iDrive - RDS and mp3 - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum

RedStripe · 06-01-2005, 05:33 PM

For US spec e90 owners out there, I've heard that those with iDrive do not have RDS functionality for their radios AND cannot play mp3 CD's in the BMW CD changer accessory. Can anyone out there verify this, or otherwise provide anecdotal evidence to the contrary? Thanks.

deutschmann59 · 06-01-2005, 07:37 PM

Redstripe...as far as I've seen so far, my iDrive radio is not RDS equipped. I figured that it would be, considering my old cavalier had an RDS equipped radio. I find it even more strange because if you play a CD-R with encoded text (song title) they will appear on the screen. But you can't get the names of the songs from the radio. At least, I haven't been able to figure out how to do it if you can. As far as MP3, the info brochure says you can play mp3s with iDrive, as long as you have the changer. But if you've read some other member's threads, we know that many people seem to be having problems playing mp3 discs in their changer. I really don't know for sure about either issues.

RedStripe · 06-01-2005, 07:51 PM

Thanks for the post. You said you can get it to play a CD-R with encoded text in the in-dash CD player and it will show song titles on the screen? Sweet! Would it be possible for you to post a picture of that screen shot for us?

I brought in a CD-R to test out a iDrive radio (and the Logic 7), and I only got the circular 1, 2, 3,... track number screen on iDrive. And all I did was burn some .mp3's in music CD format using DeepBurner (a pretty good freeware CD burning utility I was able to install on a work computer, though I've never heard of anyone using it). How do you burn a music CD with encoded text? Thanks.

deutschmann59 · 06-01-2005, 09:40 PM

Here you go, Redstripe. Sorry, they're terrible pictures (I'm really conisdering taking photography lessons

). The CD was "Be Here Now" by Oasis. It's kind of hard to see, but if you look in the left hand corner, you can see two song titles "Don't Go Away" and "All Around The World". Using the burning program, you can enter any text you want, and it appears on the cd screen of the iDrive.

I used Nero to burn this CD. In the start up screen, there's a check box "Write CD text on CD". Just click that, enter artist, cd title, and then you can edit every track song title. The only thing is only the song title comes up, not the album title or band. So if you make a mixed cd, when you edit the mp3s, just title them like this "Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly".

I used Nero to do this, but I know for a fact you can use Windows Media Player (I have version 10--I think that is the newest version and can be downloaded from Microsoft.com). You should be able to enter cd text with that program too, but I'm not positive.

RedStripe · 06-01-2005, 09:43 PM

Wow, thanks. I'm definitely going to check that out.

If only we can somehow get mp3 ability too on the in-dash CD player. Sigh

silverado · 06-03-2005, 01:07 PM

BMW NA told me this morning that RDS has been "phased out" of the iDrive radio due to technical problems (confirming what the dealer told me yesterday). They had no information on whether it would come back.

flyboy-sa · 06-03-2005, 01:14 PM

Guys I can confirm that the 6 disc cd changer does NOT play MP3's. BMW SA is replacing my cd changer in october when they release a MP3 compatible CD Changer. The E90's in South Africa also dont have RDS but I have also noticed playing cd's in the front loader displays song names.

RedStripe · 06-03-2005, 05:36 PM

Well, if they switch out the actual CD changer for you, then mp3 capability must reside with the hardware, no? Did your dealer mention anything about a software upgrade to go with it?

RedStripe · 06-03-2005, 06:05 PM

Thanks Silverado for PM'ing me the contact info for BMW NA. I called them right up and got someone. Very nice people, and not offshored! Anyways, I asked about my mp3/iDrive hardware or software thing... and they didn't know of anything. They didn't even know about RDS or mp3 through the Cd changer issues for iDrive cars. Furthermore, my last question was about DRL's, and they said they didn't know anything about them either. I guess the answers you get just depend on who you talk to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverado

BMW NA told me this morning that RDS has been "phased out" of the iDrive radio due to technical problems (confirming what the dealer told me yesterday). They had no information on whether it would come back.

deutschmann59 · 06-03-2005, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedStripe

Anyways, I asked about my mp3/iDrive hardware or software thing... and they didn't know of anything. They didn't even know about RDS or mp3 through the Cd changer issues for iDrive cars. Furthermore, my last question was about DRL's, and they said they didn't know anything about them either. I guess the answers you get just depend on who you talk to.

