Trouble re iTunes MP4a files playing on usb

[jerry33]

Tesla will not play Apple Lossless format. You have to convert it to FLAC.
Also Tesla won't see any non-ASCII characters (such as umlauts and accents) so you have to edit the titles or you won't see those songs at all. Interestingly, if you type the non-accented characters, Tesla will display accented characters.

 

[JPP]

In iTunes, right click on one of the songs you think is missing when viewed on the Model S and select Get Info. Pay close attention here to Kind and and Bitrate. Compare to a file that works and note any differences.

In particular, look for "Protected AAC audio file." This means the file has iTunes' DRM (abandoned years ago) and will not be playable by the Model S. If not, it could still be a specific codec type or bitrate that's an issue. M4A files SHOULD be AAC, but maybe an incorrect extension is part of the issue. Apple's DRM-protected files SHOULD be M4P, but again, we're covering the bases here.

Missing artist files are labelled 'Purchased AAC audio file' with same exact bit rate (256kbps/44kHz) as many of the files that show up and play fine. Some of mine do say 'Matched AAC audio file' when I had previously ripped them and then did the iTunes Match.

- - - Updated - - -

Tesla will not play Apple Lossless format. You have to convert it to FLAC.
Also Tesla won't see any non-ASCII characters (such as umlauts and accents) so you have to edit the titles or you won't see those songs at all. Interestingly, if you type the non-accented characters, Tesla will display accented characters.

And therein lies the answer. Michael Bublé (with the accent) is the missing artist. Sure is an obscure bug. Guess it is time to do a bit of editing.

Many, many thanks for the hint.

 

[Schmo]

Just rename the file on your USB drive. (Don't change anything in iTunes.) The embedded artist name will still have the accent when played in your car.

 

[JPP]

Just rename the file on your USB drive. (Don't change anything in iTunes.) The embedded artist name will still have the accent when played in your car.

Done (renamed multiple artists)...works fine. Thanks to all who helped.


...OK, so now explain this bug and why it exists...is this a TM issue with their media interface???

 

[Gizmotoy]

Handling of characters in filenames is weird on FAT systems. New filesystems often use unicode, but FAT uses codepages. These can vary based on the formatting OS. Still, both the standard OEM codepage and the Windows codepage include lowercase e with an acute accent (like in Bublé), so I'm not sure that's the issue. Could just be a limitation of Tesla's filename parser.

We know the media player is pretty raw in its existing form, so hopefully this gets fixed when it's overhauled.

 

[jerry33]

Handling of characters in filenames is weird on FAT systems. New filesystems often use unicode, but FAT uses codepages. These can vary based on the formatting OS. Still, both the standard OEM codepage and the Windows codepage include lowercase e with an acute accent (like in Bublé), so I'm not sure that's the issue.

The unicode just shows up as an X in a box, but at least it shows up--sometimes even with an album cover, and once in a while it's even the correct album cover.