[Guest]

Can you just copy MP3 files onto the SDHC memory card to play on the MMI or do the files have to be in a certain format?

Has anyone managed to get a playlist working?

If you dont have a playlist do you have to select every song you want to listen to individually??

Cheers

 

[stevepen]

Dont know about the playlist but you can just copy mp3 straight to the SD card

 

[q5s]

Playlists work fine as well or you can point it to a folder and it will play all songs under that folder.

 

[Mike L]

Hi Guys,
I've not dug deep into the MMI music but from what I have copied (and i may be doing it wrong !!!

)... the playlists don't work. (I know you can create a folder with the songs in a specific order and copy it, but actal playlists from iPod or Media Player don't seem to work).
There's also no "random" selection option for playing the music.
What i've found so far is that you can play by album, artist (and possibly genre ???).

The main issue I have had so far is that the files copied seem a bit haphazard when they get imported. Despite organising the music into specific folders on the SD card, many ended up in "unknown" folders on the MMI. Also, many of the albums only play the songs in alphabetical order as opposed to actual album order.
The priciple of MMI music is great, but i must admit i'm a bit disappointed that the actual working of it, seems so random

The final disappointing thing is that you can't copy the music direct from the CD. This would have been by far the simplest method of importing music to the car, but sadly, Audi haven't included this option in the system for whatever reason.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[q5s]

Mike I'll have to disagree, although I would need to test first, I was fairly certain that:
1) m3u playlists work on the sd cards although not in the jukebox
2) random (shuffle) works fine although you have to set it each time you start the car which is a rpita especially as it is not easy to set
3) you can import tracks directly from cd but you have to enable this using the vcds cable/software

 

[Guest]

To create a playlist from iTunes that works when using an SD card I use iTunesExport - a great little utility. I slung the guy a few bucks for his efforts - well worth it. I just wish I could get my iTunes library under control - what a mess!

 

[Mike L]

Hi,

I told you i might be doing it wrong

Must admit, the playlist query.... i only tried it from the Jukebox. If it works from the SD card, then that's great.

q5s: What / where is the vcds cable/software ??? I've not heard of it but would love to be able to import direct from CD.

Did i miss something in the manual or is it an optional add-on ?

Cheers,
Mike.

 

[kcsun]

Mike
Q5S is talking about Vagcom software, that is the programme the dealer access's your on board computer with. You can turn lots of "functions" on or off using this software and also use it for diagnostic testing. Depending where you live someone may have a laptop they can plug in for you or you can usually bribe the dealer to do it for you
You can buy the Rosstech software and lead to DIY for about ?250
kc

 

[q5s]

Mike vcds is what kcsun explained.
Here are some codes fiy:
http://a6retrofit.tripod.com/articles/a5vagcodes.html
The section you are interested in is:
Audio CD import with CD-Text support in MMI 3G
Any questions about vcds (vag-com was renamed to vcds but still goes by the old name) just ask.

 

[Hooplescat]

The final disappointing thing is that you can't copy the music direct from the CD. This would have been by far the simplest method of importing music to the car, but sadly, Audi haven't included this option in the system for whatever reason.

eh?????

How do you upload music to the MMI harddrive then? Surely via a cd??

 

[q5s]

As standard it will work only for mp3s/wma?, you have to recode it to work with cd audio tracks (.cda)

 

[Hooplescat]

so do you have to rip your cd's to MP3 and transfer them to sd card, then upload them via sd card? surely not - why would audi make that so damn hard? I'll never bother and just use my ipod connection, which seems a shame...

 

[q5s]

That's correct, it is what it is due to some copyright law I would imagine. You can disable the restriction for no money if you have/can borrow the cable so no biggie for those in need. I just stick to the radio

 

[Guest]

Hi all,

Has anyone attempted to re-code the MMI to allow direct import from a music CD of.cda files.

I am interested as being a bit of an old bugger most of my music is in hard format. I am also hearing that cd quality music is substantially better than mp3 soft format music.

