The purpose of these instructions are to guide the reader in the task of converting a Microsoft WAV file to a Microsoft WMA file for the purpose of including the Meta Tags (the song name, album name, etc) AND preserving the quality of the original WAV music file. These conversion instructions are written for use with 2010 Ford Expedition vehicles that include the Microsoft SYNC Entertainment System.
These instructions are written using a batch processing style approach - using text batch files on a computer. This enables the user to process large numbers of files at once instead of imposing the burden of large numbers of mouse clicks to process each individual file.
TECHNICAL
=======
Vehicle Information
These instructions were tested with Microsoft SYNC Version:
HW: AL1T-18K931-AD
SW: B1U62015
To verify your version of hardware and software, press the button, and then select the SYSTEM INFO tab.
I have no idea how you could tell if your hardware and software versions are newer than those specified here...
Computer Information
Microsoft Windows XP Pro (SP3) with latest patches.
INTRODUCTION
==========
If you are like me, you have probably ripped some of your CDs and have backed up the WAV files to a safe location. Some CDs are no longer in print, and you might have some 80s dance tracks that you want to play in the truck, but dont want to risk loosing the CD.
These instructions are just what you need to protect those recordings! These instructions show you how to take the WAV file that you backed up, and convert the file to a WMA file. Yes - the SYNC system in the truch does read WAV files without trouble; however, you might want to include the some additional information with the recording so that the information shows up in the SYNC console window when you play the music.
Referring to the booklet that is included with your vehicle, Navigation System - SYNC (July 2009 - doc number AA5J 19A285 AB), on page 164, the following information can be included in the newly created WMA file, and displayed on the console:
- Artist
The name of the group or the singer
- Album
The name of the album/cd/tape that was recorded
- Genre
The kind of music or recording
- Track
The name of the song or recording
NEEDED SOFTWARE
===============
To perform this convesion, some additional software is needed, since out-of-the-box Windows XP does not include the tools to perform this kind of conversion.
Obtain a copy of dbPowerAmp from Illustrate. The software can be obtained from here:
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm
Further, a copy of the Microsoft Windows Media Audio 10 Pro Release 6 (WIndows XP) will be needed to complete these steps. The software can be obtained from here:
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/codec-central-windows-media-audio.htm
Obtain both of these software kits, and install them on a Windows XP computer.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Please remember that software is written by people, and these people have done a great service for us by engineering, developing, testing, and releasing this software to us for this use. Please reciprocate and pay for the software - its the right thing to do, and paying for it will only spur these bright people to write even more interesting and useful software.
Feed a programmer and they will bring the world to your computer. (or in this case, your Expedition)
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Okay - end of my public service announcement. Now - on to the fun part.
PROCEDURE
=========
In general, what these steps do is: 1) convert a WAV audio file to a WMA audio file; 2) push the WMA file to a USB Memory Stick; and 3) Play the music on the Microsoft SYNC Console in the Expedition.
Assumption: you have installed the dbPowerAmp Software on your computer.
To complete these steps, perform the following:
1) Start Windows XP, and login
2) Copy your favorite music file to the C:\TEMP directory on your Hard Disk. If you do not have a TEMP directory, create one:
- Open My Computer
- Select the C Drive
- Right Click in the C Drive listing, and select NEW\FOLDER. Name this folder TEMP.
Make sure to copy your WAV file to this directory. These instructions (below) assume that the name of the WAV file is: FavoriteMusic.wav
3) Start a Windows Command Prompt (START/All Programs/Accessories/Command Prompt). From this point forward, I will refer to the Command Prompt window as the CLI. (Command Line Interface)
4) In the CLI, issue the following command:
"c:\program files\illustrate\dbpoweramp\coreconverter.exe" -infile="c:\temp\FavoriteMusic.wav" -outfile="c:\temp\FavoriteMusic.wma" -convert_to="Windows Media Audio 10" -codec="Windows Media Audio 9.2 Lossless" -settings="VBR Quality 100, 44 kHz, 2 channel 16 bit VBR" -vbr -verify -tag="Artist=My Artist" -tag="Album=My Album" -tag="Genre=Light Rock" -tag="Title=Favorite Music"
NOTE: This command is one line - do not press <ENTER> for each line.
Press the <ENTER> button only once - after all this has been typed in.
5) After the conversion process is complete, the new file FavoriteMusic.wma is located in the C:\Temp directory.
PREPARING THE MEMORY STICK
==========================
As some of you may know, there are several different file system types that can be used to format a memory stick. Unfortunately, after reading the SYNC Manual included with my Expedition, I did not find any information on which File Format to use. This is important because if the wrong file format is used, the SYNC system will not read your memory stick, and therefore, no music is played.
Experimenting, I found that the FAT32 file system worked fine with the SYNC system. Therefore, to prepare the USB Memory Stick for use with SYNC, I would recommend that you use the following command to format the Memory Stick:
format <driveletter> /u/fs:fat32/a:8192
Where:
<driveletter> This is the drive letter that identifies your memory stick when it is plugged into the USB port on your computer. To find this drive letter, open MY COMPUTER, and the stick should be listed there.
