I have an SEL with the Discover Media system. I have ripped my entire CD collection to FLAC quality 8 using EZ CD Audio Converter.
I can confirm that they play very well from an SD card or a USB stick in the centre console. The only limitation seems to be the number of songs it can cope with. The limit appears to be 1000 from each source.

 

Thanks Niggly58,

I appreciate the confirmation and I'll carry on re-ripping

I've read conflicting info on the 1000 file limit. Some saying that's the case, others saying that it's 1000 items per folder. So if you do a folder per artist then nested folders in them for each album you'll be ok.

It seems nuts that it'll support 128 (and apparently 256g) cards but has trouble with over 1000 songs

 

No problem.
I haven't tested it exactly- but I have approx 250 albums- each with around 8 tracks (approx). They were arranged as a folder per album- each containing the tracks and album artwork. I put half the albums on a 64gb SD card and half on a 128gb usb stick. The SD card I put in SD1 slot and the Navigation maps in SD2. I was able to select the SD1 or USB media as a source through the Discover system. So far it appears fine.

 

Is there an extreme noticeable difference on the Discover Media (not Pro) between FLAC and high quality 128 or 256 bit MP3's?

The only reason why I ask is that all my CDs are in the attic and I no longer have a CD reader on this laptop - if it is hugely better quality then I may consider getting it all out and my old laptop back out...but I have to admit I don't notice much degradation in my mp3's.

 

Bhuna- only your ears can be the judge of that.
As an ex Hi-Fi nut, I wanted the best possibly quality whilst maintaining a reasonable file size. FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) as shown by it's name, loses little in conversion. MP3 on the other hand, loses lots of background detail in it's efforts to minimise the file size. Saying that- a lot of people today have become used to the quality of MP3s and don't need anything more. The proof is in your own ears...

 

I might look at converting or downloading flacs for some of my albums and seeing.

Must admit a lot of the time, I have radio on in the car for sport etc but always nice to listen to something when everyone else asleep and no decent sport events on.

 

Mp3s were great when storage was expensive but now there are much better formats like flac and aac, infact, Mp3 licencing has even recently been withdrawn! :http://fortune.com/2017/05/15/mp3-aac-music-streaming/

 

....but does FLAC sound as good as the CD player?
I think I might do some experimenting too!

 

Yeh lossless should be as good

 

Might have to consider buying myself a 256gb SD card then...

 

My 250 albums at highest quality FLAC occupies around 65gb.
Bearing in mind the 1000 file limit I split that over two memory cards.
Therefore, you could use a number of 64gb cards and fill them to satisfy the 1000 file limit.
Obviously, it would be a pain to keep changing them, but I don't know of another way around the file number limitation of the system.

 

niggly - is that 1000 files per card, or per folder? There has been much confusion over this from various posters - some saying its 1000 files per SD card, others saying that if you put it in folders then its 1000 per folder...

Also out of interest, can I put the album art in there and would that then come up on the screen?

So much prep to do....3 sleeps to go....

 

I can only speak from experience.
Originally I ripped my CD collection to FLAC. There were approx 250 albums totalling around 65gb. They were ripped to individual folders per album, each containing a jpg of the album art. I put them on a 128gb usb stick and put it in the centre usb socket. I was able to scroll through the album covers and select an album and individual tracks. I realised I couldn't see all the covers. This was when I came across the 1000 file limitation. In an attempt to overcome this, I split my collection across an SD card and the USB stick. I estimated there were less than 1000 songs per memory card. I haven't thoroughly tested it, but it appears that by selecting the media source through the system I am able to see all the albums on both the cards- just not all at once!

 

I can only speak from experience.
Originally I ripped my CD collection to FLAC. There were approx 250 albums totalling around 65gb. They were ripped to individual folders per album, each containing a jpg of the album art. I put them on a 128gb usb stick and put it in the centre usb socket. I was able to scroll through the album covers and select an album and individual tracks. I realised I couldn't see all the covers. This was when I came across the 1000 file limitation. In an attempt to overcome this, I split my collection across an SD card and the USB stick. I estimated there were less than 1000 songs per memory card. I haven't thoroughly tested it, but it appears that by selecting the media source through the system I am able to see all the albums on both the cards- just not all at once!

OK thanks - so that sounds like even if split into folders, there is still a 1000 element (files and folders) limit.

