Great thread!! I gave up using USB stick in my current car because FLAC and/or the large volume of music files was too slow to load (initially and if changing albums/artists) and album art didn't work. Use an iPod instead, which works perfectly.
I would love to go back to USB stick when I get my Stinger. So much expertise here, so I will ask rather than attempting tedious research myself:
My responses to your questions:
1. I am using (as previously noted) a USB 256GB stick and I have no idea if the files load faster/slower since I don't have a USB 2.0 stick with the same files to use.
2. Again, I can't make a direct comparison since all of my files were ripped with FLAC but it takes at most about 8-10 seconds for the USB stick to load and start playing.
3. FLAC files work great and, if I am not mistaken, the m4a files are not supported.
4. Album artwork is an interesting topic. I ripped my files directly from the CD's with the result that some album artwork is displayed but others are not. Previously, when using iTunes I always thought that the album artwork was loaded by accessing the web. Now I wonder if the album artwork jpg is stored directly on the CD.
5. I have almost 3,000 files loaded on my USB stick and it loads quickly and without a problem. After researching the topic on my own I chose FLAC as being the best file format for ripping the songs.
Thanks for the detailed answer!
What software do you use to rip to FLAC? As mentioned, Windows/Windows Media Player has its own lossless format that outputs to .WMA files. .WMA is also used for lossy formats, so that doesn't really distinguish the quality level by itself. After I get the car and try it, I could switch to FLAC format itself if that is better.
My iPod flawlessly produces album art...not sure exactly how. I'd rather not take up a bunch of space in the car with it, though, if I don't have to. This wouldn't be an issue if the car had a or its data port in the bin in the centre console where most cars have them (so you have room for things like iPods or big phones).