I just upgraded from a 2011 to a 2020 Macbook Pro. Miss the widgets and iTunes. I still need to use the excellent 1X/2X CD writer (I use CD-RWs) on the old model because my car audio will not play anything written faster. Tried a couple of generic CD writers with the new Macbook but they would only write at a fixed 6X or 10X. Is 1X possible with Apple's Superdrive? Are there any older-style CD writers which can write slowly? Or could appropriate software over-rule a modern writer 'fixed' speed and achieve 1X/2X write-speed? Thanks in advance.
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CD Writer at 1X Speed for Car Audio?
- Thread starter trevor2522
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OP wrote:
"I still need to use the excellent 1X/2X CD writer (I use CD-RWs)"
THERE (in bold) is your problem.
STOP using CDRW's, and use decent CD-R blanks instead.
I recommend Verbatim "white label" discs bought in bulk.
Many car players will read CD-R's just fine, but will choke on CD-RW's due to differences in the dyes, etc.
"I still need to use the excellent 1X/2X CD writer (I use CD-RWs)"
THERE (in bold) is your problem.
STOP using CDRW's, and use decent CD-R blanks instead.
I recommend Verbatim "white label" discs bought in bulk.
Many car players will read CD-R's just fine, but will choke on CD-RW's due to differences in the dyes, etc.
Thanks for that. So much for saving the environment with un-recyclable disks! At least I have a potential solution with CD-Rs now if I lose my beloved 2011 MBP. Is there any market value for those after Apple ceases High Sierra support on 30th November 2020?
You must have some pretty ancient CD-RWs if you can record to them at 1x.
en.wikipedia.org
CD-RW - Wikipedia
I use TDK CD-RWs bought around 2015. A few duds -- sensitive to scratches -- but most take re-writing repeatedly at 1X audio. Tried recording as MP3 audio at 1X to get longer play time but would not work in car.
Would a new $30 external writer (fixed at 6X or 10X) and CD-Rs solve my car-player sensitivity to CD-RWs? Car is a Renault Modus 1.5 Diesel (2009). Thanks.
Would a new $30 external writer (fixed at 6X or 10X) and CD-Rs solve my car-player sensitivity to CD-RWs? Car is a Renault Modus 1.5 Diesel (2009). Thanks.
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I think "the issue" is that the car player can't handle CD-RW's (regardless of the speed at which they were burned). Particularly older ones that may have been "erased" and re-burned several times.
Again... good CD-R's (I like the Verbatim brand, white label, bought in bulk packs of 50 or 100).
You can buy a 3rd-party USB CD/DVD burner for cheap these days.
I'd suggest keeping burn speeds modestly low.... 10x worked fine for me for many years.
Again... good CD-R's (I like the Verbatim brand, white label, bought in bulk packs of 50 or 100).
You can buy a 3rd-party USB CD/DVD burner for cheap these days.
I'd suggest keeping burn speeds modestly low.... 10x worked fine for me for many years.
No, Renault build them into the dashboard from new (2009) as an anti-theft measure.
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OK, I bought Verbatim CD-Rs and a new external CD writer (10X-24X). Wrote an audio MP3 podcast at 10X but it won't play in car. Same old issue as I had with CD-RWs burned at over 2X. Push disk in, hear a bleep and it ejects. The car CD player is clearly write-speed sensitive. It's not the coating or CD-R vs. CD-RW.
All I have to write at 1X or 2X is a 2011 MacBook Pro which becomes obsolete this November when High Sierra is no longer supported. What do more-modern cars have to play audio podcasts with? Or is there any portable equipment?
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Wow... this thread takes me back!
I remember when certain cars had difficulty playing burned CDs. It was especially frustrating since everybody was burning CDs at that time. (early 2000's)
I also had a boombox CD player that couldn't play burned CDs. It was a pain.
On topic: do you have Bluetooth?
If not... I'd still skip the plastic disks and get some sort of FM transmitter. They typically don't sound the best... but it'll be fine for podcasts.
There are FM transmitters that hook in-between your headunit and antenna for a more stable connection.
I remember when certain cars had difficulty playing burned CDs. It was especially frustrating since everybody was burning CDs at that time. (early 2000's)
I also had a boombox CD player that couldn't play burned CDs. It was a pain.
On topic: do you have Bluetooth?
If not... I'd still skip the plastic disks and get some sort of FM transmitter. They typically don't sound the best... but it'll be fine for podcasts.
There are FM transmitters that hook in-between your headunit and antenna for a more stable connection.
If you say 'headunit' when visiting the UK, people won't understand (they say car radio or car-radio controls). There's no Bluetooth on my 2009 Renault Modus headunit. I suspect those early-2000 CD problems were partially caused by burning too fast; writers were accelerating faster than players!
Would an FM transmitter plugged into the cigar lighter work with an iPhone 6+ Lightning cable into USB? Selecting tracks is not as safe as changing disks when driving though. Having recently bought a nice GQ EMF-390 meter, I'm not a great fan of increasing radio or electric fields in my environment.
