Missing your in-car CD player?

[KT23]

As I have a couple of 64GB USB Sticks with over 7,000 tracks on each this could be a challenge !!!! ... However, I also have a programme called MP3tag which will name the tracks for you. It will also rename the filename as well if you wish. Suggest you have a look at it - I'll report back on what I find is the best naming convention for my needs in case that helps anyone else.

OK - replying to myself!

I've just tried using MP3tag and this seems to be a reasonable compromise, although has the issue as described of a scrolling track title with all of the information on it. It does however solve the problem of track alphabetic title order irrespective of album.

What I did as a test was to:
a) Copy the real track title into the comment field - this was to keep the original title of the track in case I needed to get it back by itself.
b) Rename the track title using the 'Convert' function of MP3tag to be in the following order
<Album Name> <Disc Number> <Album Artist> <Track Number> <Title> using the following formulae

%album% - %discnumber% - %albumartist% - $num(%track%,3) - %title%

If there is no <Disc Number> this displays as a blank and does not cause an issue in the track sequence in the car. The <Track Number> is formatted to show leading zeroes and works up to 999 tracks on any album - should be enough for most people!!

I think what I will do is copy the albums I want to another folder on my computer and apply the renaming process to the copies keeping the original naming as that shows up better on the music player I use on my PC - MusicBee.

Hope this helps people and if there is anything that needs further explanation, I'll be pleased to try and help.

 

[Rolfe]

Sorry, I wrote this and didn't actually post it, before you posted your last update.

What sort of music is on these tracks, and how do you ensure the ones that need to play in a particular order do that?

I'm starting from scratch as it's about 14 years since I loaded my iPod up with stuff. That's all in .m4a format, and at the time I didn't get massively picky about track names in favour of shoving it all into playlists and ignoring what was on the iPod's screen. I've acquired more CDs since then, and change is a good thing. So I'm ripping my CDs again from scratch as .mp3s.

What I'm doing with the filenames and artists' names is quite bespoke. The alphanumeric code that ensures the tracks play in the right order is standardised and presumably could be automated, but I'm copying text from online librettos to populate the rest of the track name, and changing the artists' names to be the names of the actual people singing on that particular track. There's no way to do that other than check the libretto to see which characters sing in that section of the music, and type in the names from the CD's own booklet. (Usually GraceNotes only gives the two main stars' names, followed by "etc", followed by the conductor, orchestra and chorus, same for every track. Leading, for example, to a duet between Ramón Vinay and Gré Brouwenstijn showing the names "Astrid Varnay, Ramón Vinay" as it plays. This is not implausible, just wrong. Astrid Varnay is singing a different role in the opera, and she's not even on the stage at that point. This annoys me, so I change it.)

But this is probably not that relevant to most people wanting to get a USB that will simply play what they want in the order that they want it. For that, all you need is the standardised alphanumeric code added at the beginning of the track name, and that could presumably be automated quite well. So do report on how you get on.

 

[KT23]

My tracks are basically from either ripped CD's of mine or downloaded albums - all in mp3 format. Most of the CD's are the usual 10-20 tracks per album style, although some are multi CD sets hence me including a disc number in the format. On my media server I have 2,357 albums so multiply that by about 15 tracks on average per album and you can see why I would automate it !!!

MP3tag is a very useful programme and very flexible and powerful once you get to know it. It also has a facility to rename the various mp3 tags based on input from a text file which might be useful fo what you are trying to do. I think it could probably be used to add the alphanumeric code in front of a track name which now I think about it could allow you to have a shorter track title so not have the scrolling issue on the display. I'll have a play with that idea and let you know how I get on.

If this helps here is an example of a rename I did in my testing

 

[Rolfe]

That is extremely similar to what I did, although I tried to use fewer characters for the text that precedes the track number to minimise unnecessary scrolling.

I've included the conductor's name in the album title for the Parsifal because I might import another performance of that. But if I do that I'll have to add an L to the alphanumeric code to differentiate it.

 

[KT23]

That is extremely similar to what I did, although I tried to use fewer characters for the text that precedes the track number to minimise unnecessary scrolling.

View attachment 17332
I've included the conductor's name in the album title for the Parsifal because I might import another performance of that. But if I do that I'll have to add an L to the alphanumeric code to differentiate it.

