AMI / Ipod Question for new A3 owners

D

daveb99

Registered User
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
120
Reaction score
11
Points
18
Location
NULL
When I met with Vertigo1 yesterday to try out the B&O sound, we tried to connect my IPod Classic (5th generation, 60GB model) and the AMI didnt work. It simply said 'Unknown device' on the MMI screen. My iPod is formatted by Mac, not Windows - but works perfectly in my A6.

According to the A3 brochure, the AMI 'provides connection for Apple iPod from 4th generation and Apple iPhone'.

Has anyone successfully connected an iPod Classic to their new A3, and if so, what generation is it?

For details on the different iPod generations, check here (scroll down):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod

I don't mind selling it and buying a newer one, or even an iPod touch if I really have to (not enough capacity on my iPhone 4 for my music!) but would be very interested to hear people's experiences. It could just be that it needs a software update so I'll check that too.
 
I did look into this yesterday evening but couldn't find any more info than you have. The "4th generation" does seem to suggest that yours should work, it's bizarre that it didn't.

If you update the software and want to re-test it, let me know :)
 
My IPod Classic 6th Gen 160GB works fine but I cannot get Artwork to display.

I have done a bit of research into cables and IPod generations / players but have found no definite answers to which will give you full functionality with MMI.
 
Thanks for your help guys.

Toby - I've checked and the software version I have on the iPod is the latest one. One thing it could be - perhaps it needed a reboot after removing it from my car (as it had just been connected to the AMI in my A6, which is clearly a much older incarnation). It's the only thing I can think of - unless it has to be formatted by Windows to work, which is highly unlikely.

Happy to wait until I take delivery of the A3 before testing, though many thanks for the offer :)
 
FWIW, I use a 3rd gen iPod Touch running iOS5.1.1 and it works flawlessly, including all artwork.

It's actually a very neat solution as the iPod is thin enough to just sit in the little net pocket on the side of the storage area under the armrest, leaving the rest of the space clear. Of course iPod Touches only go up to 64GB of storage so may not be large enough depending on your needs. Mine's a 32GB and that's enough music for me :)
 
Toby - you read my mind :)

I have 42gb of music, so was just thinking that a 3rd gen 64gb Touch, in any cosmetic condition, will do nicely - especially if that is what is needed for the album art (seems the iPod classic just won't do that bit, regardless of which generation).
 
JSH96 said:
My IPod Classic 6th Gen 160GB works fine but I cannot get Artwork to display.

I have done a bit of research into cables and IPod generations / players but have found no definite answers to which will give you full functionality with MMI.
Click to expand...

I am struggling with this as well, I guess album artwork doesn't work on the standard mmi system with the iPod. Seems like it might work from an sd card though..
 
just incase anyone wanted to buy a new applie ipod

Black Friday deals
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/black-friday said:
Apple will offer a discount day this Fri 23 Nov. It hasn't released details of what will be included, though it's likely there will be reductions on iPads, iPods and Macs. You'll be able to buy products from Apple's website* or in-store, or via the Apple store app.
Click to expand...

Official Apple Store - Buy the new iPad mini, iPad, iPhone 5, iPod touch, MacBook Pro and more. - Apple Store (UK)

basically black friday deal, this friday.
 
Be careful if buying from the Apple store on Friday as the latest generation of iPod Touches use the lightning connector and there's still a big question mark over the compatibility with the AMI system, even using the adapter to convert to the old dock connector. Apparently it doesn't support "iPod out" which is a system used for relaying track info to the player - if the AMI uses this then it may well not work.

I'd stick with a 3rd or 4th gen for the Touch - 2nd gen is similar to 3rd (basically the guts of the iPhone 3 and 3GS respectively) but critically the 2nd gen doesn't support iOS5 which may cause issues with AMI.

PS. If you do find a 2nd gen iPod Touch dirt cheap then my gf has one which I could test in the car if you need to know.
 
Just reading this thread and was wondering what file types the SD Cards support.

