Specifications

Chapter 6 - Design evaluation
The evaluation of the design for this player is unfortunately quite a subjective one. How
does one assess whether they like a stereo, for example? Most of the evaluation is done
on how the stereo sounds and operates. The same can be said for this player. To be able
to judge the product for these qualities, the product must first be able to fulfil the basic
requirements of a player. That is, can it play the media it is supposed to and can the user
perform the basic tasks required?
6.1 Fulfilling the basic requirements
The basic requirements of the player were outlined in Chapter 3. Table 5 compares
those requirements with what the project fulfilled.
Specification The Player design The Player implementation
Supported Formats All MP3 bit rates and sample
frequencies. MP3s are the
main focus of interest; other
formats such as WMA may be
considered in future products.
All MP3 bit rates up to
250kbbs and all sample
frequencies are supported.
Internet Formats Internet radio streamed as MP3 Not tested
Network interface Ethernet 10BaseT (10 Mb/s
Ethernet) or 10/100BaseT
running TCP/IP.
Ethernet 10BaseT (10 Mb/s
Ethernet)
Audio outputs Either RCA or headphone
stereo.
Either RCA or headphone
stereo.
User controls Buttons on the player. Buttons for play/pause, stop,
next and previous tracks
Song selection Create a song play list on the
player itself using the buttons
and display on an LCD screen.
Song list created through
Winamp and read from a
server program running on
the PC. This then interfaces
with the player.
Cost Below $400 AUD AUD $295.00 for Ethernut
AUD $119.00 for VLSI
AUD $25.00 for the LCD
Table 5 Final player specifications
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