Specifications

6.2 Fulfilling the subtle requirements

The finer details of an audio device are also worth mentioning. The user controls on the

player are very easy to use. This might seem easy to accomplish, but it is often difficult

to implement controls the human user enjoys. In so many MP3 players, there are often

quite long delays before the action expected is actually performed. This is most

commonly involved with the next and previous functions. With the design implemented,

priority is given to responding to button presses and then displaying the response (the

song name on the screen) as soon as possible. The user can very quickly move through

the play list and select the required song, either holding down the next or previous

buttons or simply toggling them. Test data is not available to demonstrate the delay

inherent in other players, but subjectively this player is much quicker.

The most important thing to consider with an audio device is its sound quality. This

again is a very difficult thing to measure. The player produces no audio defects and

there is no noise added to the song other than what was recorded. When comparing the

audio quality of the player with Winamp, using the same song, it was very difficult to

tell the difference. The line out level that the player produces is suitable for all the input

lines of the devices tested.

6.3 Personal reflection

The most difficult task for this thesis was to make decisions about the design and

implementation that could greatly effect whether the task can be completed in the time

available, from a point in time well before completion. Initially, a topic had to be

thought of that was possible to complete over the thesis time period even though it was

unclear what the requirements of some of the components would be. Then taking this

idea and carrying it through to completion, making decisions after researching the

possibilities, and attempting to foresee any long term problems were the other big

challenges.

Overall, the design process was quite successful, resulting in a fully functioning MP3

player. The bulk of the product implementation was completed on schedule, allowing

for time to make minor changes to remove smalls bugs in the software. There are a few