I've tended to use WAV files on my iPods to get CD equivalent quality through the Ipod connector in my car (I bought an ipod (4th gen?) on ebay to leave in the car)

So far I have only seen reference to MP3 and AAC file types for SD Card purposes........Anyone been able to get any lossless formats working via SD Card such as WAV?
 
According to the manual, it supports MP3, WMA, ASF, M4A, M4B & AAC.
Card types are SD, SDHC, SDXC & MMC using FAT, FAT32 or NTFS filing systems. Max capacity is 64GB.
Max supported bitrate is 320kbit with a 48kHz sampling frequency.
Maximum of 1000 files per directory and 1000 files per playlist.
Artwork supported in GIF, JPG & PNG format up to 800x800 pixels.
 
Vertigo1 said:
FWIW, I use a 3rd gen iPod Touch running iOS5.1.1 and it works flawlessly, including all artwork. :)
Click to expand...

Maybe that is the key, running the latest iOS? I've got a 6th generation ipod so really hoping it will work with artwork in my new car!
 
One other thing worth mentioning is that, when Dave tried a CD in my car the other day, it came up with the track names! Was fully expecting "Track 1", "Track 2", etc.

Can only think that the CD in question supported CD-TEXT containing the info, in which case the Audi DVD drive can read this.
 
Some interesting points here, so I could just buy a cheap 64GB SD card and put all my music on it, rather than buying a 64gb 3rd gen iPod touch at £100. Does anyone know if I could just copy the music folders from my iTunes library onto the card? How would the album art work?

Toby, I had forgotten about the track names! I'll see if there is any mention of the CD-TEXT anywhere on the CD.
 
Maybe a tad off topic but how does the sound quality compare when playing through an iPod? I mean the signal is still analogue as far as I'm aware (new connector being digital?) so would it sound any different from playing through a normal 3.5mm jack from my phone for example? I might also go down the memory card route if the sound isn't all that...
 
(I may have repeated what was already said)

Playing via a CD is better due to the lose less format, digital files like WAV support lose less, but you get big files sizes.

also sometimes portable devices just dont have power to give the sound quality and you need an amp to get better sound.
of course this all depends on your ears and how much detail you want. having a high bitrate will give more quality then a lower bitrate, but it will never match lose less format.

So if you want the best use WAV, but you will have bigger file size.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_file_format said:
There are three major groups of audio file formats:
Uncompressed audio formats, such as WAV, AIFF, AU or raw header-less PCM;

Formats with lossless compression, such as FLAC, Monkey's Audio (filename extension APE), WavPack (filename extension WV), TTA, ATRAC Advanced Lossless, Apple Lossless (filename extension m4a), MPEG-4 SLS, MPEG-4 ALS, MPEG-4 DST, Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMA Lossless), and Shorten (SHN).

Formats with lossy compression, such as MP3, Vorbis, Musepack, AAC, ATRAC and Windows Media Audio Lossy (WMA lossy)).
Click to expand...


CD-TEXT depends on how the cd was created, if you choose cd text when burning an mp3 you will get it, also of the mp3 file has the correct ID3 tags. This is also true for the album art, as long it is tagged correctly and in Audi's example the correct size then it should work.


By the way i have an ipod touch 1st gen, will try it out if i meet Vertigo, and remember to bring it with me :)
 
daveb99 said:
Some interesting points here, so I could just buy a cheap 64GB SD card and put all my music on it, rather than buying a 64gb 3rd gen iPod touch at £100. Does anyone know if I could just copy the music folders from my iTunes library onto the card? How would the album art work?
Click to expand...

The problem I had with SD cards in my old pre-AMI A3 was that you couldn't browse by Artist, Album, Genre etc etc, but could only navigate the folder structure you placed on the drive. I don't know if that's changed or not now.

Sod it, going to test it - just throwing some of my MP3 files (the very same ones that are in iTunes) onto an SD card and will go check, bear with...
 
Right, just tested it and it works! You can browse by artist, album, track, genre and so on and even get the cover-flow like album browser, which for some reason isn't available on the iPod connection, a bit ironically.
 
Vertigo, quick question.. When using SD card, does it take time to bank the files?
 
