This is one of the biggest disappointments of the audio system. The system does not have a folder view. This is a basic operation of any stereo. I want to be able to play all folders randomly or as you said have it go to the next folder. Since the system does have a folder view I know of no way to do this unless you put everything in a playlist. (pain in the ...!) I hope that GM does a software update to correct this basic function.

 

I want to be able to play all folders randomly or as you said have it go to the next folder.

The menus are not the greatest but there is a way to make it random everything on the flash drive. I've been doing it for weeks now. I'll try to recreate it but I believe all I did was back completely out and select shuffle from the menu. It definitely wasn't intuitive; I had to dig a bit to get it to work.

 

Why do you think you need folders? The audio system reads the tag (meta) data (genre, album title, artis, song title) from each music file to organize it. I use a free tag editor to fix any tags I don't like.

 

I only listen to complete albums and they are in folders. If the audio system could read folders I could plav all the songs in random or each album individually and it would go to the next album instead of playing the same album over again. This should be a basic feature of any system.

 

That's not the way most music players work today. They work by reading each music file's ID3 tag data. You can play an entire album without use of folders assuming each track's tag data contains the same album name. iPods and iPhones are the same. But they simply won't play albums one after another like stacking vinyl albums or CDs in a changer without building a playlist. Most people don't listen to music that way any more. In fact most people don't buy entire albums any more.

If you aren't familiar with ID3 tags carried by mp3 files, read this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID3

I use Mp3tag, which is free, to edit tags. http://www.mp3tag.de/en/

And I never use folders on my USB stick I play music from. Windows Explorer is capable of displaying all tag data if I simply want to read it using my computer.

 

Well I've given up on playing music files thru the usb ports. There are too many limitations . Now I'm using my Sansa Clip player thru the Aux input. No more issues with folders, I now have an equalizer and most importantly I can play flac files with gapless playback.

 

Thanks kellvsshi. I figured this out yesterday on the way home. I still wish it would play folders. Sometimes I get to a song and want to listen to the rest of the album. If it played from folders I could just turn off the shuffle and let it roll. Now I have to go back, select "album" and then select that album. Kinda of a pain.

 

Yeah the UI for the media section needs to be revamped. Lot of the stuff isn't really intuitive.

 

I hope that Alpine does a Restyle In-dash System for our trucks. This is something I would consider spring for. It is expensive, but it is the system that should have been in the truck to begin with. GM should work with Alpine or one of the other aftermarket companies to develop their audio system.

 

I'm sure most of the posters wanting more capability out of the GM system are going to be disappointed with any OEM system. I've had a Ford-Sony and a BMW-Harmon Kardon, and currently have a Hyundai-Infinity system. None can play folders the way other posters want them to and all emulate playing off an iPod. I do agree GM should make HD radio more available than they do. I think all automakers push SiriusXM too hard.

 

You are right am disappointed in the OEM system. That is the problem, for the cost of the premium system you should have very little to be disappointed in. Adding Bose, Harmon Kardon or Infinity speakers and amps to a head unit that is lacking, doesn't change the fact that the head unit leaves a lot to be desired. If car companies are going to make it harder to change out the head unit by integrating more functions into the entertainment center, then I wish they would spend more time trying to get it right, or farm it out to someone who will get it right.

I just rented a Hyundai Sonata for a month and the touch screen system in that was much better than the one in the twins. It was able to play folders, skip from folder to folder, showed track numbers and was much more user friendly than our system. My only complaint was that it needed more USB jacks.