[tribuin]

Ok, I have seen two issue with the iPod interface and want to see if anyone else has seen them:

1) The "Shuffle" setting is NOT staying set after turning the engine off and of. I often set the iPod to shuffle when listening to certain playlists. When i come back the next time to drive the Terrain, I find that it has been turned off.

2) Can not play Podcasts directly from the iPod interface. I had some Lost podcasts that I just downloaded to my iPhone and plugged it in to the USB port. I went to the iPod interface and did not see any choice for Podcasts. Because the interface overrides the iPod application on the iPhone, I had to disconnect the iPhone, start the podcast, and then connect the iPhone back to the USB port. Only then could I listen to the podcast.

Anyone else seeing these issues, or can try to replicate them?

 

[tribuin]

Ahh, the power of search...

http://www.equinoxforum.net/index.php?topic=198.0

Thanks, but looking at that thread, it was how to turn shuffle on and off. However, IMO, the shuffle setting should NOT change back to off everytime I turn the vehicle off and on.

Looks like GM could do a little better with their iPod controls. Hopefully the can provide a firmware fix for this.

 

[gearhead]

Thanks, but looking at that thread, it was how to turn shuffle on and off. However, IMO, the shuffle setting should NOT change back to off everytime I turn the vehicle off and on.

Looks like GM could do a little better with their iPod controls. Hopefully the can provide a firmware fix for this.

The iPOD connects as a USB device, so I think each time power is cycled, the Theta (we have a Terrain but I imagine they're all the same) checks to see what device is connected to the USB port.
We leave our iPOD plugged in all the time and once it's set to to shuffle, I believe it stays that way until we unplug it although I'll have to confirm that to be 100% sure.
Can't help you with the PODcasts, don't have an iPhone.

 

[markwalkerjr]

I have noticed this issue with having to set shuffle every time and I agree it is annoying. I also think gearhead may be right from my looking into it and the vehicle upon shut down does not save the settings of the iPod. I have also loaded almost all 10G of the HDD with music and audiobooks. Unlike the iPod, it dows remember its settings the next time you start the car. My guess is that it writes these to the hard drive at shut down of the car. Maybe a possible firmware solution would be to do this with the USB device plugged in when the car is turned off. But if someone switches devices between starts this may cause a problem. Not too much of a headache but definitely annoying. Probably why I find myself loving the built in HDD space more and more. Downside is that it is not as easy to update and sync as the iPod.

 

[tribuin]

I have noticed this issue with having to set shuffle every time and I agree it is annoying. I also think gearhead may be right from my looking into it and the vehicle upon shut down does not save the settings of the iPod. I have also loaded almost all 10G of the HDD with music and audiobooks. Unlike the iPod, it dows remember its settings the next time you start the car. My guess is that it writes these to the hard drive at shut down of the car. Maybe a possible firmware solution would be to do this with the USB device plugged in when the car is turned off. But if someone switches devices between starts this may cause a problem. Not too much of a headache but definitely annoying. Probably why I find myself loving the built in HDD space more and more. Downside is that it is not as easy to update and sync as the iPod.

I was thinking about loading some songs on the HDD, but since a majority of my songs are purchased from iTunes, I would need to convert them to MP3 (and I still have plenty of protected AAC songs that I would not be able to convert easily.)

 

[markwalkerjr]

I use itunes as well. Not sure about vehicles without the nav installed, but I have put MP3, AAC (M4a), audible, and even some oog vorbis files on the 10GB of space and everything plays without converting. So, I would just give it a go. Do be aware if you use a mac, the FAT system format you can do in Disk Utility does not work and you need to format the stick on a windows machine if you are going to use a USB stick to transfer some songs. You can also import them from a burned disk. I did it both ways. I burned 2 data DVDs and imported about 1300 songs that way. It took about 45 minutes for 500 songs so just do it while you are on a long ride. I also used the usb stick to bring about 100 additional songs on board and about 1 GIG of audible books. I'm loving the HDD. I still have the old iPhone plugged into the USB, but I just have full albums on there so when I am in the mood for that I switch to the USB. I used iTunes Genius to put together some playlists for me that picked from the 16,000 songs I have on my laptop. When one comes on that I don't like I just hit the delete button to free up some HDD space for the future. The added bonus is that I am getting to hear some great songs I haven't heard in awhile and a bunch I have never really heard since I tend to download more than I actually consume each month with my emusic subscription.

 

[markwalkerjr]

Nothing on itunes is DRM protected anymore (last year or so) and most old purchases can be upgraded to a higher bit rate and DRM free track. I use itunes very little to purchase music since I like mostly smaller acts and they are well represented by the much cheaper emusic site. Those are AAC files, but they are definitely DRM free, even their new major label additions. I have never purchased DRM music. I still think that the best way to test is just throw 1-2 tracks on a FAT 32 formatted USB and download them onto the HDD.

