iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files

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gbaby

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iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« on: 28 Apr 2019, 07:21 pm »
I have been using Apple iTunes to import files from my CDs in .aiff format since owning the Bryston BDP-2 now converted to BDP-3. I am absolutely thrilled with the sound of the imported .aiff files. But, I am curious on whether or not their is something proprietary about iTune files that prevent the cover art from showing no the BDP-2/3? If I purchase an .aiff file from HD Tracks, it always shows cover art.  :o

srb

Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #1 on: 28 Apr 2019, 07:40 pm »
The iTunes AIFF file type is not proprietary, but the way iTunes stores cover art is.

If the cover art is automatically retrieved by iTunes from the Gracenote database, the cover art is stored in iTunes' own database and therefore won't show in other software.

If the cover artwork is manually added to the file, then it will be embedded in the file and will be displayed in the Bryston BDP software.

The workaround (in iTunes) is to go to Song Info > Artwork Tab, click on the image to select it, then cut and immediately paste it again.  It will now be embedded in the file.  Do this at the album level and it will embed the cover art into all song files of the album at once.

Other playback/ripping software will embed the cover art in the file as expected; iTunes is the only software I know of with this peculiarity.

Tezza009

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #2 on: 29 Apr 2019, 09:02 am »
There are ways of replicating imbedded iTunes cover art as Jpeg files within the album subdirectory. The entire library can be done in one step without interfering with the way iTunes works. I have been doing this for a number of years using a plugin but for the life of me I cannot recall the name of the plugin. If you do a search you will find options and discussions on this topic.

schmidtmike76

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #3 on: 29 Apr 2019, 12:47 pm »
This is why I went with Roon.  I can’t imagine living without it now it’s so clean and easy to use.

gbaby

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #4 on: 29 Apr 2019, 02:24 pm »
This is why I went with Roon.  I can’t imagine living without it now it’s so clean and easy to use.

I would not get Roon just for cover art.  :lol:

gbaby

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #5 on: 29 Apr 2019, 02:25 pm »
The iTunes AIFF file type is not proprietary, but the way iTunes stores cover art is.

If the cover art is automatically retrieved by iTunes from the Gracenote database, the cover art is stored in iTunes' own database and therefore won't show in other software.

If the cover artwork is manually added to the file, then it will be embedded in the file and will be displayed in the Bryston BDP software.

The workaround (in iTunes) is to go to Song Info > Artwork Tab, click on the image to select it, then cut and immediately paste it again.  It will now be embedded in the file.  Do this at the album level and it will embed the cover art into all song files of the album at once.

Other playback/ripping software will embed the cover art in the file as expected; iTunes is the only software I know of with this peculiarity.

Thank you. I will explore. 8)

gbaby

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #6 on: 30 Apr 2019, 12:48 am »

The workaround (in iTunes) is to go to Song Info > Artwork Tab, click on the image to select it, then cut and immediately paste it again.  It will now be embedded in the file.  Do this at the album level and it will embed the cover art into all song files of the album at once.

Other playback/ripping software will embed the cover art in the file as expected; iTunes is the only software I know of with this peculiarity.

What would you consider the best ripping software that will display cover art without a degradation of the sound?

srb

Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #7 on: 30 Apr 2019, 01:18 am »
dBpoweramp is very popular.  The advantage to rippers like this is that they compare the rip to a known 100% error-free rip in their database (if the album exists in the comparison library, of course).

On the other hand, iTunes does a pretty good job ripping when error correction is enabled in options.  True, no comparison to an online rip, but I'm guessing few would notice a dropped bit here or there.

When I use iTunes for ripping, I just take another 15 seconds and a few extra mouse clicks to manually embed the cover art.  As with all ripping software, not every album finds cover art in an associated online database (or always has the correct art), and for those I have to manually paste in cover art I've Googled anyway.

gbaby

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #8 on: 10 Jul 2019, 07:25 pm »
dBpoweramp is very popular.  The advantage to rippers like this is that they compare the rip to a known 100% error-free rip in their database (if the album exists in the comparison library, of course).

On the other hand, iTunes does a pretty good job ripping when error correction is enabled in options.  True, no comparison to an online rip, but I'm guessing few would notice a dropped bit here or there.

When I use iTunes for ripping, I just take another 15 seconds and a few extra mouse clicks to manually embed the cover art.  As with all ripping software, not every album finds cover art in an associated online database (or always has the correct art), and for those I have to manually paste in cover art I've Googled anyway.

I have taken you advice and purchased dbpoweramp. It is faster and better than iTunes and displays all cover art. It was worth its price.  8)

Krutsch

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #9 on: 14 Jul 2019, 03:11 pm »
You will have endless problems with AIFF w/ iTunes and the Bryston BDP - mostly because of the BDP's underlying use of MPD.

1) There is a byte offset issue with how iTunes manages metadata that will cause MPD to simply skip over the file on playback and/or while processing the embedded metadata. I can't recall the specifics, but trust me: AIFF and MPD don't mix, if you are using iTunes to either rip or manage metadata. Even if you rip using an external tool (e.g. I use XLD), iTunes can still go in and change metadata.

2) As mentioned in previous posts, iTunes will often keep the album art external to the actual music files. However, there is a simple fix for this, if you are using macOS.

Look here:

https://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=reembedartwork

But, really, the problems are mostly with #1 above. Yes, many of your files will just work, but you will continually encounter files that won't play. AIFF is fine on its own (i.e. outside of iTunes).

