Solutions for Album Art Problems

[Almoxil]

A 300 x 300 pixel 24-bit image at 72 dpi saved in BMP format (lossless) is something around 264KB in size. I think it's not that big, and it's still a good quality image for screen display.

Don't get so worried about how long it takes to load or resize the album art, because this player usually deals with amounts of data larger than those used by the images. If, for example, you had a 4MB MP3 file, and embedeed that 264KB BMP file in it, the increase in the MP3 file size would be barely around 6.4%. For a 6MB MP3 file, the increase would be only 4.3%.

For the record, I have a 722KB 24-bit 300 dpi JPEG file that I've used as artwork for some MP3 files in my ZV:M, and it doesn't show any lag or slowdown when playing these tracks. But I generally use 200 x 200 pixel 24-bit 72 dpi JPEG images with very good results (they take between 70 and 100KB of disk space, depending on the image).

[CrowdAds]

[ZenChick]

Except that .BMP is not allowed under ID3V2 specifications, and most good ID3 taggers will stop you from embedding .bmp files. Even if you do find one that will allow it, it's not likely you'll find any player that can display it.

[Paranoidandroid]

Media Monkey is an awesome program. However, I can't get the album art to work with all albums... When I select the albums on the PC, i can see the album art. However, they are blank on my ZVM. What did I do wrong?

[HRS]

Originally Posted by Paranoidandroid

Media Monkey is an awesome program. However, I can't get the album art to work with all albums... When I select the albums on the PC, i can see the album art. However, they are blank on my ZVM. What did I do wrong?

I use Media Monkey too. I don't know what you're doing that would cause some album art not to appear on the ZVM, but I would select the option in MM to embed the album art in the ID tags. This works all the time for me.

[Almoxil]

Originally Posted by ZenChick

Except that .BMP is not allowed under ID3V2 specifications, and most good ID3 taggers will stop you from embedding .bmp files. Even if you do find one that will allow it, it's not likely you'll find any player that can display it.

Sorry for the confusion: I used BMP as an example because it was easier to do the math for the actual size of the image. All the images embedded in my MP3 files are JPEGs.

[ZenChick]

lol!!!

Something else to be mindful of -- the thought had just occurred to me...

Many ID3 taggers that are album art-capable will allow you to use GIF or PNG files as well. However, you should only use JPEG, otherwise the ZVM will not display it. Remember that JPEG is the only image format that the ZVM support natively. Other formats normally get transcoded when you sync them to the player, but images embedded within an MP3 file will bypass the transcoder and wind up on the ZVM, which will ignore them if they're not JPEG.

[Paranoidandroid]

used JPEG as album art and it still won't work. Can you tell me the method you use for Media Monkey? I just click properties, go to the album art tab, add and browse for my album picture. It will ask me if i want to save to image tag, and i leave it checked. Still doesn't show

[Almoxil]

Originally Posted by Paranoidandroid

used JPEG as album art and it still won't work. Can you tell me the method you use for Media Monkey? I just click properties, go to the album art tab, add and browse for my album picture. It will ask me if i want to save to image tag, and i leave it checked. Still doesn't show

I'll install MediaMonkey here in my job and make a test after the lunch. Then I'll post my steps in MMJB so you can repeat them and see if they work for you.

[Almoxil]

I've picked two of my albums for this step-by-step mini tutorial. I'll embed album art for After Forever's "Decipher" and Epica's "Consign to Oblivion".

First I'll embed album art from a file. In this case, Decipher.

1. Open MMJB and select an album whose album art haven't been embedded yet.
   Screenshot 1: tracks from Decipher without album art.
2. Right click one of the tracks from the album (you don't need to select all the tracks. Select "Properties".
   Screenshot 2: selecting the properties for the current track.
3. Select the tab named "Album Art". Noticed that I've checked "Apply to all tracks on the album" checkbox. Click "Add".
   Screenshot 3: selecting the album art tab.
4. Now find and select a JPEG file with the front cover art for the album -- in this example, I've selected a 300 x 300 pixel 72 dpi 24-bit JPEG image. Click "Open" (or "Ok", or "Save"; I don't know because my Windows XP is set to use Brazilian Portuguese as language).
   Screenshot 4: choosing the image.
5. When the "Add Album Art" dialog box is displayed, select "Cover (front)" for the "Image type" and make sure you selected "Save image to tag (if possible)". There's no need to write a description for the image. Click "Ok".
   Screenshot 5: setting options for the image.
6. You should see a screen like the screenshot below. Just make sure that "Apply to all tracks on the album" is checked and click "Ok".
   Screenshot 6: ready to embed the album art into the tracks.
7. It can take some seconds to embed the album art inside all tracks (it depends on the size of the image). The screenshot below shows one of the tracks already with the album art; notice that there are still 5 tracks to be tagged.
   Screenshot 7: album art embedded.
8. The screenshot below shows the album art while playing the tracks in Windows Media Player 10.
   Screenshot 8: album art in WMP10.

