Rocket eBook

Latest revision as of 04:24, 28 December 2023

Rocket eBook format was used by one of the first physical ebook readers, the Rocket eBook from NuvoMedia (and later REB 1100 from RCA/Gemstar and GEB1150).

It is a container format for simplified html, images and a pseudo-OPF (.info) file with all of the metadata.

It supports optional DRM and was sold by Gemstar, Barnes & Noble, Powells.com, and eBookwise.

.RB files are also used to update the firmware and system fonts of the device.

[edit] Identification

• Ebook .rb files: Hex "B0 0C B0 0C" ('bookbook') appears at offset 0.
• System .rb files: Hex "B0 0C C0 DE" ('bookcode') or "B0 0C F0 0D" ('bookfood') appears at offset 0.

[edit] References and format

• https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/RB
• http://www.chromakinetics.com/REB1200/REB1100.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_eBook
• Rocket eBook FAQ
• Russian Rocket eBook forum
• format documentation

[edit] Sample files

• rbmake documentation
• John Ringo - A Hymn Before Battle
• Dictionaries
• dexvert samples — document/rocketeBook

[edit] Online utilities

• CloudConvert
• Convertio
• FreeFileConvert
• Zamzar Rb Converter

[edit] Software

• Book Designer - create .rb files (also includes RbDisintegrator to extract files from .rb)
• Calibre - read, convert to, and convert from .rb
• rbmake
  • rbmake - a book-maker for .rb files
  • rbburst - extract a .rb back into its component files
  • rbinfo - summarize a .rb file
  • rbdump - a debug dump for a .rb file (if you need to debug the .hidx files that rbmake produced)
• eRocket - Rocket eBook simulator/reader for Windows
  • eRocket++ - patches eRocket memory from 4MB to 48MB
  • erRussify - patches eRocket to let Russian books be read and enable hidden 'Configuration' menu that can change memory size (more info)
• RocketLibrarian 1.3.222 - converts html and txt to .rb
• eBook Librarian 2.0.244 (patch sometimes needed for an unregistered Rocket eBook) (additional info)
• GEB eBook Librarian - create and view .rb (also rebranded as eBookwise Librarian) (additional info)
• PDFRead - convert PDF, DjVu, and TIFF to .rb
• RocketPublisher (download) - create and extract .rb
• RBextract/RB Extract - extract component files of a .rb
• RB2Project - convert a .rb to either HTML markup for import into eBook Publisher or directly to a .imp file
• RB-Info - info on .rb file (GUI, not to be confused with command-line rbinfo that is part of rbmake)
• Filestar* - convert to and from .rb
• Konvertor - convert to and from .rb
• Merlin (download) - RocketLibrarian replacement / Rocket SDK in Java for Windows/Unix
• Haruspice - browse dictionaries in .rb format
• rebhack - documentation on encrypted .rb format plus possibly help decrypt such files

[edit] System .rb Files

System .rb files are used to update the firmware and system fonts of the Rocket eBook and REB 1100. While the internal structure of these .rb files are the same as regular .rb files, the headers are different which may prevent some tools (like RBExtract) from working on them until the identifying code is edited to be "B0 0C B0 0C". Similarly, the header will have to be changed back for the hardware to recognize it.

It seems like "B0 0C C0 DE" is used for the main file (whether firmware or fonts) while "B0 0C F0 0D" is used for the sysIcons.RB file inside font packages.

• Info on System .rb files
• rbfPacker - Collects fonts into a special rb file that replaces Rocket ebook system fonts (more info)
• Russian Times New Roman for Rocket eBook - Sample system .rb
• Russian Times New Roman for REB1100 - Sample system .rb
• Firmware 2.0.305.3r - Sample system .rb