[vahiker99]

Here we go, yet another question about Album Art. I have read several threads and I am still not clear whether I should be able to have album art.

I do not have BMW Assist or Navigation. I am using a flash drive stick.
When I play music from the stick, using Windows Media Player, the art shows.

In my car, using the stick, I do not get any Album Art. Is this the way it is since I do not have BMW Assist or am I doing something wrong?

I must say, my ignorance of what I missed by not getting BMW Assist haunts me several months after my purchase.

Again, sorry for another thread about this, but my searching did not clearly answer my question.

[Hunted]

Hi there,

In my F30 I have this CODE 6NK installed as additional. I think you need that in your car to be able to have extended Bluetooth & USB functions. I don't have BMW assist nor Navigation.

Maybe this assists.

Cheers
H

[newzie]

Originally Posted by vahiker99

Here we go, yet another question about Album Art. I have read several threads and I am still not clear whether I should be able to have album art.

I do not have BMW Assist or Navigation. I am using a flash drive stick.
When I play music from the stick, using Windows Media Player, the art shows.

In my car, using the stick, I do not get any Album Art. Is this the way it is since I do not have BMW Assist or am I doing something wrong?

I must say, my ignorance of what I missed by not getting BMW Assist haunts me several months after my purchase.

Again, sorry for another thread about this, but my searching did not clearly answer my question.

I am curious what you have under your BMW Assist menu on the screen without BMW Assist. I do not have BMW Assist like you but for some reason I have something under the menu with no "available services".

I do get artwork with my iPhone 5 simply by using the USB cable. I do not have to use the Y cord to get artwork.

[Jparker82]

I get album art with radio and iPhone. I do not have navi, but on the AH3 it's the same DVD unit as the navi. It's just not activated.

[newzie]

Originally Posted by Jparker82

I get album art with radio and iPhone. I do not have navi, but on the AH3 it's the same DVD unit as the navi. It's just not activated.

That's what the dealer says, and the window sticker even shows Navigation prep under the standard features, but BMW won't install it or says that it isn't available.

Whatever the case, on the main menu do you have BMW Assist, and if so what options do you have available?

[Jparker82]

Originally Posted by newzie

That's what the dealer says, and the window sticker even shows Navigation prep under the standard features, but BMW won't install it or says that it isn't available.

Whatever the case, on the main menu do you have BMW Assist, and if so what options do you have available?

Yes i do have BMW assist on menu. Our units are navi units that are not turned on. Patryk at bimmerretrofit or its called a similar name can code and turn system on for $800. I have heard in other countries BMW will sell the code to turn them on. Not here yet!!! The Hybrid system needs the navi to function properly. I have noticed a few things that don't work on my unit. Sport display and hard drive won't record CD. When I bought my car it was the only m sport with heated seats in the country. So I got what I got. Looking back probably should of just ordered.

I just had a hard time sending $800 to Poland for someone to code my car remotely. Don't get me wrong Patryk has a good rep. I will just keep pushing BMW for the MPPK and the Navi code. They will break. LOL.

I just bought a 8in navi unit with Bluetooth that Sync my phone and Radar is also Bluetooth so I've got plenty of tech to get me by until i get codes

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Jparker82

I get album art with radio and iPhone. I do not have navi, but on the AH3 it's the same DVD unit as the navi. It's just not activated.

That is because your NBT iDrive has a built-in Combox.

Combox = BMW Apps (if activated) = Album Art

Nothing to do with Nav or DVD.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Jparker82

I just had a hard time sending $800 to Poland for someone to code my car remotely. Don't get me wrong Patryk has a good rep.

Pay by PayPal and you will not need to worry about it. It is simple.

I can even make it much simpler to you: if Patryk gets your money and you do not get what you pay for, and PayPal refuses to get your money back then I refund it to you.

I'm Technic and I approve this message. Print it. Seriously.

I will just keep pushing BMW for the MPPK and the Navi code. They will break. LOL.

They won't in the USA. Not back in 2009, not in 2013.

[Jparker82]

Originally Posted by Technic

Pay by PayPal and you will not need to worry about it. It is simple.

I can even make it much simpler to you: if Patryk gets your money and you do not get what you pay for, and PayPal refuses to get your money back then I refund it to you.

I'm Technic and I approve this message. Print it. Seriously.



They won't in the USA. Not back in 2009, not in 2013.

