Still not worked out this USB media player yet ... - Page 3

TheDufster · Feb 15th, 2016, 13:24

I think it's a cumbersome way of trying to access music in any car and given the power and storage facilities on modern phones there are better ways to do it.

I nearly went as far as trying to install a custom hard drive solution years ago before mp3 players with large capacity came out.

mhs · Feb 15th, 2016, 16:06

Walter, I have been struggling with exactly the same issues as you for the past four months, always ending up with - oh well, in so many other ways I really love the car. Love your analogy of the partly painted room. For me the lack of any concern or follow-up on the part of the Volvo dealer is as disappointing as the deficits in the vehicle itself, especially since, as a prospective buyer, I was led to believe that their after- sales service was equal to their sales service.

Philip Fisher · Feb 15th, 2016, 16:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDufster

I think it's a cumbersome way of trying to access music in any car and given the power and storage facilities on modern phones there are better ways to do it.

I nearly went as far as trying to install a custom hard drive solution years ago before mp3 players with large capacity came out.

I have all my music on the XC70 on a 16gb stick and it lives in the car. This is easy and cheap and I don't need to worry about leaving anything expensive on show. Also, it works, flawlessly (most of the time) and reads from a simple artist, album, song folder and file structure.

If the USB stick is now a cumbersome way to hold and access music then what is the next best solution? I have an S6 edge with all my music on it. Can I access this through the car to play music and also have it as a handsfree phone? Would I be able to choose music from the car display/control or from the phone in a holder?

Also can you recommend a decent music player for android which just lets you look at folder names and file names? I tried folder player but do not find it intuitive.

I don't run itunes or Samsung Kies, I don't download music and I don't set up playlists. I just want to see folders (of artist), click in to the folder to then see sub folders (of album) and then click in to see files (of songs). I want to be able to then click on a song and the car will play that song and all the other songs in the sub folder until the end.

Any help to avoid hours of frustration in 2 weeks time when the car is delivered would be most appreciated.

TheDufster · Feb 16th, 2016, 08:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philip Fisher

Can I access this through the car to play music and also have it as a handsfree phone? Would I be able to choose music from the car display/control or from the phone in a holder?

Using Bluetooth - that's the way to connect the phone to the car. Get a brodit car mount and phone holder (www.dsldevelopments.com) which is a great way to mount your phone in the car. There is a glitch though - the track title/artist is supposed to appear in the car's display which happens most of the time, however if I switch between podcasts and playing music from my phone in on session the car's software seems to get confused and just displays the words "Audio Streaming".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philip Fisher

Also can you recommend a decent music player for android which just lets you look at folder names and file names? I tried folder player but do not find it intuitive.

The built in Music Player is ok, I was on the verge of looking for other music players when I discovered Google Play Music (not the subscription service). However, to use it you must be prepared to use your data connection to access you music which is all saved on the "cloud". You upload all of your music to Google Play (for free) and then it's accessible from anywhere as long as you've got an internet connection (I appreciate this won't suit everyone)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philip Fisher

I don't run itunes or Samsung Kies, I don't download music and I don't set up playlists. I just want to see folders (of artist), click in to the folder to then see sub folders (of album) and then click in to see files (of songs). I want to be able to then click on a song and the car will play that song and all the other songs in the sub folder until the end.

I don't have iTunes - and I thought I was the only person on the planet that didn't. I use MediaMonkey to organise my music (circa 13,000 songs) which works very well.

Walter Eagle · Feb 16th, 2016, 10:00

I'm sorry but I just can't buy in to this proposition of using a phone to play music. That means I now have to install phone holders and mounting kits etc and I have to interact with the phone while driving. That's too much of a backward step for me. When using the phone as a phone to talk to people I don't need to interact with the physical phone at all. It lies on the seat beside me, or in my jacket pocket in the back seat, and I use the car controls to make, answer, and end calls. If the lack of USB "playability" means looking for an alternative method, I'm definitely not encouraged by the prospect of having a phone cluttering up the dash.

As Philip Fisher said, a USB stick is cheap, expendable, out of sight and the ideal source for music. If only there were better a software Volvo package for managing it in the XC90.

As for an Android app to play the music, I experimented with a few while testing what was/wasn't possible with a Bluetooth-linked phone as the media source. One I quite liked was Rocket Player, available in free and 'pro' versions in the Google Play Store. I have a number of albums loaded on a 16GB microSD card in my phone and the free version worked well enough for me.

Regards

Walter

Lexman8 · Feb 16th, 2016, 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDufster

I don't have iTunes - and I thought I was the only person on the planet that didn't.

I don't use iTunes either. Not a great piece of software but if you have an iPhone you've no option but to use it.

Walter Eagle · Feb 22nd, 2016, 22:28

Last attempt.
Took 5,000 tracks, previously neatly arranged in folders by artist and album, which all other reasonable MP3 players can work with, and copied them to the USB stick on one great big heap, all in the root. Folders, meh, who needs 'em?

So now at least I've reduced the likelihood of the file and path length problem tripping me up.

Still got all the other usability issues, but at least things have got no worse.

aptones · Jun 27th, 2020, 22:04

i can't believe that 3yrs later the USB media player is still sh1t!!!

