MDI niggles

[Frankenstrat]

How else would it play other than alphabetically

Why shouldn't it play alphabetically? Burned CDs play in the right order, why shouldn't MP3s on a USB device?

Corey, all I'm expecting is for the MP3s to play in the order that were written to the USB-pen drive. My next quest is try is a WMP Play List to see if that works.

[G-rig]

I think you're missing the point of the mdi.

It sorts by and let's you play by Album, Artist, Song, Genre as well as playlists etc.

Sounds like you need to tidy up your files ID3 tags.

[Karlosovic]

If by 'burned CDs' you mean an audio CD... then yeh of course... your disc authoring program puts the tracks on the CD in the order you specify and it's basically just sequential play from there. I'm pretty sure it's all just one file essentially, with a disk index containing a list of time stamps that a player can use to skip to a specific song. It's only 1 step up from a tape

A USB thumb stick, hard drive, iPod or whatever all act in similar ways, in that the files are stored on the device as individual files, with individual file names, file sizes, file dates etc.
The files can then be listed by an operating system in an order according to various criteria, the default of which is almost always alphabetic.
Something simple like a car stereo probably won't have an option to change this default. This means, if you want to specify an order, it's best to name the files with a numeric prefix.
ie: "01_U2 - Elevation.mp3"

It's the nature of the medium

You could also try organising your files into a folder directory structure... e.g < Artist > / < Album > / < Tracknumber> - <Title>

[Karlosovic]

I think you're missing the point of the mdi.

It sorts by and let's you play by Album, Artist, Song, Genre as well as playlists etc.

Sounds like you need to tidy up your files ID3 tags.

I don't have mine yet, obviously
So does the MDI recognise ID3 tags from the file itself, or can it only get this info from a supported mp3 player?
Ever since (I think it was) coreying mentioned USB hard drives I've been toying with the idea of just getting one of those to leave in the car.... and to hell with iPods

[Corey_R]

Why shouldn't it play alphabetically? Burned CDs play in the right order, why shouldn't MP3s on a USB device?

Corey, all I'm expecting is for the MP3s to play in the order that were written to the USB-pen drive. My next quest is try is a WMP Play List to see if that works.

Buddy - I'm sorry, but all your expecting is not reasonable, as it's not something that almost any dedicated MP3 player supports, let alone a consumer electronic device or car stereo.

We've all been giving you suggestions which will work, yet you continue to go down a path which is obvious to a computer-savy person will not work.
Audio CDs do not use a traditional file system. They use the Red Book CD Standard. You effectively have a single track with an index. However, the CDFS file representation of these audio tracks for computer-based-playback systems certainly is in alphabetical order. The files display as "Track01.cda, Track02.cda" etc.

MP3 players, as G-rig has pointed out, typical sort tracks via Album, Artist, Song and Genre, all of which are taken from the songs tags (ID3 tags for MP3 files). If songs are not tagged, then they'll play them in alphabetical order.

As for whether WMP play lists would work, I would think that the car manual would mention what formats the head unit / mdi supports, including whether it supports playlists.

[Frankenstrat]

Coreying, I appreciate your response. The MP3s I've been playing are not commercially available, they are posted on a music website that I frequent, so the naming conventions and ID tags of the MP3s don't necessarily conform to any particular standard. They are filled in by the artist and may or may not contain album/artist information in the appropriate fields. I would have to go through each MP3 in turn and edit that information.

So far I've copied 40 or so MP3s onto a USB-pen drive and had them play in alphabetical order. I've erased them and copied them again in random order to see what order they play in second time around. That's essentially it. I was reporting my findings for the benefit of others who may be interested, not to display my ignorance nor my perceived pedantry.

As for being computer savvy, please don't presume that I'm not. I see a problem and will endeavour to solve it to my satisfaction.

If you don't wish me to further post in this thread PM me.

[Karlosovic]

As for being computer savvy, please don't presume that I'm not

I'm not trying to be rude mate, but there's no presumption on anyone's part - it's plain as day from comments like:

I've erased them and copied them again in random order to see what order they play in second time around

Seriously... the order in which you copy something to a USB stick, hard disk or iPod makes no difference at all. I'm not criticising your investigative process, it's just that most people already knew the answer. And told you


Edit: Sorry, one other thing.

...posted on a music website that I frequent, so the naming conventions and ID tags of the MP3s don't necessarily conform to any particular standard...

I would have to go through each MP3 in turn and edit that information

You're telling me!
Until recently, with the growing popularity of sites like itunes where the organisation selling the music also populates the tags, most mp3 collections required the owner to manuall edit all the tags.
I would hazzard a guess that a large percentage of mp3/wma collections even now have been collated from innumerable sources - all of which would have different standards for the file names and tags.... if they include that information at all.
The point is - yes you have to set up the tags if you want to use that functionality. Again, that's what everyone does if they're serious about their music collection

[Frankenstrat]

I'm not trying to be rude mate, but there's no presumption on anyone's part - it's plain as day from comments like:

Karlosovic, why would you presume computer illiteracy on my part based on that comment? I have no need to parade my qualifications in public, nor would I adopt an arrogant attitude like yours.

Seriously... the order in which you copy something to a USB stick, hard disk or iPod makes no difference at all. I'm not criticising your investigative process, it's just that most people already knew the answer. And told you

Page 21 of the RCD310 manual: Playlists in the formats PLU, M3U and WPL (are supported). Now so far as I'm aware, and unless you can tell me otherwise, a playlist will play in sequential order. Care to refute that?

[Corey_R]

Cool. Go with the playlist then. That will play in whatever order you put the songs in the playlist.

[G-rig]

Coreying, I appreciate your response. The MP3s I've been playing are not commercially available, they are posted on a music website that I frequent, so the naming conventions and ID tags of the MP3s don't necessarily conform to any particular standard. They are filled in by the artist and may or may not contain album/artist information in the appropriate fields. I would have to go through each MP3 in turn and edit that information.

So far I've copied 40 or so MP3s onto a USB-pen drive and had them play in alphabetical order. I've erased them and copied them again in random order to see what order they play in second time around. That's essentially it. I was reporting my findings for the benefit of others who may be interested, not to display my ignorance nor my perceived pedantry.

As for being computer savvy, please don't presume that I'm not. I see a problem and will endeavour to solve it to my satisfaction.

If you don't wish me to further post in this thread PM me.

Why don't you try the following (which has probably laready been suggested):

1. organising the albums/tracks into folders (I like my folders arranged with one in each folder named 'Artist-Album Title-Year') or
3. Create a playlist file or
2. Download an ID3 Tag and Rename program which saveas a lot of time editing file tag data manually ( I use CD-Tag).