NOOB instructions for music on USB

EDF30 · 05-04-2013, 05:18 PM

Guys I need help. I am getting a new AH3 with the new Nav system/teck package and need some help on loading a 16GB USB stick with music.

I am fairly computer literate, but know very little about digital music files.

So I understand I need to format my USB with FAT32 yes?

So I have CDs I can use for some of my music, also will download music from online sites.

I want to put the best audio quality possible, and would like to also have album art. From some threads here, I understand Windows Media Player can create lossless files, and MP3tag can embed album art, but not sure of the steps I need to take and in what order.

Could someone give me tips on what to do, and in what order. Imagine you are talking to grandpa about this.

DJHakim · 05-06-2013, 01:28 AM

I've lost a lot of hair in the last few weeks trying to figure it all out. After much trial/error, this is what I found out. BMW is *very* finicky when it comes to showing album art (AA)!

A. You may need to used the USB External Device (or BT stream)
(1) BMW HDD does not support AA (AA is not displayed). I hope this is a software limitation fixed w/ update.

(2) BMW HDD does not support bit rates above 256 kbps (files with higher bit rates get skipped). See the printed F30 Navigation/Entertainment manual (p. 51, top/right).

(3) WMA Lossless is the highest quality WMA file. Bit rates are at least 470 kbps. So, BMW HDD does NOT play Lossless WMA. (Save argument of why one needs such a high bitrate for another thread. My database is mostly Lossless for archiving purposes and I don't want to have to compress my whole library just for my BMW!)

(4) BMW won't play DRM/protected files, so do not rip with copyright protection.

So, if you want to play Lossless WMA + display AA, you *must* play music from External Device.

How To
(1) Rip your CDs to WMA Lossless. Win Med Player (WMP) 12 is one option I know works. I recommend 1 album per folder for easy AA management. Make sure CD/album info is accurate so it rips with correct info.

(2) If AA does not show in WMP or your CD/WMA player automatically, then add it. You may need to search web for correct image. discog.com is great resource for accurate AA. MediaMonkey is a great music organizer that can verify that AA is assigned to WMA. I use it after I rip with WMP 12. WMP 12 WILL NOT guarantee AA is linked to music files even if it displays the AA.

[AFAIK, you cannot embed AA in WMA. (You can in MP3.) Instead, a WMA player looks for a hidden system image file in same directory as music file.]

(3) Copy whole album folders or nested folders to external device. This will take the hidden AA files with music.

(4) Guarantee (AGAIN!) that the music copied to external device has AA assigned. (This is the finicky part. Even if you copy the whole folder, complete with hidden AA files, BWM won't display the art most of the time.) At this point, I HIGHLY recommend using MediaMonkey to scan the files on your external device. If it shows the art, then BMW will display it. In my case, I had to re-assign most AA after copying to USB, even though the image files were still there. (In Win7, I had to enable Show Hidden/System files to see the AA files. MediaMonkey will let you re-add AA in batch using the hidden “Folder.jpg” AA file in each album directory. You have to do it 1 album at a time, though.

(5) After verifying that MediaMonkey sees all AA for each music file on external device, just plug in device into BMW armrest port and play on.

Supposedly, all this is easier with MP3, since AA can be embedded in the tag. There is no Lossless MP3, though.

EDF30 · 05-06-2013, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJHakim

I've lost a lot of hair in the last few weeks trying to figure it all out. After much trial/error, this is what I found out. BMW is *very* finicky when it comes to showing album art (AA)!

A. You may need to used the USB External Device (or BT stream)
(1) BMW HDD does not support AA (AA is not displayed). I hope this is a software limitation fixed w/ update.

(2) BMW HDD does not support bit rates above 256 kbps (files with higher bit rates get skipped). See the printed F30 Navigation/Entertainment manual (p. 51, top/right).

(3) WMA Lossless is the highest quality WMA file. Bit rates are at least 470 kbps. So, BMW HDD does NOT play Lossless WMA. (Save argument of why one needs such a high bitrate for another thread. My database is mostly Lossless for archiving purposes and I don't want to have to compress my whole library just for my BMW!)

(4) BMW won't play DRM/protected files, so do not rip with copyright protection.

So, if you want to play Lossless WMA + display AA, you *must* play music from External Device.

How To
(1) Rip your CDs to WMA Lossless. Win Med Player (WMP) 12 is one option I know works. I recommend 1 album per folder for easy AA management. Make sure CD/album info is accurate so it rips with correct info.

(2) If AA does not show in WMP or your CD/WMA player automatically, then add it. You may need to search web for correct image. discog.com is great resource for accurate AA. MediaMonkey is a great music organizer that can verify that AA is assigned to WMA. I use it after I rip with WMP 12. WMP 12 WILL NOT guarantee AA is linked to music files even if it displays the AA.

[AFAIK, you cannot embed AA in WMA. (You can in MP3.) Instead, a WMA player looks for a hidden system image file in same directory as music file.]