I've spent a whole day trying to work out why it lists every album with a single song in it..... look like i'm now going to have to try some of the tricks mentioned previously...

XC90 is a lovely car.... but with a really sh1t entertainment system, navigation and pretty much the whole usability of the main media screen!
(don't get me started on Android auto taking up a 3rd of the screen!!)

aptones · Jun 27th, 2020, 23:21

so it seems the character limits and path limits have gone with my XC90 Sensus system.....

After p1ssing around for the past 2 hours, I ended up just creating 1 folder deep and building playlists at each folder.
Seems to have worked.

Album list is still a fricking mess, but at least my playlists show the albums list (1 folder per album).

Was reading another forum and came across this playlist maker freeware: https://www.dcmembers.com/skwire/dow...playlistmaker/

Basically you drag a folder into the program and it makes a simple m3u playlist for that folder.

clarkgable · Jun 28th, 2020, 22:09

I gave up on the USB media a year or so ago. I just Bluetooth music from my phone now, works relatively well, certainly much better than the Sensus USB set-up

Feb 15th, 2016, 13:24	#21
TheDufster Member Last Online: Today 15:48 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Leeds, UK	I think it's a cumbersome way of trying to access music in any car and given the power and storage facilities on modern phones there are better ways to do it. I nearly went as far as trying to install a custom hard drive solution years ago before mp3 players with large capacity came out. __________________ XC90 Inscription Pro B5 MY20, Savile Grey, 21” Multi-Spoke Diamond Cut/Black Alloys, Xenium Pack XC40 1.5 T3 R-Design

Feb 15th, 2016, 16:06	#22
mhs Junior Member Last Online: Sep 4th, 2016 20:06 Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Harrogate	Sharing your pain Walter, I have been struggling with exactly the same issues as you for the past four months, always ending up with - oh well, in so many other ways I really love the car. Love your analogy of the partly painted room. For me the lack of any concern or follow-up on the part of the Volvo dealer is as disappointing as the deficits in the vehicle itself, especially since, as a prospective buyer, I was led to believe that their after- sales service was equal to their sales service.

Jun 28th, 2020, 22:09	#30
clarkgable Junior Member Last Online: Apr 9th, 2022 17:29 Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: LDN	I gave up on the USB media a year or so ago. I just Bluetooth music from my phone now, works relatively well, certainly much better than the Sensus USB set-up __________________ Handing back Sept 2020: XC90 D5 R-Design (MY18), Electric Silver, Family, Winter+HUD, Subwoofer, Digital TV, 3pin Socket, Rear Park Assist Camera, Rear Media Server, Inscription silver front grille fitted instead of standard R-Design one

Feb 16th, 2016, 10:00	#25
Walter Eagle Junior Member Last Online: Apr 22nd, 2023 19:49 Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: N/A	I'm sorry but I just can't buy in to this proposition of using a phone to play music. That means I now have to install phone holders and mounting kits etc and I have to interact with the phone while driving. That's too much of a backward step for me. When using the phone as a phone to talk to people I don't need to interact with the physical phone at all. It lies on the seat beside me, or in my jacket pocket in the back seat, and I use the car controls to make, answer, and end calls. If the lack of USB "playability" means looking for an alternative method, I'm definitely not encouraged by the prospect of having a phone cluttering up the dash. As Philip Fisher said, a USB stick is cheap, expendable, out of sight and the ideal source for music. If only there were better a software Volvo package for managing it in the XC90. As for an Android app to play the music, I experimented with a few while testing what was/wasn't possible with a Bluetooth-linked phone as the media source. One I quite liked was Rocket Player, available in free and 'pro' versions in the Google Play Store. I have a number of albums loaded on a 16GB microSD card in my phone and the free version worked well enough for me. Regards Walter

Feb 22nd, 2016, 22:28	#27
Walter Eagle Junior Member Last Online: Apr 22nd, 2023 19:49 Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: N/A	Last attempt. Took 5,000 tracks, previously neatly arranged in folders by artist and album, which all other reasonable MP3 players can work with, and copied them to the USB stick on one great big heap, all in the root. Folders, meh, who needs 'em? So now at least I've reduced the likelihood of the file and path length problem tripping me up. Still got all the other usability issues, but at least things have got no worse.

Jun 27th, 2020, 22:04	#28
aptones New Member Last Online: Apr 5th, 2022 22:09 Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: London	i can't believe that 3yrs later the USB media player is still sh1t!!! I've spent a whole day trying to work out why it lists every album with a single song in it..... look like i'm now going to have to try some of the tricks mentioned previously... XC90 is a lovely car.... but with a really sh1t entertainment system, navigation and pretty much the whole usability of the main media screen! (don't get me started on Android auto taking up a 3rd of the screen!!)

Jun 27th, 2020, 23:21	#29
aptones New Member Last Online: Apr 5th, 2022 22:09 Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: London	so it seems the character limits and path limits have gone with my XC90 Sensus system..... After p1ssing around for the past 2 hours, I ended up just creating 1 folder deep and building playlists at each folder. Seems to have worked. Album list is still a fricking mess, but at least my playlists show the albums list (1 folder per album). Was reading another forum and came across this playlist maker freeware: https://www.dcmembers.com/skwire/dow...playlistmaker/ Basically you drag a folder into the program and it makes a simple m3u playlist for that folder.

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