I really tried to get around these issues, but for MPD use of my BDP-1, I maintain a parallel library that is all FLAC and has been groomed to work-around the many flaws of both Manic Moose and MPD.

Also, as mentioned above, you can use Roon and avoid ALL of these issues.

gbaby

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #10 on: 16 Jul 2019, 10:22 pm »
You will have endless problems with AIFF w/ iTunes and the Bryston BDP - mostly because of the BDP's underlying use of MPD.

1) There is a byte offset issue with how iTunes manages metadata that will cause MPD to simply skip over the file on playback and/or while processing the embedded metadata. I can't recall the specifics, but trust me: AIFF and MPD don't mix, if you are using iTunes to either rip or manage metadata. Even if you rip using an external tool (e.g. I use XLD), iTunes can still go in and change metadata.

2) As mentioned in previous posts, iTunes will often keep the album art external to the actual music files. However, there is a simple fix for this, if you are using macOS.

Look here:

https://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=reembedartwork

But, really, the problems are mostly with #1 above. Yes, many of your files will just work, but you will continually encounter files that won't play. AIFF is fine on its own (i.e. outside of iTunes).

I really tried to get around these issues, but for MPD use of my BDP-1, I maintain a parallel library that is all FLAC and has been groomed to work-around the many flaws of both Manic Moose and MPD.

Also, as mentioned above, you can use Roon and avoid ALL of these issues.

Thanks for your post. I have solved the problem by purchasing dbpoweramp. This has more than solved the problem, but made it necessary for me to re-import about two thousand CDs, and I am getting cover art about 99% of the time. But, more importantly, the sound quality has increased exponentially with dbpoweramp. The improvements in sound are much better imaging and stereo separation and the music has more slam, weight and impact. For those who are using iTunes; STOP. The sound from dbpoweramp is a real improvement for listening to aiff files on the BDPs.  :nono: :duh: :o

CanadianMaestro

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #11 on: 17 Jul 2019, 01:44 am »
iTunes as a ripper?  :lol: :duh: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :fishing: :rotflmao:

zoom25

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #12 on: 17 Jul 2019, 02:40 am »
Thanks for your post. I have solved the problem by purchasing dbpoweramp. This has more than solved the problem, but made it necessary for me to re-import about two thousand CDs, and I am getting cover art about 99% of the time. But, more importantly, the sound quality has increased exponentially with dbpoweramp. The improvements in sound are much better imaging and stereo separation and the music has more slam, weight and impact. For those who are using iTunes; STOP. The sound from dbpoweramp is a real improvement for listening to aiff files on the BDPs.  :nono: :duh: :o

Give WAV a try for 'playback' specifically. Continue ripping and maintaining master library in AIFF or FLAC (both compressed and uncompressed options exist).

gbaby

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #13 on: 17 Jul 2019, 01:20 pm »
iTunes as a ripper?  :lol: :duh: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :fishing: :rotflmao:

You should have forewarned me as many exchanges as we have had in the past.  :o

gbaby

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #14 on: 17 Jul 2019, 01:21 pm »
Give WAV a try for 'playback' specifically. Continue ripping and maintaining master library in AIFF or FLAC (both compressed and uncompressed options exist).

I will try it. The only reason I have not in the past is that I understand wav does not have cover art.

CanadianMaestro

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #15 on: 17 Jul 2019, 02:28 pm »
You should have forewarned me as many exchanges as we have had in the past.  :o

You're puttin' too much pressure on yourself  :green:

zoom25

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #16 on: 17 Jul 2019, 03:24 pm »
I will try it. The only reason I have not in the past is that I understand wav does not have cover art.

My master library is mostly FLAC with the highest compression along with some ALAC. It has all the metadata, cover art, and the smallest size. The FLAC always shows up correctly on every system. AIFF and ALAC can sometimes be a hit or miss. With Roon, all three of them appear identical. WAV on the other hand is the least reliable in compatibility and whether metadata fields will show up properly. I use XLD's batch-convert to make an identical and separate WAV library for use with the BDP. I check the option to "Write tags" and select "Both" to have INFO chunk and id3 chunk. This way, in Audirvana Plus for example, all lossless formats appear identical in metadata and cover art. In MPD use with Bryston, my WAVs always have cover art but have some missing metadata fields. I view by folders anyways when using MPD so it's not a problem.

When converting with XLD, you can also select for the original files to be converted in either a single format (i.e. FLAC to WAV) or multiple formats (i.e. FLAC compressed to WAV + AIFF + ALAC + FLAC uncompressed in the same folder) at the same time. This makes it a breeze for testing any/all formats.

gbaby

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #17 on: 17 Jul 2019, 04:47 pm »
You're puttin' too much pressure on yourself  :green:

I was kidding just like you were kidding. 8) But, I will say that now I enjoy 2 channel much better whereas before I was listening in DPL II Music.  :oops:

CanadianMaestro

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #18 on: 17 Jul 2019, 05:15 pm »
I was kidding just like you were kidding. 8) But, I will say that now I enjoy 2 channel much better whereas before I was listening in DPL II Music.  :oops:

 :thumb:
Digital's a lot of fun, eh?

gbaby

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Re: iTunes and Cover Art for .aiff Files
« Reply #19 on: 17 Jul 2019, 05:49 pm »
:thumb:
Digital's a lot of fun, eh?

Yes, indeed. I have more than 1,500 LPs, but I simply cannot justify the expense buying a phono pre-amp, turntable and cartridge due to my utter satisfaction with my Bryston digital gear.