Didn't seem to take much time at all but then I only threw about five albums on it. Could try loading up the whole card (16gb one) and seeing how long it takes.
 
Only if its not a hassle, My A3 is coming on Friday.
I wanna have my music library ready to chuck in as soon as its here lol.
In my previous car I had iPod connection which was great even though I had around 5k songs, it allowed me to browse by album/artist/song and loaded instantly. However when using a USD/SD it took time to bank, so with the more files you had it would take longer.

Vertigo1 said:
Didn't seem to take much time at all but then I only threw about five albums on it. Could try loading up the whole card (16gb one) and seeing how long it takes.
Click to expand...
 
vimy said:
Only if its not a hassle, My A3 is coming on Friday.
I wanna have my music library ready to chuck in as soon as its here lol.
In my previous car I had iPod connection which was great even though I had around 5k songs, it allowed me to browse by album/artist/song and loaded instantly. However when using a USD/SD it took time to bank, so with the more files you had it would take longer.
Click to expand...

just to jump in, :) , also have a new A3 which I will be picking up next week.

is the SD slot standard on an s-line? Also as I have satnav will this not take up the SD slot?

cheers for any input!

.
 
The SD card slots are standard on all models and are located in the glovebox along with the CD player. If you spec the Tech Pack then this is upgraded to a DVD player.

There are two slots so the SatNav card would occupy one leaving the other free for music.
 
Vertigo1 said:
The SD card slots are standard on all models and are located in the glovebox along with the CD player. If you spec the Tech Pack then this is upgraded to a DVD player.

There are two slots so the SatNav card would occupy one leaving the other free for music.
Click to expand...

very helpful cheers!! :)
 
peterw47 said:
Maybe a tad off topic but how does the sound quality compare when playing through an iPod? I mean the signal is still analogue as far as I'm aware (new connector being digital?) so would it sound any different from playing through a normal 3.5mm jack from my phone for example? I might also go down the memory card route if the sound isn't all that...
Click to expand...

Whilst I've bought a few tracks via iTunes, the vast majority of my music is in MP3 files which I've just imported in. Some of these files were downloaded directly but most are ones I've encoded myself over the years by ripping my CD collection. I've thus been able to control the quality, always ensuring that I use a decent sampling rate. I generally use 256k or 320k constant bitrate and find the quality from the iPod in the car to be very very good really. MP3 will never offer the same quality as an uncompressed source such as a CD but it's pretty damned close.

This is using the wired AMI connection btw. The system does support bluetooth streaming from iPods and iPhones and the like but I've not tried this myself and had heard from various sources that the quality suffers greatly due to the compression required to squeeze it over the bluetooth connection. Will have to try it at some point with my phone and see how it sounds.
 
I can confirm that on the A1 the bluetooth streaming sound quality isn't that great.
 
daveb99 said:
Some interesting points here, so I could just buy a cheap 64GB SD card and put all my music on it, rather than buying a 64gb 3rd gen iPod touch at £100. Does anyone know if I could just copy the music folders from my iTunes library onto the card? How would the album art work?
Click to expand...

Given that SD cards now seem to offer all the functionality of an iPod, I don't see any reason why you can't do this. Would be significantly cheaper than buying a new iPod.

I suppose I could do the same but, as I already have the iPod, there's not much point. One other fringe benefit I've discovered is that the iPod remains awake enough whilst in the car that it stays connected to my home WiFi network, so using WiFi sync in iTunes, I can download new music to it without leaving my seat or taking the iPod out of the car! :)
 
Any idea if the SD card functionality is specific to the technology pack or is this the same on the standard system as well?

I was planning on buying a cheap iPod to leave in the car but may just go for an SD card instead now.
 
The standard MMI comes with 2 SD slots. 1 can be used for upgrading to SD sat nav (will still need to pay lots of money for Audi to turn the feature on though!)
 
peterw47 said:
The standard MMI comes with 2 SD slots. 1 can be used for upgrading to SD sat nav (will still need to pay lots of money for Audi to turn the feature on though!)
Click to expand...

