Greetings;
I just got my TCH last week and I've been trying to figure out how to get the CD to read WMA files... At first I figured it was because I was using Windows Media Lossless as the birate {850 +}, but I tried on a lower bitrate {32} and it still won't read! It plays MP3's fine, but it won't display CD-Audio w/text from a PC engineered burner either.

Is it just mine or is there a certain rip/ burner program that will make this thing read WMA files?

 

I just tried it on mine and it worked just fine.

I used Windows Media Player to rip the CD to WMA files 192 kbps then copied them to a CD using a program called Ones to make a data disk.

I thought I had read somewhere that MP3 and WMA files had to be in a folder not in the root directory of the CD, but the manual I have suggests this is not true. I normally copy them to a folder anyway.

 

Thanks for the tip; but I think I have a bad headunit...
I tried the ONES program and it wouldn't even read the disc,and like I said it won't read any of the text from the burned or store bought cd's...

I'll take it in Tuesday and let you guys know what I found.

 

Keep in mind that some text is not displayed if you are moving.

 

1. Try using just regular WMA files. Use Windows Media Player and rip them at 192 kbps. Make sure you "close" the CD with whatever you use to burn it.

2. Most store-bought CD's have no text. I don't think I've ever encountered one that does, in any text-capable player I've ever had.

3. Burned "CD-audio" CD's probably won't have any text, either.

4. Expect to see text only on WMA/MP3 files.

5. Expect the dealer to have no clue whatsoever about this stuff. They are "parts replacers." Make sure that you truly have something amiss with your unit before you allow your dealer to rip open your dash and ruin your car's interior.

6. Good luck, and keep reporting back to us how it goes!

 

FYI: Store bought Sony CDs with text do display on the NAV radio.

 

Okay... Here's what I've learned;

The unit supposedly can be patched with a software upgrade or patch from the manufacturer, which means it most likely can be an easy fix. {We'll see about that Monday morning... }
Plus, and this is a biggie; the Nav unit CAN read home PC burned CD's!
If you have iTunes or RealPlayer installed on your computer, change the settings to include "CD Text" when burning.
For whatever reason, MusicMatch's software is incompatible with the reader on the Nav, but hey, iTunes and Real are free downloads, and if you have an iPod, you can rip your tunes directly from the same library!

 

Did you get the unit to read WMA files? I've been using Windows Media Player to burn CDs but the song names are not displayed. Any help appreciated.

Thanks

John

 

I picked up my plates this afternoon and asked the service adviser about my head unit and I swear it was like looking at a two year old while asking him his phone number! This guy had no idea what WMA files are let alone MP3's!

His best suggestion was to bring it in one day next week so they can "probe the system...", Like hell I will! I'm going to call around to a few more dealerships before I let anyone just "probe" it, maybe someone else has had a similar problem in my area, if not I'll check one of the units on their lot and compare, then if need be I'll request a swap out.

 

Well, I finally got mine to read the WMA files. Whenever you burn a CD using Windows Media Player it creates cda files that don't have the information to be read.

I used Nero to burn CD and it worked well! Even using Nero I also learned that how your files "read" depends on how they were ripped (in my case I had used Windows Media Player). Nero has a WMA plugin and lets you set how information from the WMA files are read. When I burned using Nero, car audio now displays the title and artist.

Probably not very clear but I'm new to this CD burning for a car that can read audio tags. Next, I'm going to try ripping using Nero as well.

John