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Topic: itunes not storing artwork in the files? (Read 9288 times) previous topic - next topic
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itunes not storing artwork in the files?

I have been using iTunes 7 and have added artwork to my music collection via the iTunes lookup feature, third party apps like Album Cover Art Downloader and iTunes Art Downloader, and good old fashioned manual googling.

It now appears that iTunes has not been storing the images to the file itself, but rather to some sort of internal database (which I can't find).  If I move a file so that the path that iTunes has is invalid, the artwork disappears.  If I move it back, the artwork returns.

I want to burn backups of my files and would like to include the artwork.  How can I force iTunes to write the images into the files?

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #1
You can't ...itunes 7 doesn't write out APIC frames to spec and with its new find cover art puts the images in an obscure format which cannot be reused and then references these files via its DB. Ergo, outside of itunes its next to useless.

Best bet? Use album cover art downloader and ensure the write to tag is selected and your write a folder.jpg -itunes will read these and you are pretty much then cross compatible with anything.

If you have a jpg that you have found in the album folder , ensure it is folder.jpg and then get icover art for a faster fix - this will write the jpg into the tags.

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #2
I have been using iTunes 7 and have added artwork to my music collection via the iTunes lookup feature, third party apps like Album Cover Art Downloader and iTunes Art Downloader, and good old fashioned manual googling.

It now appears that iTunes has not been storing the images to the file itself, but rather to some sort of internal database (which I can't find).  If I move a file so that the path that iTunes has is invalid, the artwork disappears.  If I move it back, the artwork returns.

I want to burn backups of my files and would like to include the artwork.  How can I force iTunes to write the images into the files?


By default, iTunes saves metadata, artwork and paths in the iTunes folder. This folder contains the iTunes Library Database, XML file, music and artwork folder. To restore you  move the folder back to the same place so the file paths all match.

By default, this folder is:

C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\My Documents\My Music\iTunes

Note: This does not work unless you have iTunes organize your music library; if you do not use that feature, you can still backup the same data, you just need to remember where to put it all back.

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #3
I have the same problem. There gotta be some way of storing iTunes art work inside the ID3 tag. Is there any program that downloads covers from iTunes? I have an iTunes account...
--alt-presets are there for a reason! These other switches DO NOT work better than it, trust me on this.
LAME + Joint Stereo doesn't destroy 'Stereo'

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #4
Easy (but time consuming solution). Select one of the songs on the album. Select the artwork in the window. Click COPY. Highlight all of the songs. Select get info. Click on the album art box. Click PASTE.

The jpgs are now embedded in each file and not stored seperately.

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #5
As of version 7 iTunes stores downloaded artwork in a database.  You can still embed images in the files using the usual methods.

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #6
Personally, I'd like to be able to fool iTunes into putting ALL my artwork into its database rather than tag each file with the artwork. That way I save about 2GB of space for more tunes (600 x 600 JPGs ain't space-cheap y'know... especially 10-12 times over per album vs. 1 database entry per album).

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #7
Easy (but time consuming solution). Select one of the songs on the album. Select the artwork in the window. Click COPY. Highlight all of the songs. Select get info. Click on the album art box. Click PASTE.

The jpgs are now embedded in each file and not stored seperately.


someone knows how to write a script for that?

As of version 7 iTunes stores downloaded artwork in a database.  You can still embed images in the files using the usual methods.

what do you mean by 'usual methods'?
--alt-presets are there for a reason! These other switches DO NOT work better than it, trust me on this.
LAME + Joint Stereo doesn't destroy 'Stereo'

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #8
Well,  like ozmosis82 above, I seem to have the opposite problem.

Got loads of album art as jpgs inside each album folder. If you drag and drop the images onto the album art box,  they get added to the mp3 files,  which I DO NOT want...

Anybody knows how to add existing album art to the data base?

Gonza

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #9

Easy (but time consuming solution). Select one of the songs on the album. Select the artwork in the window. Click COPY. Highlight all of the songs. Select get info. Click on the album art box. Click PASTE.

The jpgs are now embedded in each file and not stored seperately.


someone knows how to write a script for that?

As of version 7 iTunes stores downloaded artwork in a database.  You can still embed images in the files using the usual methods.

what do you mean by 'usual methods'?


By usual methods he means adding the Artwork from a local file.

As for the script, check iTSfv introduction in the other thread. I might start a new thread if more people are interested?

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #10
Personally, I'd like to be able to fool iTunes into putting ALL my artwork into its database rather than tag each file with the artwork. That way I save about 2GB of space for more tunes (600 x 600 JPGs ain't space-cheap y'know... especially 10-12 times over per album vs. 1 database entry per album).


This is compounded by the fact that iTunes also copies art from within files to its proprietary database. It stores the images in a variety of sizes. We essentially have multiple copies of multiple sizes of each album art image. So the images are in the database, it's just a matter of allowing us to bypass adding them to the files and add images directly to the database.
Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #11
mmm.. I think (some pls correct me if I am wrong) that the iPod does that,  not iTunes.

The way I understand it , up untill version 7:
iTunes will keep the art in the files, and it will not copy them to the library. So you dont have a duplication in your PC , as far as I know.
When a song is transfered to the iPod , it will add a thumbnail of the album art somewhere in the iPod library (using a size and resolution the iPod will be able to read).  Then, iPod completely ignores the picture inside the file (even though it is still there, taking space) , and will display the thumbnail in its library.

So in iTunes version 7 , i believe things are still the same, EXCEPT for music purchased from the store and/or album art downloaded from the store. In that case it will store the art in the iTunes library instead of storing them on the files.
Then when you transfer the songs to the iPod, the same thumbnail thing goes on, only now the files dont have embedded almbum art, and there is no duplication in the iPod.

Question is...how to add existing album art directly into the iTunes library... nobody seems to know...

Gonza

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #12
Question is...how to add existing album art directly into the iTunes library... nobody seems to know...


Do you mean how to add existing album art as in Folder.jpg to iTunes Artwork Database *without* embedding them to the track?

 

itunes not storing artwork in the files?

Reply #14
Yeah I am afraid that is not possible because the only way that becomes true is when you fetch Artwork via iTunes. Only in this case, Artwork is added to the iTunes Artwork Database and not to the file.