(3) Copy whole album folders or nested folders to external device. This will take the hidden AA files with music.

(4) Guarantee (AGAIN!) that the music copied to external device has AA assigned. (This is the finicky part. Even if you copy the whole folder, complete with hidden AA files, BWM won't display the art most of the time.) At this point, I HIGHLY recommend using MediaMonkey to scan the files on your external device. If it shows the art, then BMW will display it. In my case, I had to re-assign most AA after copying to USB, even though the image files were still there. (In Win7, I had to enable Show Hidden/System files to see the AA files. MediaMonkey will let you re-add AA in batch using the hidden “Folder.jpg” AA file in each album directory. You have to do it 1 album at a time, though.

(5) After verifying that MediaMonkey sees all AA for each music file on external device, just plug in device into BMW armrest port and play on.

Supposedly, all this is easier with MP3, since AA can be embedded in the tag. There is no Lossless MP3, though.

Thanks for all the tips!

05-04-2013, 05:18 PM	#1
EDF30 New Member 0 Rep 16 Posts Drives: UDM's Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: CA iTrader: (0)	NOOB instructions for music on USB Guys I need help. I am getting a new AH3 with the new Nav system/teck package and need some help on loading a 16GB USB stick with music. I am fairly computer literate, but know very little about digital music files. So I understand I need to format my USB with FAT32 yes? So I have CDs I can use for some of my music, also will download music from online sites. I want to put the best audio quality possible, and would like to also have album art. From some threads here, I understand Windows Media Player can create lossless files, and MP3tag can embed album art, but not sure of the steps I need to take and in what order. Could someone give me tips on what to do, and in what order. Imagine you are talking to grandpa about this.
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05-06-2013, 01:28 AM	#2
DJHakim First Lieutenant 23 Rep 366 Posts Drives: 330i xDrive Join Date: May 2006 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	I've lost a lot of hair in the last few weeks trying to figure it all out. After much trial/error, this is what I found out. BMW is very finicky when it comes to showing album art (AA)! A. You may need to used the USB External Device (or BT stream) (1) BMW HDD does not support AA (AA is not displayed). I hope this is a software limitation fixed w/ update. (2) BMW HDD does not support bit rates above 256 kbps (files with higher bit rates get skipped). See the printed F30 Navigation/Entertainment manual (p. 51, top/right). (3) WMA Lossless is the highest quality WMA file. Bit rates are at least 470 kbps. So, BMW HDD does NOT play Lossless WMA. (Save argument of why one needs such a high bitrate for another thread. My database is mostly Lossless for archiving purposes and I don't want to have to compress my whole library just for my BMW!) (4) BMW won't play DRM/protected files, so do not rip with copyright protection. *So, if you want to play Lossless WMA + display AA, you must* play music from External Device.** How To (1) Rip your CDs to WMA Lossless. Win Med Player (WMP) 12 is one option I know works. I recommend 1 album per folder for easy AA management. Make sure CD/album info is accurate so it rips with correct info. (2) If AA does not show in WMP or your CD/WMA player automatically, then add it. You may need to search web for correct image. discog.com is great resource for accurate AA. MediaMonkey is a great music organizer that can verify that AA is assigned to WMA. I use it after I rip with WMP 12. WMP 12 WILL NOT guarantee AA is linked to music files even if it displays the AA. [AFAIK, you cannot embed AA in WMA. (You can in MP3.) Instead, a WMA player looks for a hidden system image file in same directory as music file.] (3) Copy whole album folders or nested folders to external device. This will take the hidden AA files with music. (4) Guarantee (AGAIN!) that the music copied to external device has AA assigned. (This is the finicky part. Even if you copy the whole folder, complete with hidden AA files, BWM won't display the art most of the time.) At this point, I HIGHLY recommend using MediaMonkey to scan the files on your external device. If it shows the art, then BMW will display it. In my case, I had to re-assign most AA after copying to USB, even though the image files were still there. (In Win7, I had to enable Show Hidden/System files to see the AA files. MediaMonkey will let you re-add AA in batch using the hidden “Folder.jpg” AA file in each album directory. You have to do it 1 album at a time, though. (5) After verifying that MediaMonkey sees all AA for each music file on external device, just plug in device into BMW armrest port and play on. Supposedly, all this is easier with MP3, since AA can be embedded in the tag. There is no Lossless MP3, though. __________________ F34 (2019 330xi): Luxury, ZCV, Nav, ABSD, Alp White F34 (2016 328xi): Nav, ZDA, Alp White F30 (2013 328xi): ZCP, Nav, PDC, Alarm, Shades, GS Metal [Ret] E90 (2009 328xi): ZCP, iDrive, BMW Assist, PDC, Alarm, Shades, SG Metal [Ret] E90 (2006 325xi): ZSP, ZCP, iDrive, BMW Assist, PDC, CA, Xenons, Shades, CrO3 Exhaust, TiAg Metal [Ret]
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