WARNING: Before issuing this command, make sure that your memory stick DOES NOT contain any important information - this step purges the stick and prepares it for use. ALL DATA ON THE MEMORY STICK IS LOST!
My USB memory stick was located on Drive G of my computer. Therefore, I issued this command:
format g: /u/fs:fat32/a:8192
After the memory stick is prepared for use, copy the newly created WMA file (FavoriteMusic.wma) to the stick.
PLAYING THE MUSIC FROM THE MEMORY STICK
=======================================
As friendly as the SYNC Console is, I kinda felt like the SYNC Console did not quite get this right. I sure am hoping that some future update of the SYNC System will improve the Human Interface.
To get the music playing:
1) Enter the vehicle, and start it up. (to get the SYNC System Online)
2) Turn off the radio.
3) Open the center arm-rest. The USB port is located in the front right corner of the under-arm-rest-area (a well?)
4) Insert the USB Memory Stick into the USB Port.
WISH LIST ITEM FOR THE SYNC SOFTWARE ENGINEERS: Could you modify SYNC to sound a tone when SYNC recognizes the USB device? Much like Windows does when you plug the USB Memory Stick into the computer...
5) On the SYNC console, press the MEDIA button
6) Press the SOURCE button.
This is a little difficult to find because this button is smaller than some. The button is located roughly in the top right quadrant of the screen. Press this button until it reads SRC USB
This button will not work if the USB Memory Stick was not recognized by the SYNC System.
7) Press MUSIC LIBRARY
8) The user is presented with options of selecting ARTISTS, ALBUMS, GENRE, etc.
For this example, select ARTISTS
9) On the following screen, several buttons appear. (From the example script above that converted the WMA file), the button MY ARTIST should appear. Press this button.
10) Two buttons should appear. (From the example script above that converted the WMA file), the button MY ALBUM should appear. Press this button.
11) Two buttons should appear. (From the example script above that converted the WMA file), the button FAVORITE MUSIC should appear. Press this button.
The music should start playing.
WISH LIST ITEMS FOR THE SYNC SOFTWARE ENGINEERS:
1) At this point, there is no way, except to select a different sound input source, to stop music playback. Only three buttons are provided to the user: Previous Song, Play/Pause Current Song, and Next Song. Can you guys add three more buttons? Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind?
2) Can you modify SYNC so that when the user removes the USB Memory Stick, and then at some future date re-inserts the stick, when the user selects the USB device, please modify so that SYNC DOES NOT automagically start playing the music where it left off previously? I thought this was kinda annoying...
SEE ALSO
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/developer-cli-encoder.htm
These instructions are written using a batch processing style approach - using text batch files on a computer. This enables the user to process large numbers of files at once instead of imposing the burden of large numbers of mouse clicks to process each individual file.
TECHNICAL
=======
Vehicle Information
These instructions were tested with Microsoft SYNC Version:
HW: AL1T-18K931-AD
SW: B1U62015
To verify your version of hardware and software, press the button, and then select the SYSTEM INFO tab.
I have no idea how you could tell if your hardware and software versions are newer than those specified here...
Computer Information
Microsoft Windows XP Pro (SP3) with latest patches.
INTRODUCTION
==========
If you are like me, you have probably ripped some of your CDs and have backed up the WAV files to a safe location. Some CDs are no longer in print, and you might have some 80s dance tracks that you want to play in the truck, but dont want to risk loosing the CD.
These instructions are just what you need to protect those recordings! These instructions show you how to take the WAV file that you backed up, and convert the file to a WMA file. Yes - the SYNC system in the truch does read WAV files without trouble; however, you might want to include the some additional information with the recording so that the information shows up in the SYNC console window when you play the music.
Referring to the booklet that is included with your vehicle, Navigation System - SYNC (July 2009 - doc number AA5J 19A285 AB), on page 164, the following information can be included in the newly created WMA file, and displayed on the console:
- Artist
The name of the group or the singer
- Album
The name of the album/cd/tape that was recorded
- Genre
The kind of music or recording
- Track
The name of the song or recording
NEEDED SOFTWARE
===============
To perform this convesion, some additional software is needed, since out-of-the-box Windows XP does not include the tools to perform this kind of conversion.
Obtain a copy of dbPowerAmp from Illustrate. The software can be obtained from here:
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm
Further, a copy of the Microsoft Windows Media Audio 10 Pro Release 6 (WIndows XP) will be needed to complete these steps. The software can be obtained from here:
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/codec-central-windows-media-audio.htm
Obtain both of these software kits, and install them on a Windows XP computer.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Please remember that software is written by people, and these people have done a great service for us by engineering, developing, testing, and releasing this software to us for this use. Please reciprocate and pay for the software - its the right thing to do, and paying for it will only spur these bright people to write even more interesting and useful software.
Feed a programmer and they will bring the world to your computer. (or in this case, your Expedition)
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Okay - end of my public service announcement. Now - on to the fun part.
