phoward_15

So in the 3 months I've had the car I either listen to music via XM or my iPod. So I finally figured I should try out burning some MP3s to a CD and use the folder/track feature.

I created a CD of MP3s with two folders called "Upbeat" and "Mellow". When I insert the CD I can see the two folders but instead of starting at 1 and 2 the folders start at 2 and 3. Also, the name of the CD on the main Audio screen reads the name of the first MP3 file in the first folder instead of the name I put on the CD when creating it.

How do I get the CD name to show up on the main Audio screen instead of the first song in the first folder?

Thanks,
Paul

sasair

create an empty first song with the name of the CD

phoward_15

I'm assuming I just somehow create a blank mp3 and name it whatever I want? But how do I create a "blank mp3"?

schen72

Here's how I did it:

1) Create a folder named "0001" or something similiar. You basically want to guarantee that it will be the "first" folder in the list.

2) Inside this folder, create an empty file called "your_name.mp3". This name will get listed on the audio screen as the name of the CD.

phoward_15

Excellent thanks Schen. I will give it a try.

Rexorg

I use iTunes. How do you create that file in the folder?

Currently, after I burn the CD I get the #2 folder with the album title, but the title on the main nav screen below is still the first song title as the OP stated. I am assuming the #1 folder is the "root" folder. Any help will be appreciated.

schen72

I don't think iTunes allows you to create an empty folder. Try using something like Nero. Just create a data CD-ROM and manually add your own folder. I named mine 0001 so it's guaranteed to be the first in the list. Then I just dragged an empty mp3 into into 0001.

phoward_15

Yeah that's exactly what I did. But here's the problem, iTunes uses mp4 files and the RDX can't read the file names, only mp3 files. So what I'm doing is downloading the same tunes via LimeWire as mp3's and then creating the empty folder which works like a charm.

Anyone else know an easy to convert mp4s to mp3s so I don't have to do this I'd really appreciate it.

beachbumbob

Burn the mp4's as an audio CD, then re-rip back from that audio CD into iTunes as mp3's. Files are DRM-free and sound degradation is indiscernable to the average ear.

MMike1981

no...just set ur preferences in iTunes to MP3 as default. it will convert your playlists over to mp3 and any future songs you add....thus avoiding compatibility issues for anything.

beachbumbob

True, but I was referring to DRM protected-files purchased from the iTunes Music Store. Sorry, if I'm wrong...

MMike1981

technically...the tracks you buy off iTunes are AAC Format (or sometimes MP4). any songs you have on your comp that arent purchased through itunes...itunes can convert to any format you chose (mp3 would be the smartest....more universal for all types of applications)

however, itunes protected tracks pose a bit of a problem.....i dont buy music off itunes (FOR THIS REASON) its Apple not the distributors that are protecting these tracks. As of right now, there is only one decoder (that i know of) but it only works for itunes 6 or earlier.

sorry i didnt gather thats why you needed to re-write the tracks from your earlier post, didnt see mention of the DRM bs. i use other music services that download as mp3's and just import the files to itunes (set your importing to mp3, and u shouldnt enounter any format problems or the need to re-write files)

phoward_15

thanks for the help guys. I will go into iTunes when I'm home and look for the feature where it says "import as mp3" or whatever it's called. That'll help down the road. So I'm assuming that once I've done this any tune I purchase on iTunes will now be in mp3 format?

Thanks,
Paul

MMike1981

Well...even when u set your format to mp3 for all of itunes, that is exluding downloaded itunes music. Purchased itunes music is a set format of AAC or MP4 w/protection and cannot be converted to MP3 even if your settings for everything else is MP3, thats why iTunes BLOWS. any preexisting itunes purchases youve made will still stay the same format as they are.

so....it helps that you change the program setting to mp3 for importing/buring etc, that way when you burn a mp3 disc for the car you will not have to reformat anything (like mp4 to mp3) its just easier all around.

schen72

Burn your AAC or MP4 files to CD music format, and then import the contents of the CD as MP3. All DRM will be gone.

MMike1981

yea - just a bs task and tedious when u have tons of music and can only do 15 or so tracks at a time.

use a diff music downloading site alltogether.

STLBill

Hi all:

Tonight I created a data CD-R using XP Pro with 30 MP3s totalling about 156 MB in 4 folders.

A 31st file of [My Intended Disc Title].mp3 is a zero-byte ASCII (Notepad) file in the CD-R root.

The RDX ignored that file completely and titled the disc using the first track in the first folder if the folders are sorted alphabetically.

I created a fifth folder entitled "_" for sorting purposes and moved the 31st file entitled [My Intended Disc Title].mp3 into it.

The RDX still ignored the file and used the first track in the first folder if the folders are sorted alphabetically.

I used Adobe Audition to create an MP3 file with 1 second of silence and this "silence" MP3 file replaced the previously mentioned ASCII file.

Now we have a real MP3 binary file in the "_" folder off the root of the CD-R. This file really plays off the CD-R, but it's silence so it's more like a spacer between tracks.

In this configuration the title works... until you switch discs and come back to this CD-R. Then it skips my silent MP3 and uses the first real music track filename for the title.

Call me crazy, but it's like the radio knows what I am trying to make it do and putting up a fight.

Next steps:

At this point I'll assume when it comes back from the other disc it sees the 1 second file as not big enough either in duration or disc size and skips it for that reason. I guess I'll make a 3-5 minute silence file - about the same length as an typical music track - and see what it does then. If it still sees the silience and ignores it...

I will make a 1,000 hz tone of 3-5 minutes in duration and try again. You cannot tell me this radio is so intelligent that it can tell a 1,000 hz tone from a real song and skip it. Yes, I realize how !@#^ annoying that is going to be when the CD-R first plays. That's why 1 second of silence seemed doable.

I have been known to over engineer things. If anyone has any other suggestions - something very simple I am overlooking - I am all ears!

Thanks in advance!

-Bill

phoward_15

Use an iPod instead.

Just kidding...good luck with that experiement. Let us know how it goes. Better you than me.

zoukeeper

I had a 3 to 5 second "silent" .mp3 that I grabbed from one of my CD's (it was one of those things where the artist got cute and wanted to begin playing on track 69).

When I used this empty track, it seems to work fine as the title of the CD. If you do a shuffle all, occasionally the stereo will play the silent track and move on.

My guess is that 1 second probably isn't enough, but 3 to 5 will do the trick.

I also used Nero to create a silent track by cropping the intro of a song that hadn't kicked in yet. So maybe there is a bit of trace information in my .mp3 files - they may be inaudible, but not truly "empty"

MMike1981

dave matthews?

zoukeeper

I'm pretty sure it was Korn's "Follow the Leader". Seems like Tool did something similar on one of their CDs also.