# I pit the car stereo industry for not being able to produce a decent MP3 player **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 30, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291 "2015-01-30T00:35:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/21 "2015-01-31T03:49:02Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Have you ever even listened to all 10,000 entries in your collection? That isn’t the point! The OP, like me, looks at all 10,000 entries and says, “I heard that already.” I think Amazon Plus has 1,200,000 songs, but all I can think is that NONE of them is something I want to hear at this moment, though I don’t know what I do want. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/22 "2015-01-31T05:24:14Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > That isn’t the point! The OP, like me, looks at all 10,000 entries and says, “I heard that already.” I think Amazon Plus has 1,200,000 songs, but all I can think is that NONE of them is something I want to hear at this moment, though I don’t know what I do want. :mad: I totally get that! When I get in that circle, I just turn on the radio and put up with the commercials. It’s usually so long in between, the commercials are new to me anyway and not annoying yet. I think the OP’s problem is that the tech leaped over what he wants. Any semi-smart phone made in the last couple years has voice control and can connect via bluetooth. What he’s looking for, current tech has surpassed and car makers have no incentive to provide it because it appears he’s a bit - unique. I use any of three carshare cars right now. I can’t bother to pair my phone with each one’s bluetooth, but just cord connect it to the dash and switch it to driving mode. My music library is Rhapsody. I usually just put in a band/singer/group I’m in the mood for and have it build a radio station around it for whatever trip I’m taking, or pick a playlist I already made (like the 30 hours of Christmas music I use in December). Simple. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/23 "2015-01-31T06:46:38Z")
This is getting scary. 10,000 entries of “favorite” songs. Instead of shoeboxes of old snapshots, we get boxes full of memory cards with images. One fellow I chatted with has never edited his “photo collection”, and rarely looks at them. I think we are outrunning our concept of possessions. If you have 10K on file but are still looking to score at least another 100k… scary… ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/24 "2015-01-31T13:08:06Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Did the OP really complain that the crummy hardware can “see” ONLY _600_ entries in a folder? > > And - how long does it take to play all 2,600 of your “Favorites”? > > Have you ever even listened to all 10,000 entries in your collection? > > Until those crummy auto makers come up to speed with the demand for 10K entry play-lists: > > Create a new stick with no more than 600 entries (I can’t, in good conscience, call them “tunes” or “songs”) in a folder. Yes, you’ll need to change folders - about every 50 hours. > Exactly how long do you spend in a car, anyway? I am pissed because the newest car stereo technology (the so-called digital media players) can’t match a pocket player I bought 10 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/25 "2015-01-31T21:19:08Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I sympathize. I’ve got all kinds of car stereos and they all pretty much suck. The CD’s quit ejecting, they skip, won’t play ones you burn yourself, yada yada yada. The fucking removable faceplates are always loosy-goosy and fit for shit. > > I’ve got one stupid unit with a fucking USB port, but _doesn’t play from it!_ Its for charging only! What Feltchmeister thought that was a feature? Oh well. At least I didn’t pay for it. > > I have a dachshund that doesn’t, either. Nor will he play mp3’s or make phone calls. As a doxie mom, man, do I empathize! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/26 "2015-02-01T03:46:17Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > As a doxie mom, man, do I empathize! I somehow ended up with four of them. My dominion is surely the outer rings of Hell. But I still have more shit car stereos than disobedient weeny dogs. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/27 "2015-02-01T04:49:14Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I am pissed because the newest car stereo technology (the so-called digital media players) can’t match a pocket player I bought 10 years ago. Psssst - Life’s bitch, then you die. poor, suffering snowflake There must be at least another 10 people on the planet who can’t limit themselves to such absurd limitations. I’m sure the car entertainment engineers are working on this right NOW! And where is my video library? ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/28 "2015-02-02T02:27:46Z")
Have you checked if you can find one that has a slot for a SDHC card? Strangely my 2014 Passat has a memory card slot, but NOT one for USB! I haven’t loaded much on it - just the 12 episodes of _Serial_ which it played just fine. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/29 "2015-02-02T03:41:02Z")
Not sure I really understand your anger, since I cannot imagine having an issue with “only” 600 songs before they begin to repeat. But that’s just me. Maybe your commute is much longer than mine. But for the sake of argument, let’s say I sympathize with your problem. Just how big of a problem do you think this is? I mean, as an auto manufacturer, I can’t imagine this particular problem comes up on their complaint-radar… Ever. I’m not sure I exactly understand the technological hurdle here for the auto maker or after market stereo manufacturer to overcome. If you have 2600 songs on a flash drive, I don’t know why it can only see the first 600. How would they go about solving this problem? Would it be just a matter of increasing the memory required to catalogue all of your songs? If it IS a memory issue, I can understand why an auto-maker would not care. Adding memory costs money. If it is NOT a matter of adding memory, then perhaps it needs new software. Again, that costs development money. Whatever the reason, ISTM that the current setup they have satisfies 98% of the normal driver’s needs. The last 2% could be divided up into 1.9% who just make due, and .1% who get so angry that they actively look for a solution. But, the fact that the aftermarket stereos don’t solve this problem either tells me this… there simply isn’t enough consumers clamoring for this to be fixed to make it worthwhile for any company to invest in its solution. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/30 "2015-02-02T03:47:35Z")
In case it hasn’t already been noted: “Decent” does not belong in the same breath as “MP3 Player”. Then we can discuss the sound quality coming out of the speakers vs. the noise of the road. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291/31 "2015-02-02T22:21:48Z")
While it’s surprising just HOW crappy some of these systems are, I think it’s only to be expected that they’re at least a bit crappy – none of the companies that make car stereos seem to be particularly good software companies. Even the high-end OEM stuff is pretty much garbage. Your best bet is to get a system with a good bluetooth pair mode or a convenient aux jack and get a good voice or remote control system for your phone / pocket player. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-car-stereo-industry-for-not-being-able-to-produce-a-decent-mp3-player/711291.md?page=1)