Looking For Recommendations

[Koeller]

I have a large collection of CDs and was looking for recommendations for a portable USB plug in player that will work in my truck?
Yes, I am an old dinosaur and still have CDs...

 

[NullNomad]

I have a large collection of CDs and was looking for recommendations for a portable USB plug in player that will work in my truck?
Yes, I am an old dinosaur and still have CDs...

Well if you’re an old dinosaur with CDs looking for that next step upgrade, I have a Zune 120 I might be willing to part with. Even have the docking station for it.

 

[Koeller]

Well if you’re an old dinosaur with CDs looking for that next step upgrade, I have a Zune 120 I might be willing to part with. Even have the docking station for it.

I am not sure what that is. MP3 player?

 

[NullNomad]

I am not sure what that is. MP3 player?

Yup!! It’s so good and fancy even the mighty Starlord, Peter Quill has one!

 

[NullNomad]

All kidding aside, the best bet might be to just rip all the CDs to MP3 then onto a thumb drive that you plug in and let the head unit play off of that. Haven’t tried doing that in a few years though.

 

[securityguy]

All kidding aside, the best bet might be to just rip all the CDs to MP3 then onto a the drive that you plug in and let the head unit play off of that. Haven’t tried doing that in a few years though.

Exactly...THIS^^^

 

[ZR2NYC]

I have a large collection of CDs and was looking for recommendations for a portable USB plug in player that will work in my truck?
Yes, I am an old dinosaur and still have CDs...

nothin wrong with that.

 

[ZR2Prty]

To avoid having to constantly remove the usb drive from my truck to update the music I have added to my collection, I downloaded and installed Plex Server on my home pc. After ripping all my CDs and vinyl to MP3 (in addition to digital download purchases), I added my music folder to the Plex Server, and downloaded Plex Amp to my phone. This allows me to connect via Bluetooth in the truck and access my entire library. Plex at times will throw out a special for a Plex Server lifetime license for $99. You have to have the Server edition in order to remotely access your library files. You can even share your library with others!

 

[Cracked Conch]

How in the world are you getting this crappy head unit to find music on a thumb drive?

 

[KCPhil]

How in the world are you getting this crappy head unit to find music on a thumb drive?

I, too, have a large collection of CDs and, as NullNomad recommended, have ripped them to a USB drive (USB-A, to be precise). I just plugged it into the port in the console and, after the system finished reading the content, it automatically recognized the drive. You have to give it a minute to do that, especially if it's large like mine. I do think it has a 32GB limit (good for 300+ CDs) and I think it has to be FAT32 format. From there, just choose USB as the source, much like you would AM, FM or SiriusXM.

 

[Cracked Conch]

Thank you. Ill only need 5 thumb drives but this gives me an option.

 

[Koeller]

All kidding aside, the best bet might be to just rip all the CDs to MP3 then onto a thumb drive that you plug in and let the head unit play off of that. Haven’t tried doing that in a few years though.

I have a large external hard drive I can do that with.
Thanks!

 

[RCF71]

To avoid having to constantly remove the usb drive from my truck to update the music I have added to my collection, I downloaded and installed Plex Server on my home pc. After ripping all my CDs and vinyl to MP3 (in addition to digital download purchases), I added my music folder to the Plex Server, and downloaded Plex Amp to my phone. This allows me to connect via Bluetooth in the truck and access my entire library. Plex at times will throw out a special for a Plex Server lifetime license for $99. You have to have the Server edition in order to remotely access your library files. You can even share your library with others!

Man this sounds awesome as I have lost all MY music on my phone… f@$&%*$ Apple! Its been a loooong time since I ripped cd’s to mp3 files, so prob don’t even have any of them anymore.

So I just need the Plex app installed on my devices? Laptop, ipad, phone, etc?

Is this what you are referring to that goes on sale for $99?

 

[ZR2Prty]

Man this sounds awesome as I have lost all MY music on my phone… f@$&%*$ Apple! Its been a loooong time since I ripped cd’s to mp3 files, so prob don’t even have any of them anymore.

So I just need the Plex app installed on my devices? Laptop, ipad, phone, etc?

Is this what you are referring to that goes on sale for $99?

That's it! The lifetime pass is worth it. You install the Plex Server version on your computer ("server") where you have all your music/video files and you just install the Plex app on any devices you want to stream from.

 

[RCF71]

Thanks for the quick reply! Gonna keep my eye out - $20 not much but also no rush on my end.

 

[cef2lion]

If this helps anyone.

I have an Iphone and Itunes on my home windows PC. I have been copying music out of Itunes to USB drives. It works but I couldn't figure out how to get a playlist on the USB drive and maintain the play order. I think I have that working now. I found a web site that has Itunes scripts that makes it work.

iTunes | Scripts for iTunes for Windows

Here are the steps I use.

Create Folders on the USB drive for each playlist
In iTunes right click playlist and select maintain play order.
Use ExportM3U script to export M3U file to usb drive (Select the playlist to export in itunes and double click the script)
Use LocalizeM3U script to flatten file locations (Drag the exported M3U file onto the LocalizeM3U script)
Copy Itunes playlist songs to the playlist folder created on usb drive
Easy once you get the steps down

Once the USB drive is scanned the playlists appear on the Informant menu. The songs are in the same order as what you have in Itunes.

I know there is CarPlay but sometimes I don’t want fuss with the phone.