2017 SUBARU OUTBACK Owners Manual

Audio/Audio set
&SUBARU STARLINKTMMultimedia Plus audio set (U.S. spec.
models only, if equipped)The audio set will operate only when the
ignition switch is in the “ACC”or “ON ”
position.
For details about how to use the SUBARU
STARLINK
TMMultimedia Plus audio set,
refer to the 2016 Legacy/Outback
SUBARU STARLINK
TMMultimedia Plus
and SUBARU STARLINKTMMultimedia
Navigation Owner ’s Manual.
NOTE
HD Radio Technology should be in-
cluded as a feature in the SUBARU
STARLINK
TMMultimedia Plus audio
set.
5-6

&Tips for operating the audio/
visual system
CAUTION
To avoid damage to the audio/visual
system:
. Be careful not to spill beverages
over the audio/visual system.
. Do not put anything other than an
appropriate disc into the disc
slot.
NOTE
The use of a cell phone inside or near
the vehicle may cause a noise from the
speakers of the audio/visual system
which you are listening to. However,
this does not indicate a malfunction.
! Radio
Usually, a problem with radio reception
does not mean there is a problem with the
radio —it is just the normal result of
conditions outside the vehicle.
For example, nearby buildings and terrain
can interfere with FM reception. Power
lines or phone wires can interfere with AM
signals. And of course, radio signals have
a limited range. The farther the vehicle is from a station, the weaker its signal will
be. In addition, reception conditions
change constantly as the vehicle moves.
Here, some common reception problems
that probably do not indicate a problem
with the radio are described.
!FM
Fading and drifting stations: Generally, the
effective range of FM is about 25 miles (40
km). Once outside this range, you may
notice fading and drifting, which increase
with the distance from the radio transmit-
ter. They are often accompanied by
distortion.
Multi-path: FM signals are reflective,
making it possible for 2 signals to reach
the vehicle’ s antenna at the same time. If
this happens, the signals will cancel each
other out, causing a momentary flutter or
loss of reception.
Static and fluttering: These occur when
signals are blocked by buildings, trees or
other large objects. Increasing the bass
level may reduce static and fluttering.
Station swapping: If the FM signal being
listened to is interrupted or weakened, and
there is another strong station nearby on
the FM band, the radio may tune in the
second station until the original signal can
be picked up again. !
AM
Fading: AM broadcasts are reflected by
the upper atmosphere —especially at
night. These reflected signals can inter-
fere with those received directly from the
radio station, causing the radio station to
sound alternately strong and weak.
Station interference: When a reflected
signal and a signal received directly from
a radio station are very nearly the same
frequency, they can interfere with each
other, making it difficult to hear the broad-
cast.
Static: AM is easily affected by external
sources of electrical noise, such as high
tension power lines, lightening or electrical
motors. This results in static.
!SiriusXM (if equipped)
. Cargo loaded on the roof luggage
carrier, especially metal objects, may
adversely affect the reception of SiriusXM
Satellite Radio.
. Alternation or modifications carried out
without appropriate authorization may in-
validate the user ’s right to operate the
equipment.
Audio/Audio set
–CONTINUED –5-7

Audio/Audio set
!CD player and disc
. This CD player is intended for use with
4.7 in. (12 cm) discs only.
. Extremely high temperatures can keep
the CD player from working. On hot days,
use the air conditioning system to cool the
inside of the vehicle before using the
player.
. Bumpy roads or other vibrations may
make the CD player skip.
. If moisture gets into the CD player, the
discs may not be able to be played.
Remove the discs from the player and
wait until it dries.
WARNING
CD players use an invisible laser
beam which could cause hazardous
radiation exposure if directed out-
side the unit. Be sure to operate the
player correctly.
Audio CDs
. Use only discs marked as shown
above. The following products may not
be playable on your player:
–SACD
– dts CD
– Copy-protected CD
– Video CD
Special shaped discs
Transparent/translucent discs
5-8