Please note that I don't use WMP10 or WMP11 to sync tracks to ZV:M. I rather use Zen Vision:M Media Explorer to drag and drop the tracks directly to the player, and it works just fine this way.

Now I'll embed album art in the tags from Amazon.com -- Consign to Oblivion.

1. Select a track that doesn't have album art.
   Screenshot 1: tracks don't have album art yet.
2. This time, select all the tracks from the album, right-click and select "Auto-Tag from Amazon".
   Screenshot 2: selecting all tracks and starting the auto tag.
3. Now the auto tag will lookup the album in Amazon.com and will show information about it in a dialog box. Since I've already tagged all my files, I chose to keep only the album art (all other checkboxes are unchecked). Notice the list below the image: make sure all the tracks are checked.
   Screenshot 3: adjusting the auto tag options for the album.
4. Click "Auto-Tag". MediaMonkey will download and embed the album art image inside the tracks for you. When it finishes downloading the cover, click "Close".
   Screenshot 4: downloading and embedding album art.
5. Now all the tracks from "Consign to Oblivion" have album art embedded.
   Screenshot 5: album art is embedded into the tracks.
6. WMP10 displaying the album art for the album.
   Screenshot 6: displaying album art in WMP10.

For the record, I have Windows XP SP2, and my ZV:M has the latest firmware (1.41.01).

[Paranoidandroid]

Originally Posted by Almoxil

I've picked two of my albums for this step-by-step mini tutorial. I'll embed album art for After Forever's "Decipher" and Epica's "Consign to Oblivion".

First I'll embed album art from a file. In this case, Decipher.

1. Open MMJB and select an album whose album art haven't been embedded yet.
   Screenshot 1: tracks from Decipher without album art.
2. Right click one of the tracks from the album (you don't need to select all the tracks. Select "Properties".
   Screenshot 2: selecting the properties for the current track.
3. Select the tab named "Album Art". Noticed that I've checked "Apply to all tracks on the album" checkbox. Click "Add".
   Screenshot 3: selecting the album art tab.
4. Now find and select a JPEG file with the front cover art for the album -- in this example, I've selected a 300 x 300 pixel 72 dpi 24-bit JPEG image. Click "Open" (or "Ok", or "Save"; I don't know because my Windows XP is set to use Brazilian Portuguese as language).
   Screenshot 4: choosing the image.
5. When the "Add Album Art" dialog box is displayed, select "Cover (front)" for the "Image type" and make sure you selected "Save image to tag (if possible)". There's no need to write a description for the image. Click "Ok".
   Screenshot 5: setting options for the image.
6. You should see a screen like the screenshot below. Just make sure that "Apply to all tracks on the album" is checked and click "Ok".
   Screenshot 6: ready to embed the album art into the tracks.
7. It can take some seconds to embed the album art inside all tracks (it depends on the size of the image). The screenshot below shows one of the tracks already with the album art; notice that there are still 5 tracks to be tagged.
   Screenshot 7: album art embedded.
8. The screenshot below shows the album art while playing the tracks in Windows Media Player 10.
   Screenshot 8: album art in WMP10.

Please note that I don't use WMP10 or WMP11 to sync tracks to ZV:M. I rather use Zen Vision:M Media Explorer to drag and drop the tracks directly to the player, and it works just fine this way.

Now I'll embed album art in the tags from Amazon.com -- Consign to Oblivion.

1. Select a track that doesn't have album art.
   Screenshot 1: tracks don't have album art yet.
2. This time, select all the tracks from the album, right-click and select "Auto-Tag from Amazon".
   Screenshot 2: selecting all tracks and starting the auto tag.
3. Now the auto tag will lookup the album in Amazon.com and will show information about it in a dialog box. Since I've already tagged all my files, I chose to keep only the album art (all other checkboxes are unchecked). Notice the list below the image: make sure all the tracks are checked.
   Screenshot 3: adjusting the auto tag options for the album.
4. Click "Auto-Tag". MediaMonkey will download and embed the album art image inside the tracks for you. When it finishes downloading the cover, click "Close".
   Screenshot 4: downloading and embedding album art.
5. Now all the tracks from "Consign to Oblivion" have album art embedded.
   Screenshot 5: album art is embedded into the tracks.
6. WMP10 displaying the album art for the album.
   Screenshot 6: displaying album art in WMP10.

