Playback problems from USB stick

[msitter]

I am probably one of the most digitally challenged people here and I got it to work on several different flash drives with no problems and on the first try. I converted about 150 CD's to MP3 files and saved them in Itunes. I then had Itunes sync with the flash drive. Technically I have no clue why it worked but it did. I did create a playlist because all of the music was 15.8 gb and the drive was 8 gb. It put everything in alphabetical order and that is the way it shows on the display. Unless you are trying for some trick result that should at least get music into your car.

 

[mikec]

Can anyone who is not having problems post an example of the exact file structure you'd recommend? I thought it had to be folder/song like "Black Keys/01-10am Automatic" something like that, in the root drive. I'm having the random advancing issue that has been mentioned, but other than that I like the feature...

Not sure what you're asking. I used plain old Windows Media Player to make files from my music CDs, and I have MP3 files from another source. All were copied to a USB memory stick formatted in regular FAT32. Use Windows to format the memory stick; even though almost all of them come pre-formatted some manufacturers put "extra stuff" in the format that isn't quite FAT32 compliant... and that can cause problems. That stuff won't do whatever it was supposed to do on the Lexicon A/V system anyway. Then I created normal directories (folders) by artist or group name, and sometimes sub-directories/sub-folders if I had multiple CD albums for that artist... just like you'd naturally do to organize stuff in Windows. My 2009 Tech package Lexicon has no problems walking through the directory trees and playing the audio files it finds. I don't use "random" play; I've never tried it so I don't know how well it works on my car.

Of course, if you like to select music for playback by genre... the Genesis flunks that one. Whatever "sorting" you did while making the subdirectories is all you'll get. No way to say "play all hard rock files" and have the Lexicon scan all directories for such files. The Lexicon doesn't read any of the "tag" fields possible in MP3 files; all it knows are the directory, filename, and the music itself. Those tags are often used for genre sorting... won't work in the Genesis.

mike c.

 

[Onedurwho]

I just bought a 16g and loaded it straight from explorer. Didn't need to format (already done)...just Drug folders from "my music" folder to "external mass storage device" drive, dropped, and done. Have had no problem.......yet.

 

[IronRed]

i formatted my thumbdrive. then paid attention to the last song played when the skipping occured and deleted them. i had an isue once more with the skipping, but since my last post, i haven't had any additional issues.

 

[homeofstone]

I use a 16gig USB cruiser drive. I check the files closely before it goes in the car, making sure there are no junk files on the drive. Man I bet we could have all kind of problems if a virus ever gets into the Genesis system.

 

[Onedurwho]

The 16g cruiser..same one I use...no problems...

 

[12genesis]

I have both a 128GB SSD in an encloser and 64GB memory stick... both of which I can get work.

1) In both cases if I put too many MP3s in a directory (I think just over 1000) then the system will report that the drive can not be recognized. Is anyone aware of any limitations on files per directory?

2) Is there a way to randomize songs across the entire drive / across mutliple folders? The manual indicates that it can not be done.

3) Is there a way to make the system think an IPOD is attached so playlists work over USB? i.e. by setting up folders / special files that the system reads simliar to using an IPOD.

4) Has anyone tried ripping the files from DVD-Audio disc and putting them on the USB and get it to work?

With a large song collection I can't seem to find a way to organize the music to make it easily accessible given how slow the system moves through directories on the display. If I have over a 500 "artist" directories then I can't get to anything past the first 30 without giving up.

I could live with just randomizing over genre, but then I run into problem #1 above, where the drive will not be recognized by the system if I put over a 1000 songs in a directory.

I also thought about folders along the lines of genre/artist, but then I run into issue #2, where I can't randomize across all the artists.

I'm curious if others have this working. I read others reporting that getting the systems firmware upgraded fixed several problems, especially related to detecting USB devices.

I'm using the 2012 with DIS system.

 

[QuantumRift]

Rather than trying to STUFF all songs on ONE USB stick and get the accompanying problems, why not just SUBDIVIDE the music you have by genre, or artist or theme or whatever. Just carry several sticks and just change them when necessary.....make it as simple or as complex as you want.

 

[12genesis]

I'm looking to get a variety of music without having to change the USB stick or folders all the time. It won't matter if I put it on multiple USB sticks as I would have to dig through dozens if not more memory sticks to get what I want and even then I would probably still run into one or more of the same problems I listed.

Ultimately, I would like easy access directly to a particular artist and the ability to randomize the entire collection.

If I can't randomize the entire collection I would likely utilize directories with the following format "genre/file xxxxx - xxxxx" in increments of 1000 for directories with 1000 songs per directory for randomizing.

Second, given the speed of the head unit I would probably use directories in the following format genre/alphabet folders/artist/album for direct access to an album. Although I think even this would be too slow to access given the size of my collection.


