Just got the G last week, with navigation. I came from a Ford Edge, which had Microsoft's Sync system. I could plug a hard drive into that, via USB, and it would let me search the drive by artist, album, etc.

When I plug a hard drive into the G, it only starts playing from the first song in the drive. I have to open a menu to set it to "random play", but I can't search by artist or any other criteria. Also, when I turn the car off and then on again, it starts playing from the first song on the hard drive again, and I have to reset it to "random play".

This is annoying and borderline useless. Is there a way to configure the settings on the USB player? Or is the only solution to use an ipod?

--- D

 

The USB/flashdrive playback was created by somebody who doesn't own a computer imo. i don't have that same exact issue that you have, when i shut the car off and turn it back on, it resumes play from where it was last.
It's incredibly annoying that you cannot scroll (view) up or down tracks/folders without changing what's playing. Also, it arranges the songs by date (earliest - latest), it doesn't even go in alphabetical order even when I edit the file on the computer.
The whole setup is biased towards the ipod/apple devices. Too much bullshlt.

 

Microsoft's Sync is probably the absolute best in-car media system (minus the bland graphics). Comparing the relatively mundane system in the Infiniti, I'm sure you'll notice plenty of missing features and refinements.

I don't even think the iPod interface is all that great in the Infiniti. It's essentially the same thing as plugging in a USB mass storage device. What isn't bad is the music box. Of course the huge downside to that is the fact that you have to rip CDs in the car.

 

Zombie thread alert!

Am I the only one who thinks the random setting isn't very random? I keep hearing certain songs too many times on an 8 GB stick.

Can the radio firmware be flashed for upgrades? 8 GB is a paltry maximum size these days for USB drives. Can't use an HDD in the console port.