My car was down for 22 days and it ruined a 30 day road trip. A once in a lifetime road trip. BMW and the dealer are supposed to make it up to me. Let's see what they do and I will go from there.

[MikeVictor]

Depending on the year model it has to do with id3 tags being set up correctly I believe. Also the file type. I have some albums that show at off the usb stick and some that don't. I think it had to do with the format I chose when I ripped from the original CD. I'll investigate and post my findings.

[hawk_a45]

Not always id tags are embedded in mp3 files: it depends wether the encoder has explicitely done it.

[vahiker99]

If the album art shows when I am playing the files with Windows Media Player, then the files have the ID tags? Right? I have come to the conclusion that a car without navigation and without BMW assist cannot show Album Art...

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by vahiker99

If the album art shows when I am playing the files with Windows Media Player, then the files have the ID tags? Right? I have come to the conclusion that a car without navigation and without BMW assist cannot show Album Art...

Maybe. Unfortunately, it's just not that simple.

There are at least two different versions of the id3 metadata format, and there are even things like extensions to the original id3 that permitted additional data but are now pretty much obsolete. In addition there are mp4 files (.m4a or .mp4) which can contain id3 and extensible metadata platform (XMP) tags. There are also other containers that can use these plus a multitude of different metadata "tagging" formats. It's literally a gordian knot of variation.

Your best bet, if you can get some metadata to show in I-Drive but not all the time, is to get "tagging" software and try to standardize your media files as much as possible. Something like http://www.mp3tag.de/en/ (although I've never used it, so I cannot actually endorse it, but there are many different similar applications).

Good luck!

[vahiker99]

Originally Posted by JesseS

Maybe. Unfortunately, it's just not that simple.

There are at least two different versions of the id3 metadata format, and there are even things like extensions to the original id3 that permitted additional data but are now pretty much obsolete. In addition there are mp4 files (.m4a or .mp4) which can contain id3 and extensible metadata platform (XMP) tags. There are also other containers that can use these plus a multitude of different metadata "tagging" formats. It's literally a gordian knot of variation.

Your best bet, if you can get some metadata to show in I-Drive but not all the time, is to get "tagging" software and try to standardize your media files as much as possible. Something like http://www.mp3tag.de/en/ (although I've never used it, so I cannot actually endorse it, but there are many different similar applications).

Good luck!

Thanks JesseS. Good details. Guess I will go back to the drawing board and give it another try. The one thing I have not seen is where anyone WITHOUT BMW assist is definitely saying they see Album Art. Can even one person confirm they see Album Art without BMW Assist and without Navigation? I am using flash drive in the center console.

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by vahiker99

Thanks JesseS. Good details. Guess I will go back to the drawing board and give it another try. The one thing I have not seen is where anyone WITHOUT BMW assist is definitely saying they see Album Art. Can even one person confirm they see Album Art without BMW Assist and without Navigation? I am using flash drive in the center console.

I believe, but I'm not totally sure, that you cannot get id3 album art on CIC w/out 609, but I don't think BMW Assist (612) has any direct bearing on it. I don't even think album artwork is "officially" supported at all except over the iPhone enhanced usb interface, but it definitely works for some people on CIC/609.

[vahiker99]

Originally Posted by JesseS

I believe, but I'm not totally sure, that you cannot get id3 album art on CIC w/out 609, but I don't think BMW Assist (612) has any direct bearing on it. I don't even think album artwork is "officially" supported at all except over the iPhone enhanced usb interface, but it definitely works for some people on CIC/609.

To the best of my knowledge, the enhanced usb is one of the things BMW Assist gives you. I have not tried my iPhone for Album Art. I cannot directly connect to USB with lightning cable, I have to use the Y cable and I do not have the 30 pin to lightning adapter, so I have never connected my iPhone to the car via USB.

[JesseS]

Originally Posted by vahiker99

To the best of my knowledge, the enhanced usb is one of the things BMW Assist gives you. I have not tried my iPhone for Album Art. I cannot directly connect to USB with lightning cable, I have to use the Y cable and I do not have the 30 pin to lightning adapter, so I have never connected my iPhone to the car via USB.

Ah, I understand. You need the 6NK/6NL combox which may include "BMW Assist", but it's the enhanced usb via the combox that actually matters. It's not available for retrofit by bmw, but there are third parties that claim to be able to do it.