Bolero + MDI pictures

[K1W1]

Having the On-off / Volume knob on the wrong (left) side annoys me way more than the minor issue of the Mix which I hardly ever use anyway.

It's about time manufacturers did proper LHD - RHD conversions not just half hearted ones like most of them do.

[Dodgy]

They should allow the buttons/knobs to be assigned in software so the end user can decide which knob adjusts the volume and which does tuning etc.

[wardth]

.....and also if you can't tell the difference between 128KBPS and 320 you need your ears syringed! I use an MFD3 with MDI and a 160Gig iPod full of 320k MP3's. Works a treat.

Gave up on sorry SD cards ages ago. The implementation is crap IMHO.

[Evening Star]

.....and also if you can't tell the difference between 128KBPS and 320 you need your ears syringed! I use an MFD3 with MDI and a 160Gig iPod full of 320k MP3's. Works a treat.

Gave up on sorry SD cards ages ago. The implementation is crap IMHO.

Wha? Whoa! Thud!

[john999boy]

.....and also if you can't tell the difference between 128KBPS and 320 you need your ears syringed!

Gave up on sorry SD cards ages ago. The implementation is crap IMHO.

I'm always willing to be proved wrong (and maybe get my ears syringed) so thought I'd prepare for the challenge and see if I can tell the difference between listening to 128k & 320k tracks in the noisy environment of a car. I've put the same tracks in both bitrates onto an SD card and will try them asap but one thing I did notice was that the higher bitrate tracks take up 3.3x more space so consequently 3.3x less tracks........:(

I won't disagree with you about the standard SD card implementation though - playlists shouldn't be necessary for normal speedy operation - only for doing as the name suggests.

[Dodgy]

Most of the tracks in my SD collection are between 256 and 320, even at that bitrate, on a 16GB card i have a bewildering amount of choice. On my iPod I have even more music, but I always end up listening to the same favourite 20 or so albums.

[Evening Star]

I'm getting towards admitting defeat & trying to use a playlist!

Can someone tell me which format of playlist file do I use & where do I put it? eg: X:\Music (X - being the drive letter) or within the Music folder along with all of the other (Artists & Subfolders) folders.

[john999boy]

I'm getting towards admitting defeat & trying to use a playlist!

Can someone tell me which format of playlist file do I use & where do I put it? eg: X:\Music (X - being the drive letter) or within the Music folder along with all of the other (Artists & Subfolders) folders.

Steady on - does this mean that we've worn you down and you're moving across to the Dark Side?

Seriously though, have a read of this and hopefully you'll get the idea of what to do.

[Raglits]

I'm getting towards admitting defeat & trying to use a playlist!

Can someone tell me which format of playlist file do I use & where do I put it? eg: X:\Music (X - being the drive letter) or within the Music folder along with all of the other (Artists & Subfolders) folders.

NOOOO

I was banking on you getting the problem sorted out and then telling me what to do... Yes, I am a lazy sod

[krob2]

I have a L&K with the MDI and using an Ipod Classic

Seems to work well enough but I have reservations about how safe it is to use! The steering wheel controls only seem to allow you to move within the current folder - there doesn't seem to be a way to navigate around and change what you are listening to - guess I'll have to create some more playlists!! The button is there on the right hand side but does not do what you think it should ie change the selection.

[Evening Star]

I have a L&K with the MDI and using an Ipod Classic

Seems to work well enough but I have reservations about how safe it is to use! The steering wheel controls only seem to allow you to move within the current folder - there doesn't seem to be a way to navigate around and change what you are listening to - guess I'll have to create some more playlists!! The button is there on the right hand side but does not do what you think it should ie change the selection.

Select the shuffle setting in the Ipods main menus.

[vRSbloke]

Sorry to butt in with stupid question.........

I have specified MDI with my vRS, I know I will need to buy an iPod MDI cable (£25, I think). I assume that will give me full operability/functionality through the Bolero HU? I have a Gen2 30Gb IPod video (I think that is what it is anyway - bought in 2007). As for the SD slot, do I just buy a Class 6 SDHC card like this in order to give me more flexibility in what music I play? I understand I cannot put Itunes or protected files on this, but downloading CDs to my laptop and then dragging and dropping files onto the SDHC card should do the trick? - shouldn't it? Unless I am very very stupid!

[Evening Star]

Sorry to butt in with stupid question.........

I have specified MDI with my vRS, I know I will need to buy an iPod MDI cable (£25, I think). I assume that will give me full operability/functionality through the Bolero HU? I have a Gen2 30Gb IPod video (I think that is what it is anyway - bought in 2007). As for the SD slot, do I just buy a Class 6 SDHC card like this in order to give me more flexibility in what music I play? I understand I cannot put Itunes or protected files on this, but downloading CDs to my laptop and then dragging and dropping files onto the SDHC card should do the trick? - shouldn't it? Unless I am very very stupid!

