How does this work? Since you really have no interface with a file system. Do your CD's have to be full of loose MP3's and no folders? I like to keep my MP3's organized with folders for each album and artist.

Sucks that i might have to make specific CD's just for the new headunit....

 

Not sure about the standard unit, but the HK does allow you to browse folders. If I remember correctly (I've only had the car a week), you press the MAN button to go into manual mode, then use the volume **** to traverse the folders. You cannot see the folder names, they just appear as xxx0001-TRKxxxx or something like that. It'd have been nice for the head-unit to read the folder structure and ID3 data.

I was unsure of this myself, so the first MP3 CD I made was 118 songs all at the root level of the CD. After finding that it does handle folders, I have made other CDs with folders and it does work.

Hope that helps.

 

I have an '05 MCS with the standard head unit. I keep all of my MP3 CDs organized into folders, the CD player will list the first folder, alphabetically by folder name name, as track 1. The contents of that folder are listed as parts of that track, again alphabetically by file name. Folder 1, song 1, would look like TR01-001 on the head unit; Folder 4, song 9, would look like TR04-009 on the head unit. To keep things simple I usually don't go more than one folder deep, though the head unit should play CDs like that. To keep things very simple all the folders, and the songs within them, are preceded by numbers on my CDs. For example, I just pulled this CD out of my head unit:

01-Dark Side Of The Moon
-----01 Speak To Me _ Breathe.mp3
-----02 On The Run.mp3
-----03 Time.mp3
-----04 The Great Gig In The Sky.mp3
-----05 Money.mp3
-----06 Us and Them.mp3
-----07 Any Colour You Like.mp3
-----08 Brain Damage.mp3
-----09 Eclipse.mp3
02-The Wall (Disc 1)
-----01 In The Flesh_.mp3
-----02 The Thin Ice.mp3
-----03 Another Brick In The Wall (Part 1).mp3
-----04 The Happiest Days Of Our Lives.mp3
-----05 Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2).mp3
-----06 Mother.mp3
-----07 Goodbye Blue Sky.mp3
-----08 Empty Spaces.mp3
-----09 Young Lust.mp3
-----10 One Of My Turns.mp3
-----11 Don't Leave Me Now.mp3
-----12 Another Brick In The Wall (Part 3).mp3
-----13 Goodbye Cruel World.mp3
03-The Wall (Disc 2)
-----01 Hey You.mp3
-----02 Is There Anybody Out There.mp3
-----03 Nobody Home.mp3
-----04 Vera.mp3
-----05 Bring The Boys Back Home.mp3
-----06 Comfortably Numb.mp3
-----07 The Show Must Go On.mp3
-----08 In The Flesh.mp3
-----09 Run Like Hell.mp3
-----10 Waiting For The Worms.mp3
-----11 Stop.mp3
-----12 The Trial.mp3
-----13 Outside The Wall.mp3
04-Wish You Were Here
-----01 Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 1).mp3
-----02 Welcome to the Machine.mp3
-----03 Have A Cigar.mp3
-----04 Wish You Were Here.mp3
-----05 Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 2).mp3
05-Yield
-----01 Brain Of J.mp3
-----02 Faithful.mp3
-----03 No Way.mp3
-----04 Given To Fly.mp3
-----05 Wishlist.mp3
-----06 Pilate.mp3
-----07 Do The Evolution.mp3
-----08 Untitled.mp3
-----09 MFC.mp3
-----10 Low Light.mp3
-----11 In Hiding.mp3
-----12 Push Me, Pull Me.mp3
-----13 All Those Yesterdays.mp3
06-No Code
-----01 Sometimes.mp3
-----02 Hail, Hail.mp3
-----03 Who You Are.mp3
-----04 In My Tree.mp3
-----05 Smile.mp3
-----06 Off He Goes.mp3
-----07 Habit.mp3
-----08 Red Mosquito.mp3
-----09 Lukin.mp3
-----10 Present Tense.mp3
-----11 Mankind.mp3
-----12 I'm Open.mp3
-----13 Around The Bend.mp3
07-Vs
-----01 Go.mp3
-----02 Animal.mp3
-----03 Daughter.mp3
-----04 Glorified G.mp3
-----05 Dissident.mp3
-----06 W.M.A..mp3
-----07 Blood.mp3
-----08 Rearviewmirror.mp3
-----09 Rats.mp3
-----10 Elderly Woman Behind The Counter.mp3
-----11 Leash.mp3
-----12 Indifference.mp3
08-Vitalogy
-----01 Last Exit.mp3
-----02 Spin The Black Circle.mp3
-----03 Not For You.mp3
-----04 Tremor Christ.mp3
-----05 Nothingman.mp3
-----06 Whipping.mp3
-----07 Pry, To.mp3
-----08 Corduroy.mp3
-----09 Bugs.mp3
-----10 Satan's Bed.mp3
-----11 Better Man.mp3
-----12 Aye Davanita.mp3
-----13 Immortality.mp3
-----14 Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me.mp3
09-Binaural
-----01 Breakerfall.mp3
-----02 Gods' Dice.mp3
-----03 Evacuation.mp3
-----04 Light Years.mp3
-----05 Nothing As It Seems.mp3
-----06 Thin Air.mp3
-----07 Insignificance.mp3
-----08 Of The Girl.mp3
-----09 Grievance.mp3
-----10 Rival.mp3
-----11 Sleight Of Hand.mp3
-----12 Soon Forget.mp3
-----13 Parting Ways.mp3

