A few SD card questions

[Gabbo]

Has anyone played music recorded as .m4a in True VBR (peak higher than 320 kbit/s) from SD card without any problems? Would ease my mind if I got it confirmed  :sun:

 

Svensken, I can try out some files for you if you would like to confirm that they will play. ((I have Colombus & use a 32Gb SDHC card to play my files)

Send me a PM & I can send you my private email.

If you send me a couple of songs of different types you want me to try I can give you some feedback.

[Svensken]

Thanks Gabbo - really nice of you!

 

I'm playing it safe and will rip in a lower bitrate to avoid any compatibility issues. It was a bit overkill to rip that high bitrate anyway.

Thanks anyway 

[chelon]

Quick update on this. I had a loan Octavia while my car was in getting a few things done and guess what - my SD card played perfectly. Firmware versions are:-

 

My car - 0435

 

Loan car - 0421

 

Anyone know why this would be?

[JJJ66]

My card is class 10, but says the transfer rate is 20MB/s

 

I didn't go for a faster card since this is only going to be used for playing tunes in the car. Anyone know if the read speed could cause this issue? As I say it plays perfectly from the card on the laptop.

I've got a Sandisk UltraSD  XCI 64 Gb class 10 card rated 30MB/s.

I'm not losing any part of the music, but it is putting a gap of about a second or maybe slightly less between tracks. Which may not sound much, but I listen to a fair bit of jazz and improvisational music, and when you're listening to a lovely flowing jammed transition between compositions, to have that flow abruptly derailed by a sudden and extarneous pause is more than a little jarring.

Looking at one particular case, they are 256Mb CBR mp3s (amazon freebies of something I bought on CD) - and they work fine on my Transcend digital player, and indeed on Winamp on my PC.

It also won't even recognise flac files, but I suspect it may only reconise flagged files if they are suitably tagged with metadata, so that's my next tack on the flac front.

 

Given the suggestion that it may be a case of checking other speeds/qualities of card, I did also stick some of the "offending" mp3 tracks and also a flact track on an old (certainly pre-2009) cheap'n'cheerful 2Gb card, but to no avail with either the mp3 gaps or the flac files.

I really don't fancy having to edit all the offending MP3 files to combine the offending cases into single tracks with no scope for a gap to appear.

[chelon]

JJJ66 - see my post above. Looks like the software rev of the Bolero is definitely the issue. I've batted it back to the dealer (who is thoroughly bemused) for a fix; waiting for his reply...

[JJJ66]

Thanks for that. So OK, how I do check the firmware version?

[JJJ66]

Ah, found it! Yes I have v0435 as well.

[K4neX]

Hi guys, hope someone could help. Can you setup playlists in the SD card and play the songs in the order you want? Thanks!

[tjn2060]

ok help urgently needed with new system of music on SD cards.... I hope someone can explain in fairly simple terms as well!

 

Just got the car on Friday 31.10.14, its fitted with Amundsen.

I have a mini mac, itunes and copied albums from the stored location on external drive and pasted to the SD card.

I put card in 2nd SD slot.

Unit sees music - albums & track titles, but says error unable to read 'm4a' (or something very similar).

What exactly do I need to do as I cannot see anything about the format in the manual (and even if I did not sure I would know how to change......)

 

(missing my 6 CD changer right now but on the plus side have found Absolute 80s on Dab a reasonable stop gap for evening driving listening!)

[JungleJames]

Looked up m4a. Seemingly its an Apple thing.

 

When i chucked music onto the SD card, I copied it all from Windows Media player. So probably similar to MP3.

 

So I guess Amundsen doesnt like Apple and its file types. If you chuck m4a into Yahoo, there seems to be some idea of how to convert the files. Unfortunately i'm no expert, and Itunes has long since vanished off my computer. Hardly touch the ipod now.

 

Sorry couldnt be much help, but Yahoo seems to be pretty good for info on converting files

[JungleJames]

Looked up m4a. Seemingly its an Apple thing.

 

When i chucked music onto the SD card, I copied it all from Windows Media player. So probably similar to MP3.

 

So I guess Amundsen doesnt like Apple and its file types. If you chuck m4a into Yahoo, there seems to be some idea of how to convert the files. Unfortunately i'm no expert, and Itunes has long since vanished off my computer. Hardly touch the ipod now.

 

Sorry couldnt be much help, but Yahoo seems to be pretty good for info on converting files

To add to this, if its any help at all, the music files on my computer are windows media files (.wma) and they play ok on Amundsen via an SD card.

Edited 5 November, 2014 by JungleJames

[Mort]

For every m4a file on your SD card the Mac Mini will have created a duplicate file (named the same but starting with '._' ). These are the files it can't play. You'll have to delete these hidden files from the card if you want to make it easy for yourself in the car.

 

If you're familiar with the Terminal then you can do this with pretty much one command. If not, then it's an arduous process without an app to help.

[TomLux]

Unit sees music - albums & track titles, but says error unable to read 'm4a' (or something very similar).

What exactly do I need to do as I cannot see anything about the format in the manual (and even if I did not sure I would know how to change......)

I had the same problem on my Radio unit in the VW Scirocco. I had to convert the tracks to aac (within itunes). The reason being that the m4a file stores your itunes ID (open file with a text editor and you'll see your user ID). Apparently the unit cannot handle some of the other "non music" information in the file.

I'm not sure if converting to mp3, etc. does the same trick. (as for the Bolero..Still waiting for my VRS so can't tell if it's the same.)

 

To be honest I think the solution is a bit daft: I have the Dynaudio system in my Scirocco so converting a compressed file and then play it on a "better" system kinda defies the point. But then the exhaust sound in the Scirocco messes with the music anyways ;-)

[tjn2060]

For every m4a file on your SD card the Mac Mini will have created a duplicate file (named the same but starting with '._' ). These are the files it can't play. You'll have to delete these hidden files from the card if you want to make it easy for yourself in the car.

 

If you're familiar with the Terminal then you can do this with pretty much one command. If not, then it's an arduous process without an app to help.

thank you for your clear explaination, I have no idea about 'the Terminal' so spent a bit of time looking at itunes and found I can convert to mp3 etc. A quick trial of the SD card this morning looks like its worked althought it takes one hell-of-a long time to get the album to play in the car.

[Mort]

I copied my iTunes library in m4a over in the same way you did and removed all the hidden files using the Terminal.

 

Playing the songs works quickly, it's just the horrible interface for navigating through them that takes all the time. Although I've filled a 32GB SD card for the car I'm still using bluetooth from the lower quality rips on my iPhone as it's so much easier to find a track than using the Bolero screen.

[JJJ66]

JJJ66 - see my post above. Looks like the software rev of the Bolero is definitely the issue. I've batted it back to the dealer (who is thoroughly bemused) for a fix; waiting for his reply...

Having moaned about this to the salesman in August, but been busy ever since, I asked the service guys for an update when I needed to pop in to the dealers in mid-January. It would seem that the salesman had not passed the issue on to the service guys, as they had no record of it. So, they booked a day to have my car to deal with this, which was today (I was going away for a couple of weeks so it had to be booked for about 3 weeks ahead.)

 

So, having dropped off the car this morning and picked up a Citigo courtesy car, I ended up chasing them at 3.45 for an update. Apparently they had exchanged a couple of messages today with Skoda UK Technical, who confirmed that flac is no longer a supported fle type on the Bolero, and that gapless playing is not (or no longer) supported on the Bolero. No explanation why, no suggestion that they're looking to reinstate it in the future, just "we've changed the firmware and it doesn't do everything it used to. Tough."

 

Now I'm not going to pretend for a minute that I bought the car because it would play flac files, but since I have several thousand hours of music in flac and don't tend to use mp3s, it was definitely a plus point when I saw the Bolero played flac. And I rather figured that whatever format I played music files in, the player wouldn't insert gaps that weren't there. I think it's fairly crappy cutomer service by Skoda UK.

 

I also think it's fairly crappy service by the dealer - aside from the original non-reporting of the issue, when they did get around to logging it, they had the thick end of 3 weeks to talk to SUK about it. From the sounds of it, the explanation took about 2 or 3 e-mails. Given they had all the details from me, including the two different firmware numbers, and that probably the first thing they were going to have to do anyway was contact SUK Technical, they could have pinged off an e-mail to SUK 3 weeks ago, got it all sorted in next to no time and let me know long before today. Instead, I have to go out of my way to get to the dealers, go through all the paperwork for a loan car, get to work slightly late, chase up a response by phone, leave work a bit early so I get there before they close, then get caught up in the rush hour traffic, all for a problem that didn't need me or my car to be there in the first place.

[chelon]

JJJ66 - found myself smiling as I read your post - my dealer here has spun me an almost identical line. "We need to take the car in for the day cos once we start to look at an issue like this it involves pinging constant emails to Skoda and they will guide us in troubleshooting." It's pathetic - reading your post above I really don't think I'll bother.

 

Btw I get the issue on MP3s as well.

[JJJ66]

I think I'll just bung SUK an e-mail saying how disappointed I am with the effects of the firmware upgrade. I expect it will make three-fifths of two-sevenths of b*gger-all difference, but I sort of feel obliged to register my dismay.

And yes, mp3s or even wavs it introduces gaps which shouldn't be there. Grrr!

[borchgrevink]

Is the navigation interface any better for large collections on the Columbus? Also, the Columbus still plays flac?

[Yogi-Bear]

Is the navigation interface any better for large collections on the Columbus? Also, the Columbus still plays flac?

 

Only in so much as the screen is bigger, so you see more on the screen at any one time - the interface is exactly the same.

 

And yes, I believe the Columbus does play flac, but don't take my word for it as I don't use flac so have never tried it out.

[philwoodphoto]

And yes, I believe the Columbus does play flac, but don't take my word for it as I don't use flac so have never tried it out.

It does indeed play flac.

[robs12]

It does indeed play flac.

 

Yes it does, thank heaven....but based on the posts above...for how much longer..!?

Edited 10 February, 2015 by robs12

[steve1k]

What is the largest SD card anyone has used in the Amundsen ????

[Yogi-Bear]

What is the largest SD card anyone has used in the Amundsen ????

 

24mm x 32mm - you won't get anything bigger in the slot.

 

(sorry, couldn't resist)

[steve1k]

24mm x 32mm - you won't get anything bigger in the slot.

 

(sorry, couldn't resist)

Ok refrase the question, what is the largest size gigabit sd card anyone has used in the Amundsen