Ive been reading about the ipod adapter and the Aux thing, i read it works with any mp3 player and something about saving boot space? My question is if you get it, do they take off the cd player, thats what i understood from another post that said it was better than the cd player since it gives more boot space.
Just wondering what your opinions are on it.
Sorry if it's kind of a dumb question, but i've been pondering it for a bit now.

 

Umm, the aux input and iPod adapter dont have anything to do with boot space. the 6-cd changer is what takes up boot space. i bought/installed an aux on my own and will never look back. it took about 15 minutes to do and i only had to remove one torx screw, so i could drill the holes to put the mount for the jack in it. didnt have to take out the headunit, just reached the back from under the steering bolster.

 

The aux input is definitely one of my favorite mods. I took me appx. 30 minutes to install mine last winter. I believe it costs around $40 bucks (I got mine from www.outmotoring.com) and is worth the $$$. There are installation directions in the kit, but also I remember reading some pretty nice how-to's and extra tips somewhere on this site.

I sometimes wish I could change the song track via steering wheel buttons, but its not worth an extra $100 bucks to me... just take it into consideration before you purchase anything.

 

What can I do with AUX input?

Sorry for this silly question?

 

plug in a cd player, mp3 player, or a psp or anything you want with a headphone connector, you just need an adapter

 

Hmmm, the more i read about this, the more i want it. Does it charge the ipod or mp3 player?
That is pretty lame that you can't control with steering wheel! Since i got the premium pkg and they told me i couldn't take stuff out of the pkg. but oh well, still seems like a pretty nice thing to have.

 

I have the aux input and use it with my iPod. It's awesome.

You can controll the volume using the steering wheel but that's all. If you want to change songs you have to change them on the iPod.

With the iPod adaptor, I think you program in 5 playlists. You can't use the playlists of your iPod. (Someone else can should comment on this since it's not a feature I got.)

 

No, the AUX input jack does not charge anything you have plugged into the jack, so now you'll have to have an extra wire rattling around so you can power your device from the 12v outlet.

 

You do use the playlists on your iPod, but they need to be renamed "Mini1, Mini2, etc.", At the MFSW you can change songs, volume, and you can choose the playlist to listen to on the stereo mode control, and to shuffle your playlist by selecting "RND" on your stereo. The iPod adapter also charges your pod, and with the iPod being in the glove box, it stays cool while charging.

 

In my opinion, one of the best mods you can get.

I don't have an iPod (I know: GASP! ) but I do have a digital music player with just about every CD I own stored on it. I carry it instead of CD's which saves some space. The CD player is still there and basically gets used when I buy a new CD unitl I get the songs downloaded to the player.

 

Hang on - there is some confusion here.....

The AUX input is just that, its an auxiliary input for any source that you want to plug in to it, so far mine has been used for an iPod, iPod Shuffle, GPS unit and an elderly Zen player.

The iPod controller allows you to plug your iPod into the cables normally associated with the CD Changer, and control (to an extent) the iPod functions from your head unit (and steering wheel if you have the multi-function version).

In my opinion the iPod controller interface is way too limited, my wife has the exact same device in her 325i, and naming restricting you to 5 play lists + everying (the 1-6 buttons), and enforcing either serial or random access to them is just horrible. The short-sighted design that does not display the song/artist details on the radio (nor the iPod - on the BMW all the iPod says is 'BMW') is horrible, especially if you are dealing with 10,000+ songs.

There is good reason why I went for the AUX input after experiencing the horrible official iPod interface......

 

As mentioned above, the AUX is the best. I removed all the CDs in the car and brought in techonolgy (IPOD)

 

I don't need a readout telling me what I'm listening to. I put the songs on the Pod, I'll recognize it when I hear it. So a readout for my Pod is extraneous, and unnecessary. I do wish I had the ability to go to a specific song, but it rarely comes up, so I don't miss that too much. I would wager that BMW will eventually have a software mod to work with the existing iPod adapter that will allow all those missing options.

 

I tend to like that feature, especially because my wife and I have a combined collection of around 30,000 songs and I always retain a playlist that is 'recently added'. If my wife has been on an iTunes spree I honestly have no idea what is playing without looking at a display, or remembering what it was, then surfing through the recently added playlist either on the iPod while sat at the lights / my desk or waiting until I get home and asking (likely I will forget). Hence my strong preference for the AUX in that at least retains the ability to see what is playing and/or select artists/albums directly.......

Even the XM direct installation drives me crazy because what is a glance in my MR2 (XM Roady XT) is now a double-press of the 'inf' button to find out who an artists is and the name of the song. Do not even get me onto the level of frustration that the truncated display incites

If I did not have the HK system I would have ripped it iut and replaced it with something that had decent levels of integration already.....

 

I not sure if this is what you are saying but like the BMW iPod Adapter, the AUX input does NOT show names on the head unit... you would see them on the iPod screen, though, if that's what you mean.

