R56 NAV/stereo: CDs

Posted on by Ian C.

For my next “MINI review” of the R56, I wanted to play some CDs and see how they were handled – I was particularly keen to see how the NAV display dealt with a CDR of MP3 tracks in different directories. So I burned a CDR with a selection of MP3 tracks, and took it out to play … but this is what I saw – strange. So then I tried an audio format CDR that had been handed out at a recent MINI drive – but it wouldn’t play that CD either!

Finally, I tried a regular purchased audio CD – and finally I got music out of it. But the display is rather sparse when playing a CD:

The line represents the music on the CD; you can step along the line from track to track using the MFSW buttons, or by turning the joystick. Below the line, the time in the current track is shown. I wonder if the play arrow moves smoothly along the line as the track plays, or just jumps track-by-track? Didn’t think to watch for that when testing, earlier.

You can press the joystick and call up a small menu for options like repeat and random; you can also access “Tone” from here, where you can adjust treble/bass/balance/fader – actually you can get to “Tone” from anywhere by pressing the joystick to call up the menu while listening to something, but there’s no easy way back! It’s not like you selected a sub-menu, instead “Tone” is just a shortcut jump to the Settings/Audio menu.

Curiously, the music I played sounded noticeably better (clearer, more low end) than the same music on my iPod – and there it’s encoded with 256K AAC, which in GPMINI is indistinguishable from the original CD … now I wonder if some of the poor R56 sound quality is due to the iPod interface rather than the car itself!
UPDATE:
This morning, GBMINI#5 successfully read and played the same CDR that I’d tried yesterday – possibly it has trouble reading CDRs when it’s cold? But anyway, the CD/MP3 interface is actually pretty good: you can access a list of directories, and sub-directories within that, down to the songs you want to play. Here’s some screenshots indicating the process:

 

One thing I’ve found particularly odd is that the CD player and the CD changer are treated as one CD-playing device – you can see here that “CD” (the single drive in the center console) and “CD1″/”CD2″/etc are all listed together; the effect is when you use the source button (button immediately left of volume knob in this picture) to step from one input to another, you get: FM(or AM), Sirius (if installed), CD(or CD changer), AUX (whether anything is connected to it or not).
You might expect that “iPod” would be one of the source choices – but since it is (poorly) implemented as a CD changer, it gets grouped with the CD; so what is selected is either the CD or an iPod track depending what you last selected.


I’d prefer to see FM/Sirius/CD/iPod choices – and I’d like the ability to turn off the AUX input if I don’t want to use it. Maybe it’s fine for everyone else, though.

Warning, Will Robinson

Posted on by Ian C.

(and yes, I know it’s really “Danger”, but this isn’t very dangerous … and if you’re too young to know what I’m referring to, here’s a timely reminder)

This morning, GBMINI#5 reported it’s first warning – it gets quite excited with an audible signal, a graphic on the upper tach display and a text description on the NAV display! These messages clear after a while, but a “warning triangle” remains visible in the lower tach display:

It’s curious how I’ve used up all the washer fluid in just a week – either the R56 tank is incredibly small, or maybe MINI of Peabody didn’t check all fluids before delivering the car!

Key differences #3 (R56 remembers, or forgets?)

Posted on by Ian C.

If you order “comfort access” for an R56, you get two keys which can be used to open doors and start the engine without needing to press any key button, or insert it into any slot – very nice. A user-replaceable battery inside the key provides power for it to transmit and be detected by the car.

Without “comfort access” you get a key which must be inserted into a slot before you can start the engine – and the key is also recharged while in that slot, eliminating the need for a battery (and sealing the key since the owner doesn’t need to open it). OK so far, just like the 2005/6 MINI keys which also have no battery (and unlike the original 2002/3/4 keys, which do have a battery inside).

Little problem – how do you keep the key charged … answer: you have to use the key!
I have a habit of swapping between GPMINIs two keys about once a month, that way the spare key will always be charged in case it’s needed.

So today I swapped R56 keys – I sort of expected the result that I got, but even so … the R56 has this “clever” feature where the car’s settings/presets/etc are associated with the key being used. So guess what happens when I use the other key:

Yes – no settings or presets!
First clue was that the car only unlocked my door, not the passengers side. Then, as you see in the picture above, the radio presets are all gone. Similarly, no satellite radio presets, and no doubt the tone/fader settings were at default, etc, etc.
I suppose I could have spent time re-configuring everything, storing presets, etc – but even then, any changes I make to one key won’t be reflected when I swap keys.

Presumably this “associated memory” feature is useful if two drivers use the car regularly; each person has their own settings. But when only one person drives the car, it’s just an annoyance! There should be a way to disable the feature, if you don’t want it.
As it is, my spare R56 key will not get regularly charged … hope I never need it!