bluetooth codec?

Does anyone know which bluetooth codecs are supported in the Gen4 head unit? (apt-x? AAC?)

 

Thank you for all of this detail. I am asking specifically about the implementation of the A2DP. I cannot post links, but please search for A2DP in wikipedia.

From this article, you can see that A2DP is the profile within bluetooth that plays audio over bluetooth. Audio sent over the limited bandwidth of Bluetooth must be compressed via a codec. All A2DP units must support the SBC codec, which is generally panned by those that are looking for good sound. aptx is an optional, but increasingly supported, codec within A2DP.

So, since this head unit supports A2DP, we know it must support the SBC codec. The question is: does it also support the aptx codec?

 

Yes, on a PP, to play your digital files with the highest fidelity, I think (from best to worst) these are your options (These are just my personal opinions):
1. Put your mp3/WMA/AAC files on a thumb drive, insert in PP USB port. You can use your car controls to browse your files and play. Downside: Some will find this inconvenient, especially if you have a large number of files. It does work well for long audio books, though.
2. Use your 3.5mm audio cable from your phone to your 3.5mm PP port. You then use your phone to select, play, stop, etc. audio files. Downside: You cannot use your more-conveniently positioned control buttons of your car, and the audio does not automatically stop when you stop the car (or start when you start your car).
3. Buy a Bluetooth audio receiver that supports your phone's best Bluetooth audio codec. Connect its audio output to your 3.5 mm port. If you power this device from your car, it *may* start and stop playback when your car starts or turns off. Downside: Extra cost (unless you already have). For some, one more thing to manage or misbehave.
4. Get an iPhone and use Apple CarPlay (I believe available in 2020 models of PP. Please do your own research.).
5. Buy a 2021 PP, which should support Android Auto. (Please do your own research.)
6. Use the built in Bluetooth, which will likely use the SBC codec. This is usually just fine for spoken word audio.

Sadly, SBC could have been great. As it was literally defined in the A2DP standard, the original authors used very conservative (i.e. low) bit rates in order to reduce the chance of transmission issues. Later, it was observed that, in general, higher bit rate BT audio would also work. This is what LDAC and Samsung's Scalable codec do. Had people increased the bit rate of SBC, it would likely produce very usable audio. I know. I have heard it for myself. You can too:

Bluetooth A2DP SBC/aptX Online Encoder

If you want to learn the technical details, take a look at my article:

 

Sounds like a fun project. But if you just want something that works, search for "phone audio remote control" at your favorite online store. Look for a device that just does the control, but doesn't require you to use bluetooth audio. So, the idea is wired audio, but wireless control.

 

Actually, despite your intuition, that won't help. The big issue with SBC codec (and most BT A2DP audio codecs) is that the codec is initialized at too low of a bitrate. I am of the philosophy that 44.1 kHz 16 bit stereo is plenty good not just for car audio, but any 2-channel audio. I have yet to encounter anyone that can pass an ABX test showing otherwise.

From my memory, my 2020 PP only supports the SBC codec. While it advertises the ability to have higher bitrate SBC audio, it does not make any sound when you try to push higher bitrate SBC to it. This is common, as most developers do not test or confirm compatibility with the spec. SBC is a sad story of "good enough for most" being the upper-bound of what the rest of us can get.