 

[tribuin]

Can someone else who uses an iPod confirm whether Albums are sorted by Name or Track #? I have 5th Generation iPod (with Video) that I leave in the Terrain as my main source of music. However, when I go to select an Album, the songs are in alphabetical order instead of by track number. Most of the albums I listen to are Broadway or Theatrical soundtracks so the album order is important. I re-sync'd my the iPod with iTunes last night and made sure that the sort was by Album and NOT by song name. I even verified on the iPod itself that when selecting an album, I get the list in album order. However, when I connected back to the car, the songs are still listed alphabetically when selecting an album.

However, when I connect my iPhone to the USB connector, the Album sort is correct. Everything else is the same.

If others can verify their sort in the Album selection and note it here along with the type of iPod they are using. Thanks.

 

[Dawgdaes]

I had the same problem with my Nox. I bought the car and ran out and bought the big iPod a Costco. Songs were always in alphebetical order. It did not matter wether I load the music froma Mac or PC. I filed a complaint at GM they claim it works as intended. (OLD GM MENTALITY).

Then day out of frustration I plugged in my Iphone 3G. Everything worked fine. So I exchanged the big 5th gen ipod for a Ipod touch and have not looke back.

 

[nitti48]

No terrain but I am wondering if new Firmware I got for the 32G Ipod Touch might do anything different..I found a few things like doing artwork for all songs in an album(mute for terrain audio i think) but u can make each song play at the same loudness(like when sum songs play louder than others) just trying to stay 1 step up until I get my Terrain(2wks)

 

[bkpe2010]

Can not play Podcasts directly from the iPod interface.

I just took delivery of my Equinox yesterday. I've had an idea about how to handle the Podcasts, but I wanted to actually try it before I posted. I think I've found a method that while not perfect, is still better than having to start the Podcast before plugging the iPod into the car.

In iTunes, I just created a playlist for each Podcast I wanted to be able to access. On the "All Podcasts" page in iTunes, I was able to just right click on the Podcast title and add it to its playlist. That added all the episodes of that Podcast to the playlist in one shot.

The system in the Equinox does recognize playlists, so you can browse to your playlist/Podcast and play whichever Podcasts you want using the interface in the car. This works with my iPod Classic (6G) on my Equinox with Navigation. I hope this helps.

 

[nitti48]

OK great for Podcasts but can I make music playlists on my IpodTouch 2nd Gen and might it recognize them???

 

[bkpe2010]

OK great for Podcasts but can I make music playlists on my IpodTouch 2nd Gen and might it recognize them???

I can tell you that on my Equinox with my iPod, all of my playlists are recognized. I would guess (as others have pointed out) that the level of integration depends on which audio system you have, the model of your iPod, firmware revisions, etc.

The manual for the navigation system says that iPod Touch (no specific generation listed) is supported. In the main owner's manual, I couldn't find a specific listing of supported devices. If I had to guess though, I would guess that your playlists will be recognized just fine.

 

[bkpe2010]

Since I listen to quite a few Podcasts, I've done a bit more digging on how to play them using the radio interface. Just thought I'd share what I've found so far. Note, these things work with the Navigation/Infotainment system. I don't know what, if any, of these things work with the other audio systems.

Browse by Artist
Podcast files have the same set of properties as music or any other files. That means you can find your podcasts by simply browsing to the "artist". This will display a list of every file associated with that artist, podcast or otherwise. If you don't know what artist name is associated with a given Podcast, you can display that information in iTunes. If iTunes isn't showing the artist name for your Podcasts, you can display this information by doing the following. On the screen with the track listing for a given Podcast, just right click on the title bar and select the "Artist" field.

Browse by Genre
Most Podcasts (that I subscribe to at least) have a genre in iTunes of "Podcast". If you go to the "Podcast" genre on the audio system, you'll get a list of every Podcast on the iPod.

Smart Playlist
The most useful way I've found to access the Podcasts I want is to setup Smart Playlists in iTunes. If you aren't familiar with Smart Playlists, they are similar to a database query. You setup a list of criteria that automatically populates the playlist with tracks that match that criteria. For example, I've setup a Smart Playlist that includes all tracks that are "Podcasts" that were added to my iTunes file in the last 7 days. I've attached a screen capture to this post. This lets me easily find all the "new" podcasts pretty easily using the vehicle radio interface.

You can set the Smart Playlist up to meet pretty much any criteria you want. For example, if you wanted just Podcasts that you haven't listened to, you would just add a criteria to include tracks with a "Play Count" of 0.

I just wanted to share what I've found for those that are interested. I hope folks find it helpful.