Chevrolet Cobalt Owners Manual: Using an MP3

Format

Radios that have the capability of playing MP3's can play.mp3 or .wma files that were recorded onto a CD-R or CD-RW disc. Radios that have a USB port can play.mp3 and .wma files that are stored on a USB storage device as well as AAC files that are stored on an iPod®.

Compressed Audio

The radio can play discs that contain both uncompressed CD audio and MP3 files. If both formats are on the disc, the radio reads all MP3 files first, then the uncompressed CD audio files.

CD-R or CD-RW Supported File and Folder Structure

The radio supports:
- Up to 50 folders.

- Up to 8 folders in depth.

- Up to 50 playlists.

- Up to 255 files.

- Playlists with an .m3u or .wpl extension.

- Files with an .mp3, .wma, or .cda file extension.

USB Supported File and Folder Structure

The radio supports:
- Up to 700 folders.

- Up to 8 folders in depth.

- Up to 65,535 files.

- Folder and file names up to 64 bytes.

- Files with an .mp3 or .wma file extension.

- AAC files stored on an iPod.

- FAT16.

- FAT32.

Root Directory

The root directory is treated as a folder. Files are stored in the root directory when the disc or storage device does not contain folders. Files accessed from the root directory of a CD display as F1 ROOT.

Empty Folder

Folders that do not contain files are skipped, and the player advances to the next folder that contains files.

Order of Play

Tracks are played in the following order: - Play begins from the first track in the first playlist and continues sequentially through all tracks in each playlist. When the last track of the last playlist has played, play continues from the first track of the first playlist.

- Play begins from the first track in the first folder and continues sequentially through all tracks in each folder. When the last track of the last folder has played, play continues from the first track of the first folder.

When play enters a new folder, the display does not automatically show the new folder name unless the folder mode has been chosen as the default display.

The new track name displays.

File System and Naming

The song name that displays is the song name that is contained in the ID3 tag. If the song name is not present in the ID3 tag, then the radio displays the file name without the extension (such as .mp3) as the track name.

Track names longer than 32 characters or four pages are shortened. The display does not show parts of words on the last page of text and the extension of the filename is not displayed.

Preprogrammed Playlists

CDs that have preprogrammed playlists that were created using WinAmp™, MusicMatch™, or Real Jukebox™ software can be accessed, however, there is no playlist editing capability using the radio. These playlists are treated as special folders containing compressed audio song files.

Playlists that have an .m3u or .pls file extension and are stored on a USB device may be supported by the radio with a USB port.

Playing a CD-R or CD-RW MP3

(Tune): Turn to select MP3
files on the CD currently playing.

©SEEK: Press to go to the start of the track, if more than ten seconds have played. Press and hold or press multiple times to continue moving backward through tracks.

: Press to go to the next
track. Press and hold
or press multiple times to continue moving forward through tracks.

(Reverse): Press and hold to
reverse
playback quickly. Sound is heard at a reduced volume and the elapsed time of the file displays.

Release to resume playing.

(Fast Forward): Press and
hold to advance
playback quickly. Sound is heard at a reduced volume and the elapsed time of the file displays.

Release to resume playing.
The elapsed
time of the file displays.

(Previous Folder): Press the
softkey
below to go to the first
track in the previous
folder.

(Next Folder): Press the
softkey below to
go to the first track in the next folder.

RDM (Random): MP3 files can be listened to on a CD in random, rather than sequential order. To use random, press the softkey under the RDM tab until Random Current Disc displays to play songs from the current CD in random order. Press the same softkey again to turn off random play.

(Music Navigator): Press the
softkey
below  to have the files
played in order by
artist or album. The player scans the disc to sort the files by artist and album ID3 tag information. It can take several minutes to scan the disc depending on the number of files on the disc. The radio may begin playing while it is scanning in the background.

When the scan is finished, the disc begins playing files in order by artist. The current artist playing is shown on the second line of the display. Once all songs by that artist are played, the player moves to the next artist in alphabetical order and begins playing files by that artist.

To listen to files by another artist, press the softkey located below either arrow tab. The disc goes to the next or previous artist in alphabetical order. Continue pressing either softkey below the arrow tab until the desired artist displays.

To change from playback by artist to playback by album:
1. Press the softkey located below the Sort By tab.

2. Press one of the softkeys below the album tab from the sort screen.

3. Press the softkey below the back tab to return to the main music navigator screen.

The album name displays on the second line between the arrows and songs from the current album begins to play. Once all songs from that album have played, the player moves to the next album in alphabetical order on the CD and begins playing MP3 files from that album.

To exit music navigator mode, press the softkey below the Back tab to return to normal MP3 playback.

Connecting a USB Storage Device or iPod®

The USB Port can be used to control an iPod or a USB storage device.

