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      11-20-2012, 10:08 AM   #1
MarkW83
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USB stick for audio

In anticipation of the delivery of my F30 with H/K, I've just bought one of these ridiculously tiny USB sticks (SanDisk) to put music on. Thought it would be a lot better than a normal 'stick-out' USB stick when stored in the armrest, and I've found this the easiest way to get music to and from the car, with album art etc. (in my E82).

They come in 8/16/32GB; I got a 16GB one for £7 inc. postage on eBay - bit of a steal really!

Just thought I would share...
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      11-20-2012, 11:44 AM   #2
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How big is the internal HDD again?

My F30 should be here in two weeks. I mainly listen to Sirius, but will probably dump a few key bands onto the hard drive.
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      11-20-2012, 02:31 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheObviousChild View Post
How big is the internal HDD again?

My F30 should be here in two weeks. I mainly listen to Sirius, but will probably dump a few key bands onto the hard drive.
Your issue with the car's HDD is that it doesn't rip from a CD at a decent bit rate AFAIK.

You're better off doing what the OP and I do, which is RIP to a WMA lossless or 320 rated file and store it on a USB. It will pick up album art too if done correctly, and the 32GB Sandisk I use is about half the size of a thumb.
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      11-20-2012, 03:14 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dabaitu View Post
Your issue with the car's HDD is that it doesn't rip from a CD at a decent bit rate AFAIK.

You're better off doing what the OP and I do, which is RIP to a WMA lossless or 320 rated file and store it on a USB. It will pick up album art too if done correctly, and the 32GB Sandisk I use is about half the size of a thumb.
Ahhh, so you can only get music on the HDD by ripping from the CD? I was hoping/expecting you could transfer from the USB. Oh well. USB it is!
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      11-22-2012, 10:23 AM   #5
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I threw a bunch of tunes (mp3) on my USB and the car doesn't see it. Is there a special package needed to play music off the USB?
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      11-22-2012, 10:26 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fshubert View Post
I threw a bunch of tunes (mp3) on my USB and the car doesn't see it. Is there a special package needed to play music off the USB?
You just need the USB audio interface AFAIK; are you plugging the USB drive into the port under the armrest (rather than in the glovebox)? If so, are they normal unprotected MP3s, and what format is the USB drive?
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      11-22-2012, 10:31 AM   #7
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Yup. Under armrest. All ripped mp3's (and some wma's) from CDs. Will try again. I get a message when I try to access the USB. Oh, and I'm using that USB drive (looks like the FOB) BMW sends you when you get a new car.
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      11-22-2012, 10:36 AM   #8
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Yup, I go to the menu for external devices and the USB logo is greyed out and next to it says "not supported". Must have needed to get some $2000 package for that feature.
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      11-22-2012, 02:17 PM   #9
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Nice find. I'll try getting one myself.

Update: Just found one on Amazon.com for 22 bucks, 32 gig!
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      11-22-2012, 03:09 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheObviousChild
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dabaitu View Post
Your issue with the car's HDD is that it doesn't rip from a CD at a decent bit rate AFAIK.

You're better off doing what the OP and I do, which is RIP to a WMA lossless or 320 rated file and store it on a USB. It will pick up album art too if done correctly, and the 32GB Sandisk I use is about half the size of a thumb.
Ahhh, so you can only get music on the HDD by ripping from the CD? I was hoping/expecting you could transfer from the USB. Oh well. USB it is!
You can import music from the USB in the glovebox directly to the HDD.

It takes a while (like 30mins for the 7gb I imported) but it works a treat. Album art is sadly not supported when playing for the HDD but that not important to me.
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      11-22-2012, 07:45 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fshubert View Post
Yup, I go to the menu for external devices and the USB logo is greyed out and next to it says "not supported". Must have needed to get some $2000 package for that feature.
Is the USB stick formatted FAT32? I don't think NTFS or exFAT are supported.

