No DVD Audio?

I assumed the stereo would play a DVD audio since it plays DVD video. I assumed wrong. DVD audio is not recognized. It will play a DTS Music CD but mine does not recognize the tracks or CD name. I have the Premium stereo. Anyone else tried this? I believe in my 3 series, the DVD player, which is used for the Navi, will play a DVD audio, (car is not here today, but I will check this again).

The other thing I noticed is that I think the CD sounds better than my iPod, but I have a personal bias to CD's given that a compressed MP3 file loses some information in the process. I still think my '07 Logic 7 in my 3 series sounds better, and that's through the Auxiliary port for my iPod. I gather the F10s use new Dirac sound technology with a view to making each sitting position neutral.

The other thing I noticed is that the surround sound option sounds better with a CD playing.

DVD-A and SACD never really took off as hoped. Not surprised support for it in cars is limited, just as is the discs themselves are. I had several of both, but lost attention as the material was rare and support waned by manufacturers as the format wars waged.

A CD will sound as good as the bit rate which is stored on it. The iPod can also play uncompressed or lossless files and would sound as good as better as an original artist CD disc. With the room at iPods, why not save files in a larger format and avid the storage, vulnerability and deterioration of CD's?

Who uses DVDs anymore? Even for movies.

Originally Posted by DerStig

Who uses DVDs anymore? Even for movies.

My 2004 Acura TL had DVD audio capability and the sound was exceptional. The DVD audio was 5.1 surround sound capable. It was good, but like Ksoze I also lost interest after support waned. There is definitely a difference in sound with iTunes sourced MP3 files and a CD. I'm going to experiment some more.

Originally Posted by ksoze

DVD-A and SACD never really took off as hoped. Not surprised support for it in cars is limited, just as is the discs themselves are. I had several of both, but lost attention as the material was rare and support waned by manufacturers as the format wars waged.

A CD will sound as good as the bit rate which is stored on it. The iPod can also play uncompressed or lossless files and would sound as good as better as an original artist CD disc. With the room at iPods, why not save files in a larger format and avid the storage, vulnerability and deterioration of CD's?

Not all of my music is on CD, some is MP3 originated from iTunes. The current F10 Premium sound system doesn't seem to handle some music as well as my previous Logic 7 system did. There seems to be some distortion in the mid range that makes the sound "shrill" for some music, at least to me. It's good, don't get me wrong, but I think my music sources could be better - so I'm going to experiment a little.

Originally Posted by PeterC4

My 2004 Acura TL had DVD audio capability and the sound was exceptional. The DVD audio was 5.1 surround sound capable. It was good, but like Ksoze I also lost interest after support waned. There is definitely a difference in sound with iTunes sourced MP3 files and a CD. I'm going to experiment some more.

iTunes sourced files at 256K are not going to compete with an original CD track to most ears (well, many). What I was suggesting was ripping your CD's in lossless and then putting them on your iPod.

Originally Posted by ksoze

iTunes sourced files at 256K are not going to compete with an original CD track to most ears (well, many). What I was suggesting was ripping your CD's in lossless and then putting them on your iPod.

Hmm, I'll have to figure out how to do that.

I found out that the DVD volume is much lower than playing CD or radio. I had to turn my DVD movie volume way up to hear it.

Originally Posted by tcandmm

I found out that the DVD volume is much lower than playing CD or radio. I had to turn my DVD movie volume way up to hear it.

+1 on DVD movies, much lower, although I think the OP may be referring to DVD Audio. But if not I do get sound from movies at a lower volume.

Curious on how much premium sound quality there is over the base system. My salesman told me premium sound was not worth it. I am happy with my sound quality, but I will say my logic 7 in my 7-series sounded better but I am guessing the subs made the difference there and also a much bigger acoustically friendly car.

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW

+1 on DVD movies, much lower, although I think the OP may be referring to DVD Audio. But if not I do get sound from movies at a lower volume.

Curious on how much premium sound quality there is over the base system. My salesman told me premium sound was not worth it. I am happy with my sound quality, but I will say my logic 7 in my 7-series sounded better but I am guessing the subs made the difference there and also a much bigger acoustically friendly car.

I agree on the Logic 7 sounding better than the current premium system. The current premium system has power, and impressive base response, but doesn't seem to have the clarity of the Logic 7 system. Mind you I'm comparing a bigger cabin car to a 3 Series Coupe.

Originally Posted by ksoze

iTunes sourced files at 256K are not going to compete with an original CD track to most ears (well, many). What I was suggesting was ripping your CD's in lossless and then putting them on your iPod.

Ok, so I have copied a CD in AIFF format in iTunes, which is a 1,536 kbps file at 48,000 kHz for each song. A song is about 41 MB, about 5 times the size of a 320 kbps MP3 file. I'll see how this sounds.

Originally Posted by PeterC4

Ok, so I have copied a CD in AIFF format in iTunes, which is a 1,536 kbps file at 48,000 kHz for each song. A song is about 41 MB, about 5 times the size of a 320 kbps MP3 file. I'll see how this sounds.

Slightly better. Hard to tell.

Originally Posted by PeterC4

Ok, so I have copied a CD in AIFF format in iTunes, which is a 1,536 kbps file at 48,000 kHz for each song. A song is about 41 MB, about 5 times the size of a 320 kbps MP3 file. I'll see how this sounds.

You may also want to see if you need AIFF or some interim bit rate will suffice. A car is generally a poor environment to analyze fidelity, so you may be able to get the right sound with less. I have a mix of rates on my iPod, dependent on the source, but to be honest unless it is judging a 128K file to a lossless one, it is can be very subjective.

Another factor to consider for car playback is the role EQ on your iPod can play when also effected by your cars settings. In general, it is preferred to have a flat or no EQ on the iPod and then adjust your car audio settings to as flat a response as possible. That is another story however....

Adjusting the equalizer on this car is a must. I've experimented a lot with that.

The car does does support data CD (or CD-Rs) with MP3s on them, even inside folders. That's what I had in my old car and I used it for about a day.

I much prefer playing directly from my iPhone, Pandora, or even the MP3's off of a USB stick (while my iPhone screen was broken). All three get album art and sound great if you have high-quality music files and tweak the EQ a bit. In my case, i up the outside a middle a little and it's awesome with the premium sound package.

Rather than start a new thread, I found this one. I am seriously disappointed that I can't play DVD-A's. I'm also having having trouble getting my music videos start to play. I found some threads and will try some more things to get them to work (I have not found the "Top Menu" yet - I'll go out and look again).

This is my fifth straight car (not including my wife's current TL) that I have been able to play DVD-A and music videos with no problem - Lexus, Infiniti, Acura, and Cadillac. I just have to vent my frustration. I have some DVD-A's that I was really anxious to hear in the car that I cannot play in it. BTW, my car does have premium audio.

DVD Audio was the best digital sound I have ever heard, but I never bought one for home use. I hate CDs and only listen to vinyl at home. I like the sound of the premium audio in my car, but don't play CDs. I was disappointed that BMW doesn't offer DVD Audio in its cars and never has.