MP3 music on Pen drive

ascertain · 3rd January 2009, 23:58

I have a lot of questions regarding Pen drive MP3 playability/ compatibility with USB compliant HU's

1)Does the Capacity of the flash memory based pen drive matter as far as compatibility is concerned? - I mean- Are high capacity 8 GB/ 16 GB pen drives readable on HU's?
2)Does the larger capacity Slow down the player (due to track search times)
3)Power consumption of these higher capacity drives- are they the same for all USB 2.0 drives?
4)In case one is using a smaller card (e.g micro SD) and getting it to work via a mini card reader, are there compatibility issues with HUs?, what about the power consumption of these smaller sized but high capacity cards?
5)Does storing the music on folders in the drive slow down track search and play time?

As you might have already guessed, I am looking at buying a high capacity card/drive for the HU

abhibh · 4th January 2009, 01:04

1)Does the Capacity of the flash memory based pen drive matter as far as compatibility is concerned? - I mean- Are high capacity 8 GB/ 16 GB pen drives readable on HU's?
32 GB works like charm here

2)Does the larger capacity Slow down the player (due to track search times)
Well Yes kind of, but i found 32GB pendrives to be faster than 40 GB HDD both filled with 4GB songs.

3)Power consumption of these higher capacity drives- are they the same for all USB 2.0 drives?
Pendrives wont have any problem regarding to power consumption but the external 2.5" HDD's differ. Some work some don't due to power consumption.

4)In case one is using a smaller card (e.g micro SD) and getting it to work via a mini card reader, are there compatibility issues with HUs?, what about the power consumption of these smaller sized but high capacity cards?
Not all HU's work with card readers.

5)Does storing the music on folders in the drive slow down track search and play time?
Never had any problem i carry full albums. But even if it does slows down it wont be more than a sec or 2.

MY ANSWERS IN BOLD.

phamilyman · 4th January 2009, 08:14

Hi,

If you go to transcend website, you will see that higher capacity drives have FASTER data transfer times

greenhorn · 4th January 2009, 08:56

heck, actually even some portable HDD's work with these HU's ( depends on their current draw)
speed of operation is affected by the number of items (files/folders) within a particular folder. too many will mean that it will take ages to list. Just ensure that the files are distributed evenly

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 4th January 2009, 09:14

A\part from the above info, there are a couple of threads on this - use the advanced search feature and search for "pioneer" in the title.

Mostly, external HDDs may face problems. I am using a Pio 4050, with a 4 GB pendrive, and am quite happy with what I have. But then, I am very easy to satisfy. ;-)

ascertain · 4th January 2009, 09:28

Guys-
The read/write speeds of the pen drives in each class (e.g 1-4 GB & 8-16 GB) is different. For example-

Transcend JetFlash®T3

This drive is the smallest ever & has R/W speeds of
Read 10 MByte/s, Write 3 MByte/s (below 4GB);
Read 20 MByte/s, Write 8 MByte/s (8GB)

Transcend JetFlash® 85

http://www.transcendusa.com/Products...85_360X310.jpg
Read up to 12~16 MByte/s, Write up to 9~12 MByte/s (below 4GB)
Read up to 30 MByte/s, Write up to 25 MByte/s (8GB)

Now I would definitely go for the Transcend JetFlash®T3 , because its sooo cute!. But at the same time I don't want my car audio system to be searching for tracks long.

Now the difference in drive speeds is not small here (It's almost 3 times), so here's the question- which one?
In case any of you have used either of these types, please narrate your experiences and whether it does really make a difference.. because ultimately it's the HU's processor thats going to be doing the hard work right?

If you tell me "It's all the same" my decision is made- its the cutie black david instead of the silver goliath

navin · 4th January 2009, 12:24

ascertain: will the Jet Flash T3 fit in a USB port? I does not look like it will. Pardon me becuase now that the lines between audio and computers is becoming blurred I am going to ask some really stupid questions. At this rate ICE will need a more current Mod! :-)

My wife's new car (when it comes) will not have a CD player. Only a USB port so I will need to get these T3 drives (if they work) and put music on them.