Squirrel

 

[KyuGo]

The quality (and file size) of mp3's depend on the bitrate of the rip. Many people listen to low quality mp3's for various reason - they want to fit more songs on to their mp3 players, they buy from online stores who don't carry high bitrates or charge extra for them, they use windows media player to rip their CD's, or they simply can't hear the difference.
If you're a picky listener you'll want a high bitrate. With a bitrate of 320 kbps I'm sure very few people if any would be able to tell the difference between mp3 and CD on a car sound system.
Try CDex, it's a free and simple and fast utility for ripping CD's. You can get it here http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/?q=download
The default settings will be just fine. When you're done just copy the files to an SD card. A 16 Gb card will hold hundreds of albums.

 

[Guest]

KyuGo,

An excellent suggestion, except I have a MAC not a PC. I don't believe there is a MAC option for this particular application. Having said that I think I-Tunes will do what is needed in terms of ripping and then high bit rate encoding.

It would just be a whole bunch easier to slip a cd in to the MMI, press a few buttons and have a CD stored in its entirity on the MMI Juke Box.

Thanks for the update
Squirrel

 

[Guest]

I have been testing out compressed music formats on my Q5 stereo and find that CD's ripped using iTunes "default" 256kbps in AAC format are definitely inferior to the original CD. I have also tried ripping at 320kbps but the Q5's stereo was unable to play these tracks. I am far from an audiophile and never thought I'd ever be able to notice the difference between a CD and a compressed format but the back to back comparison is quite stark. From now on, I won't be ripping at anything less than 256kbps.

Oh, I should mention that I have the B&O stereo.

 

[kcsun]

Audi are going to "give birth" to my new baby tomorrow, so as you can imagine I am getting very twitchy about my forthcoming delivery.

I have been following this thread as I think it will be so much easier to have all our music on a SD card permanently in the car rather than my wife trying to connect her/our ipod each time (do not think the ami lead could stand up to the punishment of her less than gentle fingers!!!)

Anyway had a look at my itunes list and find that most of our songs are recorded at 128kbps even ones transposed directly from CD's
So
Do I need to re-record all my cd collection?
How do I save them at a higher/better bitrate?
How do I simply!! change the format from Itunes to mp3? files?

If I recorded a DVD onto a SD card would it play on the mmi - I have not ordered the TV option although I have got B&O
kc

 

[KyuGo]

@Secret Squirrel - my Mac days are long gone but I'd be surprised if you can't find similar software. Here's one that seems very capable, and it's also Open Source: http://sbooth.org/Max/

@CrustyNoodle - I'm sure the bitrate of 320 kbps wasn't the problem. Must be something else that the MMI doesn't like like maybe the sample rate or the stereo mode or something. I remember having seen a list of compatible formats somewhere. Will post it if I can find it again.

@kcsun - I've found it very convenient for me and my wife to have our own personal SD-cards for our different music collections. Especially since the Q5 has two SD slots.
There's no point in converting mp3's to higher bitrates. The damage from the first rip can't be undone. You'll have to re-rip your CD's if need higher quality mp3's

I don't know if you can change format from itunes (AAC) to mp3 very simply. At least not for the DRM protected songs you've bought from the itunes store. If you google it people seem to suggest exporting to CD and then ripping again but that doesn't seem simple to me and the quality would also suffer. But I found something here that you could try http://www.koyotesoft.com/indexEn.html
iTunes is the main reason I've stayed away from Ipods. I like to manage the mp3 collection myself and not be constrained by DRM, proprietary formats, obscure filenames and having to import songs instead of just copying files between folders...

 

[KyuGo]

The screen cap below is from the DVD manual. Mp3's up to 320 kpbs and 48 kHz should work in either fixed bitrate or VBR. AAC should also work.
I read on another forum that ID3 tags could pose problems, that the MMI would only accept ID3v1 and not ID3v2. Can't see though how this would render a song unplayable. I'm sure I've played songs with no tags at all.