I will wait and see - I have over 3 thousand files so will have to probably select what I want onto an SD card

 

I guess it's a memory issue within the system. It can only read and index a certain number of items.
Doing some lateral thinking, I am wondering if there is a way- possibly using a usb hard drive with separate partitions. In each partition you have less than 1000 song files. Only problem might be in the system recognising the partitions and being able to select them.

 

I'm only going to use SD card - I want the USB slot for other things.

 

A usb hub is a possibility in that case.
I might have a play if I can rustle up some hardware!

 

Nah don't worry - I will make myself a couple of SD cards up - then depending on the mood I'm in it will depend on the SD card I put in

 

No problem.
I just need to satisfy my own curiosity and see if it can be done.

 

Regarding the MP3 vs FLAC, it really does depend on your expectations but, as has been said earlier, storage is so much cheaper now that compressing to extremes makes less sense than it once did.

Personally speaking I am not fond of 128 MP3 at all. Not all mp3 are bad though.... Lots of studies out there showing very little ability to distinguish between 320mp3 and a CD so I guess that's the 'break point'. I've been happy with 320 for some time now but, as I'll be using my iPhone Spotify in the USB port I can no longer use my 160gb iPod. Hence me thinking 'if I'm starting again I may as well FLAC it.

As for FLAC vs CD. When you have a CD, there is a fair bit of info on there for error correction. This is so that, when it's read in real time, the player will still have a fighting chance of getting the right information off the CD in time. When you convert to FLAC, you rip the CD and the 'lossless' FLAC gets rid of the error correction data as it no longer needs it. Basically the musical info is 100% identical - you're just getting rid of all the stuffing that a CD player needs to do a good job. If you rip using the free software called EAC (exact audio copy) then it'll rip and ensure your copy is perfect because it compares to online databases..... EAC will then compress to FLAC or MP3 if you prefer.

 

I have a 64g USB drive plugged into my Discover Pro, it is full and no problems reading it at all. There are a heap of folders full of FLAC files, and just for giggles I plugged in a SSD HD tonight to have a play and it won't read it but it will read a conventional spinny HD. The only issue with that is the USB port is live all the time and can't be turned off so the HD will flatten the battery if left on which sort of defeats the purpose as it will not resume where you left off from last time you were in the car.

I compared my manual to what was posted here https://www.tiguanforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=846 and it is completely different and it may be that the scan in the post is not a Pro?? I can't scan mine but it is Edition 11.2016. so I suggest that it would be a good idea to read the book that came with the car.

 

My manual for a September registered car is 05.16
Looking at the spec sheets it appears the pro has an internal drive with a higher file access capability.
The external storage limitations appear the same.
You say the 64gb drive you use has 'heaps of folders' but can you say whether they exceeded the 1000 individual item limit?

 

I have a 64g USB drive plugged into my Discover Pro, it is full and no problems reading it at all. There are a heap of folders full of FLAC files, and just for giggles I plugged in a SSD HD tonight to have a play and it won't read it but it will read a conventional spinny HD. The only issue with that is the USB port is live all the time and can't be turned off so the HD will flatten the battery if left on which sort of defeats the purpose as it will not resume where you left off from last time you were in the car.

I compared my manual to what was posted here https://www.tiguanforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=846 and it is completely different and it may be that the scan in the post is not a Pro?? I can't scan mine but it is Edition 11.2016. so I suggest that it would be a good idea to read the book that came with the car.

I thought that once you locked the car, after a certain amount of time all usb ports power down.

 

Sorry guys, I haven't been here for come time and did not realise that email notifications are not happening or perhaps don't happen? When you say 1000 item limit, is that the folder limit or the total track limit from within ALL folders? As for the USB shutting down I will have to investigate that as I presumed when it didn't then the battery would be flattened by the hard drive. I just checked the USB and it has 180 folders on it but I have no idea of the number of tracks and I'm not counting them! If I average it at 20 tracks it would be 3600 but more likely higher as I know one folder has over 200 tracks on it's own. I will hook up the hard drive tonight and see if it has shut down in about an hour.

 

Mine has Discover Pro and the folder limit is 1000, the total card limit is 10000
The biggest SD card it will take is 256GB SDXC, but I have a 128GB SDXC and it works fine