I see. Because I have a number of Albums that are 'Essentials' and 'Best Of' of a particular artist, I thought adding the artist in the 'title string' would help keep them together in the list in the car, rather than all of the track 1, track 2, etc being grouped together.

 

[Rolfe]

You could try abbreviations.

I'm finding it's quite easy to rename these things by copying everything but the last digit and just typing that. To rename your tracks with fewer characters you'd just have to have something like "ESS -LBT" on your clipboard and paste that over the longer text you have now. That is, if you can't automate it completely.

I get rid of the disc number when I'm formatting for the USB. The music is free from the limitations of CD length then, so who cares? I just keep the track numbering going. That Orfeo was actually two CDs and the Parsifal was four, but why does the USB care? The Ring that I showed the end of earlier was 12 CDs, but I just numbered the tracks 001 to 191.

I'm doing the Solti Lohengrin at the moment and it's a piece of cake. Four CDs but only 38 tracks in total. Orfeo was a pain with so many short tracks.

This is just to let you see what I'm doing. The top of the screenshot is iTunes, the Library -> Songs view. The bottom is a web page with the entire German text of Lohengrin. The first 12 tracks are done - these were CD1. The rest have only had the track number added to the name, in order to get them back in the right order (and I removed the colon that was originally between "Wagner" and "Lohengrin" just in the interests of minimising the number of characters scrolling). Since "Wagner Lohengrin" was already the start of the track name I didn't have to add that.

Tracks 13 on are still waiting to have their track names, artists' names and album fixed.

Track 13 simply needs the dash and the colon deleted. Tracks 14 on will have the unnecessary act no removed, and the text replaced by copy/paste from the libretto text below, to remove the annoying capitalisations and to add more text in cases (such as tracks 15 and 17) where the text entered by GraceNotes is too short.

I will also check who is actually singing on these tracks and replace the artists' names. Track 14 is a good example. GraceNotes credits the entire opera to "Plácido Domingo, Jessye Norman Etc." However the names of the characters below reveal that the people actually singing at that point are Siegmund Nimsgern and Eva Randová. I didn't bother changing this when importing CDs to iTunes in the past because I didn't usually stare at the iPod while it was playing, and my previous car only displayed track names. Seeing the names "Plácido Domingo" and "Jessye Norman" scrolling while listening to Siegmund Nimsgern and Eva Randová is quite annoying. Nobody in their right mind could mistake Siegmund Nimsgern, a bass-baritone, for Plácido Domingo, a tenor.

I've also changed the album name to include the conductor, as I have another CD set of the same opera which I may add later (although if I do I will have to differentiate the beginning of the track names). Even if I don't, having it in the album name as displayed reminds me which performance I'm listening to.

This is what can't really be automated. I realise it's extreme overkill to most people, but then I think all the car-cleaning rituals other people do are extreme overkill! It does give me quiet satisfaction to be able to look at the infotainment screen and know that the text and the artists' names that are displayed are correct.

Changing the artists' names does cause iTunes to go a bit doolally as regards what it sees as an "album", but since I don't care what iTunes thinks is an album - if I put these .mp3s on to my iPod the operas will be kept together as playlists - it doesn't bother me.

 

[google1901]

Oops a daisy! Have you tried plugging in (usb) detachable cd player?

 

[crl84]

Don't all you lot have Spotify?

You realise there's literally millions of songs that Spotify doesn't have?
I've over 100 albums/EPs downloaded in the 2000s that aren't on there....

 

[Rolfe]

If the 1953 Keilberth Ring from Bayreuth is on Spotify I'll eat my iPod. The CDs cost me £75.

Oops a daisy! Have you tried plugging in (usb) detachable cd player?

What, into the car? Yes, I reported upthread that I'd tried it in the interests of research, and the car didn't recognise it as a sound source. (I am of course using that plugged into the computer to rip the CDs.)

 

[google1901]

I have a lot of CDs. I've never tried to count them. Some I treasure, some should probably go in the bin. I'm just transferring the ones I'm likely to want to listen to in the car on a long journey. So far I have about 22 hours of music on that stick, which should get me a long way. I have a few more lined up to import when I get round to it.

It's actually quite quick to do once you get the hang of it. Although I'd still be pretty pleased if MG would release an upgrade to allow a couple of directory layers, simply to make finding the work I want easier. However, since I go in for long operas, oratorios and suchlike, all I have to do is find the first file and let it go.

