18 replies to this topic

[surfblue]

Help me out here folks but keep it simple, I come from the cassette tape era!

 

I need to find a new storage platform for my music now that Google Play is closing down. 

I have all my cds copied to it along with the odd digital album Ive purchased and free down loaded songs.

Im not keen on a subscription service, I dont really stream music, all I want is some way of storing it so that I can play back by bluetooth through my (relatively) modern car stereo and be able to shuffle songs at random as well as pick what  I want to play.

Apparently Google is shutting its service down and if I dont move it before December I'll lose it. 

I can save it all to an SD card but can anyone recommend a reliable simple platform that an old technophobe like me could manage to transfer it all to?

 

It all academic anyway because as Ive said before this digital music thing will never last, tapes are definitely gonna make a comeback. And my wife has the cheek to suggest Im stuck in the 1980's! 

[Tds76]

I have all my music, both CDs and downloads stored directly on my iPhone via the iTunes app on my laptop - approx. 500 albums or 49GB and like you I  bluetooth this to the car stereo. The phone has 256GB internal memory. 

 

I assume you have an Android phone? The last time I had one I could insert a memory card (I think Micro SD) so could store up to the limit of that card on the phone. Is that possible with yours? 

 

Cheers, Paul. 

[Ethel]

Depends what formats & directory structure your stereo can read if you want to control your music directly from there. Though I doubt you'd want to thrash your way through 1,000's of choons with just a "next track" button.

 

If you want to play your music off a mobile etc, as you would if it was linked via a headphone jack, Plex is worth a look. It's multi platform software that you can get for free that'll play pretty much anything from any source via all sorts of outputs. Or  a driving specific interface, like Android Auto, could fit the bill. 

[MarkR]

I have all my ripped CDs on my harddisk, an transfer some to my phones memory card. Given up buying new, just stream what I want from Spotify.

[surfblue]

I am now on a Samsung android phone, it does have sd card facility. Used to have iPhone and used iTunes. I certainly do not want to just have a 'next track' button, the ability to shuffle or to go to a specific song or album would be much better. My stereo is a standard 7 year old Landrover Freelander 2 basic head unit with blue tooth, not super up to date apple car play / android auto compatible. Keep the ideas coming please.

[Ethel]

You can also run Android Auto directly off your phone, I'm sure there'll be other similar apps to look at too. Often, there's some useful info on Youtube to get a preview of this sort of stuff before you put the effort in to setting it up for yourself.

 

I have a Raspberry Pi set up as a Plex server for Alexa, but I've found it's a great platform for organising & sharing all sorts media between devices in general.

[surfblue]

I'll have a look at that then. Thanks.

[Red Riley]

YouTube music is NOT the answer. The way it handles albums is second rate at best, and it doesn't even work with Android Auto unless you upgrade to the premium service.

I tried a couple of different players apps and ended up using Jet Audio+ 

It has album play capability which is what I mainly use to listen to my music.

I use my PC to rip CDs to my hard drive, then just dump them into the music folder on my phone. You have to use the charging cable to do the file transfer thing.

Google sure didn't consult any of us old timers before they decided that everyone streams their music and nobody has physical music albums anymore. Thanks for nothing, Google.

[Ethel]

I guess I didn't make myself clear. 

 

I meant Youtube is a good source of information an all sorts of technical subjects, not to recommend it as a music service .

[Red Riley]

I guess I didn't make myself clear. 

 

I meant Youtube is a good source of information an all sorts of technical subjects, not to recommend it as a music service .

No, I got that. I meant that YouTube Music (which Google thinks is a replacement for Google Play) sucks big time. 

[Tornado99]

If you have your tunes on the phone n and phone connects bluetooth to your head unit, why not use google assistant voice control to access tracks at will?

[surfblue]

You're getting too technical now...?

[nicklouse]

I am not really understanding this. Where did google play store the music? As you say you don’t stream it? 
 

if it is all on the phone can’t the cars head unit access it on the phone and play it?

[Quinlan minor]

I bought one of these for my Mini. Came complete with a microphone for Hands-free phone and Voice Command. I have over 3,000 songs, eight and a half days worth, on my iPhone.

I get into the car and it automatically plays tracks, randomly selected, until I get out.

 

https://www.pioneer-...ts/deh-x8700dab

Edited by Quinlan minor, 12 November 2020 - 09:20 PM.

[Ethel]

If you have your tunes on the phone n and phone connects bluetooth to your head unit, why not use google assistant voice control to access tracks at will?

 

Thanks, I didn't realise, until you prompted me to look, that:

 

Here’s the list of features that work even when offline Google Assistant :

 

Open an app by name.

Play Music.

Add an event to your calendar.

Place calls and sends texts to contacts.

Set new and cancel alarms.

Toggle WiFi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode, and flashlight.

Adjust your phone’s volume.

Dim the screen.

 

https://assistant.go...platforms/cars/