I've had '06 package #3 for 3 days now, and I can say the almost everything about that car exceeds my expectations,... even the base audio seems rather decent to me, but please... that mp3 player!! There's just nothing good to say about it, especially in the context of this particular car, where everything else can more or less qualify as "great engineering". - the UI SUCKS - Folder/file concept is older then the first Prius ever produced, and is just ancient in 2006... - They do read tags, but they can't make it show Artist/Album/Song selection tree??? - no playlists?? - DISABLE the browsing controls while the car is moving???? WHY??? - doesn't scroll longer file/folder names -...everything else None of those are a matter of big investment or anything... all the hardware is already there. I don't understand. Not to mention the investment to put a $10 flash card reader , or at least $5 USB interface so you can hook up a reader or a drive....just makes sense... no? Also they DO charge good money for that "extra"...... I vote that TOYOTA should fire immediately every single person, from product manager to software dev., who was involved in this insanity. All that said - I still love the car, and can't wait to get in it tomorrow morning and turn my mp3 player on.. )
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(azzieo @ Aug 31 2006, 01:37 AM) [snapback]312057[/snapback]</div> My solution has been to rip mp3 CDs...then you get the playlists and all that stuff. Then again, I don't have an MP3 player...I DID however try to cheat and rip an MP3 DVD...THAT it will NOT read. Oh well.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rufaro @ Aug 31 2006, 04:54 AM) [snapback]312060[/snapback]</div> Could you please explain that?
You have to keep in mind that it can be several years before a piece of OEM-developed equipment shows up in a car. This is no doubt an oversimplified view of the process: 1. The OEM developes the piece, e.g. the audio system. This may be the result of input from the car manufacture, which was given some time earlier. 2. Prototypes get built. 3. Dashboards get designed. And redesigned, as the rest of the instrument panel develops during the car design. The unit may go back to the OEM because the control layout has to be changed. 4. Testing. The car maker tests for high and low temp extremes, vibration, human interface, panel and control wear, etc. The unit may return to the OEM again for correction of failures. 5. Cars get manufactured. This process takes a few years, especially when you add in time for management meetings, analyses, data collection, and general red tape. With any technology that's still changing, the car manufacturer has to live with yesterday's designs. There's no way out of it. As consumers, if we want today's technology, we have to wait for tomorrow's car. So today's state-of-the-art (affordable) audio system won't show up till, say, the 2009 cars.
I think Rufaro means "burn" mp3 CD's, and that's what you're talking about already, right? I recognized the problem before I even bought the car, so I'm not as disappointed with it, and am happy with a workaround. My solution is probably the same as Rufaro: I set up playlists in iTunes and organize them as I like. I burn a playlist, or a set of playlists to a disc, and I'm instantly happy because I can play in my preferred order, or I can play random. The files are all at the root level of the folder hierarchy, so there's no browsing that way, so I also tend to burn a second disc with music all lined up by genre, artist, album in case I feel like playing it that way. Pain? A little, but it's cheap to burn lots of CD's, and 6 MP3 CDs still holds about the same as my iPod. Another trick that I like is to create a single 1 second long MP3 of silence, then make copies in a playlist so I can space files out by number... e.g.: Files 1-7 are an album. Files 8,9 are blank, file 10+ starts a new album or playlist. That way I can quickly spin the tune dial to a nice round number and quickly find what I'm looking for. Stupid? A little, but it works
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ichabod @ Aug 31 2006, 12:29 PM) [snapback]312251[/snapback]</div> Yeah - all good suggestions, but those are primitive solutions to a problem that has been solved long long time ago, and it's just a matter of simple implementation... And again - it probably wouldn't even be such a big deal to me, if it wasn't this particular car, but an Yugo or sth. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Aug 31 2006, 12:10 PM) [snapback]312237[/snapback]</div> This would've been a valid point, if it was actually true point.. And it's not, becase MP3 players which read tag, automatically build database, and create a browsing "tree" or whatever you want to call it, exist for at least 5 years. These MP3 players have gone through the same exact number of steps, as you describe above, so the ideas have been out there 10 years ago (and at that point there were already software implementations anyway, and in the case of the MP3 player in the Prius, we're only talking about a more intelligent software UI, everything else has been implemented). I hope you see my point... If we're talking about engineering - there's just no excuse, that they have that player.
