camelot88
Well-Known Member
Re: iPod Interface
Hi,
This whole iPod saga has been a real frustrating ride for me.
I got the iPod interface installed upon purchase in my E93. It is the current "MOST" installation (i.e. iPod is in the glove box and plugs in via the iPod's data port and not the headphone socket.
I find this good if you have a small capacity ipod attached say 4 to 16GB. But if you want to bring along a larger music collection eg a fairly full iPod 80gb or 160gb, then there are limitations eg. the listing of songs etc. For example on my 160 GB iPod which has my whole CD colection about 10k songs, you can scroll artistes names on idrive screen till about letter "H", then it stops!! Also, you have to scroll manually all the way down to your intended artists line by line, i.e. there is no fast alphabetical scrolling no matter how fast you twirl my much abused idrive controller.
I did searches on the net and found that there is an upper limit of 255 artistes names...so much for U2 then. So then I had to create playlists with my favourite singers/bands to have easy access. Then you will find the second problem, i.e. in the playlists, all the songs are arranged not in album order, so cannot listen to just U2 - Joshua Tree for example. So yet another playlist for favourite albums etc etc etc. As you browse through the net you will find a few workarounds, but I wish that the interface would be fixed and soon. Scrolling is tedious if you have a large music library.
So that's the bad part. The good news is that it sounds great, as least on my logic 7 system with mp3 files at 320kbps and with original 128kbps AAC itunes store music. Much better than the AUX connection. I've tried playing the same ipod and same track on both and find the sound through the ipod interface o be much fuller with better bass reproduction whilethe AUX sounds not bad but tinny in comparison to the iPod interface. Do note that if you use poor MP3 files, the sound will be bad on both interfaces, so do spend a little time on getting your CD's properly transferred either into lossless format or 320kbps and you will be very happy, or else if you buy your MP3's from the pasar malam, you will find the sound to be very poor compared to normal CD's and then you will start missing your CD changer...
I mentioned at the start that this has been a frustrating experience for me. My frustration does not stem from the above points alone but also from the fact that BMW actually have a new solution to replace the current MOST iPod interface. This interface is known as the iPod USB interface with the product code 6FL. Essentially its a USB socket that appears together with the AUX IN socket in your arm rest. You will see a picture of it in your E92/93 car brochure under accessories. I asked for this option at time of purchase because I checked on the net and found that this option cannot be retrofitted as yet. The good thing about this 6FL interface is that it is much slicker on the idrive screen and options appear described properly as iPod, Artist, Playlist etc. instead of CD1, CD2 CD3 etc as it does on our current iPod interface. Unfortunately according to my sales rep, this option is not available for cars sent to Asia! I sent him the pdf copy of the iPod USB interface and quoted the product number ec, but still not possible.
The other advantage of the USB option is that it can take a standard thumbdrive or USB harddisk loaded with MP3 files as well, so you are not limited to just iPod's.
If you have not yet purchased your BM, do check if the option is now available. Othersie if you have to get the current iPod interface, then do be prepared to compromise on the numer of songs you can have on your iPod to make your scrolling easier.
Cheers!
Rajesh
ED520;270175 said:
Hi,
This whole iPod saga has been a real frustrating ride for me.
I got the iPod interface installed upon purchase in my E93. It is the current "MOST" installation (i.e. iPod is in the glove box and plugs in via the iPod's data port and not the headphone socket.
I find this good if you have a small capacity ipod attached say 4 to 16GB. But if you want to bring along a larger music collection eg a fairly full iPod 80gb or 160gb, then there are limitations eg. the listing of songs etc. For example on my 160 GB iPod which has my whole CD colection about 10k songs, you can scroll artistes names on idrive screen till about letter "H", then it stops!! Also, you have to scroll manually all the way down to your intended artists line by line, i.e. there is no fast alphabetical scrolling no matter how fast you twirl my much abused idrive controller.
I did searches on the net and found that there is an upper limit of 255 artistes names...so much for U2 then. So then I had to create playlists with my favourite singers/bands to have easy access. Then you will find the second problem, i.e. in the playlists, all the songs are arranged not in album order, so cannot listen to just U2 - Joshua Tree for example. So yet another playlist for favourite albums etc etc etc. As you browse through the net you will find a few workarounds, but I wish that the interface would be fixed and soon. Scrolling is tedious if you have a large music library.
So that's the bad part. The good news is that it sounds great, as least on my logic 7 system with mp3 files at 320kbps and with original 128kbps AAC itunes store music. Much better than the AUX connection. I've tried playing the same ipod and same track on both and find the sound through the ipod interface o be much fuller with better bass reproduction whilethe AUX sounds not bad but tinny in comparison to the iPod interface. Do note that if you use poor MP3 files, the sound will be bad on both interfaces, so do spend a little time on getting your CD's properly transferred either into lossless format or 320kbps and you will be very happy, or else if you buy your MP3's from the pasar malam, you will find the sound to be very poor compared to normal CD's and then you will start missing your CD changer...
I mentioned at the start that this has been a frustrating experience for me. My frustration does not stem from the above points alone but also from the fact that BMW actually have a new solution to replace the current MOST iPod interface. This interface is known as the iPod USB interface with the product code 6FL. Essentially its a USB socket that appears together with the AUX IN socket in your arm rest. You will see a picture of it in your E92/93 car brochure under accessories. I asked for this option at time of purchase because I checked on the net and found that this option cannot be retrofitted as yet. The good thing about this 6FL interface is that it is much slicker on the idrive screen and options appear described properly as iPod, Artist, Playlist etc. instead of CD1, CD2 CD3 etc as it does on our current iPod interface. Unfortunately according to my sales rep, this option is not available for cars sent to Asia! I sent him the pdf copy of the iPod USB interface and quoted the product number ec, but still not possible.
The other advantage of the USB option is that it can take a standard thumbdrive or USB harddisk loaded with MP3 files as well, so you are not limited to just iPod's.
If you have not yet purchased your BM, do check if the option is now available. Othersie if you have to get the current iPod interface, then do be prepared to compromise on the numer of songs you can have on your iPod to make your scrolling easier.
Cheers!
Rajesh
