I tried an MP3 CD for the first time this morning.

The CD is burned with the first level of folders being band names, and within each band name folder, one or more album folders.

When I insert the CD, it just shows a flat listing of the lowest level folders containing mp3's. I was hoping it would have navigated from the first folders.

Is this a known restriction, that it only shows a listing of folders directly containging mp3's?

Has anyone tried creating more than two levels of folders? Does it always show the lowermost?

 

Same thing happens on the CF reader. The owners manual clearly shows a diagram of nested folders but the bottom line its not like that. I did the same thing, same order of folders and such but all it shows you is the bottom level folders.

Interesting to hear that they have the same bug with MP3 cds that they do with the CF reader.

I will say, bugs or little issues are one thing, but its twice as annoying when it says it does it one way in the manual but it clearly doesnt.

 

While it also seems backward to me, for the record, the manual does state this is the intended behavior:

The only way to get the heirarchy to show is to throw in an "orphaned" mp3, in the parent directory.

 

Also from my experience, you can use multisession. It won't reconize new mp3s in successive burns ;0(

 

Hey, that gives me an idea! Create a dummy mp3 file that is like five minutes of silence. Then, add it to every folder on your CD, so that it sorts above all other tracks.

Now you can browse around your folders without the obnoxiousness of the music starting every time you hit a new folder.

Once you've picked, skip to the real first track.

 

Now THERE'S some useful information!

I really like using the CF slot for music: you can quickly copy MP3 files from PC to the CF, can use higher bit-rates for better quality, etc.

Now I can have the Artist - Album folder heirarchy I want, just have a 10 seconds of silence MP3 file in each artist folder in order to show that folder and the child album folders.

I'm gonna try that. Thanks!

 

So you have to go into each of your 60 mp3 folders on your CF card and add an orphaned mp3 to each folder to get the nesting structure to work right? Or you have to do that to get it to show folders with non-mp3s in it?

And sorry but the more I look at this chart on Page 4-36 and 4-37 of the manual I disagree with what I think they are representing the reader can do. It clearly shows a nesting folder structure in the diagram and says in the chart that it support 8 levels of folders. But if the reader is really just "flattening out" the folder structure that you've created and will only display the bottom level folders, as the OP points out - then you aren't supporting anything. You're taking however many levels of folders I make and displaying 1 - so really you support one level of folder not 8. You're getting the same display from the system as you would if you just had all your album folders individually listed in the root folder rather than nested by artist - so whats the point?

Either way, again IMHO, on an audio system of this cost/level, you shouldn't have to do stupid sh*t like this to get things to work right. I would expect to have to do this on a $50 mp3 player. I actually stopped using the CF reader for now because I got so aggravated trying to get the thing to work right. Seems like everytime I had a way figured out to get the folders to display right, it wouldn't. Between ripping CDs on the hard drive and sat radio and my Ipod though, its not like I dont have enough choices. LOL, good thing they threw in a 6 disc changer in the trunk, I may have run out of music options...

 

First, has anyone tried this yet?? Second, why would you use 5-minute files when you could use 1 second files to save drive/disc space??

JZ

 

Oh I get it, the blank mp3 is just so the new songs wont start when you go to a new folder? Either way it stops the MP3 you've been listening to. I think this is separate from the folder/sorting issue but its odd nonetheless that there's no capability to browse folders without "autoplaying" the new songs.

 

Look closer at the image.

You think it is a coincidence that in each parent folder they have an mp3 file just sitting there?

 

Oh yeah, to be honest, I don't really care about that first sentence in my post - the blank mp3 issue - but the digram clearly depicts nesting folders.

 

If anyone makes a brief silent mp3 file maybe they could be so kind as to post it so everyone can steal it!

 

I haven't had a chance to try it since I am at work without my CF reader, but here is an mp3 of 5 seconds of silence. (I had to zip it in order to upload...)

BTW, since I recorded the file of my own personal silence, I authorize UNLIMITED downloads

 

I'm not that fast. The light may turn green, and I may have to pay attention to my driving for a bit, and I just don't want to hear something I haven't actually selected.

Yes, size would be a factor. But if it is silence, and it is an mp3 (i.e. lossy compression), I expect you can pack it pretty darn tight.

 

I forgot that it plays while navigating. I'll craft a larger file.

JZ