It looks like Cadillac will be the first company to offer the new Gracenote music library database in a car. Buyers of the new 2008 CTS will be able to get the system when the car goes on sale in August. Gracenote points out this will be the first time the MusicID database and Playlist products have been paired with an in-car entertainment system for the North American market. Sounds like a technicality, but it's a pretty sweet system.What this means is that you can load all of your CDs into the system, have them copied, and then during playback the unit accesses a huge database to add track info. Things like album, artist and track names are a given, but the Gracenote system adds additional proprietary data like genre, artist type, era and region of origin. And then your personal collection can be searched and custom playlists developed using the data. How very iPod. Similar systems exist, but none are quite like Gracenote, and none have been factory available in the States until now.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dave T. @ Jul 19th 2007 4:35PM
I'm almost positive the new Infiniti G35 has a similar Gracenote system.
Frank Filipponio @ Jul 19th 2007 5:10PM
Officially Gracenote says the Cadillac is the first application of both the MusicID database and Playlist products integrated into an in-car entertainment system for the North American market.
Dave T. @ Jul 19th 2007 5:14PM
a ha!
Ian @ Jul 19th 2007 4:41PM
LOL. WTF is the point? It will be out of date before it reaches the dealer lot. Ohhh, and you get to sit in your car and RIP cds. I already have my CDs ripped and tagged. Why is it that these morons think that sitting in the car and ripping CDs is a good idea? This stupid idea pops up again and again, Eclipse has had a unit that does this for years. SO WHAT.
EMPEG forever, suckers.
bwpardini @ Jul 19th 2007 5:39PM
This is lame - just put in an iPod connector.
I love my EMPEG too - but it just got replaced by and AVIC-D3 with Sirius, iPod, Bluetooth, DVD, Navigaion, and back up camera.
I'll miss my EMPEG :(. - best in dash computer/mp3 player of its time.
Jason @ Jul 19th 2007 4:48PM
Yay - something else for people to mess with when they should be concentrating on the road.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Jul 19th 2007 4:48PM
I don't need this stuff. What I do need is iPod connectivity. Does it at least have an aux in?
Dave T. @ Jul 19th 2007 4:50PM
it has an ipod specific adapter and an aux and a usb I believe. It's a neat system but yeah I'm not a fan of the Gracenote, at least what I tried on the G35.
saysee @ Jul 19th 2007 5:30PM
http://www.technoride.com/slide/Cadillac+CTS+Slideshow/210527_210451_4_0.aspx
rob @ Jul 19th 2007 4:53PM
dave t., you're right.
from an edmunds review of the G35:
"The display works well and thanks to Gracenote software, song title and artist name are instantly filled in - no such luck on home burned discs though"
http://blogs.edmunds.com/?14@@.ee9ae72/5
R1R @ Jul 19th 2007 5:01PM
Like others have said, the G35/G37 already have this.
The Lexus LS has this as well.
alex @ Jul 19th 2007 5:31PM
no the lexus and the g35 have a less capable version of this. not saying that this is big news or anything... but this is NOT the same system that the LS and g35 have
Ligor @ Jul 19th 2007 5:33PM
who cares what car has it, who needs it?
people need to learn to concentrate on the road and this will make sure fewer of them will do so.
i hope they make it voice controlled so that it al least minimizes the distraction
also, what ahppens in 10years when this car is old and you're trying to sell it, by the system is broke?
there goes $500 off the price (or even more)
jamesc @ Jul 19th 2007 5:34PM
Honestly, can we just get a 20GB hard drive in our cars? Have it isolated with 25 cent spring/rubber, and there ya go. How expensive would that be? Hell, I'd pay a couple hundred for a 20 or 40 GB in my car. CDs are so 1995. DVDs are so 2001.
alex @ Jul 19th 2007 5:44PM
sorry, no such luck on the 20 GB hard drive... the CTS only comes with a Toshiba 40 GB hard drive. maybe you could cut it in half?
Marvelous @ Jul 19th 2007 5:49PM
I think most of you are missing the point as usual. The Gracepoint system isnt innovating something with the use of cds ,but how many of use have huge stack of cds that are just laying around or even in our cars. I have cd case in my trunk that never sees the light of day becase I have an mp3 aux on my radio. If I had this system I could just rip the cds right in my car and never have to deal with them again, thats the point of this system. Having an ipod hooked up to auxilary input is more of a distracted than a factory system, that shitty touch scroll sucks. THIS IS A GOOD SYSTEM!
Tim @ Jul 19th 2007 5:54PM
All I need is a USB connection and a head unit that reads WMA's and playlists. What could that cost to produce, and extra $10? Why is this music integration thing so complicated for automakers?
Oh, and screw iPod connectivity - I don't want to have to pay to get locked into another closed, proprietary Apple technology.
Jason @ Jul 20th 2007 8:50AM
Um, you can put MP3s on an iPod... you don't have to buy Apple's DRM
JIM @ Jul 19th 2007 5:57PM
You don't have to rip CDs while you sit in the car. You can take all your music and load it onto an SD card and transfer it that way. The only thing Gracenote does is add titles and musician as well as help to catalog the music based on different "moods."
The 2008 Pathfinder already has this and I spent 20 minutes at the dealer playing with it. It's very cool.
Jason @ Jul 20th 2007 8:52AM
They make 60GB SD cards now?
The only thing that'd suck more than sitting in my car and ripping CDs, would be to transfer my entire digital music collection to my car 2-4GB at a time.