Just buy the fastest & biggest card your Bolero will accept, the current limit is I believe 32Gb & you'll need to format it in FAT32 for it to be recognised.

If your PC won't allow you to do it, it may only offer you NTFS, then open the DOS Box and enter this command: format X: /FS:FAT32 ("X" being the drive letter of the drive that the card is in), it'll take an age between 2-6hrs, once that's done copy over all of your MP3 files to the card.

[Evening Star]

Right this is what I've done so far.

1/ Formatted a 16Gb Class 4 SDHC to FAT32 & a 250Gb WD USB HDD to FAT32 using the method that I mentioned previously (format X: /FS:FAT32)

2/ Opened Itunes (all tracks are recorded at 192kbps in MP3 format), selected all of the music tracks and created a Playlist called "On-The-Go 1" and transferred it to the SDHC card.

3/ Transferred (copied) the correct folder to the SDHC card (all 13,4Gb of it) & did a secondary copy on to a USB HDD as backup.

4/ Inserted it into the Bolero & Nah it won't play!

So what am I doing wrong? The playlist is there, the music is there in the correct folder(s); And it still won't play randomly.

Edited 5 April, 2010 by Evening Star

[john999boy]

Whatever is said about the SD card would also refer to the HD.

Just to confirm then Warren, have you started off with all your tracks at least 9 folders down in sub folders like this:- \1\2\3\4\5\6\7\8\9\10CC - The Best of the Early Years\01 Rubber Bullets.mp3?

If so, then have you also put a single mp3 in the root of the device together with the playlist called 'On-The-Go 1.m3u'?

If it still doesn't work can you post the first dozen lines of the playlist text for me to have a look at.

[Evening Star]

I can't open the playlist file, I've not got a editor.

Itunes & Winamp create them automatically.

[john999boy]

Notepad?

[Evening Star]

Ah yes it works! Here we go!

#EXTM3U

#EXTINF:252,The Living Daylights - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\Unknown Album\01 The Living Daylights.mp3

#EXTINF:228,Take On Me - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\title\16 Take On Me.mp3

#EXTINF:306,The Sun Always Shines On TV - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\album\The Sun Always Shines On TV.mp3

#EXTINF:231,Analogue (All I Want) - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\album\01 Analogue (All I Want).mp3

#EXTINF:255,Train of Thought [Remastered Version] - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\album\03 Train of Thought [Remastered Vers.mp3

#EXTINF:208,Caught In The Middle - A1

D:\New Itunes\Music\A1\title\01 Caught In The Middle.mp3

#EXTINF:294,Me and I - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\04 Me and I.mp3

#EXTINF:183,Arrival - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\15 Arrival.mp3

#EXTINF:185,Rock Me - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\17 Rock Me.mp3

#EXTINF:263,Happy New Year - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\06 Happy New Year.mp3

#EXTINF:231,Dancing Queen - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\01 Dancing Queen.mp3

#EXTINF:210,Summer Night City - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\01 Summer Night City.mp3

#EXTINF:346,The Visitors - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\01 The Visitors.mp3

#EXTINF:258,Angeleyes - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\02 Angeleyes.mp3

#EXTINF:242,Knowing Me, Knowing You - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\02 Knowing Me, Knowing You.mp3

#EXTINF:347,The Day Before You Came - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\03 The Day Before You Came.mp3

#EXTINF:244,Take A Chance On Me - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\03 Take A Chance On Me.mp3

#EXTINF:264,Eagle - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\04 Eagle.mp3

#EXTINF:213,Mamma Mia - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\04 Mamma Mia.mp3

#EXTINF:280,Soldiers - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\04 Soldiers.mp3

#EXTINF:196,I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\05 I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do.mp3

#EXTINF:323,I Let The Music Speak - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\05 I Let The Music Speak.mp3

#EXTINF:274,Lay All Your Love On Me - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\05 Lay All Your Love On Me.mp3

#EXTINF:254,Super Trouper - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\06 Super Trouper.mp3

#EXTINF:177,Honey, Honey - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\07 Honey, Honey.mp3

#EXTINF:284,I Have A Dream - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\07 I Have A Dream.mp3

#EXTINF:218,Two For The Price Of One - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\07 Two For The Price Of One.mp3

#EXTINF:233,Slipping Through My Fingers - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\08 Slipping Through My Fingers.mp3

#EXTINF:214,Like An Angel Passing Through My Room - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\09 Like An Angel Passing Through My.mp3

