I downloaded itunes songs to the compact flash card in MP4 format but the car doesn't pick up the songs. When I put the card in the slot it says no songs are on the card. I double checked to make sure the songs were on the card and they were. Do I have to convert the MP4's to MP3's for the system to pick it up? If so, how do I do that?

Sorry if this is a repost but I searched and couldn't find an answer.

 

AFAIK, MP4 files are not supported on the CF card. You can download several different applications to convert MP4s to MP3s. I've used this one in the past, and you can download a free trial version.

http://www.xilisoft.com/audio-converter.html

 

Shane, did you use this program to convert MP4 files that were either created with iTunes or purchased from the iTunes music store? In my experience the only way to convert songs in MP4 format with the apple AAC encoding is to burn the song to a cd then rip it back in mp3. The copy protection that's built into the AAC codec is one of the reasons that apple has got so much selection in their music store. AAC is great if all you use or plan to use is an apple product, but otherwise you're screwed.

 

Thanks for your responses. I'll try both methods. Excuse my ignorance as I have never done it before, but how to you rip it back to your CPU as an MP3 (outside of the itunes software). Do I just insert the CD, and copy the files to my CPU in an MP3 format by adjusting the save as extension from MP4 to MP3? Or do I need a software to do that?

Thanks again!

 

You can use iTunes to rip music in MP3 format. In the "Preferences" panel, go to the "Advanced" tab and then to "Importing". Select "Mp3 Encoder" in the "Import using" field and choose the "Setting" you want for your music quality. I like to encode my Mp3s at 192kbps as I personally hear little difference between 192 and 320 with the playback equipment I use. If I were you I would just use MP3 format for all encoding instead of AAC, the files are a bit bigger but they are more veratile.

For your existing songs if Shanes method works, use it. It seems quicker, easier and will save you some blank CDs.

 

Thanks again!

 

Not so fast

http://www.soundtaxi.info/

Theres a program called SoundTaxi I use to convert the Protected AAC format files (those that you purchase from Itunes) to mp3 format. Its $14 I believe, shareware type program, and works like a charm. Certainly saves you from doing all that burning/reripping. This is one of the biggest "myths" about Itunes I think - that you can only play purchased music on an Ipod.

 

Good to know, I looked for something like this a few months ago but was unsucessful. Thanks dcmidnight.