Computer Audio Asylum

Posted by howgeif (A) on February 05, 2016 at 16:40:33

I now know that iTunes does NOT store the album cover art within the song folder but HIDES it in another encrypted folder. This explains why my album transfer to the Aurender did NOT display the album cover art on my Aurender iPad app. Please keep reading for a solution.

I found a custom Script created by Doug Scripts that runs in iTunes and saves the album art to the song folder as a JPG file. My dealer technical person reviewed the Script (at my home) and we decided to run it. The cost is $1.99 and you pay after you install the Script. We checked the results and every album that had album cover art now had a JPG file associated with that song (in the correct folder). I was very happy BUT!!!!!(it did not work).

I deleted (2nd time) my albums on the Aurender and transferred my updated hard drive albums with JPG files included and GUESS what. Again, I STILL HAD NO album cover art. I could not believe it.

I doubled checked everything and discovered the Aurender did not transfer my JPG files to its library. My dealer person was not available. It had to be something simple in the transfer process that I missed. I contacted Aurender Support and was told the JPG files HAVE to be NAMED "Folder.JPG". I immediately tested it on one album and it worked. I then discovered that I used the WRONG Script to save my album art. IF YOU ARE USING the Aurender, you have to USE the Save Album Art as folder.jpg v3.4 Script (see below).

"Save Album Art as folder.jpg v3.4"

"OS X 10.8 or later only. This script will export the artwork of the selected tracks or tracks in the selected playlist as a JPEG image file named folder.jpg to the folder which contains each selected track's file--presumably the track's Album folder. Many third-party music players and systems (Sonos, for example) may look for a "folder.jpg" here to use as display artwork. If multiple album tracks are selected, the script will make sure only one image file per Album is exported".

http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=savealbumartjpeg


And, the good news is, my album cover art is now displayed perfectly on my iPad (after the 3rd album transfer). My Aurender N10 Music Server is a welcomed addition to my audio system. The ability to switch back and forth between Tidal and my stored albums in the App is very easy to use. The Aurender iPAD app is much easier to use than my MAC Book Pro computer. It was also very easy to install and setup. My system sounds more open, more natural, clearer, better bass and I am happy I purchased the unit.

Yes, the addition of a music sever in a system is a little more complicated but the instructions I provided should get you started. Actually, it is not that difficult to transfer the music to the Aurender. You attach your external drive to the Aurender and it copies everything over. The problem is that iTunes does NOT MAKE it easy to get the album cover art. However, this is not a problem if you are using J River since it includes the album cover art in the song folder (please verify this and the JPG file name). However, if you are using iTunes, you install and run the "Save Album Art as folder.jpg v3.4" script ($1.99) and the cover problem is solved.

NOTE: Please read the "Save Album Art as folder.jpg v3.4" instructions carefully, I had to set up a new folder named Script (within the iTunes library) so the script can run from within iTunes. iTunes will not let this script run for a large number of albums. I suggest you test with 4-10 albums at a time and see what happens. The script runs very fast.

Please remember that if some of your albums do NOT have cover art, you have to manually add the metadata. I plan on starting this process shortly. You Google the album name, find the image and copy and paste to the Aurender song folder. The Aurender iPAD app is much easier to use if your albums have cover art.

As you already know, setting up a MAC or PC computer has its own set of complications. The only problem is if you are using iTunes and not J River. In any case, the $1.99 script solves the iTunes JPG problem. The Aurender image files MUST BE CODED as Folder.JPG and included in the same folder as the album songs. The "Save Album Art as folder.jpg v3.4" script handles this perfectly.

NOTE: Please remember you can easily connect your computer to the Aurender file structure using the Finder Go Connect to Server tab. The iPad settings menus provides the necessary information (IP address, user name & password). And, yes, this is very easy to do. This is how you delete files on the Aurender and also add or correct the Folder.JPG images files.

I need help with the following questions:

1) After I add the metadata for the albums missing cover art, I would like to backup my Aurender album files to my external hard drive. Can I just copy my Aurender Music 1 albums to my external hard drive? What are your recommendations?

2) What is your recommended procedure for adding additional albums to the Aurender? Its been suggested I connect iTunes (or J River) direct to the Aurender and rip the CD's to the Aurender unit. It might be easier for me to rip to a USB Flash drive and copy these files to the Aurender. What are your recommendations?

3) As I understand it, pressing the On/Off/Standby on the front panel will power the unit ON and completely OFF. For me to place the unit in standby mode, I have to go to the Server Menu under Settings of the Aurender application and scroll to the bottom to find the Standby On/Off button (turn on). Once this button is turned on, pressing the front panel button will put the unit into standby, and the unit will turn on instantly. Please confirm that I should turn on the standby button on the iPad and only turn the unit complete off when I am out of town.

I hope my above explanation helps. Thanks. Cheers, Howard