#EXTINF:188,Money, Money, Money - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\09 Money, Money, Money.mp3

#EXTINF:260,Our Last Summer - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\09 Our Last Summer.mp3

#EXTINF:219,On & On & On - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\10 On & On & On.mp3

#EXTINF:201,S.O.S - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\10 S.O.S.mp3

#EXTINF:326,Chiquitita - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\11 Chiquitita.mp3

#EXTINF:183,Ring Ring - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\11 Ring Ring.mp3

#EXTINF:253,Fernando - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\12 Fernando.mp3

#EXTINF:273,I Wonder (Departure) - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\12 I Wonder (Departure).mp3

#EXTINF:262,Voulez Vous - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\13 Voulez Vous.mp3

#EXTINF:288,Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\14 Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After.mp3

#EXTINF:227,Head Over Heels - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\14 Head Over Heels.mp3

#EXTINF:195,Does Your Mother Know - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\15 Does Your Mother Know.mp3

#EXTINF:238,One Of Us - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\16 One Of Us.mp3

#EXTINF:240,The Name Of The Game - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\17 The Name Of The Game.mp3

#EXTINF:224,Under Attack - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\18 Under Attack.mp3

#EXTINF:163,Waterloo - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\19 Waterloo.mp3

#EXTINF:196,When All Is Said And Done - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\19 When All Is Said And Done.mp3

#EXTINF:175,The Way Old Friends Do - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\20 The Way Old Friends Do.mp3

#EXTINF:231,Thank You For The Music - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\Thank You For The Music.mp3

#EXTINF:295,The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABBA\title\The Winner Takes It All.mp3

#EXTINF:263,When Smokey Sings - ABC

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABC\Album\11 When Smokey Sings.mp3

#EXTINF:285,All Of My Heart - ABC

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABC\Album\19 All Of My Heart.mp3

#EXTINF:209,The Look Of Love - ABC

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABC\Album\09 The Look Of Love.mp3

#EXTINF:206,Poison Arrow - ABC

D:\New Itunes\Music\ABC\Album\12 Poison Arrow.mp3

#EXTINF:201,How Long - Ace

D:\New Itunes\Music\Ace\title\18 How Long.mp3

#EXTINF:202,All That She Wants - Ace Of Base

D:\New Itunes\Music\Ace Of Base\Unknown Album\15 All That She Wants.mp3

[john999boy]

Each track needs to be in the format I mentioned earlier. There is a big difference in what you've posted and you've not nested the files correctly either. Also the playlist needs to be made from the SD card and not the computer.

[Evening Star]

Tried getting Itunes to create a playlist from both SDHC & USB HDD and it still won't work.

I guess I'll just give up as I haven't got the time to faff around with 2590 tracks of music.

At the end of the day it just goes to prove that I'm right about the Bolero in that it's generally crap; Which is a shame because that spoils an otherwise good car.

PS. When I get the stupid thing to find the playlist it then comes up on the screen that there's no audio files available & if that wasn't taking the **** it then starts playing files from the card.

Edited 5 April, 2010 by Evening Star

[Gooner4_1998]

Just to confirm then Warren, have you started off with all your tracks at least 9 folders down in sub folders like this:- \1\2\3\4\5\6\7\8\9\10CC - The Best of the Early Years\01 Rubber Bullets.mp3]?

If so, then have you also put a single mp3 in the root of the device together with the playlist called 'On-The-Go 1.m3u'?

Hi John999

Been reading this thread with interest whilst I wait for delivery of my new vRS and have a couple of qus.

How did you create the playlist that goes onto the root of the card?

Do you need to a single mp3 in the root at the card or one for each playlist you add? Does it matter which mp3 it is?!

If I am understanding this correctly, you will have a load of m3u files in the root and then assuming that you have each m3u as an album you will then have an equal number of folders that are in the format \1\2\3\4\5\6\7\8\9\10CC - The Best of the Early Years\01 Rubber Bullets.mp3. Or have I misunderstood and there is only one set of folders \1\2\3\4\5\6\7\8\9 and then each album goes into folder 9?

Thanks

[Evening Star]

If that's the case with 1195 different artists/groups I'd be at it for weeks. I think I'll be investing in another Ipod shortly.

[mr.nik]

I'll try and post a few pics.. I like the MDI + Ipod integration... it allows me to select artists, tracks etc. - seems ok to me... when i first plugged the ipod it it was already in "shuffle mode" (the ipod was) and the MDI just read it as-is and carried on playing it, with the ipod shuffling it.

I've since used the shuffle function on the MDI and it seems to work ok as well.. Only had the car a few days so can't give you a complete analysis but no complaints so far.