Would a vehicle with a USB aux-port (which I don't have yet) send iPhone podcasts through the built-in radio? That's a wireless-free partial solution. I say partial because selecting tracks on an iPhone screen is distracting, even illegal, for a driver. Playlist possible?
Having just bought a (returnable) CD writer, is it worth keeping if its 10X minimum write-speed is too fast for my car? Do people even write CDs or DVDs these days when online mass storage is available?
Would an FM transmitter plugged into the cigar lighter work with an iPhone 6+ Lightning cable into USB? Selecting tracks is not as safe as changing disks when driving though. Having recently bought a nice GQ EMF-390 meter, I'm not a great fan of increasing radio or electric fields in my environment.
Would a vehicle with a USB aux-port (which I don't have yet) send iPhone podcasts through the built-in radio? That's a wireless-free partial solution. I say partial because selecting tracks on an iPhone screen is distracting, even illegal, for a driver. Playlist possible?
Having just bought a (returnable) CD writer, is it worth keeping if its 10X minimum write-speed is too fast for my car? Do people even write CDs or DVDs these days when online mass storage is available?
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Don't know what part of the UK you're from or your age but 'head unit' is perfectly normal where I'm from (north west England) and everywhere I've worked (south-east, south-west, north-east) and has been used for as long as I can remember (I'm over 50).
Are you trying to burn audio CDs or MP3 data CDs?
I use CDRs and burn both audio & MP3 CDs at the max speed the superdrive will allow. In fact. the only time I've had issues is when I've tried to burn dodgy Sat Nav maps from torrents, and they'll only work at 1x speed, and only every 2nd or 3rd try. I used to use DragonBurn before Catalina came along, but now just use Apple Music/iTunes for family members with older head units who want something burned for a trip.
If the 'car radio' is in a 2009 car, then the device will be a bit older (due to manufacturing, supply, stocking, fitting lead-times) and may just be dying and being more picky.
Is it this type (with MP3 support, so you get 10 or so albums on one CD)?
or earlier one like this (no MP3 playback)?
If it's the former, maybe a cheap way to 'upgrade' would be to retro-fit the later head unit, or for not a lot more you could get a cheap, modern unit fitted (£50 for a JVC FM/CD/USB/MP3)?
"All I have to write at 1X or 2X is a 2011 MacBook Pro which becomes obsolete this November when High Sierra is no longer supported. What do more-modern cars have to play audio podcasts with? Or is there any portable equipment?"
Just because Apple "no longer supports" a version of the OS, doesn't mean the OS will no longer "work".
If the 2011 MBP produces CDs which work in the car -- just keep using it.
I'm wondering if the car CD player could be dirty ... tried a cleaning kit?
Just because Apple "no longer supports" a version of the OS, doesn't mean the OS will no longer "work".
If the 2011 MBP produces CDs which work in the car -- just keep using it.
I'm wondering if the car CD player could be dirty ... tried a cleaning kit?
I was worried about security issues if High Sierra was no longer supported. Having recently bought a MBP 16" I intended to donate the 2011 to charity if I could find an alternative CD burner. Incidentally, it's only the obsolete/final version of iTunes which lets me burn at 1X; right-clicking on the audio file only gives me the option of a useless 8X up. Fastest the car will play is 2X-written on CD-R or CD-RW.
Cleaning kit? Possibly worth a try but the CDs which play have had no distortion or sound-quality issues for years.
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I worked weekends in a motor-spares shop in the early 1970s and never heard the word headunit. Must be a more-recent trade/enthusiasts' term which North Americans picked up on better. Try asking the average British motorist and he'll say: is it to do with the headlights?
My Renault is fitted with the older, non-MP3 radio, almost identical to the one you pictured in the middle. It can fast forward between tracks but, irritatingly, not speed up a single podcast. An MP3 version would have been better. Can owners swap them over, given there are anti-theft deterrents to these integrated units?
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You just need the radio code for the replacement unit...but if it’s like most other cars of that vintage there’s usually a lookup available on the web, or the 2nd hand seller will need to provide it.
I worked a Saturday job in Halfords in the 80s, and people would come in looking for a car radio cassette player to fit into the blank panel in the car, or ask for an upgraded head-unit if they only had a radio. Later (in the 90s) people came looking for head-units with removable face-plates due to the rise in car stereo thefts.
Now it’s lots of questions about single-DIN or double-DIN head units, or mech-less ones (no cd or tape).
Now that the basic ones are so cheap, they're not stealing, so on,y more expensive ones have removable face-plates...and most people don’t even bother removing them from the car or even just hiding them in their glove boxes.
But yes, it will be a generational thing, probably about when the car radios went from simple buttons for station presets and analogue dials. I’m sure my dad had an 8-track in a few cars, but at 76 he’s using MP3 from a USB stick in his Seat.
How does dad control the tracks? Does his headunit bring them up for easy selection?
TBH I'm planning on selling this vehicle and moving abroad next year, so I'll be looking for a car with some sort of USB input so I can dispense with CDs for good. Not much point in keeping an external CD writer either? Thanks for your tips.
Yes, the head-unit and steering wheel controls for up/down radio station/CD track do the same when in USB/MP3 mode.