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Author Topic: IMPORTANT: Vista - Windows Search - Windows Media Player - Cover Art - Gone  (Read 12520 times)

GHammer

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If you have Vista, you should open Windows Media Player and disable the option to update track data from the Internet.

Why?

It seems that Windows Search will use WMP to get information on supported songs.
WMP is stupid/greedy and runs in the background faithfully doing as its told.
The default for WMP is to update information for selections.

If, like me, you have only a folder.jpg  WMP assumes there is no cover art and will download it for you. WMP wants to have the large, small, etc along with folder.jpg you know.

That would be annoying enough, but in my case, the 'new' cover art is wrong almost 100% of the time.
I get to go download new covers for all my albums. Well, ok, there are 10-20 that are correct.

Since all my files are fully tagged, I do not think it changed tags, just dinked all the cover art. But, I have to check each selection for each album to make certain at this point.

Run, don't walk, to your WMP config and disable this function today!
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MrHaugen

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Re: Vista - Windows Search - Windows Media Player - Cover Art - Gone
« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2007, 03:22:28 pm »

That's scary as hell. I'll tell my brother right away.
I actually love europe. Here we have our own Vista N version without WMP.
That should have been the only version if you ask me.
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Alex B

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Re: Vista - Windows Search - Windows Media Player - Cover Art - Gone
« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2007, 04:42:49 pm »

It is not only Vista. I noticed the same problem on XP when I tested WMP11 for the first time.

During a track info lookup WMP11 can replace existing folder.jpg files without asking permission. In my case the images WMP downloaded were correct, but I don't consider the stamp-sized 200x200 pixel pictures as cover art. MC can show bigger thumbnails.

In general I have never liked the "folder.jpg" naming system. I use the "Artist - Album" option because it gives info about the file contents. I have also imported and tagged the cover art files so that I can easily move them together with the audio files when needed.
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GHammer

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Re: Vista - Windows Search - Windows Media Player - Cover Art - Gone
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2007, 10:43:45 pm »

Its true that WMP is the culprit.
I know if I run WMP, after the first run wizard I better go take care of that setting.

The "I'd like to kill someone" thing for me is that instead of Vista's Windows Search using some portion of WMP or some other lightweight method, they fire up WMP and have it build a library. With destructive settings. Using Bert Bacharach albums for Annie Lennox. In fact, they must be big Bacharach fans. He has shown up 7 or 8 times so far for artists that have nothing to do with him. I have nothing by him (except in composer credits).

I'd use artist - album format, but what of AC/DC? No way to name a file to match the artist.

Anyway, back to the cover art fiesta, I'm starting on the Bs now. Gives me something fun to do during my last 16 days in China.
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JimH

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Re: Vista - Windows Search - Windows Media Player - Cover Art - Gone
« Reply #4 on: June 06, 2007, 06:30:28 am »

Anyway, back to the cover art fiesta, I'm starting on the Bs now. Gives me something fun to do during my last 16 days in China.
Hey!  Are you coming home?
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GHammer

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Hey!  Are you coming home?
Indeed we are. Hanhan has never been to the US, and I have been away quite a spell. So, we are heading for the lovely river city of Peoria, Il.
If Yao Ming's big brother Yao Bing (or any of the J River crew) wants something from China, this would be a good time to let us know.
Sometime after we get settled a bit, we will travel to Fargo to visit a good friend who moved there in February. We'd like to stop by the office and say "Hi". Maybe even enjoy a frosty Hamms!
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JimH

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We'd like to stop by the office and say "Hi". Maybe even enjoy a frosty Hamms!
Please do!  Good news. 
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Alex B

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Re: Vista - Windows Search - Windows Media Player - Cover Art - Gone
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2007, 08:50:25 am »

I'd use artist - album format, but what of AC/DC? No way to name a file to match the artist.

MC replaces illegal letters automatically with underscores and can also detect cover art correctly if the name contains replaced letters. Here's an example from my library:



Despite the "Artist - Album" name the actual internally used rule for cover art naming is [Album Artist (auto)] - [Album].

For example, the default cover art name for the AC/DC Tribute: Backed In Black album, which has several artists, is (Multiple Artists) - AC_DC Tribute_ Backed In Black.jpg.
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GHammer

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MC replaces illegal letters automatically with underscores and can also detect cover art correctly if the name contains replaced letters.
Lovely! Thanks Alex, I'm just a bit brain dead today...
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