In the interests of research I tried plugging my USB CD player directly into the car, but the car didn't recognise it. It wouldn't have been very practical anyway, because I'd have had to pull over and park every time I wanted to change the CD.

I'll say it again, I'm loving listening to music in this car, and I don't think it's because the sound system is anything special, but because the noise of the ICE is no longer interfering with listening.

I just wonder,with cd player (attached via Android phone & Poweramp app) then (as per link into Android Auto) would be successful?
nb... I'm waiting on USB adapter to test this out

 

[Rolfe]

I don't see the point in trying to connect an external CD player. At least with a player that's part of the car you can eject a CD and post the next one in while driving, without taking your eyes off the road more than momentarily. With an external one you'd have to park up to change the CD. That's if the player would even stay put on the shelf.

Even with the integral CD player it was less satisfactory than simply starting a playlist and letting it get on with it. I was only using the CD player in my last car because the iPod in the car had become corrupted and I didn't have the sense to eject it and fix it. (Ironically that iPod is now playing .mp3s in the MG4, just as if it was an ordinary USB stick, while I keep modifying the USB stick I intend to use permanently. It's back to functionality as an iPod though.)

 

[Ian Key]

There is another way to get album tracks to play in order and that is to join them together into one track with Audacity

 

[Rolfe]

That's an interesting one I hadn't thought about. I do use Audacity. I'm sorted for the moment, but I might look into it later.

The only downside I can think of is that if you have a long piece of music, have you lost all track information that way? I'm thinking about the situation where you're somewhere in scene 3 of Das Rheingold (Das Rheingold is a continuous piece of music which lasts for 2½ hours) when for whatever reason you lose your place. With the tracks still being separate files on the USB stick it's not so hard to find where you were, but if it was a single 2½ hour track, that might be an issue.

 

[Ian Key]

Hmmm. That could be slightly frustrating as it also has a habit of starting from the beginning of the track every time you get back into the car.

 

[Cocijo]

I have not read the complete thread - but you can get in car cd players that will either plug into usb or connect wirelessly. Wouldn’t this be a simpler option for those insistent on clinging on to the past?

 

[Rolfe]

I don't see how wanting to listen to the music you have paid for in CD format, but doing this by converting the CD files to something that will play on a USB stick, can be described as "clinging to the past".

I did try plugging my USB CD player in to the car just in the interests of research, and the car did not want to know. It didn't recognise it as a source. Even if it had, this would not have been a satisfactory option, first because I have doubts about whether the player would stay put on the top of the central storage box where it would have to sit, at least not without the application of some Blu-tak, but also because you'd have to park up to change the CD.

It's far more satisfactory to have the music all on one stick and arranged so that once you've started your opera, oratorio, symphony or playlist, it will go right on playing for hours without needing any further attention. I'm very very pleased with how it's working now. Having folders would be nice because it would seem more organised, and it would save unnecessary characters scrolling at the start of each track, but I'm a happy bunny.

 

[Cocijo]

I don't see how wanting to listen to the music you have paid for in CD format, but doing this by converting the CD files to something that will play on a USB stick, can be described as "clinging to the past".

I did try plugging my USB CD player in to the car just in the interests of research, and the car did not want to know. It didn't recognise it as a source. Even if it had, this would not have been a satisfactory option, first because I have doubts about whether the player would stay put on the top of the central storage box where it would have to sit, at least not without the application of some Blu-tak, but also because you'd have to park up to change the CD.

It's far more satisfactory to have the music all on one stick and arranged so that once you've started your opera, oratorio, symphony or playlist, it will go right on playing for hours without needing any further attention. I'm very very pleased with how it's working now. Having folders would be nice because it would seem more organised, and it would save unnecessary characters scrolling at the start of each track, but I'm a happy bu

Different views - I really just like being able to stream anything that takes my fancy and have everything just work. I binned my cd collection a long time ago. Each to their own.

 

[Rolfe]

It's fine either way. As it happens, the phone I have at the moment doesn't support Android Auto so I'm not in a position to be streaming anything until I upgrade it. But even when I do, there are places without good mobile phone reception, what I want may not be available to stream, and why pay all over again when you have the music already?

