Mp3-cd Or Ipod

[TonyDownunder]

Since getting my IS250 I have been converting all my CDs to MP3 files/folders and burning them 10 folders (CDs) at a time to MP3-CDs. That means about 60 CDs equivalent in the IS250 MM stacker at a time. Doing this via iTunes means automatic folder and track naming. Absolutely foolproof

I also have an iPod, but have not yet invested in a car charger or good quality audio cable. Should I bother? Is the iPod sound any better? Am I missing anything?

I would be more keen if the iPod integrated properly!!

All advice welcome.

[Kazi]

Since getting my IS250 I have been converting all my CDs to MP3 files/folders and burning them 10 folders (CDs) at a time to MP3-CDs. That means about 60 CDs equivalent in the IS250 MM stacker at a time. Doing this via iTunes means automatic folder and track naming. Absolutely foolproof

I also have an iPod, but have not yet invested in a car charger or good quality audio cable. Should I bother? Is the iPod sound any better? Am I missing anything?

I would be more keen if the iPod integrated properly!!

All advice welcome.

I would not bother. If you have the option to play mp3 discs already then its all expense which you don't need.

[scott]

Since getting my IS250 I have been converting all my CDs to MP3 files/folders and burning them 10 folders (CDs) at a time to MP3-CDs. That means about 60 CDs equivalent in the IS250 MM stacker at a time. Doing this via iTunes means automatic folder and track naming. Absolutely foolproof

I also have an iPod, but have not yet invested in a car charger or good quality audio cable. Should I bother? Is the iPod sound any better? Am I missing anything?

I would be more keen if the iPod integrated properly!!

All advice welcome.

I've been burning the CDs as well but have now got fed up with constantly changing CDs. So I'm going to go back to my iPod and get a decent cable/charger.

It can't be long before someone brings out proper integration.

Sound wise, it all depends on what bit rate your MP3's are burnt at. From iTunes you can put your music on to the iPod using the same bit rate as the CD. So, that leaves you with the cable as a possible source of sound degradation.

I used the iPod/cassette adaptor in my IS300 and was perfectly happy with the sound quality.

The only downside of the iPod over the CD route is you lose the track names. If only we could figure out how to play a DVD full of MP3s.

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

I think Saracen will be along soon...

He's got a good IPOD charger which fits in perfectly...

[Mr Morse]

There are a number of commercially available adaptors that allow you to control the iPOD menu thru the head unit - Buslink for one

[Carlos B]

I burn in WMA format @ 128, which seems to compress further than MP3, and don't seem to notice any difference in quality :D Infact I'd say playback in the car is better than on my MP3 player so I'm definately not going cable hunting.

[Ellz]

B)-->

QUOTE(Carlos B @ Mar 8 2006, 07:39 PM) ←

I burn in WMA format @ 128, which seems to compress further than MP3, and don't seem to notice any difference in quality :D Infact I'd say playback in the car is better than on my MP3 player so I'm definately not going cable hunting.

If this is in the is250 you might have the dvd player, this might play music dvd's, blank ones hold upto 5 gig ive got an aftermarket headunit in my is200 so ive got bout 1000 songs on at the moment but only taking up about 2 gig on a 5 gig disc.

:D :D

[Carlos B]

No DVD/MM upgrade in mine, standard setup good enough for me. I'm writing to RW CD's so about 700Mb. Multiply that up for the 6 disks and you've a good bit of room for plenty of music. I really like the way you can organise the folders too, makes it real easy to find what you want to listen to without having to fiddle about with an ipod/mp3 player plugged in the aux socket.

[saracen]

I think Saracen will be along soon...

He's got a good IPOD charger which fits in perfectly...

And as if by magic...

I have a 60Gb iPod video and for Christmas my Dad bought me a Belkin cable and in car Charger. The cable works a treat, just switch MM unit to Aux, set iPod on Shuffle and away you go. OK so it would be nicer to be able to have better integration but for now I am happy. To just correct Jamboo I have a charger but it does not fit perfectly, because of the height of the charger while in the socket the armrest does not close fully. I recall Tango having a charger that fit much better. I have only used my charger once, when my iPod ran out of juice, after a particularly long trip away. I have Bose Sounddock which means that it usually has a pretty full charge.

I currently have 34Gb of music on the iPod which is way more music than you could hope to have on a set of MP3 Cds.

I have a couple of MP3 cds which I burned just to test the MM unit out but to be honest they never get used.

[rap03]

Hi all.

Yep. One of the first things I tried when I got my baby home was the MP3 CDs and tried playing songs through the "Ipod Connection"

MP3 CDs didn't sound as good as the real CDs but then I have seen for notes here in the forums to change settings on the write of the CDs.

Tried to make MP3 DVDs which work fine on the computer but not in the ML system. So, sent an email to the ML group who are looking into it. Still awaiting a reply. Must be about 2 weeks now.

