PaulVS

I just purchased a cheap (Durabrand) RF-modulated 10 disk MP3 changer.
($65.00, new in box, on Ebay)

It works great... much better than I anticipated. The only problem I had was I had to record my mp3 disks at only 2x speed for the changer to read them reliably. I also made sure to use high-quality (Taiyo Yuden) blank CD's.

I was wondering, however, if it would be better to rename my mp3 files to short names instead of the full name... for example:

Rename "Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Almost Cut My Hair.mp3"
to: "D2-139.mp3" (Disk 2, Track 139)

I thought this might help the changer read the disk quicker since I'm keeping it to the "DOS 8.3" format. Also, all my mp3's have the ID3 v2 tags on them, so I can easily get the song name on the changer's remote display unit.

Another advantage of renaming them would be so my songlist that I print out to keep in my car would be the same order as the changer plays the songs. It seems computers alphabetize lists slightly differently than the changer does. (Example: INXS songs are at the beginning of the I's instead of between artists whose name is "Im" and "Io".)

I have 1730 songs on these disks, which are all the songs I really ever want, so I'll only be taking these disks out of the changer to 'update' them every year or so.

Anyone have any thoughts/advice/hints/experience on these issues? Thanks in advance for any help.

P4_2.66GHz

There must be a reason why it only cost you $65.
I used to have a MP3 changer in my car and was highly disappointed.

The only way to find out if renaming files would speed up the read process in any way is for you to time a cd initialization prior to renaming, then put in a renamed cd and time it.

eCar™

If you are having problems with CDs that are burn at more than 2x, the problem is with the computer doing the burning, not the player.

A burned disc is a burned disc. The final product needs to be the same, no matter what speed it's burned at. If there is a difference between the disks you burn at 2x and the ones you burn at >2x, there is a problem. Maybe your system can't keep up at >2x?

PaulVS

Everything works fine except the changer seems to 'choke' on file names periodically...once every 10 or 12 disk changes the display will read "Beatles - I Need You" as "BEATL_IN" (or something like that) instead of the proper file name. It still reads the ID3 tags when this happens, however.

The MP3 changer's manual specifically states that recording of disks should be done at 1x or 2x speed max. When I burned disks on my computer's 40x Lite-On CD-R drive at 40x, the MP3 changer REALLY sputters trying to read the disks. (I have an Athlon 1700 with 512meg ram - I'm a computer tech so I built a good system)

P4_2.66GHz

^^^^
Should've used Plextor.
I think the MP3 changer you have is just weak, that's all.

PaulVS

My plextor will only go down to 8x, so I'm using a laptop Ma****a 8x drive reduced to 2x with Nero 6.

I agree... it's a weak changer... but the 2x disks read fine 90% of the time, and the other 10% the only problem is reading file names & track numbers.

P4_2.66GHz

When you get tired of messing with the changer, you may want to give a try to a Hard Drive MP3 storage device.
New Car Jukebox is my favorite. There is also an option to directly wire it and control from Alpine, Pioneer and Kenwood headunits.

PaulVS

Actually, I had a portable Neo Jukebox which was stolen from my car.

The Neo Jukebox you referred to is $300.00. My changer was $65.00. I can find better uses for the $235.00 difference.

And.... all your responses really don't have anything to do with my initial question. Try to stay on topic. Thanks.