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[simonmason]

I have a compilation album.  I want to create a cover art file for each track on the album in the format Artist - Album.jpg.  The Album Artist is set to Various Artists.   Album Type to Multiple Artists.  Is this possible?

[csimon]

Do you already have all the individual cover art files or are you hoping that MC will look them up on the web for you?

If you already have the files then you can use Cover Art/Add From File to attach them to each file individually. Then I think you can probably use the Save Cover Art To External Location Specified In Options function on all files in one go to extract the cover art from each file into your art directory, making sure your filename rule in Options is [Artist] - [Album].  But also, if you've got the rule set up correctly anyway, with SaveCover Art to same folder as the files, when you Add From File it will ask you whether to copy the file to that directory anyway with the filename rule, so you might not have to do the bulk Save Cover Art function.

[simonmason]

I have the cover art - it is the same file for all tracks - it is the cover of the compilation.  The issue with my media server is that it looks up each track as a separate artist/album look-up - so I need to have a copy of this file for each track on the album - named Artist - Album.  When I add the file to the group of tracks it only keeps one copy with Various Artists - Album as the name.

[csimon]

Ah, I see what you mean, I don't think there is actually a filename rule for cover art, I thought there was! It seems to create it with the Album Artist by default. But if you've manually put the file there then MC should find the file anyway if it's not stored in the file's tags. Use Quick Find In Cover Art Directory and it will pick up whatever image file is there for each file, you don't need multiple files.

[simonmason]

My issue is not with MC but with my Media Server software.  I use MC to maintain the library but then play it around the house through the Media Server and touchscreens.

The end state I am looking for is:

Album contains tracks from multiple artists (compilation)

Track1Artist-Track1Title.mp3
Track1Artist - Album.jpg
Track2Artist-Track1Title.mp3
Track2Artist - Album.jpg
Track3Artist-Track1Title.mp3
Track3Artist - Album.jpg

The media server is smart enough to understand that the album is a compilation based on the directory structure I store it in.  However, in order to be able to search each track individually it wants to see the Artist - Album.jpg cover art file for each track.

Make sense?

[MrC]

Can you not embed the cover art in the files themselves?

[csimon]

MC is not your media server?  What server are you using?

[simonmason]

I am using Cinemar.  I have touchscreens mounted throughout the house.  I used to use MC as the media server but switched when they released MusicLobby.  I lost a lot of functionality but I gained the direct access through the UI in the MainLobby client/server architecture.  This dramatically improved the usability for the rest of the members of the household.  FYI - I use homeseer for the guts of the operation.  I still use MC for all maintenance, file operations, and for playback on my laptops.

I dug into the documentation and found an option that allows me to force the file name convention to one file for the whole album.  I tried this out and it sort of works so my original question might be moot.  Still checking.  Thanks for the help!

[csimon]

Quick question!  Are the touchscreens connected to individual PCs in each room or are they thin/thick clients to one central server?

[simonmason]

All large format touchscreens (15") are connected to dedicated PC's and are strategically located for whole house control (audio,lighting,hvac,security,etc. etc.).  For phase II I am using an iTouch/iPort combination for single room control (audio,lighting mostly).  This is using the new browser based functionality of MainLobby.  So it is a combination of thick and thin client.  If you want to go only thin client then homeseer has some nice options with hstouch.  I went for MainLobby primarily for the look and feel - gives you better than Crestron/AMX look and feel for much less expense!