Why did I go for it? because a) I had the ipod with all my music on already I already have an itunes workflow for getting new songs and loading up the ipod and choosing the tracks I want and star-marking tracks etc. c) I can take the ipod with me when i leave the car.

I'll use the SD for music I collect outside of that workflow (e.g. while away from itunes, or recordings from songwriters I meet etc. :-) )

Haven't played with sound settings on the ipod yet - e.g. whether you can use the equaliser on the ipod to improve sound quality etc. whether you can use the volume-levelling function etc.

[M12MKD]

Sorry been busy not sure if this video helps with how the ipod connection helps at all sorry for the music

[john999boy]

How did you create the playlist that goes onto the root of the card?

Right, I'm now going to make some presumptions! Firstly that your album folders/tracks are in place and starting at least 9 folders deep. Also, you have a card reader on your PC and the slot where your SD card is placed is set up as drive letter G:

Open a DOS box by typing cmd into the 'Search Programs and Files' box (Windows 7) or however your version does it.

You will then have a prompt such as C:\Users\John>

Type G:

This gives a prompt of: G:\> which is the root of your SD card.

Type dir /a-d-h-s /b /s > Master.m3u

This, if you so wished, gives you a playlist of all the tracks on your SD card (called Master.m3u) that only requires a slight bit of modifying to work correctly.

To modify it you can use Notepad or any text editor and do a Search/Replace for all instances of G: which should now leave on each individual track a text line similar to:- \1\2\3\4\5\6\7\8\9\10CC - The Best of the Early Years\01 Rubber Bullets.mp3

If you have anything else in the root directory that show up in the Master.m3u file then it can be deleted - including the name of the single mp3 file.

Remember:- A playlist file is only a text file listing track names and locations. It must be exact names and locations though or there will be errors!

Do you need to a single mp3 in the root at the card or one for each playlist you add? Does it matter which mp3 it is?!

There just needs to be one mp3 file in the root and not one for each playlist. This is just because having all the other tracks 9 folders deep means that the Bolero will assume the card is faulty if it can't see at least one track to begin with.

If I am understanding this correctly, you will have a load of m3u files in the root and then assuming that you have each m3u as an album you will then have an equal number of folders that are in the format \1\2\3\4\5\6\7\8\9\10CC - The Best of the Early Years\01 Rubber Bullets.mp3. Or have I misunderstood and there is only one set of folders \1\2\3\4\5\6\7\8\9 and then each album goes into folder 9?

To get each individual Artist/Album Name.m3u you can cut/paste/save new m3u files from the Master.m3u file that was created earlier.

That means for each m3u file that you have, you should also have an associated folder with all those tracks inside it.

Yes, all the album folders (with the relevant album tracks inside) go into that folder.

If you look at youtube video (at 2m.55s) from polocoupe you will see how long he has to wait for his 1gb(!) SD card to load, (and then it doesn't appear to be working right). If playlists are created then the wait is all but negligible even with a 16gb card.

There is a program called Total Commander that makes the creation of folders/renaming/editing etc. all that much easier and I recommend that you have a look at it to assist you.

Ah yes it works! Here we go!

#EXTM3U

#EXTINF:252,The Living Daylights - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\Unknown Album\01 The Living Daylights.mp3

#EXTINF:228,Take On Me - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\title\16 Take On Me.mp3

#EXTINF:306,The Sun Always Shines On TV - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\album\The Sun Always Shines On TV.mp3

#EXTINF:231,Analogue (All I Want) - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\album\01 Analogue (All I Want).mp3

#EXTINF:255,Train of Thought [Remastered Version] - A-Ha

D:\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\album\03 Train of Thought [Remastered Vers.mp3

#EXTINF:208,Caught In The Middle - A1

D:\New Itunes\Music\A1\title\01 Caught In The Middle.mp3

#EXTINF:294,Me and I - ABBA

No it doesn't and this is what happens when you let other programs do what they think is best for you.

If this was to be a playlist it should have all the extraneous bits removed like:-

\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\Unknown Album\01 The Living Daylights.mp3

\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\title\16 Take On Me.mp3

\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\album\The Sun Always Shines On TV.mp3

\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\album\01 Analogue (All I Want).mp3

\New Itunes\Music\A-Ha\album\03 Train of Thought [Remastered Vers.mp3

\New Itunes\Music\A1\title\01 Caught In The Middle.mp3

Even though it's not the 9 folders deep that each album should be, you can see that even now there's disorder in that A-Ha has three album titles called Unknown Album, title and album and there's one other also called title from a group called A1.

Imagine if Evening Star continued with a similar naming convention for his 2590 tracks - total chaos!

If this is what iTunes does for you then I'm glad I don't use it!