Also, just so you know... there is another option... the DICE. I don't know much about it, still doing my own research, but it is made by Denison:

http://www.densionusa.com/

and also do a search in the Nav. & Audio threads and there is info there. Apparently, this one shows song titles in the head unit and connects similarly to the BMW iPod Adapter (cable in the glove box direct to the back of the head unit) and also charges the iPod.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to go with. The AUX sounds cheap and easy, but requires some concentration on the iPod (not so great for safe driving). The other options are more expensive, hard to install but give you more access through the MF steering wheel and possible info on the head unit.

 

The BMW version does not display anything other than 'BMW' on the ipod display and a track 'number' that also makes no sense - 1200 songs in playlist #1 gives you many iterations of track 01 for instance given that at track 99 it rolls around to 01 again......

I find the BMW implementation incredibly frustrating and it was the reason that I did not get the MINI version.

If the iPod does display artist/track information in the MINI version, then mounting it somewhere visible would be better, but I am lead to believe that it doesn't...

 

oh... when i said BMW iPod adapter, i meant the one that goes in the Mini (but, of course, made by BMW)... sorry for the confusion.

as i understand it... the Mini iPod adapter version does not display any info in the head unit. as stated earlier... you have to lump all of your songs into playlists and then skip through them somewhat randomly. doesn't seem that great for the money (i think it's $450 installed an all? quoted by my dealer). it's only pluses are:
- direct link to the head unit (supposedly better quality than the AUX jack)
- it charges the iPod
- can be controlled by the MFSW

 

You can load as many or as few songs into any playlist you want. You can play them in order, or select RND and shuffle them.

The adapter can be installed by the dealer, by yourself, or any other stereo shop.

 

To me the major issue is really one of the size of your music collection limiting the use of the factory integration.

My wife and I both have iPods with reasonably large amounts of songs on, each of us have over 15,000 songs on our iPods.

My wife uses the playlists to sort her music by genre, her 'BMW3 - RnB' playlist reveals that there are just over 3000 songs there.

If she wants to find a specific album within a playlist, the serial only selection means that she has to press (>) many hundred times and because there is no ability to see what is playing (during playback the iPod display says 'BMW' and the device is in the glovebox at all times) she simply cannot get in her car and reliably load up, say, TLC's Fanmail album (1860 songs from the beginning ). Each of the playlists is of a similar size, with only 'BMW5 - new stuff' being smaller - this is a smart playlist of everything added in the last month standing at only 200 songs.

As if the serial nature of song selection was not bad enough, the lack of information on the display as to what she is listening to, 'CD. 03-98' means that she is listening to play-list 3, and either track 78, 177, 276, 375, 474, 573, 672, 771, 870, 969, 1068, 1167, 1266, 1365, 1464, 1563, 1662, 1761, 1860 (No Scrub), 1959, 2058 etc, means that she is gradually going crazy....

Now if the display scrolled 'TLC, No Scrub, Fanmail' it would be massively better and possibly worth the money.

If you have a small selection of music (say less than 600 songs total) on your iPod, then the factory solution is not too bad, but as soon as you get in the multi-thousands tracks per play list, it is frustrating to the point of uselessness.

With the AUX in solution, I can simply scroll through the list of artists on my 30GB iPod and find Oasis in seconds, then select 'Whats the Story....' and rock my way to the office To me it is way easier to use, and infinitely less frustrating.

 

MaxN... you make a good case. I'm not too thrilled about the idea of having to press the > a hundred times to find the song I want.

Question... if one gets the AUX input installed and then later wants the iPod adapter... can you have both? Of is there only one place on the head unit for the connections. I'm thinking I might do the AUX input (it's cheaper, too) for now and then see if anything better comes along.

 

I think the iPod adapter works through the cd changer plug does the Aux input also or is there another plug in section for it behind the radio?

 

The AUX input is a very simple cable that has a specific place it plugs into on the back of the head unit. It does not disturb the CD Changer cabling at all. I use the CD Changer cabling for an XM installation (XM Direct and Blitzsafe adapter) in my Mini and also the AUX input for my iPod. If I want to add the iPod adapter I understand that the only place for it is in the boot where the changer would go - this is not a bad place or a major issue, but as I have said, the interface sucks too much for me to consider spending any money on it - the pains far outweigh any perceived gains.

 

Thank you all for replying to this post, i think after reading what most of you have to say; im going to end up getting the AUX input. I too have thousands of songs on my ipod and would much rather spend time listening to the actual music rather than finding it.
Thanks

 

I do know that Mini has made some mods. For example, nowhere does our unit ever have BMW-anything displayed. What that tells me, that that the software is modifiable. Perhaps with enough urging, we might get the things everyone seems to want.

I'm changing my iPod songs and podcasts everyday, and even though I have plenty of room for thousands of songs, there's never more than a good day's drive worth of music on my pod.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I kind of like being surprised by the next song that comes up in the ipod queue, so I don't make a lot of playlists. If I don't like a song, I don't put it on the ipod. I refer to it as listening to KHOMER radio, and the djs all like the same music I do If I'm not in the mood for that particular blues riff, I just hit the next button and see what will come up on the rotation next. I do have a few days of music on the ipod, and I do like surprises, so I will likely go with the ipod adapter for the charger feature.