USB connections

kaskirov · Apr 25, 2008

i'm gonna start off by saying what i want to do. What i want is to be able to is listen to my mp3 player through my truck. Sounds simple enough eh? its not. i tried fm transmitters but i found 2 problems:
1. Bad quality, even on the non-cheap ones
2. hard to control whats playing. the screen is so small and the buttons... its cant be done safely while driving

i was looking at a line-in but i'll have problem number 2 again.

so now i'm looking at touch screen in-dash dvd players, some have a USB input. what i want to know is if i plug in my player will the tiny screen be shown on the bigger one? its looks like it does if you have an ipod (using the ipod ready stuff, figgin ipods, i'm gonna have to get one aren't i?), but i don't.

Wicked_Sludge · Apr 25, 2008

i dont have much experience with the touch screen types, but i know you can control an MP3 player with most normal USB equipped decks. due to screen and button limitations, these only allow simple navigation up and down through folders and back and forth through tracks...but they will display file/folder names on the screen. as long as you dont mind not having direct track access, it would work fine. ive got a USB deck in my escort which is hooked to a 40 gig laptop harddrive in an external enclosure. i usually just leave the deck on random and when i song im not in the mood for comes on ill skip forward until something that fits the occasion comes on.

kaskirov · Apr 27, 2008

i went out today and got one. wanted one that was usb compatible, but ended up with an "ipod ready" one with a built in gps. but if anyone was wondering the usb port on a dvd player will allow you to view the folders (which would be albums) and select what to play.

and i got double din so it fit in without a hardware kit. looks factory... sorta

AllanD · May 14, 2008

I'm going a slightly different "road" to get the same effect.

I'm switching to a Sony CD changer that will play mp3 CDs.

This will give me 7gigs of mp3 storage which might not sound
like much until you consider that I have several spare disc
magazines, so I can swap out one magazine out and another
in is a couple of seconds...

as for "quality" of mp3's through an FM modulator? it is purely dependant on the quality of the modulator.

Remember that the first thing that happens when you take a CD file and start compressing it is that the compression program sumarily lops off EVERYTHING
above 15kHz, because those frequencies won't pass through the FM tuner
anyway.

If there is a loss of quality it is usually most attributable to compressing the files too much to fit as many as possible into a given ammount of storage space.

Are you making 160kBit/sec files or 320kBit/sec files?

The more you compress them the more playback "artifacts"
will be created.

I remember someone complaining aboiut bass distortion on one particular song by "tonic"

I was quite amused when I had to tell them it was RECORDED that
way (intentionally) by the band

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85_Ranger4x4 · May 15, 2008

AllanD said:
I'm going a slightly different "road" to get the same effect.

I'm switching to a Sony CD changer that will play mp3 CDs.

This will give me 7gigs of mp3 storage which might not sound
like much until you consider that I have several spare disc
magazines, so I can swap out one magazine out and another
in is a couple of seconds...

If you are getting a new CD player get one with a aux input. As nice as MP3 CD's are, running a MP3 player into an aux input is 10x better. My Zune can hold 30g, and at 360some odd songs I have used a little over 2g. Just set it to shuffle and hit play and let it go, and you can transfer it to other vehicles/speakers easily (I have an old set of computer speakers in my bedroom to listen to it, and I have a cruddy FM transmitter in my Ranger that is marginally better than nothing)

I bought a new Pioneer CD player for my Ranger in 2003, I think I can actually quote myself about never getting a MP3 player so I don't need a HU to work with one, now 5 years later I wish I would have gotten one... Even if you don't have one now, might as well get a HU that can deal with it while you are shelling the cash if you ever do.

That is of course assuming you are getting a new one, if you are getting a used one for the right price just run it.

AllanD · May 15, 2008

I'm not getting a new player I'm getting a new CHANGER.
MY exsisting changer won't deal with mp3 files.

For a whopping $90 I can get a new sony changer that will play mp3 CDs
and it will take me less time to install it that it will to open the factory
packaging.
It's literally two RCA cables and one unilink cable, plus the screws
that hold it to the floor, it'll work off the same controller unit, so I
don't have to change that.