azzieo, why are these suggestions such a pain? I have my entire cd library in iTunes anyway. Burning a cd with the songs I like (in the order I like) was merely pushing one button in iTunes. I had already created the playlist for my iPod. So having burned the cd with my playlist, all I had to do is stick it in the player in the Prius. Like magic all the titles, artists info appears. Works for me. Your suggestions are valid and hopefully they will appear at some time in the future. But I have learned that life isn't perfect. Strive for perfection but don't truly expect it to happen. Going with the flow sometimes helps get through the day. Cheers
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Three60guy @ Aug 31 2006, 12:57 PM) [snapback]312271[/snapback]</div> Well... again - the iPod has the "browsing" for years now, and contrary to the popular belief, Apple didn't invent any of it.. it had been implemented years before that, so going back to pre-pre-pre-iPod feature set, in the hi(est)-tech car built in 2006, just shortcuts circuits in my brain... hence the "pain" you were asking about
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(azzieo @ Aug 31 2006, 01:11 PM) [snapback]312283[/snapback]</div> Agreed, they could have easily made it a little smarter... heck, 8 years ago i bought myself an MP3 cd player, and it had all the features you were talking about (folder browsing, artist/album browsing, etc), and all on a little tiny one line screen (which was really a pain to try to work on). One would think Toyota could have a similar interface, seeing as it's been out longer than the Prius.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(azzieo @ Aug 31 2006, 02:37 AM) [snapback]312057[/snapback]</div> As someone who has a 2005 and therefore no built-in MP3 player my heart bleeds. I did add a DICE and iPod, but having a built-in (I have a collection of MP3 old time radio shows and audio books) would've been nice. Seriously, there's a purple speed sensor wire that you can cut and add a switch. When you want to browse, just turn the switch to "off." You have to turn it back on afterwards as that wire also sends the signal for the 5-minute infomation to the Consumption screen. Take a look at http://www.evnut.com/prius_speed_wire.htm to see which wire. The wire is largely for the BT, but it works with the radio as well. If you're listening to FM, you'll also be able to read any messages the station sends.
Here's something that may help your brain a little: Solid-state or hard-disc based MP3 players have a little bit of an advantage in seek and read times over a CD-based system. Skipping tracks can be a little slower, and I don't think they built it with a memory in which to store a database of tunes (easy as that might be). It's about as full-featured as other MP3-enabled CD players, and I didn't expect more than that... so maybe I'm just making excuses for bad engineering, but I really don't mind too much. If I were to complain about it, I'd complain about not having a USB port, or not being just an iPod on the inside, no need for discs. And while they're at it, hook up the bluetooth to that so you can upload music from your laptop.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ichabod @ Aug 31 2006, 01:26 PM) [snapback]312293[/snapback]</div> That's what was saying earlier - from a car like this, I would expect to have USB and or flash card reader, both of which cost <$5 in hardware, and maybe 4-500 "manhours" of coding io drivers and UI.... everything else is there already.
Like others, when I want to play MP3s I either burn an MP3 CD with all the stuff I want organized by folder/file or just plug the iPod into the AUX port and use its far more sophisticated facilities to do the music navigation. Most of the time, I just set either MP3-CD or iPod to look at everything and play songs in random order ... I'm simple when it comes to entertainment. It would be great to be able to control the iPod from the MFD, but only for a passenger. Voice navigation control of either CD or iPod would be better than poking and prodding the screen while driving, but even that is a distraction. G
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Three60guy @ Aug 31 2006, 12:57 PM) [snapback]312271[/snapback]</div> This might be a little off the topic (I will risk posting and asking about it anyway). Is there a way to get playslists from iTunes to appear as folders while you burn a disk?
Just a quick addition: If you want MORE songs on your 'burned' disc, convert all your mp3's into wma's. That will normally double the capacity of songs that can be burnt on a single media. Average that to about 250+ songs per disc and a 6 disc changer... well.. you get the picture.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gyro @ Aug 31 2006, 06:13 PM) [snapback]312430[/snapback]</div> Good question. I haven't tried it but it may be as simple as recording your first play list and after it is done select the 2nd play list and hit the burn button again. Don't know if that will work but it may be good to try. Cheers
Azzieo, I agree that Toyota---especially as a Japanese company---could perhaps have formed alliances with forward-thinking Japanese companies. But making cars and providing high-end technology often just don't mix as well as they should. When priorities intrude, companies retreat to what's more important to their bottom line. It's a sad fact of life, and one which we're all stuck with.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Aug 31 2006, 11:20 PM) [snapback]312580[/snapback]</div> Rick, I agree with your posts in general, but somehow I still don't understand how implementing something like tag based browsing and alternative I/O could actually HURT their bottom line... both of those are 1.cheap and 2.already a standard... my son's MP3 player, which is 3 yrs old, cost $65 then, has - tag browsing, - 256MB on board, - SD card slot (up to 1GB, I believe), - fm tuner, - fm recorder, - voice recorder and - USB interface. That is, including retail packaging and overhead, so you can imagine what's the real cost to implement something like this today... - probably <$10. At the same time, this mp3 feature in the '06 is priced at some $2-300, so I'm sure you see how little sense it all makes....
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Sep 1 2006, 12:20 AM) [snapback]312580[/snapback]</div> Toyota, especially as a Japanese company, should have sucked up their pride and done what everyone else seems to be doing... Namely, talked to Apple and implemented an iPod interface. What Japanese company even has a dent in the MP3 marketplace these days? Oh right... none.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jonnycat26 @ Sep 1 2006, 08:30 AM) [snapback]312682[/snapback]</div> Acura Audi BMW Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Ford GM honda Infinity Jaguar Jeep Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mini Nissan Scion Suzuki Volkswagen Volvo Thats the list of manufacturers who include iPod interfaces in some, if not all, of their current cars. Seems a rather large list for Toyota to be one of the few not on it.