Low quality discs
Labeled discs
CAUTION
.Do not use special shaped, trans-
parent/translucent, low quality or
labeled discs such as those
shown in the illustrations. The
use of such discs may damage
the player, or it may be impossi-
ble to eject the disc.
. This system is not designed for
use of Dual Discs. Do not use
Dual Discs because they may
cause damage to the player.
. Do not use discs with a protec-
tion ring. The use of such discs
may damage the player, or it may
be impossible to eject the disc.
. Do not use printable discs. The
use of such discs may damage
the player, or it may be impossi-
ble to eject the disc.
1) Correct
2) Wrong
. Handle discs carefully, especially when
inserting them. Hold them on the edge and
do not bend them. Avoid getting finger-
prints on them, particularly on the shiny
side.
. Dirt, scratches, warping, pin holes or
other disc damage could cause the player
to skip or to repeat a section of a track. (To
see a pin hole, hold the disc up to the
light.)
. Remove discs from the players when
not in use. Store them in their plastic
cases away from moisture, heat and direct
sunlight.
Audio/Audio set
–CONTINUED –5-9

Audio/Audio set
To clean a disc: Wipe it with a soft, lint-
free cloth that has been dampened with
water. Wipe in a straight line from the
center to the edge of the disc (not in
circles). Dry it with another soft, lint-free
cloth. Do not use a conventional record
cleaner or anti-static device.
!CD-R/RW discs
. CD-R/CD-RW discs that have not been
subject to the “finalizing process ”(a
process that allows discs to be played
on a conventional CD player) cannot be
played.
. It may not be possible to play CD-R/
CD-RW discs recorded on a music CD
recorder or a personal computer because
of disc characteristics, scratches or dirt on
the disc, or dirt, condensation, etc. on the lens of the unit.
.
It may not be possible to play discs
recorded on a personal computer depend-
ing on the application settings and the
environment. Record with the correct
format. (For details, contact the appropri-
ate application manufacturers of the ap-
plications.)
. CD-R/CD-RW discs may be damaged
by direct exposure to sunlight, high tem-
peratures or other storage conditions. The
unit may be unable to play some damaged
discs.
. If you insert a CD-RW disc into the
player, playback will begin more slowly
than with a conventional CD or CD-R disc.
. Recordings on CD-R/CD-RW cannot
be played using the DDCD (Double
Density CD) system.
! USB memory device
. USB communication formats: USB
1.1/2.0 HS (480 Mbps) and FS (12 Mbps)
. File formats: FAT 16/32
. Correspondence class: Mass storage
class
! iPod
The following iPod, iPod nano, iPod
classic, iPod touch and iPhone devices
can be used with this system. Made for
.
iPod touch (5th generation)*
. iPod touch (4th generation)
. iPod touch (3rd generation)
. iPod touch (2nd generation)
. iPod touch (1st generation)
. iPod classic
. iPod nano (7th generation)*
. iPod nano (6th generation)*
. iPod nano (5th generation)
. iPod nano (4th generation)
. iPod nano (3rd generation)
. iPod nano (2nd generation)*
. iPod nano (1st generation)*
. iPhone 5s*
. iPhone 5c*
. iPhone 5*
. iPhone 4s
. iPhone 4
. iPhone 3GS
. iPhone 3G
. iPhone
*: iPod video not supported
Depending on differences between mod-
els or software versions etc., some mod-
els might be incompatible with this sys-
tem.
5-10