In the above example TR07-008 would be Rearviewmirror by Pearl Jam, TR04-005 would be Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 2) by Pink Floyd, and so on. Any questions?

 

Wow thats an incredibly detailed description, thanx!

Not exactly the way i wanted it to work but better than having to put all the songs on the root of the CD.

Ohh and its also not a very expensive feature to add. The Ford Focus has an optional MP3 headunit which displays all the information you would want. Interesting to see a company like MINI not thinking ahead.

Do the engineers not test this stuff and want more out of it?

 

Engineers ?!?!?
You're forgetting about the Bean-Counters.

 

I too would rather have ID3 tag information used in the display. Maybe if we ***** enough to MINI they'll come up with some sort of firmware update. Anyone know who manufactures the standard stereos for MINI?

 

This car costs probably more per inch than any car twice its size, i doubt bean counters really car about a small peice of software added to the stereo. I'd gladly give up 1 milimeter of sound detoning(sp?) to get ID3 support. If your going to add Mp3 functionality then do it right.

I'm all up to start another petition!

 

Thanks, Avitor, for a detailed description. I had an aftermarket MP3 player (a Blaupunkt) in my last car and organized my folders and files just the way you described, so it sounds like all my discs should play fine. (Damn - wish it displayed ID3 tag info, though!)

Anyway, I do have a question. I'm assuming the answer is "yes" but I'd just like to be sure...

I assume there's no problem with multi-session CDs or with CD-RWs or anything like that?

My wife and I will be driving our new car across the country from Cleveland, OH, to Sacramento, CA, and I want to make sure I won't have brought along a case full of coasters!

Thanks!

 

I assume that this is only on the new (2005) headunit! I never thought about trying it with the 04. Anyone know before I try?

 

04's cannot read MP3 CD's...

 

How do you put folders on your CD's? I usually use itunes, but I would something else if I could make folders on my MP3 CD's.

Thanx

 

I use Roxio, Nero, and Alcohol 100%. I have yet to burn CDs with iTunes or Winamp Pro, but the only reason you wouldn't be able to use folders with them would be bad programming on the part of their respective developers. I'd double check the iTunes documentation and see if there's anything about it there. If not Nero and Roxio both have user friendly products, Roxio's being more novice friendly I think. And Alcohol is a very powerful tool for both burning and ISO making.

 

a car twice its size would cost the same per inch if it were twice the price, or 40,000...considering an elise is not twice its size and costs 40k+, that statement cannot be right...not to mention boxsters, 911s, etc etc

 

I had NO idea the HK headunit on the 05 supports mp3. LOL YAY!!!!!!!!

 

Will the '05's, (with the standard radio package) support MP3's? I didn't get the upgraded radio.

Thanks,
keith

 

If you want the super cheap and easy way (if you have XP at least) just put a blank CD-R in, choose the open as a writeable folder or something like that, make folders as you would normally, drag MP3's into the folders as you would normally in windows, once you are done hit burn. MP3 CD's are just standard data CD's so you really don't need anything fancy for the burning.

Then again I'm old school so I've converted every CD I've owned for the past 6+ years and have everything in folders sorted by artist. I actually can't stand iTunes so I try to use it as little as possible.

 

Actually, that's what this thread is about. Both head units on '05s support MP3 data discs on CD-R.

 

Thanks, just wanted to be sure.

keith