PROCEDURE
=========
In general, what these steps do is: 1) convert a WAV audio file to a WMA audio file; 2) push the WMA file to a USB Memory Stick; and 3) Play the music on the Microsoft SYNC Console in the Expedition.
Assumption: you have installed the dbPowerAmp Software on your computer.
To complete these steps, perform the following:
1) Start Windows XP, and login
2) Copy your favorite music file to the C:\TEMP directory on your Hard Disk. If you do not have a TEMP directory, create one:
- Open My Computer
- Select the C Drive
- Right Click in the C Drive listing, and select NEW\FOLDER. Name this folder TEMP.
Make sure to copy your WAV file to this directory. These instructions (below) assume that the name of the WAV file is: FavoriteMusic.wav
3) Start a Windows Command Prompt (START/All Programs/Accessories/Command Prompt). From this point forward, I will refer to the Command Prompt window as the CLI. (Command Line Interface)
4) In the CLI, issue the following command:
"c:\program files\illustrate\dbpoweramp\coreconverter.exe" -infile="c:\temp\FavoriteMusic.wav" -outfile="c:\temp\FavoriteMusic.wma" -convert_to="Windows Media Audio 10" -codec="Windows Media Audio 9.2 Lossless" -settings="VBR Quality 100, 44 kHz, 2 channel 16 bit VBR" -vbr -verify -tag="Artist=My Artist" -tag="Album=My Album" -tag="Genre=Light Rock" -tag="Title=Favorite Music"
NOTE: This command is one line - do not press <ENTER> for each line.
Press the <ENTER> button only once - after all this has been typed in.
5) After the conversion process is complete, the new file FavoriteMusic.wma is located in the C:\Temp directory.
PREPARING THE MEMORY STICK
==========================
As some of you may know, there are several different file system types that can be used to format a memory stick. Unfortunately, after reading the SYNC Manual included with my Expedition, I did not find any information on which File Format to use. This is important because if the wrong file format is used, the SYNC system will not read your memory stick, and therefore, no music is played.
Experimenting, I found that the FAT32 file system worked fine with the SYNC system. Therefore, to prepare the USB Memory Stick for use with SYNC, I would recommend that you use the following command to format the Memory Stick:
format <driveletter> /u/fs:fat32/a:8192
Where:
<driveletter> This is the drive letter that identifies your memory stick when it is plugged into the USB port on your computer. To find this drive letter, open MY COMPUTER, and the stick should be listed there.
WARNING: Before issuing this command, make sure that your memory stick DOES NOT contain any important information - this step purges the stick and prepares it for use. ALL DATA ON THE MEMORY STICK IS LOST!
My USB memory stick was located on Drive G of my computer. Therefore, I issued this command:
format g: /u/fs:fat32/a:8192
After the memory stick is prepared for use, copy the newly created WMA file (FavoriteMusic.wma) to the stick.
PLAYING THE MUSIC FROM THE MEMORY STICK
=======================================
As friendly as the SYNC Console is, I kinda felt like the SYNC Console did not quite get this right. I sure am hoping that some future update of the SYNC System will improve the Human Interface.
To get the music playing:
1) Enter the vehicle, and start it up. (to get the SYNC System Online)
2) Turn off the radio.
3) Open the center arm-rest. The USB port is located in the front right corner of the under-arm-rest-area (a well?)
4) Insert the USB Memory Stick into the USB Port.
WISH LIST ITEM FOR THE SYNC SOFTWARE ENGINEERS: Could you modify SYNC to sound a tone when SYNC recognizes the USB device? Much like Windows does when you plug the USB Memory Stick into the computer...
5) On the SYNC console, press the MEDIA button
6) Press the SOURCE button.
This is a little difficult to find because this button is smaller than some. The button is located roughly in the top right quadrant of the screen. Press this button until it reads SRC USB
This button will not work if the USB Memory Stick was not recognized by the SYNC System.
7) Press MUSIC LIBRARY
8) The user is presented with options of selecting ARTISTS, ALBUMS, GENRE, etc.
For this example, select ARTISTS
9) On the following screen, several buttons appear. (From the example script above that converted the WMA file), the button MY ARTIST should appear. Press this button.
10) Two buttons should appear. (From the example script above that converted the WMA file), the button MY ALBUM should appear. Press this button.
11) Two buttons should appear. (From the example script above that converted the WMA file), the button FAVORITE MUSIC should appear. Press this button.
The music should start playing.
WISH LIST ITEMS FOR THE SYNC SOFTWARE ENGINEERS:
1) At this point, there is no way, except to select a different sound input source, to stop music playback. Only three buttons are provided to the user: Previous Song, Play/Pause Current Song, and Next Song. Can you guys add three more buttons? Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind?
2) Can you modify SYNC so that when the user removes the USB Memory Stick, and then at some future date re-inserts the stick, when the user selects the USB device, please modify so that SYNC DOES NOT automagically start playing the music where it left off previously? I thought this was kinda annoying...
SEE ALSO
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/developer-cli-encoder.htm
Last edited:
