We were ultimately able to configure the STA013 to decode MP3 files of various bitrates. Due to the size restrictions of the flash, we were only able to test the STA013 with small MP3 clips encoded at 32 kbps and 64 kbps. However, we believe that the STA013 would be able to play MP3 files encoded at higher bitrates (i.e., 128 kbps). Two push buttons were implemented to start and stop playback of the given MP3 clip.

With regards to the hard-drive interface, we were able to initialize the drive, perform a software reboot, and read and write to and from the drive registers. However, we were not able to read file information stored in the FAT32 table or files stored on the hard-drive. Our inability to do this resulted from not fully understanding the IDE/ATA protocols dealing with the transfer of head/cylinder/sector data. Given more time, we would have liked to learn more about the IDE/ATA interface, as well as the FAT32 protocol, so as to implement data transfer from the hard-drive, via the MCU, to the STA013 MP3 decoder chip.

If we were to redo this project, we would have been more careful verifying the correctness of our circuits. Various problems we encountered resulted from incorrect circuit connections. We could have saved time by checking our circuit more thoroughly before attempting to debug our software. In addition, we learned to be more careful when connecting power supplys to given hardware. In the process of this lab, we destroyed, by supplying an incorrect power supply, an STA013 decoder chip, a 6 Gig hard-drive, and a pair of amplified computer speakers…=).