As for the Ipod connection, have tried my PDA and all works fine. Sound is a little softer. Again, maybe the setting when you write you do the writes/conversions.

Again, you have to use your PDA/Ipod/MP3 player to play the music.

Wouldn't it be great if they just had included a USB/mini USB port and changed the system to read from your external media devices.

Noticed on one of our TV shows (Beyond Tomorrow) that some car stereo makers have now included a USB port on the front of the stereos that will accept things like "thumb drives".

Maybe next release of the IS.......

[Koenardinho]

USB would be the perfect solution indeed. That way, the iPod would get its power through the usb connection, so no need for an adapter. Nice and clean solution.

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

Guys,

whilst you can't play MP3's on DVD's in the MLS, you can I believe play DVD Audio. Has anyone tried this?

You obviously need burning software to enable this - any freebies/shareware software available? The OEM DVD Audio burning software costs as mush as an Ipod!

[scott]

Guys,

whilst you can't play MP3's on DVD's in the MLS, you can I believe play DVD Audio. Has anyone tried this?

You obviously need burning software to enable this - any freebies/shareware software available? The OEM DVD Audio burning software costs as mush as an Ipod!

I've not managed to find anything that is free and burns DVD Audio and I'm on a Mac which doesn't help :)

I did successfully burn a DVD containing audio using Toast 7. You get a track listing via DVD menu(s) but it doesn't help when you're driving as the screen turns off. Also the DVD track names still show as Track1, Track2 etc on the Audio screen.

[bedrock]

I have the standard CD player (not MM) and i've been playing MP3 CD's, which work great, but every time i turn the ignition off and on again, i have to hit the 'TEXT' button to get back round to displaying the track title from the IDv3 tags.

It always seems to default to showing disc/folder/file information, is there any way you can default it to display the IDv3 track titles without having to press the 'TEXT' button all the time?

--

bedrock

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

Guys,

whilst you can't play MP3's on DVD's in the MLS, you can I believe play DVD Audio. Has anyone tried this?

You obviously need burning software to enable this - any freebies/shareware software available? The OEM DVD Audio burning software costs as mush as an Ipod!

I've not managed to find anything that is free and burns DVD Audio and I'm on a Mac which doesn't help :)

I did successfully burn a DVD containing audio using Toast 7. You get a track listing via DVD menu(s) but it doesn't help when you're driving as the screen turns off. Also the DVD track names still show as Track1, Track2 etc on the Audio screen.

Cheers Scott, I'll have a look at "Toast" (makes me hungry)

BTW - my car is at the dealers...I get it next Saturday (work in the way at the mo) with a bit of luck...WTS!

[scott]

BTW - my car is at the dealers...I get it next Saturday (work in the way at the mo) with a bit of luck...WTS!

Fantastic news Jamboo! I dunno how you can wait, me, I'd be picking it up asap!!

[Scarlet Pimpernell]

BTW - my car is at the dealers...I get it next Saturday (work in the way at the mo) with a bit of luck...WTS!

Fantastic news Jamboo! I dunno how you can wait, me, I'd be picking it up asap!!

Customers...commitments....making hay while the sun shines...

Can't wait...I'm all ready other than for work getting in the way!

You're right...trawled the net, no sharewares yet for DVD Audio...I have Roxio 6, but that does not have DVD audio facility. Oh well...

I have about 10gb's worth of MP3...may just invest in an iPod...and use some MP3 CD's too...

[scott]

BTW - my car is at the dealers...I get it next Saturday (work in the way at the mo) with a bit of luck...WTS!

Fantastic news Jamboo! I dunno how you can wait, me, I'd be picking it up asap!!

Customers...commitments....making hay while the sun shines...

Can't wait...I'm all ready other than for work getting in the way!

You're right...trawled the net, no sharewares yet for DVD Audio...I have Roxio 6, but that does not have DVD audio facility. Oh well...

I have about 10gb's worth of MP3...may just invest in an iPod...and use some MP3 CD's too...

I'd hold fire on the iPod until after april 1st. There's likely to be a big announcement as it's Apples 30th birthday and there may well be a new iPod.

[NetOne]

I've not managed to find anything that is free and burns DVD Audio and I'm on a Mac which doesn't help :)

You're right...trawled the net, no sharewares yet for DVD Audio...I have Roxio 6, but that does not have DVD audio facility. Oh well...

There are plenty of softwares that create DVD Audio, and it's free if you know where is VDOWN as my Avatar indicated. Some of the softwares are Goland Audio DVD Creator, Sonic DVD Audio Creator, Minnetonka DiscWelder & Adobe Audition etc

But I find Goland Audio DVD Creator to be working better. If anyone needs it or has any software/computer issue you can PM me as it's not related to Lex I guess.