Friday 25 February 2011

How to improve Album art shown in Android

I've seen a couple of complaints about Album art not working fine.

I've just find out that in the .exe installer there was not the last config files that improved Album art selection.

There are 2 methods to apply this patch (only PC-side):
  • Re-download the All-in-one installer or the foobar2000controller.zip (I've already uploaded the correct ones).
  •  Search the "config" file in the "foobar2000controller" folder and change this:
    • OLD: albumart=$.......
    • NEW: albumart=$directory_path(%path%)\Cover.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\Cover.png|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist%*-*%album%*front*.*|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist% - %album%*.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist% - %album%*.png|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist%*.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist%*.png|$directory_path(%path%)\$if(not(%album%),%artist%*,%album%*.jpg)|$directory_path(%path%)\$if(not(%album%),%artist%*,%album%*.png)|$directory_path(%path%)\*front*.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\*front*.png|$directory_path(%path%)\*.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\*.png


I recommend using the installer, though.

I hope you like more the Album art with this change.

8 comments:

  1. Hi,
    first I want to say thank you for the gret app!

    I still had problems showing the right cover. Then I discovered that you are searichg for covers in the folder. But since I have tagged my collection with embedded covers I want to thow them instead of any jpgs in the folder.

    So the quite easy solution for everyone with embedded covers is to use the line "albumart=albumart_%.jpg" instead of the original one. It's very important that the option "Retrieve embedded albumarts is active" Maybe it is a good idea to add this option at the beginning like this:

    "albumart=albumart_%.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\Cover.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\Cover.png|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist%*-*%album%*front*.*|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist% - %album%*.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist% - %album%*.png|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist%*.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\%artist%*.png|$directory_path(%path%)\$if(not(%album%),%artist%*,%album%*.jpg)|$directory_path(%path%)\$if(not(%album%),%artist%*,%album%*.png)|$directory_path(%path%)\*front*.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\*front*.png|$directory_path(%path%)\*.jpg|$directory_path(%path%)\*.png"

    Then I have some futher request or ideas how to improove your app:

    1. It would be very good to add an option to allow the phone to switch to standbymode not to waste that much power. An option to dimm the display would also be nice.
    It could look like this:
    -dimm display ()
    -enable standby(x)
    -normal mode()

    2. I miss a widget for the app. That'd be really awesome to control foobar from your android destop.

    I hope you at least consider the two features. They are the last two points I'm still missing in your app.

    I would like to help you with your developement, but I have never programmed an app for android before even though I have some Java skills. Do you think I'm able to help you?

    PS: Sry for the bad english. I've not written a single english sentence for over a year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi,

    Sorry for the delay.

    The album art configuration in the "config" file is fully customizable.. You can set it in yours however you like and then you can get a more accurate album art. I've wanted to make a how-to of that but I think it may be dangerous as if it's not done properly, the app may not work at all..

    About the improvements..

    1. Yes, I think that would be nice. Now it's hardcoded to be screen always on. I'll probably add this setting.

    2. Again, yes, you are right. Widget is a key feature for future releases. I need some time to develop it, though.

    Thanks for the feedback.

    PS: your english is perfectly understandable!

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  3. Tried this, still album art shows up as a tiny square that is too small. I would love to use your pro version but until this is fixed I will have to try other controllers :(

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  4. Hi PhonicTronic,
    You should change this according to your preferences on how foobar2000 should get the albumart. It's a bit tricky if you are not an advanced user maybe...

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  5. Dear Sergi,

    About the albumart, I found the config has no affect:

    1. I adjust it as "albumart=(empty)" and the app still get cover when the filename is "cover.jpg" or "folder.jpg".

    2. I adjust it as "albumart=albumart.jpg" but the app couldn't find any cover even the file is existed.

    Did I get anything wrong? I find the config file at "(USER)\AppData\Roaming\foobar2000\foo_httpcontrol_data\foobar2000controller"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Hoxder,
      I just tested it in my setup and I have no problem.
      Please make sure "albumart_prefer_embedded" is set to "0" in config file:
      albumart_prefer_embedded=0

      I have seen that it's not necessary to restart http_control server or foobar2000 to make the config file changes effective.

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    2. Thanks for your quick reply!

      Yes, the "albumart_prefer_embedded" is "1" as default...

      Now everything is fine and I'm enjoy with PRO version! :D

      Delete
    3. That's great!
      Best Regards.

      Delete