B & O upgrade

[JohnH99]

Just dropped my car into the dealers this morning to have the multitronic box looked at to try and resolve the clunking and stalling that occasionally happens when selecting reverse and I noticed on the paperwork that its due to have a "B & O upgrade". I asked the service person what this is and they didn't seem to know so I'm just being curious in asking if anybody on here knows what it is.

[mkc]

So do you have the B&O factory fitted stereo and we are suggesting that this may be an upgrade of some sort to that stereo?

[a8 tech]

software update for the b&o system

[kelvinbishop]

Hi A8 tech.

Is it possible for you to find out what the software update does please. Then I can decide whether to pester my dealer for it.

Thanks for all your contribution on this site by the way. Much appreciated.

[JohnH99]

MKC - yes its the standard factory fit B & O system. I just saw "B & O upgrade" on the paperwork. I also have the AMI and connect a WD 250gb USB hard drive and I'm very wary of anything that might upset it. I'll let you know tomorrow if I can hear any difference.

The good thing is that they have lent me an 2.0 tdi multi S line Avant in Monza silver which would have been almost exactly what I was going to order had I not bought the ex demo 2.7 launch car. A few more toys and I might be tempted....

[a8 tech]

91e2 recall for b&o.
the control unit stores a fault and the audio output can fail.Ring your dealer and they will check if your vehicle falls into the recall criterion.Its CD ROM UPDATE AND CAN BE CARRIED OUT IN 1 HOUR

[kelvinbishop]

91e2 recall for b&o.
the control unit stores a fault and the audio output can fail.Ring your dealer and they will check if your vehicle falls into the recall criterion.Its CD ROM UPDATE AND CAN BE CARRIED OUT IN 1 HOUR

Thanks a8 Tech - Much appreciated
:beerchug:

[BMWBig6]

I also have the AMI and connect a WD 250gb USB hard drive and I'm very wary of anything that might upset it.

What exact model WD hard drive do you have? And does it automatically power off when the car is off? (and turn on when the car is on?)

[JohnH99]

What exact model WD hard drive do you have? And does it automatically power off when the car is off? (and turn on when the car is on?)

Its one of those “my passport” jobs. There is a part number on the back that reads WD250ME-00. It was pre formatted as FAT32 so all I did was delete the applications that came with it and added a directory to rip to. Audi recommend adding a directory that appears first alphabetically on the drive to hold all the music files. Currently there are around 4500 files on it taking up around 20 GB mostly 192kbps WMA. Audi quote that MP3, WMA and AAC are supported but I had problems with AAC but MP3 and WMA worked fine.

As far as the power is concerned, I don’t really know. The power LED usually lights as soon as the drive is connected to the AMI but I have plugged it in and the light has not come on which may be due to the Audi power saving system. I normally leave the drive in the car all the time and have not had any problems with it draining the battery so I guess the car manages it.

[AndyH123]

I've got a WD Passport drive in mine too (see my thread on using USB with AMI).

I've never seen the drive light go off, but I'm pretty sure the car is looking after itself.

[JohnH99]

I've got a WD Passport drive in mine too (see my thread on using USB with AMI).

Andy

It was your original post that persuaded me to go the USB route as opposed to buying an iPod.

[BMWBig6]

Currently there are around 4500 files on it taking up around 20 GB mostly 192kbps WMA. Audi quote that MP3, WMA and AAC are supported but I had problems with AAC but MP3 and WMA worked fine.

Will it detect/recognize playlist files (like *.m3u)?

And is there a file number limitation (like there is for the SD cards)?



I've got a WD Passport drive in mine too (see my thread on using USB with AMI).

I've never seen the drive light go off, but I'm pretty sure the car is looking after itself.

Andy, is your WD Passport also a WD250ME, or another model?

[AndyH123]

Mine is a WD1500XMS-00

I've got about 80Gb of 192kbps .wma on there. Not sure how many files that is, but it copes fine. Just gets a little slow when navigating back to the root and if you scroll through the A-Z list very quickly.


I think playlist support is limited to the iPod, but I haven't really gone to town with trying different extensions

[BMWBig6]

Hmm, it looks like there are 2 different types of USB cables for AMI. I suppose one is a female receptacle, and the other is male? Or are they different size USB connectors?

Which one is needed for the WD Passport drives?

[AndyH123]

Hmm, it looks like there are 2 different types of USB cables for AMI. I suppose one is a female receptacle, and the other is male? Or are they different size USB connectors?

Which one is needed for the WD Passport drives?


http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=43095

Different sizes:
Full size USB - part code 4F0051510G
Mini USB - part code 4F0051510H

Some more details in the thread.

