The ability to play audio tracks from a USB stick plugged into the socket in the centre console seems to be a real boon. Others have drawn attention to the lack of inclusion of a CD player but since it is easy to copy CDs (or indeed your ITunes library) onto a USB stick that can be left plugged in permanently (preferably a 'low-profile' version that will take up virtually no space in the cubby) and which is very robust.
The USB needs to be -
· formatted to FAT 32 and audio files must be .mp3 format
. the minimum bitrate of the files must be 128kbps (there is no max), and
· it is more efficient if the number of folders not be huge!
However, you can encounter some issues. Firstly, copied tracks will normally appear in the USB track list by order of the date of the file rather than alphabetically which can make it difficult to locate a particular track n the list. I have previously posted a solution to this which rearranges your folders i.e. artist/albums etc and the individual tracks contained therein) into alphabetical order (see http://discosportforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=200&p=1532#p1532.
But, if like me, you wish to play a list of tracks selected from those by different artists or albums (either sequentially or, if you press the shuffle tracks icon, in random order, you will need to produce a 'Playlist file'. A playlist can, for example, play only your favourite tracks of an album or your favourite songs, tracks for the kids or - spare me! - Christmas songs. They can also be useful to ensure that you play individual movements of a classical work in the correct order. You can, of course, have any number of different playlist files.
Such a playlist file needs to be in .m3u format and located in the root folder of the USB. It is essentially a form of text file that lists the tracks to play by location. Fortunately, it is very easy to compile such playlists files and there are many different freebie programs available for download. The one which I use very successfully is Playlist Creator 3.6.2 - this is available (for Windows) from http://www.oddgravity.de/.
The USB needs to be -
· formatted to FAT 32 and audio files must be .mp3 format
. the minimum bitrate of the files must be 128kbps (there is no max), and
· it is more efficient if the number of folders not be huge!
However, you can encounter some issues. Firstly, copied tracks will normally appear in the USB track list by order of the date of the file rather than alphabetically which can make it difficult to locate a particular track n the list. I have previously posted a solution to this which rearranges your folders i.e. artist/albums etc and the individual tracks contained therein) into alphabetical order (see http://discosportforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=200&p=1532#p1532.
But, if like me, you wish to play a list of tracks selected from those by different artists or albums (either sequentially or, if you press the shuffle tracks icon, in random order, you will need to produce a 'Playlist file'. A playlist can, for example, play only your favourite tracks of an album or your favourite songs, tracks for the kids or - spare me! - Christmas songs. They can also be useful to ensure that you play individual movements of a classical work in the correct order. You can, of course, have any number of different playlist files.
Such a playlist file needs to be in .m3u format and located in the root folder of the USB. It is essentially a form of text file that lists the tracks to play by location. Fortunately, it is very easy to compile such playlists files and there are many different freebie programs available for download. The one which I use very successfully is Playlist Creator 3.6.2 - this is available (for Windows) from http://www.oddgravity.de/.