I'll switch to a new head unit when I can get a Sony head unit that has
atleast 10gigs of internal storage AND will play mp3 files off of a DVD-R disc.

And under most circumstances it's impossible to tell a 320kBit/sec mp3 from a CD.

In a moving truck with engine, road and wind noise?
Gimme a break and spare me the BS, because at 65mph
telling a CD from a cassette is something a great
audophile can only do 50% of the time
(and I can guess better than that most days)

Like someone said,
"music enthusiasts listen to music, audiophiles listen to audio equipment"

And BTW, if I really wanted full audio quality I'd play a CD in
the OTHER changer that IS directly connected to the head unit.

Or play the CD in the head unit itself.

In many cases the limitations of the original recordings must be understood...
(regardless of how skillfully "Remastered" the recordings may be)

And FWIW I don't like carrying ORIGINAL CD's in the truck
If someone steals burned copies I could care less, but originals
that I paid $10, $12, $15 or more apiece for?

Let them steal a $0.50 copy.

I have some CD's that are simply "unobtanium" and typically trade
for $70-$100 on evilbay

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kaskirov · May 15, 2008

i have been using mp3/wma cds for the last 2-3 years. they are useful, but i find this set up to be better (for me). i can listen to a certain cd, certain artist, certain song, all from a few touches of the screen, or set up some playlists on my comp and tansfer them over. no more burning cds and keeping a cd case in the truck. no more swerving on the road looking for the cd i want to hear.

and if i wanted amazing quality i would put on my sennheisers

85_Ranger4x4 · May 15, 2008

AllanD said:
I'm not getting a new player I'm getting a new CHANGER ... AD

I saw player instead of changer, my apologies.

I said nothing about the quality difference between a CD player and anything else. My MP3 player sounds the same as a quality CD sounds in the CD player. But sometimes in my Ranger if my FM transmitter was a real radio station I would change the channel without thinking twice, it is honestly crap. I am not really sure where the most of your "quality" arguement came from, I was just saying that FM transmitters are a joke and are easily avoided when you buy the radio now rather than later.

I just didn't want you to buy a new CD player and regret it later like I did with my Ranger. :icon_cheers:

human5 · May 15, 2008

kaskirov said:
i have been using mp3/wma cds for the last 2-3 years. they are useful, but i find this set up to be better (for me). i can listen to a certain cd, certain artist, certain song, all from a few touches of the screen, or set up some playlists on my comp and tansfer them over. no more burning cds and keeping a cd case in the truck. no more swerving on the road looking for the cd i want to hear.

and if i wanted amazing quality i would put on my sennheisers

Could you post a picture of your deck up? I've got almost the same setup in my truck, except no touch screen. I've got an Alpine deck that is iPod ready and you can scroll the songs on the deck but the bad part is you've got to pay attention. There was one deck that I liked that could show the album art but the only draw back was it couldn't play regular or mp3 cd's. Sometimes when you go to the store and buy a new cd you wanna listen to it on your ride home. You know, back in the day type of deal.

kaskirov · May 15, 2008

also has built in gps

i'll try to get some pics of the ipod interface this weekend if your interested

V8RangerBoy · May 16, 2008

I swapped to the iPod setup a couple years ago, and I won't go back. I'm a big music fanatic, and I love being able to listen to it at work and then plug it into my truck. Some of the CD player companies really try to shaft you on the "adapting" cable for the iPod - I just went with a basic iPod cable that just has a 3-way video/audio left/audio right (yellow/red/white plug) that cost me like $8 and it works as well as any. Just make sure your dash deck has the appropriate connectors for the cable to work. Also, a headphone-headphone cable will achieve the same effect.

I have a buddy who has the whole "external harddrive/deck with folder nav capabilities" in it, and it's just hard as hell to use. The display on the deck is laggy enough that you can't tell where you're at in the list before you run way past the artist/song you want, or if you have alot of artists and need to go from one end of the list to the other, it takes FOREVER. It's a really nice Alpine deck too, not something I would expect to happen from them. Perhaps you'll have better luck than he did, however.

human5 · May 16, 2008

Hot Damn, that's a nice deck. The iPod interface pic would be nice. Does the face come off? You got me itchin to get a new deck now.

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