You may need the USB+Bluetooth option installed - not 100% though. Up here this came with the "BMW Assist" package ZWQ.
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      11-22-2012, 07:47 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheObviousChild View Post
Ahhh, so you can only get music on the HDD by ripping from the CD? I was hoping/expecting you could transfer from the USB. Oh well. USB it is!
You transfer music using the USB in the glovebox. The USB in the armrest is for playing directly.
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      11-23-2012, 07:25 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S-Dot View Post
Is the USB stick formatted FAT32? I don't think NTFS or exFAT are supported.

You may need the USB+Bluetooth option installed - not 100% though. Up here this came with the "BMW Assist" package ZWQ.
S-Dot, that was it! USB drive needed to be in FAT32 format. Thanks very much!
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      12-11-2012, 03:43 PM   #14
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I just bought a sandisk 16gb for $14.99 at Staples which is usually high priced. Does anybody else think that it's crazy that you can't download from an iPhone directly? That is has to go to a USB zip drive?

I thought it would be easy just to download from the ipod or iphone directly....but no.
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      12-12-2012, 11:40 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azzurro View Post
I just bought a sandisk 16gb for $14.99 at Staples which is usually high priced. Does anybody else think that it's crazy that you can't download from an iPhone directly? That is has to go to a USB zip drive?

I thought it would be easy just to download from the ipod or iphone directly....but no.
It's an issue with ipod/apple/itunes related music and copyrights. It's the same reason you can't transfer your music frmo and ipod to a computer, unles you do it with special ripping software.
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      12-12-2012, 12:40 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yepeztroncoso View Post
It's an issue with ipod/apple/itunes related music and copyrights. It's the same reason you can't transfer your music frmo and ipod to a computer, unles you do it with special ripping software.
Oh yeah......I knew there was a logical reason. How does Apple think MOST people get their music into iTunes? They don't buy ALL of their music from Apple.

In my case, I have bought ZERO music from Apple and ALL of the music I have in iTunes (and later transferred to my iPod, iPhone) came from my own files. Anyway..it's not that difficult to load up a USB zip which I did last night and it works just great.

Another pleasant surprise is how good the standard non HK stereo sounds. I am completely happy with it.
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      12-12-2012, 09:41 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vigalent View Post
You can import music from the USB in the glovebox directly to the HDD.

It takes a while (like 30mins for the 7gb I imported) but it works a treat. Album art is sadly not supported when playing for the HDD but that not important to me.
hey Vigalent, did you set up folders on the USB prior to transfer? ....and did the car keep them sorted?

Thanks!
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      12-13-2012, 12:57 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azzurro View Post
Another pleasant surprise is how good the standard non HK stereo sounds. I am completely happy with it.
Add a small sub/amp to it and it absolutely rocks way better than the HK if you ask me, and a heck of a lot less than 900 bucks
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      12-13-2012, 05:06 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by NateDog07V View Post
Add a small sub/amp to it and it absolutely rocks way better than the HK if you ask me, and a heck of a lot less than 900 bucks
I'll look into this. What did you add and who did it for you and what specifically did you add?

I called a couple of stereo places and they weren't too encouraging about upgrading the BMW because of the computer.
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      12-13-2012, 05:26 PM   #20
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I'll look into this. What did you add and who did it for you and what specifically did you add?

I called a couple of stereo places and they weren't too encouraging about upgrading the BMW because of the computer.
Did it myself... super easy actually since everything is in the trunk... took about 2 hours.. see my previous post inquiring about the gas door rattle for more info.. any more quesitons, just let me know but don't get tricked into buying a bunch of harnesses or paying someone 300+ to do a very straightforward install for you
http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=762033
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      12-14-2012, 10:21 AM   #21
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I also got the same stick after my car delivered. It is much smaller than I expected. First I was afraid to plug it in and can`t unplug again
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      12-16-2012, 12:20 AM   #22
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This thread reminded me that I do have a USB input. I have the HK system but no other tech options. So I tried it and it works great!
Basic iDrive screen shows 'artist' and song title. I used iTunes and loaded some mp3's. They sound much better than satellite radio.
Now I'm going to load up some .wav files.
Thanks for reminder.
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