For some time I thought that current ArtDoctor version (1.0.2) can fix any artwork-related issues. Well, I was wrong: maybe in case of iTunes that’s true, but other managers could not be trusted a bit.
A few days ago I was trying to resolve a reported issue with “parameter is not valid” error.
At first I thought there were some changes in thumbnail formats (error was got on iTouch 2G, and I’ve never tested it on that device). Then I looked in ArtworkDB and noticed that it had invalid information inside, like overlapping offsets in cache files.
So I understood ArtDoctor must also be able to rewrite artwork database, not only cache. It still doesn’t affect main database and is safe for your player. Even if something goes wrong, you won’t lose your music.
Just to make it clear: that iPod was managed by MediaMonkey. I don’t blame it, but you should be careful when using unofficial managers. There is absolutely no warranty you’ll get your artwork (or whole media library) working after next sync.
I’ve already succeeded in complete rewriting artwork information and made a “lab” version of ArtDoctor 2.0 (it’s private, but you could contact me to get one for testing).
It definitely works, but there are some things to do before release:
- It has neither GUI, nor settings – it is a console prototype. Eye-candy UI must be made before going to public.
- It supports only iPhone and iTouch cache formats for now. I have no Classic/Nano/etc. models at the moment and don’t remember which formats do they use. If you have one, please send me your ArtworkDB file (it is located in hidden folder iPod_Control\Artwork). Anyway, there’s a trick with ticking “Display album artwork on device” option off and then on for these devices, so they are not a primary target.
I didn’t find a way to notify device about database changed yet. It somehow caches that database, so now you need to restart your device (completely off and then on) to reflect changes correctly. That should be resolved before release.[solved]
Stay tuned.