Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[dmitch77]

I tried a new configuration and ran into a new and surprising bug. I wonder if anyone else has seen this.

Short version: when playing a song with the destination zone as a remote Mac running MC, MC thinks that the song's artwork disappears after it plays.

Long version:

• One copy of MC on Mac "A" with local library.
• Destination zone is MC on Mac "B".
• Pick a song (on Mac "A") with artwork embedded in the audio file. Play it (to zone on Mac "B").
• Here's the bug: When song is finished playing, JRiver on Mac "A" now thinks the song no longer has artwork. Look at its tag in MC, "Image" says "no image". Before playing the song, MC thought it had an image.
• External tools (e.g. Metadatics) show that the artwork is still embedded in the file after bug occurs.
• The problem (the disappearing artwork) happens both when playing a track while sitting at Mac "A" and using MC directly, and when playing via Remote.
• The audio file in question is not changed by MC.
• Happens with both AAC and FLAC files.
• MC is configured to *not* store artwork or tags in audio files.
• When playing locally on Mac "A" to itself ("player"), the problem does not occur.
• When playing on Mac "B", loading the library from Mac "A", locally to Mac "B"'s player, the problem does not occur.
• Quitting and restarting MC does not fix the problem.

Mac "A": 2017 iMac, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.62.
Mac "B": 2014 Mac mini, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.35.

Has anyone else seen this? Thanks.

[dmitch77]

And a followup question...what's a good way to get MC to recognize the artwork from the files that it now thinks have none? I have a fair number of these now (audio files which have embedded artwork but which MC thinks have no artwork). I'd like to avoid manually extracting their artwork with an external tool and adding it in, a file at a time, in MC... Thanks.

[bob]

I tried a new configuration and ran into a new and surprising bug. I wonder if anyone else has seen this.

Short version: when playing a song with the destination zone as a remote Mac running MC, MC thinks that the song's artwork disappears after it plays.

Long version:

• One copy of MC on Mac "A" with local library.
• Destination zone is MC on Mac "B".
• Pick a song (on Mac "A") with artwork embedded in the audio file. Play it (to zone on Mac "B").
• Here's the bug: When song is finished playing, JRiver on Mac "A" now thinks the song no longer has artwork. Look at its tag in MC, "Image" says "no image". Before playing the song, MC thought it had an image.
• External tools (e.g. Metadatics) show that the artwork is still embedded in the file after bug occurs.
• The problem (the disappearing artwork) happens both when playing a track while sitting at Mac "A" and using MC directly, and when playing via Remote.
• The audio file in question is not changed by MC.
• Happens with both AAC and FLAC files.
• MC is configured to *not* store artwork or tags in audio files.
• When playing locally on Mac "A" to itself ("player"), the problem does not occur.
• When playing on Mac "B", loading the library from Mac "A", locally to Mac "B"'s player, the problem does not occur.
• Quitting and restarting MC does not fix the problem.

Mac "A": 2017 iMac, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.62.
Mac "B": 2014 Mac mini, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.35.

Has anyone else seen this? Thanks.

If you are trying to view the tag with the remote MC zone selected, you are not seeing the original file, you are seeing the results of what the DLNA renderer (the other MC) has in it's content directory.
If you are doing conversion to any format other than original (wave, mp3, DSF) there won't be a tag on the file in any case. The cover art is sent as part of the DLNA process. Even if it is original format, you are likely not going to see it because as I say you are only seeing the info DLNA provides from the renderer.

[bob]

And a followup question...what's a good way to get MC to recognize the artwork from the files that it now thinks have none? I have a fair number of these now (audio files which have embedded artwork but which MC thinks have no artwork). I'd like to avoid manually extracting their artwork with an external tool and adding it in, a file at a time, in MC... Thanks.

If the file list in in a local player zone and it does have embedded artwork and you are NOT seeing it as a thumb in MC's database you can right-click on the files(s) and do Cover Art->Rebuild Thumbnail.

[dmitch77]

If the file list in in a local player zone and it does have embedded artwork and you are NOT seeing it as a thumb in MC's database you can right-click on the files(s) and do Cover Art->Rebuild Thumbnail.

