Using Spotify in your M5

[PappSchlumpf]

I know most of the people here are from the US, but we do have a few Europeans I believe...

I love Spotify, it is just straightforward and I find all the music I want....

I am using the Y-Cable now with my iPhone 4S, issue I had was that if you have any Audio content (Music or Podcasts) you get to play Spotify but then it will switch back to iPod mode... which sucks!

So I decided to remove all the Audio contents from my Phone and now Spotify sticks... every once in a while it will switch off but then you press the knob again on External Media and it will resume playing immediately.

Has anyone here figured a better way to use Spotify or can share tweaks or mods to make it work better ?

The sounds quality I get from the Spotify app is amazing on the car... the Sound System just loves it!

[mcvaughan]

I use Spotify extensively. I will test this out in my car with my iPhone 5 to see the results.

[Rob///M5]

I've used Rdio, Spotify and MOG heavily. I'll tell you that MOG is my favorite, has the best audio quality and works very well with BMW ConnectedDrive.

Just switch for a month and check it out. Or, I'm sure they have a trial membership. Gotta love subscription music!!

[mcvaughan]

I can confirm that if I try to use Spotify, with iPhone connected via USB, it starts to play and then stops and plays locally stored music. Only way for me to get it to work was using Bluetooth audio, which still sounded pretty good; I made sure the tracks were not streaming (offline mode turned on).

[emmfive]

Originally Posted by mcvaughan

I can confirm that if I try to use Spotify, with iPhone connected via USB, it starts to play and then stops and plays locally stored music. Only way for me to get it to work was using Bluetooth audio, which still sounded pretty good; I made sure the tracks were not streaming (offline mode turned on).

Same here. VERY annoying. Anybody figured out how to use spotify while your phone is connected via usb?

[LAKEOM5]

Is Spotify free?

The App says try it for free but does that mean you eventually have to pay?

[mcvaughan]

Originally Posted by LAKEOM5

Is Spotify free?

The App says try it for free but does that mean you eventually have to pay?

It's a subscription, so yes.

[cmhsam]

I use spotify on the IP5 with bluetooth. I can use the radio controls to skip fw/back on tracks. Sound quality is acceptable via BT. Still have to try MOG.

[PappSchlumpf]

Originally Posted by Rob///M5

I've used Rdio, Spotify and MOG heavily. I'll tell you that MOG is my favorite, has the best audio quality and works very well with BMW ConnectedDrive.

Just switch for a month and check it out. Or, I'm sure they have a trial membership. Gotta love subscription music!!

MOG doesn't work outside the US, I am in Europe

[mcvaughan]

The trick with Spotify and good sound quality is to sync your playlists and to specify Extreme quality in the settings.

[Rob///M5]

If you like music, best 10 bucks you've ever spent.

[PappSchlumpf]

So nobody in Europe has a better way to make Spotify work ?

[mcvaughan]

Originally Posted by PappSchlumpf

So nobody in Europe has a better way to make Spotify work ?

We probably need to wait for a software update to address this.

[nybimmerfan]

Since I do digital media delivery consulting work to major media networks, I decided to forgo getting the BMW entertainment package. I know I could do better. Anyway, I have put together a complete car media center comprising of a media server (power efficient laptop using SSD rather than HDD), a portable wireless access point and several media receivers (iPad, iPhone, Android devices, etc.). So far, I am reencoding my collection of movies, tv shows, music videos and music collection into formats optimized for high quality viewing but with the least file size.

[PappSchlumpf]

Originally Posted by nybimmerfan

Since I do digital media delivery consulting work to major media networks, I decided to forgo getting the BMW entertainment package. I know I could do better. Anyway, I have put together a complete car media center comprising of a media server (power efficient laptop using SSD rather than HDD), a portable wireless access point and several media receivers (iPad, iPhone, Android devices, etc.). So far, I am reencoding my collection of movies, tv shows, music videos and music collection into formats optimized for high quality viewing but with the least file size.

Tell us more, what are you going to be able to do with this ? And how would you connect to the Car ?

[nybimmerfan]

My goal for the car media center is more for the benefit of my passengers, especially kids on long trips. Unlike the BMW Rear Seat Entertainment Professional with the rear seat integrated monitors, my car media center setup can use an iPad, iPhone, Android tablets, etc. which can connect by wifi. As to having music delivered to the car stereo system, there is of course bluetooth. The server hardware (laptop) can be placed in the trunk or in the passenger compartment (under the driver or front passenger seat). The wireless AP (Access Point) can be placed anywhere in the car. The server communicates and concurrently streams video and audio wirelessly to the AP. The AP acts as VOD/AOD (Video/Audio on Demand) connection point and all clients (iPads, iPhone, etc.) connect to it to get the stream. Wireless standards used are open, i.e. b/g/n (802.11b/g/n) which negotiates transmission rates from 1 to 300mbps (megabit(s) per second). I have set the clients (iPads, etc.) for 4mbps streams for the best quality video/audio. I have tested with 4 simultataneous clients (I only have an iPhone5, 3GS, iPAD1, iPAD3) viewing different media content without hiccups. I have ordered 2 Android tablets and once I get them I will do the test but I do not anticipate any problems. As far as power, the media server (laptop) can run on its own (4 hours max serving 4 clients) or connect via the 12V Car adapter. The portable AP can also connect to any 12V source via an Adapter. I ordered a small 6000mAh backup battery the size of an iPhone and once I get it I will test how long the AP can run on it continuously.