OT warning:
Gunbir/B&T/LBM/JB/Blueraven: Guys any of you worked on the 2009 Honda City? My wife would like a CD changer (preferably her old Alpine CHA 634) to be added to this car's OEM system (dont want to loose the OEM looks). The Stereo does not even have pre outs.

LBM when you posted 'advice' to Honda on the location of them tweeters (there is a thread on TBHP on this) you should have told them about the HU's pre-requisites too! :-)

greenhorn · 4th January 2009, 12:36

from the looks of it , the T3 seems it will fit, but it will be a loose fit. it seems to be just the plastic internal connectors in a USB plug

I dont know about a cd changer, but a cd player is an OE accesory for the ANHC
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:: Honda City ::

DjNik · 4th January 2009, 12:40

Navin sir the T3 will fit into any USB port just like any Usb pen Drive.It shouldnt be a problem in the car.

ascertain · 4th January 2009, 13:35

Yes Navin the T3 will fit perfectly, In face I got the idea from a taxiwallah (Who'd just returned from the gulf) He stuck this really cool T3 into the HU USB socket, and no problem, I even asked him the same question as yours (i.e regarding the fitting). He asked me to go ahead and try pulling out the drive- the resistance is the same as with any USB drive- so it won't slip off.

The capacity he was using then was 2 GB, and the playback was seamless.

I never came across anyone who used the higher capacity drives ( 8/16/32 GB drives), hence my reason for this thread.

On the whole regarding the solid state memory revolution- I'd say it is a step in the right direction- 1)No bulk to lug around (CD's/DVDs) 2)No moving parts hence lesser wear and tear 3)Huge capacities and 4) cheaper maintenance & storage media cost.

Now the cost factor is important for all of us- this T3 model 8 GB costs just 900 rupees with B&W.

The 16 GB ones are 1600 rupees.

8GB = 11CDs of course cost wise initially the CDs come out on tops- but the replacements after scratches, carrying space etc- pushes it down on the list.

Check out my other thread on Alpine Digital media receivers on the ICE -ask the gurus section. These are really cool.

Anyway- I have mailed the leading flash drive manufacturers (SanDisk, Kingston and Transcend) with the query of high capacity drives and their compatibility with car HUs , should have a reply in another 3 days.

Another high capacity storage option for those wanting to go even smaller is of course the MicroSD 8 GB cards (the tiny things in your mobiles), coupled with a device like this card reader below.

I have asked the companies to advise me on this combination for car audio play- replies awaited.

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 5th January 2009, 10:46

Legal nit pick:- the law does NOT allow you to take a back up of your audio CD. Or copy the contents of YOUR cd, purchased with YOUR MONEY, on to YOUR pendrive, for playing on YOUR car, for YOUR listening.

Dear friends, ICElings and priates, HELLoo!!!!

ascertain · 5th January 2009, 13:13

You are right in that aspect of CD ripping, but for individuals who DO purchase MP3 music legitimately (as the Quality is better), have no restriction on personal usage - however they want - as long as they do not redistribute it!

ethanhunt123 · 5th January 2009, 15:11

Which law ? AFAIK you are allowed to make copies for personal use.

DerAlte · 6th January 2009, 10:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Legal nit pick:- the law does NOT allow you to take a back up of your audio CD. ... ICElings and priates, HELLoo!!!!

Perhaps you should read the Copyright Law first before speculating about the provisions? Personal copies for backup are allowed. Copies distributed without the original Copyright holder permitting or getting paid, are not.

navin · 6th January 2009, 10:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by ascertain

Yes Navin the T3 will fit perfectly, In face I got the idea from a taxiwallah
On the whole regarding the solid state memory revolution
Another high capacity storage option for those wanting to go even smaller is of course the MicroSD 8 GB cards

Thanks. So T3 16GB is what I should aim to get.

My music is all sorted as follows:

Drive: Artist/Album/Title.mp3

What I would like to do is create playlists of all the music my wife likes in the car from this library using iTunes. I assume the Honda HU will read these playlists.

Q: a 16GB playlist will contain 2000 songs how would one search through this long list? Can we put multiple playlists (I was thiking 26 playlists one for each letter of the alphabet).

Playlist A: all artists starting with A (eg: Aerosmith)
...
Playlist Z: all arists starting with Z (eg: ZZ Top)

guys iTunes wont let me make playlists with artists or albums only titles. Any workaround?

