5280Man

Hey Everyone! I've been working on solving an interface problem I'm having with my Droid X and my Kenwood car deck. Below is the link to the other thread I posted explaining the problem. Didn't know if anyone else is having this problem, but I wanted to share the newest information I have towards solving the issue.

Folder layout to work like an Ipod

Ok, here's the latest news and progress: I contacted Kenwood directly to get some help on the issue. I told the person I was speaking with at Kenwood that I was trying to get my droid to work with my Kenwood deck. His response was that it does NOT work with droids. He said he had one and that he had no luck getting it to work. Ummm....ok. My response was "I think it does work and let me explain why...." That's when I went into a detailed explanation of how I got the droid to play two songs and then more by putting them into a certain folder. Here's the good news: He then told me about a program you put on your computer called Kenwood music editor. It looks at music on a mass storage drive, analyzes it and makes it readable by a Kenwood deck. Great!!! Why didn't you tell me that in the first place.

So, I downloaded it and hooked up the droid. It recognized it, found my music and did a few things. I then hooked it up to the deck and it instantly found the music and played it. I did notice that the program put a Kenwood file on my droid. The deck controls the music and all. Success! Well, kinda....

This is why I say I'm solving the issue..... It only organizes the music by artist and song. No playlists. The program says playlists but makes playlists into Artist names. Which means that each artist is a playlist. Not quite what I was looking for but I'm making headway on it.

There's the newest info I have on this. Maybe it helps someone who is having the same issue. And, if anyone has anymore input or info on this problem it would be much appreciated. I'm getting closer to making it work like my ipod but not quite there just yet.

jboneonevo

I've got this same problem. Just got an Evo and also installed a Kenwood X-794. Where did you get KME? I can't find it for download, only the update.

The fact that the USB playback isn't better saddens me. I'm, pretty sure you can't even go 'Back' to the previous track either. Hopefully they update the software on the decks in the future. I wouldn't mind just getting audio from the phone over the USB, to allow phone navigation like on the iPod/iPhones. Not sure if the ports on many android phones pass audio, though. I should look into this.

Demache

Some do, but its analog, and through a hybrid proprietary connector (like HTC's mini/extUSB). It will be interesting if Google ever makes a digital stream for music standard on Android over USB like iPod's can.

ptzdodge

I'm not sure if this helps but here is what I learned when trying to play music (including Pandora) from my Incredible to my Kenwood KDC-BT838U (FW level is 1.70). The USB Cable would not work for me either.

I could use the bluetooth connection as a phone with no problem however it would not play any music. In fact, 'BT Audio' was not listed as a source (in the Kenwood's choices of input sources). So I placed the head unit in STANDBY mode and then went into the BT Assignment Option and choose my phone (which was listed as a connected device) as an audio device and presto, I now get great sound, via Bluetooth, from my HTC Incredible to my car stereo.

Again, I am not familiar with the Kenwood model that you listed but I thought I would pass along this info.

Good Luck!

Last edited by ptzdodge; October 19th, 2010 at 03:36 PM.

promiseofcake

Since I keep coming to this thread I feel it is worth an update even if it's an old one. I have been dealing with this issue and I have found two solutions.

One is the Kenwood Music Control App in the Android Market, but I don't like the fact it's always running and seems to be a bit clunky to deal with:

Kenwood Music Control | Android Market

The second, and the method I prefer is a newer version of the program mentioned by the OP, the Kenwood Music Editor Light windows only application. The Kenwood Music Editor app only is distributed via CD but the light version works well and is available for download:

KENWOOD Music Editor Light Download | Kenwood Corporation

Finally for more up to date discussion and current results I have been posting in the following thread:

Galaxy S2 SR on Kenwood car stereo via USB | xda-developers

Hope this helps someone.