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Audio & Hard Drive?

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M

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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
For those of you lucky individuals who've already got their hands on their new Mini...

I have ordered the standard audio, with the Visual Boost upgrade. It's not easy to find out exactly what features that will have from the Mini web site.

I know there is no CD player, and all music is streamed or copied from USB or bluetooth. (You can specify, as a costed extra, a CD unit.)

So my questions are these:
Does the Standard/Visual Boost audio have the built in hard drive?
Can I play MP3s directly from a USB stick? Or do I need to 'copy' them onto the built in hard drive?
If I can fill the built in hard drive, can I also plug a USB stick, and choose music from either source?
If I can plug a USB stick, how big can that be? 32gb? 64gb? More?

Thanks!
 
C

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152 Posts
#3 ·
Media

I have the media pack xl, you can bluetooth music straight from your phone (no wires & you get album covers showing)
You can play music straight from a USB or you can transfer to the hard drive. You can select what source you want to select. You can still use usb even after transfering music.
Don't know if you get hard drive with visual boost....
 
T

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189 Posts
#9 ·
I also read that video media can be played on the XL screen (maybe the 6.5" also),
but not whilst the car is moving (safety feature). Can you confirm which file types are supported? Also can you stream video from your iphone?
thanks,
Texy
 
P

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165 Posts
#12 ·
I've read somewhere it should be possible to view videos while the car is in motion.

It requires some hacking in the internal configurations of the car which would permit you to activate/deactivate various factory set options.

If you Google "video in motion" you should find lots of links.

Not sure I'd risk anything like that on my brand new car though ... ;)
 
M

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90 Posts
Discussion Starter · #15 ·
For those of you still looking at options... the answers to my earlier questions, plus a few more:

I have the standard audio system, with the Visual Boost option added.

Q: Does the Standard/Visual Boost audio have the built in hard drive?
A: No.

Q: Can I play MP3s directly from a USB stick? Or do I need to 'copy' them onto the built in hard drive?
A: It plays directly from the USB stick. There is no hard drive.

Q: If I can fill the built in hard drive, can I also plug a USB stick, and choose music from either source?
A: No hard drive, so this is irrelevant.

Q: If I can plug a USB stick, how big can that be? 32gb? 64gb? More?
A: Don't know yet. It works fine with a 16GB stick loaded with 2000+ tracks. Album art is displayed. I find the interface a little clunky. It seems to read and classify via the MP3 tags rather than the file structure.

Q: Will it play Bluetooth Audio?
A: Yes. From my Nexus 4/Android, it will play whatever is queued in the music app. It will let you move forward and back. But that's about it. No album art is displayed. I think the audio is quieter through Bluetooth.

Q: How do you switch between media types?
A: Radio is separate to Multimedia. In Multimedia, you choose the source: USB, Bluetooth or Aux In.

Q: Is it loud enough?
A: It's better than the CD Boost in my older Cooper. (But probably is not quite loud enough for me, and my heartfelt desire to play loud 80's rock music.)
 
T

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#16 ·
Thanks for that. A couple of comments -
ID3 tag info is better than filenames, and most systems would use that method of structuring music.
I have read that album art is streamed with music for IOS devices.
Bluetooth streaming may be quieter, and it may well be less quality than wired connection, all dependant on the bitrate of the music file. I still find streaming from my phone the most convenient method, but that may change once the new motor arrives. I,d be interested in knowing if the snap-in adapter is really worth the money.
Texy
 
lawrothegreat

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#17 ·
Some further useful info:


The media XL 8.8" screen will play videos directly from USB sticks. Both *.mov and *.mp4 files work with no dropped frames or sound issues.


I have six speakers (including two large woofers under the front seats). I read on a German site that the two additional speakers come if you have "driving modes" with the visual boost option, but I have no idea if this is true - I understood the synthesised sound had it's speaker in the rear.


If you have the six speakers (not the HK system) then it is worth noting that the sound quality including the level of bass (obviously not a marker in itself of sound quality) is much better than that I had in my 2007 R56.


If you're an audiophile then make sure you test both systems with a higher quality digital file before getting the HK system - it is expensive and background noise whilst driving may negate some of the sound quality benefits.
 
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