[JohnH99]

Will it detect/recognize playlist files (like *.m3u)?

And is there a file number limitation (like there is for the SD cards)?

According to the manual:

Maximum of 119 playlists, no more than 1000 entries per playlist. Formats supported, M3U, PLS and B4S

As for file numbers:

Maximum of 500 files per directory with the directory structure limited to a maximum of 7 subfolders. Doesn't mention a limit on the number of directories.

For connecting to the AMI, the passport drive uses a mini USB connector.

Have a look at Andy's thread for much more detail.

[BMWBig6]

OK, thanks for the detailed info. If I am reading everything correctly, it looks like the mini USB connector is required for the WD Passport drive, but the full size USB is more useful for flash drives, etc.

[BMWBig6]

Found the AMI/USB cables in the Audi accessories collection, but it says:


USB Cable for AMI
Item Number: 4F0051510G

Mini USB Cable for AMI
Item Number: 4F0051510H

USB Cable to integrate Audi Music Interface (AMI) with your MP3 player. This cable transmits audio signals only, no content is displayed on the MMI screen.

Is that correct? I thought I read that artist/title (and other ID3 tag info) was displayed.

[JohnH99]

Found the AMI/USB cables in the Audi accessories collection, but it says:

Is that correct? I thought I read that artist/title (and other ID3 tag info) was displayed.

The display depends on whether you have the display details option checked. If it not checked you get a track / filename listing in the MMI display that you can scroll through and the folder title (album name?) is displayed at the top. Scrolling up you will see an "up" icon which takes you up a level.

If the details option is checked you get a pop out window on top of the track list that displays the artist name, album name and track title.

[BMWBig6]

The display depends on whether you have the display details option checked. If it not checked you get a track / filename listing in the MMI display that you can scroll through and the folder title (album name?) is displayed at the top. Scrolling up you will see an "up" icon which takes you up a level.

If the details option is checked you get a pop out window on top of the track list that displays the artist name, album name and track title.

Ah ok, I got worried that it would be like the "old" AMI (that only displays Track 23, Track 24, Track 25, etc.). Thanks for confirming for me (the Audi website is obviously not 100% accurate).

I apologize for hi-jacking this thread with so many questions about the AMI/USB interface, but I have one more question. Approximately how long does it take for the WD Passport HD to spin up when you start the car? If you turn on the car, does the stereo immediately resume playing the song where it left off when you last turned off the car? Or does it take several seconds for the drive to spin up and for the stereo to "seek" the appropriate track on the drive? Or does it lose its place and play the first song in the first folder every time you start the car?

[AndyH123]

Ah ok, I got worried that it would be like the "old" AMI (that only displays Track 23, Track 24, Track 25, etc.). Thanks for confirming for me (the Audi website is obviously not 100% accurate).

I apologize for hi-jacking this thread with so many questions about the AMI/USB interface, but I have one more question. Approximately how long does it take for the WD Passport HD to spin up when you start the car? If you turn on the car, does the stereo immediately resume playing the song where it left off when you last turned off the car? Or does it take several seconds for the drive to spin up and for the stereo to "seek" the appropriate track on the drive? Or does it lose its place and play the first song in the first folder every time you start the car?

Mine takes quite a few seconds to start up - says "initialzing the device" or something. But when it's up it will resume from where it left off - although I think there is a limit. I'm sure I've been listening to some hour long radio shows and it's gone back to the start when I thought I was about 45 mins in.

Same goes for switching between USB, Radio and CD - USB and CD will resume from where you left them, even after a restart.

My AMI / MMI seems to take a while to warm up anyway, even on radio it sits silent for as long as it takes to back off the drive.

[BMWBig6]

"quite a few seconds to start up" is a little vague. :) What does that mean? 5 seconds? 30 seconds?

I wonder if this is a factor of the drive itself (and other models may be faster than the WD Passport), or if it has to do with the size (and quantity of files loaded that it has to scan).

[AndyH123]

"quite a few seconds to start up" is a little vague. :) What does that mean? 5 seconds? 30 seconds?




Heh, sorry, I tried to visualise it when I was typing that but realised I'm normally doing other things in parallel, like driving. I'd say it's between 5 and 10 seconds.

That's roughly the time it takes to start car, seat belt, wiggle, rear demist, seat warmer, reverse, parking beep kick in, foot on brake, handbrake button, get off drive, pull away, beep disengages - ah, music.

OK, I think the topic police are on their way, lets move on :)

[BMWBig6]

Hehe, ok. I shall restrain myself and quit while I'm ahead. Thanks everyone!