Mp3 CD's in the M5 - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

abster · 20th November 2005, 20:26

I tried to play a CD with MP's in the car. It won't read them? What's the trick?

I put files in folders as well as the root dir but nothing was read in either case!

Thanks!

Tim_M · 20th November 2005, 20:37

It needs to be a 2006 car, or have the software upgraded to the latest version, otherwise the drive doesn't seem to be particularly fussy as to file formats or naming conventions. What are you using to burn the CD? It only plays through the in-dash CD not the changer.

I keep meaning to put the results of my experiments down on paper, but just haven't got round to it yet.

Tim

Digi · 20th November 2005, 20:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by abster

I tried to play a CD with MP's in the car. It won't read them? What's the trick?

I put files in folders as well as the root dir but nothing was read in either case!

Thanks!

I believe it will only read CD Recordable (R) media, not rewriteable (RW) media. Are you using CD R media?

Webby · 20th November 2005, 22:45

I use rewritable no problem 150 tracks as long as you burn it slow.

Tim_M · 20th November 2005, 23:06

Not all CDRW are the same. I've got some TDK media which the drive can't read.

Tim

Jessem · 20th November 2005, 23:34

I've created CD-RW & DVD+RW and played each in the CD & DVD drives respectively. I created both as data disks using Nero Express. I set them up with file folders at the artist level and a 2nd level for the album, then cutname.mp3.

All 3 levels of info are available on the idrive. 120 CDs worth of music on one DVD. Just can't use the nav when you use dvd.

abster · 21st November 2005, 16:19

I am using Imtation 40X CD-R's only.

How do I check the software version for my car. It is a 2006! Got it 5 days ago.

Tim_M · 21st November 2005, 16:21

What software did you use to burn the CD, and what disc format did you use?

Tim

hal2000 · 21st November 2005, 16:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim_M

What software did you use to burn the CD, and what disc format did you use?

Tim

for US owners it only works in the head unit not the changer

Tim_M · 21st November 2005, 16:29

That's the same in Europe too!

bernhtp · 21st November 2005, 16:31

I burned a CD-R by copying a bunch of MP3 files to it that were ripped with a number of different encoders. The in-dash CD player didn't recognize it on my week 38 2006 car. I would like to know:

1. What software level is required for mp3 play support.
2. How do you determine what the currently installed software level is? Is there iDrive function somewhere, hidden?
3. What are the requirements for burning such a CD? Besides the audio content files (mp3), what else is required, e.g., for associating text descriptions, etc.?
4. What tools and process are proven (per #3) to work?

Until we have the answers to these questions, we are shooting in the dark. Dealers don't know. I'm hoping that a technical BMW company lurker picks this up and responds, or someone has some helpful contacts.
Tom

Tim_M · 21st November 2005, 16:46

Tom,

As it is you I will spend the next couple of days putting together a definitive guide on how to get the best out of the in-dash CD drive. If you follow my directions you will:

1. Get up two 255 character track names
2. The tracks will be in the right order, without having to prefix the song names with numbers (looks untidy)
3. They'll sound fine and won't take up much space (the last CD I burned has 15 albums on it), and they will be created with the best possible encoder
4. The file and disc formats are proven to work

My car is a week 37 2006 M6 so I have the same sw level as you. AFAIK the only way to find out your software revision is too hook the car up to DIS in a BMW service bay.

Bear with me it will take most of this evening and a good part of tomorrow to put together a step by step guide.

Tim

Tim_M · 21st November 2005, 16:51

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that my CD didn't have any tracks in the root folder - it has 15 folders (1 for each original CD) each containing tracks.

I spent ages experimenting using different disc formats, ID3 tags (not really needed), lots of utilities, and about 15 CDRs until I got the results I was looking for.

Tim

bernhtp · 21st November 2005, 16:57

What OEM player does BMW use here? Is the decoding done by the player or by an iDrive audio control processor? Depending upon the answers, might this be documented on the web somewhere by the player OEM?

Tom