I tried that. Neither the thumbnail nor the full-size image returned. The image is still in the file. MC's Tag window says "no image". No thumbnail shown.

[bob]

I tried that. Neither the thumbnail nor the full-size image returned. The image is still in the file. MC's Tag window says "no image". No thumbnail shown.

Is that in the file list or in a now playing in a player zone?
Please post a screenshot.
What version of MC?

[dmitch77]

Is that in the file list or in a now playing in a player zone?

File list and tag pane in Action window.

Please post a screenshot.

Done. Includes Metadatics looking at the same file, showing embedded artwork.

What version of MC?

2017 iMac, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.62. Full system config info in original post.

[bob]

File list and tag pane in Action window.
Done. Includes Metadatics looking at the same file, showing embedded artwork.
2017 iMac, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.62. Full system config info in original post.

Just verifying that your "One True MC Library" is a local library on the Mac?

[dmitch77]

Just verifying that your "One True MC Library" is a local library on the Mac?

Affirmative, it's a local library on Mac "A" (the source).

[dmitch77]

If you are trying to view the tag with the remote MC zone selected, you are not seeing the original file, you are seeing the results of what the DLNA renderer (the other MC) has in it's content directory.

1. The problem persists even when playing to the local player zone. I.e. reconfigure Mac "A" to play to "Player", look at the file, it has no artwork.

2. Even if that weren't the case...are you saying that in this config - destination zone is MC on another Mac - the act playing a song is expected to make the song's artwork invisible at the source MC as long as it's playing to a remote zone? That would be surprising.

[bob]

1. The problem persists even when playing to the local player zone. I.e. reconfigure Mac "A" to play to "Player", look at the file, it has no artwork.

2. Even if that weren't the case...are you saying that in this config - destination zone is MC on another Mac - the act playing a song is expected to make the song's artwork invisible at the source MC as long as it's playing to a remote zone? That would be surprising.

No, it would only appear to be missing in the file as it's shown in the remote zone. The reason why is that is really not the file in your library, it's what the remote zone says is the file based on pulling as much info as possible from the DLNA MediaInfo that the renderer provides.
Say another device sends a file to play on your renderer, you'll still see that info even though the file isn't even on your machine.

[dmitch77]

No, it would only appear to be missing in the file as it's shown in the remote zone. The reason why is that is really not the file in your library, it's what the remote zone says is the file based on pulling as much info as possible from the DLNA MediaInfo that the renderer provides.
Say another device sends a file to play on your renderer, you'll still see that info even though the file isn't even on your machine.

OK, just to make sure we're on the same page...would you agree that there is something else going on here, something not proper? When my MC (apparently) permanently loses its ability to see the artwork associated with a file, even after switching back to a local-only configuration....that sounds like a bug, yes?

[bob]

Yes on the same page and it works fine for me.
Check this and tell me if you are doing anything differently.
http://files.jriver.com/mediacenter/test/Screen Recording 2021-02-15 at 2.22.47 PM.mov

[dmitch77]

Check this and tell me if you are doing anything differently.
http://files.jriver.com/mediacenter/test/Screen Recording 2021-02-15 at 2.22.47 PM.mov

Not quite. Here's mine.
http://dmitch.com/tmp/MCLosingImage.mov

One difference, I'm not looking at the remote Playing Now - I'm just looking a local list of songs. Also I close the "Display" pane in the lower left when things are playing to minimize the number of images visible.

There appears to be a delay or latency thing affecting *when* the image is lost. In this movie:

-- Look at song Lela, verify it has an image in its Tags
-- Play song Lela (current zone is a remote Mac, "minimal.local")
-- Look at song Zenda, verify it has an image in its Tags
-- Play song Zenda
-- Watch at 1:48 in movie. Zenda finishes and the thumbnail for Lela disappears.
-- Look at Lela's Tags. The image is gone.

[bob]

I'm not seeing that using your approach.
Are you using a current build?
In the Recently Played list if you scroll to the right is the filename on the local disk?
It looks like you are playing to a remote zone? If so what are the DLNA server settings for that zone?

[dmitch77]

Are you using a current build?