I'll take pictures of my player showing the album art for the two albums above and post them later.

For the record, I have Windows XP SP2, and my ZV:M has the latest firmware (1.41.01).

Wow that's detailed! Thanks for the guide. Unfortunately, I did exactly what you did and it still won't show. When I open the mp3 through WMP10, I see the album art. Maybe I shouldn't sync using Wmp..

[Almoxil]

Originally Posted by Paranoidandroid

Wow that's detailed! Thanks for the guide. Unfortunately, I did exactly what you did and it still won't show. When I open the mp3 through WMP10, I see the album art. Maybe I shouldn't sync using Wmp..

You're welcome. Try loading an album to your player without using WMP and see if it works -- try with ZV:M Explorer. I think we could also try synchronizing directly from MediaMonkey (yes, it can do that). Let me know.

[Paranoidandroid]

ahh thanks. Media Monkey works. You da man!

[Almoxil]

Originally Posted by Paranoidandroid

ahh thanks. Media Monkey works. You da man!

Cool! I'll begin using MMJB to sync to my player instead of copying the tunes with the ZV:M Explorer.

[Markypoo]

Just out of curiousity and purely speculation, is there any way to get around the validation check for windows xp when downloading and installing the windows media player 11 beta? This is all hypothetically and metaphorically speaking of course...because I'd really like to use it.

[andrewkeith5]

nope, fraid not

i am REALLY pissed of with microsoft over their "Genuine Advantage" tat. I upgraded wmp11, wlm8, and ie7 on sunday and I had to go through their idiot checks 27 times, despite the fact the the os was distributed with my computer and nobody else has the code (and ive been told this by their "advantage" scheme (27 times in a day))

--rant over-- unfortunately, imi afraid there isn't ,markypoo

unless of course you feel like hacking it, which im sure the entire of the world would appreciate

[Crazy 88]

I have a question about album art so i figured id just post in this thread and not make a new one..Ive had my zen for a couple of weeks and the way ive been adding album is art is right through the explorer crap..I was clicking on an album and would right-click and select "album"..i would then just paste the art and it would appear there. Now i dont even have that "album" option anymore. Does anyone know WTF happened?

[sracer]

After continuous frustration with my Sansa e250, I went out and bought a ZVM. Wow, fantastic!!! Already ordered an AC Adapter and A/V cable.

But...
none of the album art of my mp3 files is being displayed when a song is played. All album art is embedded into an ID3v2 tag and appeared correctly on my Sansa (one of the few things it did properly).

Is album art supposed to be displayed automatically or is there a display option that needs to be set.... thanks in advance!

BTW, the ZVM was able to recognize and play my xViD videos that I had encoded for my WindowsMobile SmartPhone... sweeeeet!

[ZenChick]

Originally Posted by sracer

But...
none of the album art of my mp3 files is being displayed when a song is played. All album art is embedded into an ID3v2 tag and appeared correctly on my Sansa (one of the few things it did properly).

I am encountering that very same problem now, since I had been messing around with Windows Media Player 11. Before now, I had no problem with embedded album art. Now, like you, I can't get them to display!

I'm researching the issue...

[ZenChick]

Okay, got the situation fixed with my player, and it's displaying album art again. My suspicions were correct: WMP11 had done something to break album art display on the ZV:M. I just have absolutely no idea what or how. I'm still researching that. But what I ended up doing was deleting everything off my player again, and plugging it into another computer that doesn't have WMP11 on it. Re-synced via Media Explorer, and everything came up fine.

So the issue I'm trying to figure out is this: Since my album art is embedded as per ID3v2 specs, and my embedded art hasn't been messed with (ie. it shows up just fine within my tagger and within Winamp - after I'd gotten rid of all the JPEG files WMP threw around), what is it that WMP11 is doing that is interfering with the ZV:M's ability to display them?

There may be one other variable in the mix that might play a role (though, again, I have no idea how) -- When I synced on my laptop (it has the WMP11 installation), I had to point both WMP and Media Explorer to my library located on a network drive. On the other computer, Media Explorer was pointed to a local drive (this computer is the fileshare server for my LAN). Since the rest of the tag information came through without a problem, I can't see how one tag part would be blocked like that.

*sigh* This is gonna be a looong weekend.

[mars]

If anything, wmp11 has only made it easier and more convenient for me to handle album art on my songs along with id3 tag editing