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2012 USB capability

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by clifsmith, Feb 16, 2012.

  1. clifsmith

    clifsmith New Member

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    I am deciding between a 2011 and 2012. The only thing pushing me towards the 2012 is the audio system in pkg II. I like to just plug in a 16gb USB stick drive with all my music and then control that from the head by searching artists, then albums. How does this feature work in the 2012? Is it fast when scrolling through artists and does it alphabetize the artists? I think I might just be better off going with a 2011 pkg II and putting a high end 7" nav kenwood system.
     
  2. JoelIrwin

    JoelIrwin New Member

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    I am not sure if the 2012 has been changed from the 2011. best thing to do is take the comments like mine from the other usb thread and check them out in a 2012 in a showroom with a flash drive. my personal guess if 12 and 11 are probably the same. I am actually using a 4 gb stick which has enough music for me to listen for 1 to 2 months. you're going to have to reorganize your tracks for the drive anyway unless the 12's are different since there is a 256 file limitation and you have to sort or move the files into the physical order you want them. So its not a simple copy of folders to a drive. So for me doing 500 to 1000 songs at a time is enough.
     
  3. JoelIrwin

    JoelIrwin New Member

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    p.s. - the 11s only understand filename, folder, and artists and that is display purposes only. they play in the physical order recorded (see my other post). So unless 12 changed something, there is no search or filtering facility I am aware of. you just get to advance track forward and back (one a time) above the cutoff speed limit and scroll a screen at a time if you are standing still.
     
  4. clifsmith

    clifsmith New Member

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    I would hope that the 2012 would not have a 256 file limit. that is ridiculous. It seems that toyota factory stereo's have always been behind in the technology for audio. Most aftermarket units will read either SD cards or USB drives and have for years. My 2011 scion factory stereo reads all my 16 gb worth about 3000 songs, but the scrolling through artists is very slow. Auto manufacturers were still putting cassette radios in some units during the late 90s. CD players will be a thing of the past in less than 5 years. It will all be USB or flash based. I now hate even touching a CD case, when I have over 300 cds on something the size of my thumbnail. I think I will go for the 2011 and just put in a fully featured NAV, Bluetooth, HDradio, SAT, all in one unit. I found a decent on on Ebay for $530, JVC. It also has a slot for an SD card and USB connectivity. Hopefully there will be some great discounts to be had on the 2011 right now.
     
  5. whicks3

    whicks3 Junior Member

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    I know this thread is over a week old,but I just got my 2012 a few days ago. The '12 is a whole new ball game in the audio dept.thanks to the 6.1 " screen. After plugging in your thumb drive,it will appear on the source screen as a USB device in a box along with the boxes for AM,FM, and Blue tooth device( If one is present) You touch the USB box and you operate the system just like an Ipod. you can scroll for the artist,then touch the album,then scroll to any song,touch the song and it plays. Plugging in your Ipod gives the same results,full on screen control just like you were holding it,except the text is a lot bigger and easier to see.i had considered a left over '11,and would have sick to find out later what a giant leap forward the '12 audio system is.
     
  6. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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  7. JoelIrwin

    JoelIrwin New Member

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    I glanced through that link quickly. So tell me exactly how is the USB different in the '12. What you described appears on the surface to be exactly the same as what I currently have on my '11. Are there fields other than filename, folder, and artists? Does the text scroll? Does it play the contents of the folder in some order or than physical order?