Mac "A": 2017 iMac, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.62.
Mac "B": 2014 Mac mini, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.35.

In the Recently Played list if you scroll to the right is the filename on the local disk?

Yes, for all the files that MC has lost artwork for. Unchanged since MC's original import of these files.

It looks like you are playing to a remote zone? If so what are the DLNA server settings for that zone?

The zone is MC running on a Mac. That's Mac "B" in my detailed description in the original post.

DLNA settings, I know nothing of this. Both nodes are MC, with Media Network enabled. What settings should I be looking for and where do I find them?

[bob]

Mac "A": 2017 iMac, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.62.
Mac "B": 2014 Mac mini, macOS 11.2.1, MC 27.0.35.

Yes, for all the files that MC has lost artwork for. Unchanged since MC's original import of these files.

The zone is MC running on a Mac. That's Mac "B" in my detailed description in the original post.

DLNA settings, I know nothing of this. Both nodes are MC, with Media Network enabled. What settings should I be looking for and where do I find them?

I'd suggest running .62 on both. It's quite stable.
If your music is on Mac A and you play the tracks on Mac B by selecting Mac B as a zone on Mac A or using a right-click send-to list of files to Mac B then you are using Mac B as a DLNA renderer. In that case the DLNA server settings on Mac A in Media Network control the format of those files to be played on Mac B.

[dmitch77]

I'd suggest running .62 on both. It's quite stable.

Updating Mac B to .62 had no effect.

If your music is on Mac A and you play the tracks on Mac B by selecting Mac B as a zone on Mac A or using a right-click send-to list of files to Mac B then you are using Mac B as a DLNA renderer. In that case the DLNA server settings on Mac A in Media Network control the format of those files to be played on Mac B.

The DLNA server on Mac A had been configured to convert audio to PCM 24 bit. I changed this to "Original" and the problem seems to have disappeared.

One big question I have now: how can I recover from the condition where dozens of my audio files in the server's local library now seem - from MC's point of view - to have no artwork? The images are all still there in the original files; MC got the erroneous impression (via DLNA with Mac B) that those files had no artwork. What's the best way to get MC to recognize the embedded artwork?

Thanks.

[Awesome Donkey]

Have you tried right clicking on your files without art showing, going to Cover Art > Rebuild Thumbnail and see if that fixes it?

[dmitch77]

Have you tried right clicking on your files without art showing, going to Cover Art > Rebuild Thumbnail and see if that fixes it?

Asked and answered yesterday. :-)

Yes. No effect. It's not just the thumbnails that are missing. It's all of the cover art. I'm pretty sure MC can't rebuild a thumbnail if it believes it has no covert art to begin with.

[dmitch77]

Updating Mac B to .62 had no effect.
The DLNA server on Mac A had been configured to convert audio to PCM 24 bit. I changed this to "Original" and the problem seems to have disappeared.

Alas, after a brief respite, the problem is back. 5 out of the last 5 files I played lost their artwork, just as reported previously. DLNA server is sending audio files "as is", unmodified.

[dmitch77]

One big question I have now: how can I recover from the condition where dozens of my audio files in the server's local library now seem - from MC's point of view - to have no artwork?

And the answer is: Right click > Library Tools > Update Library (from tags)

[bob]

Absolutely cannot reproduce what you are seeing, I tried everything I could think of.
I suspected that perhaps it's because you were looking at "recently played" instead of the file underneath the album view and there was something odd about "recently played" but that works for me too even converting to 24 bit PCM.

[dmitch77]

Absolutely cannot reproduce what you are seeing, I tried everything I could think of.
I suspected that perhaps it's because you were looking at "recently played" instead of the file underneath the album view and there was something odd about "recently played" but that works for me too even converting to 24 bit PCM.

Ok, thanks for looking into it. I'm back to where I was, my library is repaired, and I'll go back to my previous config (which was, each remote node loads the master server's library and always plays locally without DLNA).

Oh yeah, one more thing that might have made my situation different from yours...the remote zone - Max "B" - had loaded its own copy of the library being used by Max "A". And it was also configured to sync up play counts and so forth back to the library's source MC. All that shouldn't affect the server's library's images. But you never know.

Thanks again.