Bluetooth Metadata Questions

[troycarpenter]

I've got two questions related to BT metadata. I'm using a Pioneer AVH-X2700BS HU with the latest "Christmas" firmware (from 12/22/2014).

FIrst, there are times where the HU stops receiving metadata changes. The Metadata info is usually correct for the first song once I switch the radio to BT mode, but when the song changes, the metadata sometimes stays with the old song. I can sometimes kick it by switching the source away then back to BT, but I don't know if this is a HU problem or a DSub problem. I've seen iHeartRadio do the same thing when the song changes there, so I've seen it in another app.

Second (and more interestingly), I've seen Pandora over bluetooth transmit album art to the HU. I was using the Pandora mode of the radio at the time, which gave access to all kinds of information from the phone's Pandora app from the radio screen, so I don't know if Pandora has some type of BT extensions they've implemented, but it doesn't seem too likely. My question is whether or not DSub could have the ability to send album art over BT or not?

I will do some other tests to see if I can pin down more about what I see. I'm using a Note Edge (Android 4.4.4), which is where I saw the Pandora album art on the HU screen. My wife has a Samsung S3 running 4.4.2, but she's only used BT mode with iHeartRadio. I'll try different combos of phone and programs to see if the Android version makes a difference.

[troycarpenter]

I love replying to my own posts!

Here's what I found. In the Pandora mode, both phones (S3 and Note Edge) gave more information than standard bluetooth modes. The Pandora app on the phone identified that it was connected to a Pioneer radio (on the app screen), and I saw album art on the HU, as well as a list button that was available that showed my configured channels, as well as a genre search.

When the phone was switched out of Pandora mode and into Bluetooth Audio mode, then the Pandora app's interface reappeared on the phone, and the radio no longer had album art or the menu to select another station. Clearly there must have been some enhancements between Pandora and Pioneer (and maybe other HU manufacturers) with respect to the metadata over bluetooth.

I then tried other media apps (PowerAMP, Milk Music, iHeartRadio, etc) but none were able to display album art on the HU screen. From online searches, it would seem that album art could be sent over bluetooth, but I've yet to find any media player or HU that does it (although I thought a Chevy Malibu I rented one time did it).