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Home / Other I-Appliances / Virgin Webplayer Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. Compatibility between the Extigy and the Weblayer.

Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) ziggy_zero Profile Hey, I want to install a computer in my car full of mp3's. I've researched the topic thoroughly, and I think that the Webplayer looks like the easiest to hack a hard drive and Win98 into. Obviously I want to have the highest possible sound quality, and 5.1 surround sound (I'm installing 4 new speakers and 2 subwoofers in my car soon, so it'll really just be 4.1, but that's ok too ). That's where the Sound Blaster Extigy comes in. Just plug it into a USB port and supply power, and bam! you got 5.1 surround sound. The problem is, the minimum system requirements listed on the Creative website say 350MHz processor and 64 MB of RAM. Do you think I'll have trouble running the Extigy on a Webplayer, seeing as how the WP only has 200MHz? Would it help to upgrade the memory on the WP to 128? Bear in mind that the ONLY thing the Webplayer would be doing is playing mp3's - no surfing or games or anything. If the Webplayer couldn't handle it, are there any other options for me (on a budget similar to a WP)? Also, if I do end up getting a Webplayer, I'd want to paint it to match my interior, which is black. What's the best paint to use on the WP? 07-26-2002 09:38:13

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) Skywing Profile To Paint it id suggest using black vinyl dye which you can pick up at most automotive stores. Im not entirely sure about the extigy though. I dont see why it wouldnt work, just be sure to upgrade it to 128MB. And if it doesnt work with the extigy its not like building it costs too much, you can always use it as an internet terminal :\ 07-26-2002 12:00:20

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) fugspit Profile I have no idea about the Extigy but I have to ask... How many of your mp3's are actually encoded in Surround? I have a fairly extensive CD collection and all the music on them is in "Stereo", except for one or two "experimental" tracks which use good old fashioned anologue ProLogic. 07-26-2002 12:54:32

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) ziggy_zero Profile The Extigy actually has a neat little feature called "CMSS" that turns stereo mp3's into 5.1. That's a thing that I'm worried might be too processor intensive. From the Creative website: ‘Surround’ Yourself with CMSS Music enthusiasts will love the new, one-touch CMSS button that instantly up-mixes your favorite stereo recordings, including MP3 and WMA music files, into 5.1 surround sound. If you don’t currently own a set of 5.1 surround sound speakers, check out the new Creative Inspire 5300 speakers for unsurpassed music and home-theater entertainment. If you want to learn more about the Extigy, go to: http://www.soundblaster.com/products/extigy/ 07-26-2002 18:28:37

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) Hari Profile Is it not cheaper and easier (both usage and to install) to use a mp3 cd player? May be you don't want to burn your mp3's into cds, but is there any other reason why you want to do this way? Thanks, Hari 07-27-2002 00:37:06

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) ziggy_zero Profile Haha, I actually use an mp3-cd playe in my current car. I'd move the deck, but my new car is a 1970 Mercury Marquis convertible. 1970's car = no place to put deck, except maybe under a seat or in the glove box or something. Altogether, this new system (sans new speakers and subs) will be about 350. I paid 360 for my old mp3 cd deck and installation. And....you can't deny the cool factor of having a computer and a 10" LCD screen in your car. So to sum it all up, price difference = negligible, coolness factor = jacked up to the max with a webplayer. 07-27-2002 12:17:17

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) claymon Profile | Email Hi, I have an extigy and will try it out for you tonight. My webplayer has 256k and is running ME - more info to follow after I dig up the extigy install disk! 07-29-2002 03:55:36

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) ziggy_zero Profile I went to the Creative tech help place (before I even posted the original question on here), and finally got a response today: "Hooking up another USB device on the same system that only has a 200 MHz processor can make the Extigy sound card not work correctly. You may experience slow access time from the Extigy sound card with it is connected to a 200 MHz processor. You may also experience static and pops." So...we shall see. claymon, you're awesome. Let's hope it works. If it doesn't work, is there any way to upgrade the processor on the Webplayer? I've seen WP's with 450MHz AMD K6-2's. I'm sure the Extigy would work if I upgraded the processor. 07-29-2002 11:08:47

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) zmoz Profile No, there is no way to upgrade the processor in the webplayer. It is soldered to the motherboard. You can overclock it to 266, but then you have heat issues. The things you are thinking of with the 450mhz AMD's are I-openers. 07-29-2002 12:24:45

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) icepick72 Profile Overclocking isnt a major issue, as long as you add some excellent cooling inside and maybe a vent. I've been running great at 266mhz with the Vantec Iceberq chipset coolers, these are low profile enough to not have to cut anything out if you didnt want to, works great for $9.95 + s/h. Added a 20gb drive too load up a few mp3's :) Let me know on the extigy, im curious as well. icepick 07-29-2002 12:37:52

Extigy update (modified 0 times) claymon Profile | Email Well, the first round didn't go well - the extigy install crashed 3 times. I remember having similar problems on my laptop but the crashes were not as bad as on the webplayer. After the installation finally went through the USB connection to my external CD drive was completely corrupted. I was able to play some of the demo tracks (5.1) and they sounded fine. However, things must have become extremeley corrupted because the webplayer started locking and I wasn't able to play the tracks again. The upside is that I am encouraged by the first playbacks. Next step: I am going to go back to win98 (I never was very impressed with WinME) and will do a minimal install. I am hoping the extra memory (256 MB) will make up for the slow processor speed. Creative really did a poor job on the installation software, but the Extigy is nice piece of hardware and worth the headache of getting it to run properly (I got it for surround sound DVD playback on my laptop and I think it sounds great). More updates to come! 07-29-2002 21:53:21

RE:Webplayer and Sound Blaster Extigy? Also a paint question. (modified 0 times) ziggy_zero Profile I'm starting to think that the Extigy isn't really worth the money (100-150 bucks). I mean, 5.1 sound *would be nice* but I'm starting to realize I need to scale back the whole sound system situation due to lack of funds :(. I saw the one thread on the car-mounted WP, and he ran the regular audio out into his car deck's preamp input, and he said it sounded great. Now, I might have a *little* better sound system (2-4 new Boston Acoustics speakers, a new amp, and 2 10" subs), so great might be a relative term. I think I'll just hook it up with the onboard soundcard, and if things don't sound great, I'll get an Extigy. He said he also had no problems hooking it up to a 150W power converter, which is good. He also said he had no problems with his USB ethernet adapter, and he uses it to transfer files (i had that idea when i first set out on this little project). 08-02-2002 08:29:10

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