Yeah but does it work like Vertigo1 mentions above, being able to browse through your music by artist, album etc like on an iPod rather than by the folder structure on the card?
 
I think so but am not sure. The supplementary MMI/media manual supplied doesn't specifically say the SD functionality is limited to the Tech Pack but then that may be because they supply a different manual with non-Tech Pack cars?
 
Vertigo1 said:
I think so but am not sure. The supplementary MMI/media manual supplied doesn't specifically say the SD functionality is limited to the Tech Pack but then that may be because they supply a different manual with non-Tech Pack cars?
Click to expand...

This would be awesome. I never spec'd AMI on my A1 and it's really annoying not being able to select tracks etc.
 
Vertigo ,

can I just confirm that Apple lossless will not work unless I use an iPod / iPad

i have copied some files over , just dragged them from iTunes onto an sd card . All seems fine on the car screen with artwork included but will not play
 
Quick question very similar topic - is there a "shuffle" or "mix" function when playing back media (from ipod/iphone/SD card) ?
 
Yes, it's in Settings -> Random Playback if memory serves.

It only seems to work from certain sources though. It's fine with my iPod but I'm sure I remember someone saying a while back that the option wasn't there for them - not sure but think they might have been using SD cards.
 
Chester Draws said:
Vertigo ,

can I just confirm that Apple lossless will not work unless I use an iPod / iPad

i have copied some files over , just dragged them from iTunes onto an sd card . All seems fine on the car screen with artwork included but will not play
Click to expand...

Ah ok, as suspected really. Hadn't thought about iPods but of course you're right - anything an iPod will actually play will be fine, so lossless included.
 
Vertigo1 said:
Be careful if buying from the Apple store on Friday as the latest generation of iPod Touches use the lightning connector and there's still a big question mark over the compatibility with the AMI system, even using the adapter to convert to the old dock connector. Apparently it doesn't support "iPod out" which is a system used for relaying track info to the player - if the AMI uses this then it may well not work.

I'd stick with a 3rd or 4th gen for the Touch - 2nd gen is similar to 3rd (basically the guts of the iPhone 3 and 3GS respectively) but critically the 2nd gen doesn't support iOS5 which may cause issues with AMI.

PS. If you do find a 2nd gen iPod Touch dirt cheap then my gf has one which I could test in the car if you need to know.
Click to expand...

Just going back to the original question.... This is a common problem - my other half has a Kia Soul and has EXACTLY the same problem. Frankly, I'm amazed that there's been so little on any forum about this...

The problem isn't the Lightning connector itself - if that was the case, you could just buy an adaptor. The problem seems to be the way the signal is sent through the connector. My iPhone 4GS works fine, but my other half's new iPod Nano does not work in either car...
 
Yep the adapter situation is a total joke. The standard adapter doesn't support HDMI video or iPod Out. There's now a separate adapter which supports video I think but still nothing for iPod out.

It's a farce and one of the main reasons I didn't bother upgrading my 4S to a 5 and I don't even use that with the AMI!
 
Just reading through this thread and thought I would ask if anyone has any new information regarding ipod classics?

Just taken delivery of an A3 Sportback and my ipod classic 7th generation which I purchased to use with the car doesn't work. I have a standard ipod adaptor which I got with the car - this works with my iphone/ ipad. When I plug in my ipod classic it says 'loading media' for a long time then nothing happens! Took it to Audi dealer in Edinburgh and they have no idea why it doesn't work. The salesman had a ipod classic from a year or two ago and that didn't work either.

Any advice?

Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
AMI Ipod question
Replies
14
Views
1K
J4MMYz
J4MMYz
R
AMI Question for an Audi Newbie
Replies
16
Views
2K
lekky
lekky
Vertigo1
AMI question
Replies
5
Views
714
RichardT
RichardT
Toonsoldier91
Question for all 2.0 tdi owners
Replies
11
Views
933
Toonsoldier91
Toonsoldier91
G
New A3 AMI/MMI Questions
Replies
22
Views
8K
MiT
MiT
Top
Back