which will sync to PD6140, and it will also create some entries in PD6140's database. For PD6140 point of view, it will just read up the database to list out and playback the database entries.
For the .m3u playlist, we have platform limitation to read a .m3u playlist. it also require WMP to perform some conversions of .m3u file to .pla file while it is sync to the device.

So, for PD6140, it cannot support any playlists that are created by any software except WMP. That means it cannot add a playlist under Linux/XOS.
Best Regards,
US Technical Support
http://www.perceptiondigital.com/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Pingenot" <email address hidden>
To: "USA PD Technical Support" <email address hidden>
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 4:47 PM
Subject: Re: playlists on the PD-6140

> Any word on how to create a .pla playlist file that the player will
> recognize? I'm trying but failing.
> Hoping to get your help increasing your marketshare,
> Joseph
>
> From US...

Thank you for that extra information! However, are you sure that running the mtp-detect command as root -- 'sudo mtp-detect' -- doesn't give a longer output?

You could also try to get some output with the latest version of libmtp8. I've uploaded the 1.0.1 version, the first to include support for your player, to my PPA at <https://launchpad.net/~qense/+archive/ppa>. If you'd be able to give us the compete output of 'sudo mtp-detect' with that version, we'd be most grateful. However, please bear in mind that this version still has some issue with the rest of the system; Banshee's MTP support will stop working with this version and Rhythmbox' will lag and be less stable. The problems will probably be worse for pre-Karmic releases.

With your new version:
$ sudo mtp-detect
libmtp version: 1.0.1

Listing raw device(s)
   Found 1 device(s):
   Perception Digital, Ltd: Gigaware GX400 (0aa6:9702) @ bus 0, dev 4
Attempting to connect device(s)
usb_claim_interface(): Device or resource busy
LIBMTP PANIC: Unable to initialize device
Unable to open raw device 0
OK.

USB mass storage is conflicting. After removing it:
$ sudo mtp-detect
libmtp version: 1.0.1

Listing raw device(s)
   Found 1 device(s):
   Perception Digital, Ltd: Gigaware GX400 (0aa6:9702) @ bus 0, dev 7
Attempting to connect device(s)
LIBMTP PANIC: Could not open session! (Return code 8211)
  Try to reset the device.
Unable to open raw device 0
OK.

I think it's pretty clear that I need to re-flash the sucker. Now to find a Windows box to do it from. Frickin windows-only crap.

From the SF bug (to keep both places mostly in sync)
"Q: My Computer does not recognize my 42-420 Why?

A: The 42-420 with Windows XP should be recognized as a 'Audio Player'
under 'My Computer' which is a MTP device when using Windows XP and Windows
Media Player 10 or 11 and Vista which has Windows Media Player 11. With
older versions of Windows, or older versions of Windows Media Player, it
will be recognized as a 'Removable Disk' a MSC device instead.

Here are some suggestions for recognition issues.

Please try the USB ports on the back of the PC. If you are using a USB hub
or
ports on the front of the PC, the power draw of the 42-420 could exceed
their capacity and prevent the player from being recognized correctly.

Upgrade your computer with the latest version of Windows Media Player
available for your operating system. Even if you do not plan to use Windows
Media Player with your 42-420, it still requires device drivers that come
with Windows Media Player. You can download the latest version of Windows
Media Player for your system from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/versions.aspx.

Also, please check your Device Manager to make sure it is not a issue with
Windows.

Uninstall the 42-420 via device manager. The 42-420 needs to plugged in to
do this. Go to Start, Control Panel and select 'Performance an
Maintenance'. Then Select 'System'. Then select the 'Hardware Tab' and
select 'Device Manager'. Then find a device called 'Portable Devices' or
'Windows Portable Device'. Then select the + sign next to the device and
right click the 'Audio Player'.

Select 'Uninstall'. Click 'OK' when it asks you if it is OK to uninstall.
Then select 'Action' at the top of the Window and select 'Scan for hardware
changes'. Then once it re-installs the driver, see it operates
correctly.

Also, performing a firmware recovery procedure can work to make your
computer recognize the 42-420. "
http://mymusix.mmvoice.com/products/audio/42-420/faq.html

The firmware recovery procedure is described further down in the FAQ. It
appears as a SigmaTel device:
===
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:56:27 -0600
From: Joseph Pingenot <email address hidden>
To: <email address hidden>
Subject: updating the firmware on a SigmaTel-based MP3 player
User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.18 (2008-05-17)

Hello.

I'm a Linux user who got a RadioShack GigaWare MP3 player, which is
apparently a rebranded Perception Digital PD-6140, which apparently
uses SigmaTel chips. I'd like to write a firmware updater, if one
does not already exist, for the Sigmtel chip on this mp3 player.
It appears as
"Dec 17 13:57:11 borkborkbork kernel: [600787.585853] hiddev97hidraw3:
USB HID v1.10 Device [Sigmatel, Inc. ROM Recovery] on usb-0000:00:1a.7-3"
in the system log, with the following lsusb -vv output:

Bus 004 Device 034: ID 066f:3770 SigmaTel, Inc.
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 64
idVendor 0x066f SigmaTel, Inc.
idProduct 0x3770
bcdDevice 0.01
iManufacturer 1
iProduct 2
iSerial 0
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLengt...

It's probably not a fault of your device that it doesn't work right away. The error code is the decimal version of error code 0x2013, which stands for the error PTP_RC_StoreNotAvailable. This is probably because of problems with the latest version of libmtp, you could try the command a few times directly after each other to see if it does pick it up after you've tried a few times. Sometimes it doesn't work right away.

Libmtp 1.0.x isn't as good as I've hoped; bug #424760 shows it still has some problems.

The PerceptionDigital page, if you're interested:
http://www.perceptiondigital.com/client/productNew.php?product=140&key=1&prod_type=3

Gigaware GX400 is supported by the release of libmtp available in Lucid.
Closing.