BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I've spent 6 hours today getting more music off iTunes and onto my SatNav VI.
In summary, the process was as follows:
1. create a playlist on iTunes eg Bob Dylan
2. convert to MP3 from the iTunes standard (as you know, the SatNav only recognises MP3)
3. drag and drop the songs from the playlist to a dedicated folder on Windows 10 eg 'Bob Dylan'. Repeat for each playlist created.
4. attach SatNav VI to PC via USB lead, and drag and drop these folder(s) onto the SatNav
5. Sitting with my helmet on, in my office, Cardo Scala bluetooth enabled (so I can access the 'Media Player' app) using the 'add new playlist'.
6. Create 'Bob Dylan' playlist on the SatNav Media Player
7. Painfully, excruciatingly slowly, moving up and down the menus to add songs to add Mr Dylan's playlist.
8. Move onto the next playlist ...
9. Silent scream :'(
Somebody, please tell me there an easier way.

I've solved this myself after an 8 hour shift yesterday. Please let me know if you think there is an easier way, but here's what I did. Make a yourself comfortable and get a brew ...
I'm using a PC with Windows 10, iTunes, a SatNav VI and a 64Gb micro SD card.
This worked for me, but I'm no specialist, and take no responsibility for any consequences :not: . Caveat emptor as they say ....
STAGE 1 - PREPARING YOUR PLAYLISTS
A bit of a slog. I've had iTunes for many years and any music purchased pre-2009 is Digital Rights Management (DRM) protected. You can recover it using proprietary software but its not cheap. iTunes saves its songs as .m4a format, but your SatNav only reads .MP3, so your first task is to convert everything. There are videos online that explain this, but the basics are create a playlist eg Johnny Cash. Select all songs, then right-click and select 'create .MP3 version'. The easiest way to find these MP3's is then to put iTunes in 'Music' view where it lists every song in your collection with a series of headings across the top. Add a 'date modified' heading to the table and sort on that to bring today's work to the top, and there are your modified MP3's.
Now, using the Windows 10 File Explorer create a folder 'Johnny Cash' or whatever. Select all your modified MP3's and drag and drop to this folder. Once I did that I deleted the MP3's from itunes, otherwise you get duplicates. Make sure you don't delete your original m4a song files though.
Repeat the above process for every Playlist.
Have a cup of tea, stare at the wallpaper.
STAGE 2 - TRANSFER PLAYLISTS TO MICRO-SD CARD
Originally I tried doing this procedure by attaching my SatNav VI to the PC with its USB lead, but ran into problems when I tried to create the playlists. I then decided it would be cleaner and simpler to just remove the card from the SatNav and stick it into the slot on the front of my PC (using an SD card adaptor).
First, plug your micro SD card into your PC. Your machine should 'bong' and you should see the card appear in your File Explorer. You need 2 explorer windows, one for the playlists you created in Stage 1, and one for the SD card. Now simply drag and drop the playlist folder(s) (not the individual songs) onto your card.
You now have one of two options to create your playlists. You can either (a) stick your card back in the SatNav and do it manually, as I started to do. It is easy to do (just go into Media Plater and 'add playlist'),but mind-numbingly boring, slow and tedious, as the Media Player interface is slow and clunky as you navigate and select every song/artist/album. This is slow, but it is robust and works if you aren't feeling adventurous.
Or you can create the lists on your PC. Go to Stage 3 ...
STAGE 3 - SET UP THE SATNAV PLAYLISTS
Leave your SD card in the PC slot, and double-click on your 'Johnny Cash' (or whatever) folder from the SD card (NOT THE ONE STORED ON YOUR PC THAT YOU TRANSFERRED FROM! - IF YOU USE THIS, YOUR PLAYLIST WILL POINT AT YOUR PC AND CONFUSE THE SATNAV MEDIA PLAYER APP). Use Ctrl A to select all songs, then right click and select 'play'. You should see a small Windows Media Player window appear. If you hover your mouse over it at its upper-right you will see three small squares and a small arrow - click on this to maximise the player. You should see on the RHS of the player a playlist of your songs (if not press Alt to access the menu and turn it on). Using the Alt key access the menu, select 'File', and 'save now playing list as' and save it in the playlist folder on your SD card as an M3U file using the 'save as type' drop down list. (If it won't let you save it there you can temporarily save it on your PC somewhere - that's what I had to do). Now double click on the playlist file name eg 'johnny cash.m3u' and change the file extension to m3u8. Now drag and drop the playlist file 'johnny cash.m3u8' into the same folder as your songs on the SD card.

In theory , that's it. Stick the card back in the SatNav and it should work. I say, 'should' though because I've learned that the SatNav VI is a fussy creature. I did all this late last night, everything working, then just tweaked one of my playlists and lo, the Media Player couldn't see any music at all. :'( [size=78%] I removed the card from the unit several times, double-checked all my settings, and could see the music in the folders on the PC, but the VI couldn't see any music at all, playlists or no. Woke up this morning, a quick prayer, and it worked. [/size]

The world is crying out for a teenager somewhere to develop an app that will automate the above. Frankly, I'm surprised that Garmin don't have one. A true business opportunity for someone smarter than me. No sniggering at the back ....

I hear that train a-comin.......


Going through similar pain trying to get my car (sorry off topic I know) to accept anything bigger than a 32gb SD card.  My music is now about 40gb.  Marvellous stuff, this technology.

I've forgotten exactly how I did it, but I seem to think it involved converting the 64gb card into FAT32 standard. I downloaded a free programme which did the trick but put a few bits of adware on my PC. These were removed afterwards using the control panel 'add/remove programmes' feature and my adware protection tool. This might get you started http://youtu.be/N6jySZuPM8g


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