Has anyone compiled a list of USB folder structure limitations and problems encountered if exceeded...
1) Max number of files overall?
2) Max number of files per directory?
1000 file limit (not fully confirmed) which if exceeded causes the USB device to appear as though it is not available/attached to the head unit.
3) Max number of folders in any folder level, root or subfolder?
4) Max number of folder levels?
5) Does the speed of the head unit change if too many files / folders are at any given folder level? If quantity has an impact, when does the system begin to encounter slow downs. I noticed with >400 or so artist folders at the root level that the head unit has a significant pauses in updating the next list of directory names when quickly scrolling. It took about 5 minutes to scroll from the top of the list to the bottom of the list. Does the speed of the head unit significantly change/increase if I restrict the number of folders to some amount? Does 40 folders or files behave the same as 400 folders or files?

I'll try some experiments, but it may take some time. If others have figured this out, it would be great to know the limitations of the head unit with USB devices.

 

[QuantumRift]

Unless you can get into the OS, you seem to have FOUND the limitations. Good luck.

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[12genesis]

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[12genesis]

I certainly have not found the limitations I need to make an optimized folder structure. I do want to find out when/where the system begins to degrade and where it begins to fail as my questions pose. I expect the system has some failure related restrictions. I have only found the one case where the system fails, but I expect there are others. The system also has performance related issues. I also expect the system can only buffer so many lists and might have to go outside any caching mechanisms which will cause the performance to degrade. It may be possible to setup up my folder structure to maximize perfomance, such that system is usable. If performance changes significantly going from 40 to 50 folders, that would be good to know.

Although I haven't tried the folder structures I mentioned in the previous post, I'm hopeful I can find one that will work. I've tried the directory structure genre/artist/album and I see a huge performace hit with the artist folder and is completely unusable, which is why I might try adding the alphabet subfolders before artist. I've seen other car head units that only allow 4 subdirectory levels. If I have the same limitation on this head unit, then I don't think I can find a solution.

 

[Ruissimo]

Hmm... I'm not sure I even own 500 albums, let alone thousands, so I haven't run into your issue. For *MY* purposes, I limit everything on my USB drive to 8: 8 Genres, with up to 8 Artists each, with up to 8 Albums each, with as many songs as I want in each Album. The reason 8 is the magical number is so that I don't have to ever scroll to a second page - much easier that way.

As for your issue... does voice control work?

VOICE CONTROL - DISC and AUX mode

Selecting a disc directly
You can use the command “Disc ...(1-6)” to skip to the selected disc and automatically start playback. See also “Selecting a disc” on page 287 in the section “Operating examples”.

Next/previous folder
You can use the command “Next folder” or “Previous folder” to skip to the start of the next or previous folder and automatically start playback.
> Press the VOICE COMMAND button on the steering wheel and say the desired command after the signal tone. The system starts playback of the corresponding folder.

Skipping tracks forwards/backwards
You can use the command “Next track” or “Previous track” to skip to the start of the next or previous track and automatically start playback.
> Press the VOICE COMMAND button on the steering wheel and say the desired command after the signal tone. The system starts playback of the corresponding track.

Selecting a track directly
You can use the command “Track ...(1-99)” to skip directly to a specific track. Playback of the track starts automatically. See also “Selecting a track” on page 287 in the section “Operating examples”.

Random Song function
You can use the comand “Random song” to activate the following functions:
> Random play of all tracks (audio disc or USB playback only)
> Shuffle song function (iPod® playback only)

IMPORTANT: In the case of audio DVDs, random play is restricted to the tracks in the currently active group.

> To activate the Random Song function: Press the VOICE COMMAND button on the steering wheel and say the command “Random song” after the signal tone. The function will be activated.

> To deactivate the Random Song function: Press the VOICE COMMAND button on the steering wheel and say the command
“Random stop”. The function will be deactivated.

 

[12genesis]

Thanks I'll check into the voice commands and see if they provide any additional functionality. That is once I get my car back from the shop. My head unit may not be working correctly since it locks up when the car gets hot as it has been during past week where I live.

 

[12genesis]

Thanks Ruissimo.
Voice command "Random song" did the trick, it seems to randomize across songs across multiple folders. With the "random song" command issued, I randomly checked songs in various folders throughout my music collection and each song had the "random track" ticked. I don't know why Hyundai didn't put that capability into the menus. Well at least on my '12 head unit the "random track" function in the on screen menus woud only randomize songs in the one folder and would not traverse sub-folders.

I then read up on the "random song" voice command in this forum. Other threads were indicating that it will only randomizes a certain number of songs. I will have to check and see if this issue was fixed in my generation of head unit. Does anyone know more details on the restrictions/behavior of the "random song" voice command function? If a randomization limitation exists, does it always pick the same set of random songs or can you re-randomize a new set of songs by issuing the "random stop" and "random song" commands? I know issuing a new "random song" command while it is already playing randomly does nothing.

 

[Addison33]

Mmmmm may be this is problem in your computer's USB slot because sometime this is the problem is create and your USB drive is not recognizes by the windows so you should make this first and then try again..........