3rd January 2009, 23:58	#1
ascertain BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cannanore Posts: 154 Thanked: 42 Times	MP3 music on Pen drive I have a lot of questions regarding Pen drive MP3 playability/ compatibility with USB compliant HU's 1)Does the Capacity of the flash memory based pen drive matter as far as compatibility is concerned? - I mean- Are high capacity 8 GB/ 16 GB pen drives readable on HU's? 2)Does the larger capacity Slow down the player (due to track search times) 3)Power consumption of these higher capacity drives- are they the same for all USB 2.0 drives? 4)In case one is using a smaller card (e.g micro SD) and getting it to work via a mini card reader, are there compatibility issues with HUs?, what about the power consumption of these smaller sized but high capacity cards? 5)Does storing the music on folders in the drive slow down track search and play time? As you might have already guessed, I am looking at buying a high capacity card/drive for the HU
	() Thanks

4th January 2009, 01:04	#2
abhibh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Back in the HOOD near you! Posts: 2,768 Thanked: 39 Times	1)Does the Capacity of the flash memory based pen drive matter as far as compatibility is concerned? - I mean- Are high capacity 8 GB/ 16 GB pen drives readable on HU's? 32 GB works like charm here 2)Does the larger capacity Slow down the player (due to track search times) Well Yes kind of, but i found 32GB pendrives to be faster than 40 GB HDD both filled with 4GB songs. 3)Power consumption of these higher capacity drives- are they the same for all USB 2.0 drives? Pendrives wont have any problem regarding to power consumption but the external 2.5" HDD's differ. Some work some don't due to power consumption. 4)In case one is using a smaller card (e.g micro SD) and getting it to work via a mini card reader, are there compatibility issues with HUs?, what about the power consumption of these smaller sized but high capacity cards? Not all HU's work with card readers. 5)Does storing the music on folders in the drive slow down track search and play time? Never had any problem i carry full albums. But even if it does slows down it wont be more than a sec or 2. MY ANSWERS IN BOLD.
	() Thanks

4th January 2009, 08:14	#3
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,975 Thanked: 4,673 Times	Hi, If you go to transcend website, you will see that higher capacity drives have FASTER data transfer times
	() Thanks

4th January 2009, 08:56	#4
greenhorn BANNED Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KL-01 Posts: 7,878 Thanked: 4,909 Times View My Garage	heck, actually even some portable HDD's work with these HU's ( depends on their current draw) speed of operation is affected by the number of items (files/folders) within a particular folder. too many will mean that it will take ages to list. Just ensure that the files are distributed evenly
	() Thanks

4th January 2009, 09:14	#5
BaCkSeAtDrIVeR Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kochi Posts: 2,540 Thanked: 758 Times	A\part from the above info, there are a couple of threads on this - use the advanced search feature and search for "pioneer" in the title. Mostly, external HDDs may face problems. I am using a Pio 4050, with a 4 GB pendrive, and am quite happy with what I have. But then, I am very easy to satisfy. ;-)
	() Thanks

4th January 2009, 09:28	#6
ascertain BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cannanore Posts: 154 Thanked: 42 Times	Drive speed Guys- The read/write speeds of the pen drives in each class (e.g 1-4 GB & 8-16 GB) is different. For example- Transcend JetFlash®T3 This drive is the smallest ever & has R/W speeds of Read 10 MByte/s, Write 3 MByte/s (below 4GB); Read 20 MByte/s, Write 8 MByte/s (8GB) Transcend JetFlash® 85 http://www.transcendusa.com/Products...85_360X310.jpg Read up to 12~16 MByte/s, Write up to 9~12 MByte/s (below 4GB) Read up to 30 MByte/s, Write up to 25 MByte/s (8GB) Now I would definitely go for the Transcend JetFlash®T3 , because its sooo cute!. But at the same time I don't want my car audio system to be searching for tracks long. Now the difference in drive speeds is not small here (It's almost 3 times), so here's the question- which one? In case any of you have used either of these types, please narrate your experiences and whether it does really make a difference.. because ultimately it's the HU's processor thats going to be doing the hard work right? If you tell me "It's all the same" my decision is made- its the cutie black david instead of the silver goliath
	() Thanks