To connect a USB storage device, connect the device to the USB port located on the front of the radio.

To connect an iPod, connect one end of the USB cable that came with the iPod to the iPod’s dock connector and connect the other end to the USB port located on the front of the radio. If the vehicle is on and the USB connection works, “OK to disconnect” and a GM logo may appear on the iPod and iPod appears on the radio's display. The iPod music appears on the radio’s display and begins playing.

The iPod charges while it is connected to the vehicle if the vehicle is in the ACC/ACCESSORY or ON/RUN position. When the vehicle is turned off, the iPod automatically powers off and will not charge or draw power from the vehicle's battery.

If you have an older iPod model that is not supported, it can still be used by connecting it to the Auxiliary Input Jack using a standard 3.5mm (1/8 in) stereo cable.

See “Using the Auxiliary Input Jack” earlier for more information.

Using the Radio to Control a USB Storage Device or iPod

The radio can control a USB storage device or an iPod using the radio buttons and knobs and display song information on the radio’s display.

(Tune): Turn to select files.

: Press to go to the start of
the track, if more
than ten seconds have played. Press and hold or press multiple times to continue moving backward through tracks.

: Press to go to the next
track. Press and hold
or press multiple times to continue moving forward through tracks.

(Reverse): Press and hold to
reverse
playback quickly. Sound is heard at a reduced volume.

ReleasesREV to resume playing. The elapsed time of the file displays.

(Fast Forward): Press and
hold to advance
playback quickly. Sound is heard at a reduced volume.

Release\FWD to resume playing. The elapsed time of the file displays.

(Information): Press to
display additional information about the selected track.

Using Softkeys to Control a USB Storage Device or iPod

The five softkeys below the radio display are used to control the functions listed below.

To use the softkeys:
1. Press the first or fifth softkey below the radio display to display the functions listed below, or press the softkey below the function if it is currently displayed.

2. Press the softkey below the tab with the function on it to use that function.

(Pause): Press the softkey
below to pause the
track. The tab appears raised when pause is being used. Press the softkey below
again to resume
playback.

Back: Press the softkey below the back tab to go back to the main display screen on an iPod, or the root directory on a USB storage device.

(Folder View): Press the
softkey below to view
the contents of the current folder on the USB drive.

To browse and select files: 1. Press the softkey below.

2. Turn to scroll through
the list of folders.

3. Press to select the
desired folder. If there is more then one folder, repeat Steps 1 and 2 until the desired folder is reached.

4. Turn to scroll through
the files in the selected folder.

5. Press to select the
desired file to be played.

To skip through large lists, the five softkeys can be used to navigate in the following order: - First softkey, first item in the list.

- Second softkey, 1% through the list each time the softkey is pressed.

- Third softkey, 5% through the list each time the softkey is pressed.

- Fourth softkey, 10% through the list each time the softkey is pressed.

- Fifth softkey, end of the list.

(Music Navigator): Press
the softkey
below to view and select a
file on an iPod,
using the iPod's menu system. Files are sorted by: - Playlists.

- Artists.

- Albums.

- Genres.

- Songs.

- Composers.

To select files:
1. Press the softkey below .

2. Turn to scroll through
the list of menus.

3. Press to select the
desired menu.

4. Turn to scroll through
the folders or files in the selected menu.

5. Press to select the
desired file to be played.

To skip through large lists, the five softkeys can be used to navigate in the following order: - First softkey, first item in the list.

- Second softkey, 1% through the list each time the softkey is pressed.

- Third softkey, 5% through the list each time the softkey is pressed.

- Fourth softkey, 10% through the list each time the softkey is pressed.

- Fifth softkey, end of the list.

Repeat Functionality

To use Repeat:
Press the softkey below or
to select between
Repeat All and Repeat Track.

(Repeat All): Press the
softkey below to repeat
all tracks. The tab appears lowered when Repeat All is being used. This is the default mode when a USB storage device or iPod is first connected.

(Repeat Track): Press the
softkey below to
repeat one track. The tab appears raised when Repeat Track is being used.

Shuffle Functionality

To use Shuffle:
Press the softkey below,,orto
select between Shuffle Off, Shuffle All Songs/Shuffle Songs, Shuffle Album, or Shuffle Folder.

(Shuffle Off): Press the
softkey below to
turn shuffle off. This is the default mode when a USB storage device or iPod is first connected.

(Shuffle All Songs / Shuffle
Songs): Press the
softkey below to shuffle all
songs on the
USB storage device or iPod.

(Shuffle Album): Press the
softkey below to
shuffle all songs in the current album on an iPod.

(Shuffle Folder): Press the
softkey below to
shuffle all songs in the current folder on a USB storage device.