Playlists on a flash drive?

[Arafel]

Hello, looking for suggestions. I've managed to import my library from iTunes to MM, including my playlists. I've synced everything to a flash drive, and in my car all artists, albums, etc, are viewable. However, the playlists don't show in the playlists folder, even if they are there. My stereo is a Kenwood 697S. Do I have to change the format of the playlists somehow so that I can use them on a flash drive? Are playlists not something you can do on a car stereo using a flash drive?

FYI, the playlists work in MM on the home computer.

[Lowlander]

You'll need to investigate (or experiment) what the device supports regarding Playlists. MediaMonkey has different options on how to Sync Playlists.

[Arafel]

If it doesn't support m3u files, are there any options? Or am I screwed on playlist functionality?

[Lowlander]

M3U is supported pretty widely, but you have other options including PLS.

[Peke]

Hi,
Based on device manual https://manual.kenwood.com/files/IM402_ref_K_En_11.pdf Device really do not support Playlists (common issues with relatively newer devices that assume you always use online sources for Music) but it looks like it is Folder + filename based (p.44-47) and Require some Profile destination settings changes (More about that later).

I also Noticed that device supports Wired Android Auto (p.41) which means if you connect Phone over USB then you can use MMA on Phone (unless it is iPhone that do not have MM) and have full support of almost all MMA features.as MMA Supports Android Auto.

Finally you can also use Phone Mirroring (p.36)

as for Syncing to SDcard/USB I would suggest these changes to Sync Profiles settings -> File locations. In all fields of File Locations enter this mask "Music\<Playlist>\<Auto Number>. <Title> - $Left(<Artist>,20)" which will tell MM to create Folder based on Playlist name and create filenames based on tyrack order in Playlist. That way Kenwood will recognize and play each folder like playlist. It is great, but downside is that if you have tracks in multiple playlists then they will be duplicated on SDCard/Flash. Usage of such structure is described at manual (p.44-47).

Personally if I were on your place I would first try Wired Android Auto as it provides multiple benefits like Auto Switch to Hands free or KENWOOD Phone Mirroring (Check other versions for device compatibility) and use MMA on phone.

EDIT: I just checked price and for 800+ USD I would rather buy 2x devices (one as backup if first one breaks) from respected Chinese Android Head Units maker and have Fully customizable Android Head Unit in my car than branded overpriced unit (in my car I have one paid 350USD 7 years go, running MMA 2.0 and 64GB SDcard containing whatever I want, music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, ...)

[Arafel]

Hi

I've tried twice to create a flash drive for my car that mimics my old iPod Classic using MM. The first time, I formatted the drive as NTFS. It took MM 15 hours to sync to the drive. In the car, any artists after half my "R's" in my library wouldn't show under "Artists."

I decided to try again and reformatted as eFAT. The 10,000- plus songs copied faster, but now folders aren't there and artists end in the "M's."

Is there any way to get an accurate library to show up?

The stereo is a Kenwood DNX697S, which is a new system so it shouldn't be a problem

[Lowlander]

Perhaps the device has a limit to the amount of folders it can read. You could try to create letter folders (\<Album Artist:1>\), with the Artists organized in there.

[Arafel]

Perhaps the device has a limit to the amount of folders it can read. You could try to create letter folders (\<Album Artist:1>\), with the Artists organized in there.

Not just a device limit. I tried it in a different stereo and had the same problem with how many artists it read. As for my phone, I'd need to upgrade to a 512 gb phone from my current 256 to make that work

[Peke]

Hi,
I must agree with Lowlander, if you plan to have 10k+ tracks on portable device then most likely it will be bottleneck.

From my experience unless Head Unit is custom Linux or Android I really doubt you will have more than 10k of tracks and usually folder structure is limited to 256 up to 3 levels deep with 99-999 per folder and total of 9999 tracks.

That was the purpose of MMA and library management.

Personally I do no see the point of having 10k tracks on Head unit, tried and connected external HDD of 1TB with 45k tracks which unless are ordered in playlists there is no way that I even Scroll thru all tracks fast enough before I turn key and start driving. 1-3k tracks synced and rotated thru playlists is more than enough. Stats taken 20-25 tracks are 1h of music which means for 24h I need 700 tracks eg. around 8-16GB (depends on format) sorted in 10-15 playlists I like where I have easy freedom to switch them and it do not distract me from driving.

[Arafel]

Hi,
I must agree with Lowlander, if you plan to have 10k+ tracks on portable device then most likely it will be bottleneck.

From my experience unless Head Unit is custom Linux or Android I really doubt you will have more than 10k of tracks and usually folder structure is limited to 256 up to 3 levels deep with 99-999 per folder and total of 9999 tracks.

That was the purpose of MMA and library management.

Personally I do no see the point of having 10k tracks on Head unit, tried and connected external HDD of 1TB with 45k tracks which unless are ordered in playlists there is no way that I even Scroll thru all tracks fast enough before I turn key and start driving. 1-3k tracks synced and rotated thru playlists is more than enough. Stats taken 20-25 tracks are 1h of music which means for 24h I need 700 tracks eg. around 8-16GB (depends on format) sorted in 10-15 playlists I like where I have easy freedom to switch them and it do not distract me from driving.

The purpose is to have me entire music library. I had a 512 gb iPod Classic for that reason. Sorry you have no imagination

[Lowlander]

Most of these devices are not designed for large libraries, thus you run into their limitations with such a large library. Some have limits on the amount of folders, others on the amounts of file, or even both. Check with the manufacturer what, if any, limitations your device may have and if there are any work-arounds.

[Peke]

The purpose is to have me entire music library. I had a 512 gb iPod Classic for that reason. Sorry you have no imagination

OK, I understood why you want, but from experience (worked for 30+ radio stations over past 25 years) and avid collector that have 200k of Music tracks and 7k+ playlists. Every device that I used render unusable on larger library.

Call Kenwood and ask for limitations. We already know one, no playlist support.

[Arafel]

I called Kenwood. There are no limitations on the number of files.

And again. this is happening on MULTIPLE stereos, not just the Kenwood.

This is the xport setting:

\Music\<Album Artist> - <Album>\<Track #:2> $Left(<Artist>,20) - <Title>

[Lowlander]

Unless you are missing files on the drive when navigating on Windows the problem is most likely with the device reading the files. Have you tried a different drive?

[Arafel]

Unless you are missing files on the drive when navigating on Windows the problem is most likely with the device reading the files. Have you tried a different drive?

Not yet. I'll try that. Thanks