Getting Playlist to Work on MP3...

First, let me say that I don't remember how I stumbled upon this forum, but I think it's great.  Not only have I received good advice for the problems I had, but I've learned a lot about amps, speakers, etc. just be reading other posts.  So, thanks and keep up the good work.

Now, my current problem is this.  I bought a new Clarion head unit and had it professionally installed.  I don't know the exact model number and I'm too lazy to run to my garage and get it right now.  Anyway, the unit plays both music and MP3 (or WMA) CD's.  Everything works great, but I can't get the unit to recognize a playlist.  I've followed the directions exactly, I've used playlists with the two supported types of extentions (I think they're .m3u and .asx), I've tried putting them in various directories on the CD, I've even tried generating them with different programs.  No matter what I do, when I hit the "Playlist" button, it scans for a second and then says "No Playlist Found".  Does anyone have any experience with this?  Is there a problem with the head unit or do you think it lies with the CD and how I create them?

Hard to say, it could be something with the way you burned the CD....do you use CD-RWs or CD-Rs?  and do you "close" the cd when burning it or do you leave it "open"?

You said it doesn't recognize the playlists, but does it recognize the mp3 files either?  if not then obviously it's probably something with the way the disc was created.

Without knowing the model number it's kinda hard for me to know exactly what else to suggest, although assuming this is a new head unit I highly doubt that there's a problem with the head unit itself.

I've used both CD-R and CD-RW's and closed the CD.  The head unit has no problem recognizing and playing the MP3 files, it just can't find the playlists.

The model is DXZ735MP.

Play list mode for DXZ735MP

This function allows you to play tracks, up to latest 5 time stamps, by reading the play list information written on the disc.

1. Press and hold the [PLAY LIST] button for 1 second or longer to turn on or off the play list mode. Play list play is possible only when there is a file whose extension is ".M3U" or ".ASX" on the CDR-RW. Up to 5 play lists can be recognized, and up to 255 files can be recognized per play list.

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BTW, the unit may be case sensitive with playlist file extensions. Have you tried all upper case as described in the manual?

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Here's some other notes they have listed regarding playlists:

• When writing to a CD-R/RW, etc., be sure to use alphanumeric/ASCII characters. • Up to 5 layers can be recognized as a list. For written play lists, latest 5 lists are recognized in the order in which they are written. • When writing to a CD-R/RW, etc., turn off the Disc At Once function. • When adding a play list, it is recommended to write it in the "Root" folder.

Play list play is not performed. File name or extension is not correct. Use alphanumeric/ASCII characters for MP3/WMA file name. Use ".M3U" or ".ASX" for the file extension of a play list.

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