It will be interesting to see if my habits change once I have a new phone, but in any case the security of knowing that I have a USB stick full of what I want to listen to is reassuring.

 

[Spaniard]

Well, so apart from the fact that the system can play folders in the right order, I found today that it can perfectly play AAC files:
Just change the extension from m4a/mp4 to .aac and it will play and use embedded data
It also plays flac and ape files, so I don't need to mess anymore with my library and structure of folders/files

My system was far mor simplistic than @Rolfe 's one. Beethoven's symphonies folders were named 1, 2...9 and the content are also just numbers for the movements. I do not need to worry anymore to even convert them to mp3!

Are you sure the SE cannot show the folders?

If your iPod can play the files using .aac extension, you have the solution

Different views - I really just like being able to stream anything that takes my fancy and have everything just work. I binned my cd collection a long time ago. Each to their own.

Bluetooth streaming has an awful perceptual compression that ruins high frequencies and mess stereo. Now that we have a very silent car and big storage let's enjoy the music in losless formats!

 

[Rolfe]

Well, so apart from the fact that the system can play folders in the right order, I found today that it can perfectly play AAC files:
Just change the extension from m4a/mp4 to .aac and it will play and use embedded data
It also plays flac and ape files, so I don't need to mess anymore with my library and structure of folders/files

My system was far mor simplistic than @Rolfe 's one. Beethoven's symphonies folders were named 1, 2...9 and the content are also just numbers for the movements. I do not need to worry anymore to even convert them to mp3!

Are you sure the SE cannot show the folders?

If your iPod can play the files using .aac extension, you have the solution

Yes, it appears that only the Trophy can handle nested folders. I still feel this is likely to be a bug in the SE software rather than a deliberate, malicious punishment for not shelling out for the heated leather seats etc.

I think your solution will work for the Trophy, but given the lack of folders I don't see how it will work for the SE. Unless or until MG fix the bug in the SE version, we have to cope with it as it is.

I'm at least taking the opportunity to fix the embedded text so that it shows the proper information, rather than the fudge provided by GraceNotes, as described above. I didn't bother before because I was never in the position of having the embedded text unroll before my eyes as I listened to the music. (My Golf only displayed the track names, not the artist information, and although this wasn't always perfect I could live with it.) In fact this is the time-consuming part. It's pretty quick to import the CDs as .mp3 files and add the alphanumeric code to make the tracks play in order without folders. But there's a certain satisfaction to picking through the embedded text to get it right.

Bluetooth streaming has an awful perceptual compression that ruins high frequencies and mess stereo. Now that we have a very silent car and big storage let's enjoy the music in losless formats!

I've never used Bluetooth streaming, actually. There is another thread where my lack of understanding that even without Android Auto, the phone would communicate with the car via Bluetooth, was laid bare.

I've been very much struck by how the lack of ICE noise has improved my listening experience in the car. Tracks I had already listened to several times took on a new dimension as I realised I could hear the articulation and the diction in a way I hadn't heard before. I doubt that the MG4's sound system is better than my GTi's system, but it sounds better for this reason.

I'm picky. It may be that I would appreciate a speaker upgrade as some other posters have commented on. But at the moment it sounds good in comparison to what I've been used to. I was slightly wincing at (I think) Elisabeth Speiser's voice, thinking it was a bit hard on top and wondering if it was the MG4's fault, and then on the next track Janet Baker came on and I knew it was not the MG4's fault. She sounded fabulous.

I hate compressed sound files with a fiery passion. I sometimes wonder if even the .mp3 is good enough. I have a set of DVDs where someone has compressed the sound to get more on the disc, and it's the weirdest thing. Passages with sparse orchestration and a solo singer who isn't giving it welly sound fine. And then the orchestra ramps it up or the singer gives it the can belto treatment, and it sounds horrible.

I have a feeling I am not going to get on well with Bluetooth streaming if it's as you describe.

Another point that occurred to me against using a plug-in CD player in the car (if you could find one the car would even talk to) is safety of your CDs. They're robust, much more so than LPs, but they're not indestructable. I had to take several back into the house for cleaning when they started acting up, and in the end found that one of them had been slightly scratched and one track no longer played properly. I was vexed about that.

Now the CDs are all safe in their boxes in the house, and iTunes even fixed the scratched track so that it now plays OK from the USB.