4th January 2009, 12:24	#7
navin Team-BHP Support Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 25,403 Thanked: 9,950 Times	ascertain: will the Jet Flash T3 fit in a USB port? I does not look like it will. Pardon me becuase now that the lines between audio and computers is becoming blurred I am going to ask some really stupid questions. At this rate ICE will need a more current Mod! :-) My wife's new car (when it comes) will not have a CD player. Only a USB port so I will need to get these T3 drives (if they work) and put music on them. OT warning: Gunbir/B&T/LBM/JB/Blueraven: Guys any of you worked on the 2009 Honda City? My wife would like a CD changer (preferably her old Alpine CHA 634) to be added to this car's OEM system (dont want to loose the OEM looks). The Stereo does not even have pre outs. LBM when you posted 'advice' to Honda on the location of them tweeters (there is a thread on TBHP on this) you should have told them about the HU's pre-requisites too! :-)
	() Thanks

4th January 2009, 12:36	#8
greenhorn BANNED Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: KL-01 Posts: 7,878 Thanked: 4,909 Times View My Garage	from the looks of it , the T3 seems it will fit, but it will be a loose fit. it seems to be just the plastic internal connectors in a USB plug I dont know about a cd changer, but a cd player is an OE accesory for the ANHC :: Honda City :: Last edited by greenhorn : 4th January 2009 at 12:37.
	() Thanks

4th January 2009, 12:40	#9
DjNik BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Kolkata Posts: 340 Thanked: 3 Times	Navin sir the T3 will fit into any USB port just like any Usb pen Drive.It shouldnt be a problem in the car. Last edited by DjNik : 4th January 2009 at 12:41.
	() Thanks

4th January 2009, 13:35	#10
ascertain BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cannanore Posts: 154 Thanked: 42 Times	USB comfort Yes Navin the T3 will fit perfectly, In face I got the idea from a taxiwallah (Who'd just returned from the gulf) He stuck this really cool T3 into the HU USB socket, and no problem, I even asked him the same question as yours (i.e regarding the fitting). He asked me to go ahead and try pulling out the drive- the resistance is the same as with any USB drive- so it won't slip off. The capacity he was using then was 2 GB, and the playback was seamless. I never came across anyone who used the higher capacity drives ( 8/16/32 GB drives), hence my reason for this thread. On the whole regarding the solid state memory revolution- I'd say it is a step in the right direction- 1)No bulk to lug around (CD's/DVDs) 2)No moving parts hence lesser wear and tear 3)Huge capacities and 4) cheaper maintenance & storage media cost. Now the cost factor is important for all of us- this T3 model 8 GB costs just 900 rupees with B&W. The 16 GB ones are 1600 rupees. 8GB = 11CDs of course cost wise initially the CDs come out on tops- but the replacements after scratches, carrying space etc- pushes it down on the list. Check out my other thread on Alpine Digital media receivers on the ICE -ask the gurus section. These are really cool. Anyway- I have mailed the leading flash drive manufacturers (SanDisk, Kingston and Transcend) with the query of high capacity drives and their compatibility with car HUs , should have a reply in another 3 days. Another high capacity storage option for those wanting to go even smaller is of course the MicroSD 8 GB cards (the tiny things in your mobiles), coupled with a device like this card reader below. I have asked the companies to advise me on this combination for car audio play- replies awaited.
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 10:46	#11
BaCkSeAtDrIVeR Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kochi Posts: 2,540 Thanked: 758 Times	Legal nit pick:- the law does NOT allow you to take a back up of your audio CD. Or copy the contents of YOUR cd, purchased with YOUR MONEY, on to YOUR pendrive, for playing on YOUR car, for YOUR listening. Dear friends, ICElings and priates, HELLoo!!!!
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 13:13	#12
ascertain BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cannanore Posts: 154 Thanked: 42 Times	Yes- but! You are right in that aspect of CD ripping, but for individuals who DO purchase MP3 music legitimately (as the Quality is better), have no restriction on personal usage - however they want - as long as they do not redistribute it!
	() Thanks

5th January 2009, 15:11	#13
ethanhunt123 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,384 Thanked: 1,035 Times View My Garage	Which law ? AFAIK you are allowed to make copies for personal use.
	() Thanks