!File information
Compatible compressed files (Audio)
Item USB DISC
Compatible
file format MP3/WMA/AAC
Folders in the
device Maximum
512 Maximum
255
Files in the
device Maximum
8000 Maximum
512
Files per
folder Maximum
255 —
Corresponding sampling frequency
(Audio)
File type Frequency (kHz)
MP3 files:
MPEG 1 LAYER 3 32/44.1/48
MP3 files:
MPEG 2 LSF LAYER 3 16/22.05/24
WMA files:
Ver. 7, 8, 9 (9.1/9.2) 32/48/64/80/96/128/
160/192
AAC files:
MPEG4/AAC-LC 48/44.1/32/24/22.05/
16/12/11.025/8
Corresponding bit rates (Audio)
File type
Bit rate (kbps)
MP3 files:
MPEG 1 LAYER 3 32 - 320
MP3 files:
MPEG 2 LSF LAYER 3 8 - 160
WMA files: Ver. 7, 8 CBR 48 - 192
WMA files:
Ver. 9 (9.1/9.2) CBR 32 - 192
AAC files:
MPEG4/AAC-LC 16 - 320
(Variable Bit Rate (VBR) compatible)
.
MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3), WMA
(Windows Media Audio) and AAC (Ad-
vanced Audio Coding) are audio compres-
sion standards.
. This system can play MP3/WMA/AAC
files on CD-R, CD-RW discs, USB mem-
ory, and Bluetooth device.
. This system can play disc recordings
compatible with ISO 9660 level 1 and level
2 and with the Romeo and Joliet file
system.
. When naming an MP3/WMA/AAC file,
add an appropriate file extension (.mp3/
.wma/.m4a).
. This system plays back files with .mp3/
.wma/.m4a file extensions as MP3/WMA/
AAC files respectively. To prevent noise and playback errors, use the appropriate
file extension.
.
This system can play only the first
session when using multi-session compa-
tible CDs.
. MP3 files are compatible with the ID3
Tag Ver. 1.0, Ver. 1.1, Ver. 2.2 and Ver. 2.3
formats. This system cannot display disc
title, track title and artist name in other
formats.
. WMA/AAC files can contain a WMA/
AAC tag that is used in the same way as
an ID3 tag. WMA/AAC tags carry informa-
tion such as track title and artist name.
. The emphasis function is available only
when playing MP3/WMA files recorded at
32, 44.1 and 48 kHz.
. This system can play back AAC files
encoded by iTunes.
. The sound quality of MP3/WMA files
generally improves with higher bit rates. In
order to achieve a reasonable level of
sound quality, discs recorded with a bit
rate of at least 128 kbps are recom-
mended.
. The MP3/WMA player does not play
back MP3/WMA files from discs recorded
using packet write data transfer (UDF
format). Discs should be recorded using
“pre-mastering ”software rather than pack-
etwrite software.
Audio/Audio set
–CONTINUED –5-11

Audio/Audio set
.M3u playlists are not compatible with
the audio device.
. MP3i (MP3 interactive) and MP3PRO
formats are not compatible with the audio
device.
. The player is compatible with VBR
(Variable Bit Rate).
. When playing back files recorded as
VBR (Variable Bit Rate) files, the play time
will not be correctly displayed if the fast
forward or reverse operations are used.
. It is not possible to check folders that
do not include MP3/WMA/AAC files.
. MP3/WMA/AAC files in folders up to 8
levels deep can be played. However, the
start of playback may be delayed when
using discs containing numerous levels of
folders. For this reason, we recommend
creating discs with no more than 2 levels
of folders.
. The play order of the compact disc with
the structure shown above is as follows:
. The order changes depending on the
personal computer and MP3/WMA/AAC
encoding software you use.
! Terms
! Packet write
. This is a general term that describes
the process of writing data on-demand to
CD-R, etc., in the same way that data is
written to floppy or hard discs. !
ID3 tag
. This is a method of embedding track-
related information in an MP3 file. This
embedded information can include the
track number, track title, the artist ’s name,
the album title, the music genre, the year
of production, comments, cover art and
other data. The contents can be freely
edited using software with ID3 tag editing
functions. Although the tags are restricted
to a number of characters, the information
can be viewed when the track is played
back.
!WMA tag
. WMA files can contain a WMA tag that
is used in the same way as an ID3 tag.
WMA tags carry information such as track
title and artist name.
!ISO 9660 format
. This is the international standard for
the formatting of CD-ROM folders and
files. For the ISO 9660 format, there are 2
levels of regulations.
. Level 1: The file name is in 8.3 format
(8 character file names, with a 3 character
file extension. File names must be com-
posed of one-byte capital letters and
numbers. The “_” symbol may also be
included.)
5-12

.Level 2: The file name can have up to
31 characters (including the separation
mark “.” and file extension). Each folder
must contain fewer than 8 hierarchies.
!MP3
. MP3 is an audio compression standard
determined by a working group (MPEG) of
the ISO (International Standard Organiza-
tion). MP3 compresses audio data to
about 1/10 the size of that on conventional
discs.
!WMA
. WMA (Windows Media Audio) is an
audio compression format developed by
Microsoft
®. It compresses files into a size
smaller than that of MP3 files. The
decoding formats for WMA files are Ver.
7, 8 and 9.
. This product is protected by certain
intellectual property rights of Microsoft
Corporation and third parties. Use or
distribution of such technology outside of
this product is prohibited without a license
from Microsoft or an authorized Microsoft
subsidiary and third parties. !
AAC
. AAC is short for Advanced Audio
Coding and refers to an audio compres-
sion technology standard used with
MPEG2 and MPEG4.
Audio/Audio set
–CONTINUED –5-13