It's funny that you guys on the forum sometimes know more than the people that build the car! I found this to be true with dealers, but I never expected it would be the same way with BMW NA!

RedStripe · 06-03-2005, 06:35 PM

Ooops... I meant to post that last one in the DRL thread. Anyways, I don't read to much into these discrepencies. I mean, the people who answer the phones are nice and all, but they are really just customer service people who can only speak from their database of info. The real responsibility lies with those in the coroporate office to give out the concrete technical details.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharp1183

It's funny that you guys on the forum sometimes know more than the people that build the car! I found this to be true with dealers, but I never expected it would be the same way with BMW NA!

deutschmann59 · 06-03-2005, 06:49 PM

You're definitely right. I guess it would be nice, then, if these corporate guys would inform us a little better instead of leaving all these holes for us. I realize that the car is really only out for a month now, but for example, the brochure says "You CAN play MP3 discs with iDrive if you have the changer". If it turns out that someone made a mistake, or more realistically, you'll need an update or something, they should let us know somehow, or educate the sales reps and dealerships better. I mean, most smart car shoppers want to know EXACTLY what a car can do and what it can't.

I can't think of a better example than when I tried to special order an IS300 last year and everyone said I couldn't get one with DVD navigation and the sports package because the 2005 models didn't have these options anymore, and all the 2005 models were all already built. It got me mad, though, because the Web site and brochure both said the 2005 IS300 can have the sport package and Navi, but even when I called Lexus, they really had no idea what I was talking about.

flyboy-sa · 06-05-2005, 03:33 AM

Hi Redstripe. They mentioned nothing about a software upgrade they only said that after they change the cd changer MP3's will play. So perhaps the software is compatible but the hardware is not - maybe a whole bumch of old E46 changers they are putting into the E90's just to "get rid of them". I must say my changer looks exacly like my old E46 changer.

RedStripe · 06-05-2005, 03:53 AM

Ahhhh! This decision is killing me. I really, really want to love the iDrive... they're just making it so hard for me to. Why, BMW, why?

RedStripe · 06-05-2005, 04:52 AM

If you have iDrive and BMW Assist (Bluetooth), is it possible to get a screen that shows you the 10 single digits (0 - 9, like on a phone or ATM keypad) so you can dial using your iDrive controller knob?

E90Fleet · 06-05-2005, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyboy-sa

Hi Redstripe. They mentioned nothing about a software upgrade they only said that after they change the cd changer MP3's will play. So perhaps the software is compatible but the hardware is not - maybe a whole bumch of old E46 changers they are putting into the E90's just to "get rid of them". I must say my changer looks exacly like my old E46 changer.

No, the E46 one is different, the E90 now shares changers with the 1 Series

audionet1 · 07-06-2005, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedStripe

If you have iDrive and BMW Assist (Bluetooth), is it possible to get a screen that shows you the 10 single digits (0 - 9, like on a phone or ATM keypad) so you can dial using your iDrive controller knob?

Yepp, it is. there is an option that pops down saying "Keypad." You can also dial using voice command just say "Phone. Dial number" and it asks you the number. You can also say "options" in any menu to hear some of the voice command options - helpful if you can't take your hands off the wheel. Plus, it's really impressive to your friends to say "CD. Track Five." and hear him repeat it back to you "track five." Haha

RedStripe · 11-16-2005, 10:33 AM

It took me forever to find this old thread last night. I think we need a sticky about .mp3 formats and stuff to get the title working in the display.

Anyways, this is about song titles when you burn your own audio CD mixes. I just wanted to say that I tried this last night with Windows Media Player 10, and I did NOT get the titles to work like sharp1183 has decribed. I will try using NERO tonight.

I can't believe this topic hasn't been discussed before, or maybe no one really knows about it. The title of this thread doesn't really help either.

Anyways, does anyone know of any other CD burning software that does the "encoded text" thing successfully? Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharp1183

Here you go, Redstripe. Sorry, they're terrible pictures (I'm really conisdering taking photography lessons

). The CD was "Be Here Now" by Oasis. It's kind of hard to see, but if you look in the left hand corner, you can see two song titles "Don't Go Away" and "All Around The World". Using the burning program, you can enter any text you want, and it appears on the cd screen of the iDrive.

I used Nero to burn this CD. In the start up screen, there's a check box "Write CD text on CD". Just click that, enter artist, cd title, and then you can edit every track song title. The only thing is only the song title comes up, not the album title or band. So if you make a mixed cd, when you edit the mp3s, just title them like this "Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly".

I used Nero to do this, but I know for a fact you can use Windows Media Player (I have version 10--I think that is the newest version and can be downloaded from Microsoft.com). You should be able to enter cd text with that program too, but I'm not positive.

RedStripe · 02-18-2006, 02:27 PM

Digging up an old thread. In summary, I bought a pre-Sept '05 e90 with iDrive, got the software update and mp3 retrofit in February '06, and now my car has RDS and mp3 capability.

About the CD text issue, I used Nero to burn mp3's into an audio CD, and it worked fine. In fact, the only program I came across that had the CD text option was Nero. iTunes and Windows Media Player did not have the CD text option available when I tried creating audio CD's.

c5driver951 · 02-18-2006, 02:58 PM

The MP3 CDs I created with i-Tunes worked fine. All of the song titles showed up perfectly.

SteveMD · 02-19-2006, 08:11 AM

FWIW, on FM the iDrive radio indicates the station's call letters. So it is decoding some RDS.

06-01-2005, 05:33 PM	#1
RedStripe Captain Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 662 iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	Audio CD Song titles (Previously Called: iDrive - RDS and mp3) For US spec e90 owners out there, I've heard that those with iDrive do not have RDS functionality for their radios AND cannot play mp3 CD's in the BMW CD changer accessory. Can anyone out there verify this, or otherwise provide anecdotal evidence to the contrary? Thanks. Last edited by RedStripe; 11-16-2005 at 10:36 AM.
	Tweet

06-01-2005, 09:40 PM	#4
deutschmann59 Captain Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: e90post.com Posts: 758 iTrader: (0)	Here you go, Redstripe. Sorry, they're terrible pictures (I'm really conisdering taking photography lessons ). The CD was "Be Here Now" by Oasis. It's kind of hard to see, but if you look in the left hand corner, you can see two song titles "Don't Go Away" and "All Around The World". Using the burning program, you can enter any text you want, and it appears on the cd screen of the iDrive. I used Nero to burn this CD. In the start up screen, there's a check box "Write CD text on CD". Just click that, enter artist, cd title, and then you can edit every track song title. The only thing is only the song title comes up, not the album title or band. So if you make a mixed cd, when you edit the mp3s, just title them like this "Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly". I used Nero to do this, but I know for a fact you can use Windows Media Player (I have version 10--I think that is the newest version and can be downloaded from Microsoft.com). You should be able to enter cd text with that program too, but I'm not positive. Attached Images

06-03-2005, 06:49 PM	#12
deutschmann59 Captain Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: e90post.com Posts: 758 iTrader: (0)	You're definitely right. I guess it would be nice, then, if these corporate guys would inform us a little better instead of leaving all these holes for us. I realize that the car is really only out for a month now, but for example, the brochure says "You CAN play MP3 discs with iDrive if you have the changer". If it turns out that someone made a mistake, or more realistically, you'll need an update or something, they should let us know somehow, or educate the sales reps and dealerships better. I mean, most smart car shoppers want to know EXACTLY what a car can do and what it can't. I can't think of a better example than when I tried to special order an IS300 last year and everyone said I couldn't get one with DVD navigation and the sports package because the 2005 models didn't have these options anymore, and all the 2005 models were all already built. It got me mad, though, because the Web site and brochure both said the 2005 IS300 can have the sport package and Navi, but even when I called Lexus, they really had no idea what I was talking about. Last edited by deutschmann59; 06-03-2005 at 07:01 PM.

02-18-2006, 02:58 PM	#20
c5driver951 Major, no really Drives: '06 330i Blk/Blk Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Dover, DE Posts: 43 iTrader: (0)	The MP3 CDs I created with i-Tunes worked fine. All of the song titles showed up perfectly. __________________ Joel Wahlsten My other car isn't...

02-19-2006, 08:11 AM	#21
SteveMD London was home for 26 years. Now a Marylander! Drives: '09 335i, '11 GTI DSG Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Raventown! Posts: 2,232 iTrader: (3) Garage List 2009 BMW 335i [0.00] 2006 330i [0.00]	FWIW, on FM the iDrive radio indicates the station's call letters. So it is decoding some RDS. __________________ 2009 E90 335i One mod: JB4 - Best 1/4: 12.782@108.54mph 2011 VW GTI/DSG See me for Industrial Electronic Repair.

06-01-2005, 07:37 PM	#2
deutschmann59 Captain Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: e90post.com Posts: 758 iTrader: (0)	Redstripe...as far as I've seen so far, my iDrive radio is not RDS equipped. I figured that it would be, considering my old cavalier had an RDS equipped radio. I find it even more strange because if you play a CD-R with encoded text (song title) they will appear on the screen. But you can't get the names of the songs from the radio. At least, I haven't been able to figure out how to do it if you can. As far as MP3, the info brochure says you can play mp3s with iDrive, as long as you have the changer. But if you've read some other member's threads, we know that many people seem to be having problems playing mp3 discs in their changer. I really don't know for sure about either issues.

06-01-2005, 07:51 PM	#3
RedStripe Captain Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 662 iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	Thanks for the post. You said you can get it to play a CD-R with encoded text in the in-dash CD player and it will show song titles on the screen? Sweet! Would it be possible for you to post a picture of that screen shot for us? I brought in a CD-R to test out a iDrive radio (and the Logic 7), and I only got the circular 1, 2, 3,... track number screen on iDrive. And all I did was burn some .mp3's in music CD format using DeepBurner (a pretty good freeware CD burning utility I was able to install on a work computer, though I've never heard of anyone using it). How do you burn a music CD with encoded text? Thanks.

06-01-2005, 09:43 PM	#5
RedStripe Captain Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 662 iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	Wow, thanks. I'm definitely going to check that out. If only we can somehow get mp3 ability too on the in-dash CD player. Sigh

06-03-2005, 01:07 PM	#6
silverado Lieutenant Drives: E90 330i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Boston Posts: 590 iTrader: (0)	BMW NA told me this morning that RDS has been "phased out" of the iDrive radio due to technical problems (confirming what the dealer told me yesterday). They had no information on whether it would come back.

06-03-2005, 01:14 PM	#7
flyboy-sa Private First Class Drives: E90 330 ... almost Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Johannesburg Posts: 59 iTrader: (0)	Guys I can confirm that the 6 disc cd changer does NOT play MP3's. BMW SA is replacing my cd changer in october when they release a MP3 compatible CD Changer. The E90's in South Africa also dont have RDS but I have also noticed playing cd's in the front loader displays song names.

06-03-2005, 05:36 PM	#8
RedStripe Captain Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 662 iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	Well, if they switch out the actual CD changer for you, then mp3 capability must reside with the hardware, no? Did your dealer mention anything about a software upgrade to go with it?

06-05-2005, 03:33 AM	#13
flyboy-sa Private First Class Drives: E90 330 ... almost Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Johannesburg Posts: 59 iTrader: (0)	Hi Redstripe. They mentioned nothing about a software upgrade they only said that after they change the cd changer MP3's will play. So perhaps the software is compatible but the hardware is not - maybe a whole bumch of old E46 changers they are putting into the E90's just to "get rid of them". I must say my changer looks exacly like my old E46 changer.

06-05-2005, 03:53 AM	#14
RedStripe Captain Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 662 iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	Ahhhh! This decision is killing me. I really, really want to love the iDrive... they're just making it so hard for me to. Why, BMW, why?

06-05-2005, 04:52 AM	#15
RedStripe Captain Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 662 iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	If you have iDrive and BMW Assist (Bluetooth), is it possible to get a screen that shows you the 10 single digits (0 - 9, like on a phone or ATM keypad) so you can dial using your iDrive controller knob?

02-18-2006, 02:27 PM	#19
RedStripe Captain Drives: 2006 BMW 325i Join Date: May 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 662 iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 BMW 325i [0.00]	Digging up an old thread. In summary, I bought a pre-Sept '05 e90 with iDrive, got the software update and mp3 retrofit in February '06, and now my car has RDS and mp3 capability. About the CD text issue, I used Nero to burn mp3's into an audio CD, and it worked fine. In fact, the only program I came across that had the CD text option was Nero. iTunes and Windows Media Player did not have the CD text option available when I tried creating audio CD's.