The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Software Support => DOS/WinCab => Topic started by: Chris on December 31, 2004, 02:26:17 pm
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I'm working on getting the CD skins working for DOSCab/WinCab Jukebox, and of ourse the most attractive thing about a CD-based jukebox is the cover art.
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Not a must have, but maybe support for *.png as well? Granted, most folks are getting their covers from Amazon, WalMart, or whatever and they are usually in .jpg format.
Also, I currently have my covers in a separate folder with the title being Artist_Album.jpg (actually two folders, one for large (300x300) and one for midsize (140x140)), but I'm thinking of moving them to the album directories.
Finally, if it doesn't find a cover, how are you planning to display a cover? Generate a generic Album/Artist cover?
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To my own folder based jukebox (Arcade Music Box), I did a "foldername/folder.jpg" and a "foldername/foldername.jpg" support.
You should start with the folder.jpg support, because it was that way Windows Media Player (I didn't know about this, until a user asked me for that).
You can either made a scaling support (downscaling), so it auto scaling to it fit that skin (like I did).
[EDIT]
Chris, should we made a link exchange from mine and your app on the homepage?
[/EDIT]
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Not a must have, but maybe support for *.png as well?
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Also, I currently have my covers in a separate folder with the title being Artist_Album.jpg (actually two folders, one for large (300x300) and one for midsize (140x140)), but I'm thinking of moving them to the album directories.
Do you have a player that uses them that way?
No...it is just how I've got them for now so I can figure out what ones I'm still missing. Makes my life a little easier during the ripping phase of my project. I'll probably throw together a quick script to move them into the album directories like the rest of the world.
And png is a non-issue for me. Just thought I'd mention it since it seems like all the mame screenshots and what not are png.
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Chris, should we made a link exchange from mine and your app on the homepage?
I haven't updated my "other jukeboxes" link in far too long. I have your jukebox on my page now. :)
--Chris
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I don't know what your cd layout looks like, but a lot of cd jukebox programs have a browse page (lots of small covers) and a tracklist page (1 cover supersized). If you will be using this layout, could you add support for a second hi-rez image. When the tracklist page loads, if the large image is not found then use the smaller browse image.
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I don't know what your cd layout looks like, but a lot of cd jukebox programs have a browse page (lots of small covers) and a tracklist page (1 cover supersized). If you will be using this layout, could you add support for a second hi-rez image. When the tracklist page loads, if the large image is not found then use the smaller browse image.
I am not planning a separate "browse" page for the CD skins, so only one size of cover image will ever be needed.
--Chris
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The way I see this is going to work then, is I will be able to display the full album cover (with full name and artist) and the tracks will not be restricted to the 8 character file name as you will read the ID3 tags. This will get over having to list tracks in directory or album order and will give it real CD Jukebox feel. Can't wait for this version.
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The way I see this is going to work then, is I will be able to display the full album cover (with full name and artist) and the tracks will not be restricted to the 8 character file name as you will read the ID3 tags. This will get over having to list tracks in directory or album order and will give it real CD Jukebox feel. Can't wait for this version.
Yes. Right now, the album name, cover art and artist come from the first track on the album. I may change artist to look at all the songs on the album and take the artist that matches at least 50% of the songs, otherwise list it as "Various Artists". Songs that have no album information will get lumped together on an album called "Singles". (The text "Various Artists" and "Singles" can be changed in jukebox.ini.
Track numbers come from ID3 tags, or if that information is not available, it looks to see if the filename starts with a number (like 02 - Stairway to Heaven.mp3) and if so it uses that number as the track number. (This won't always be correct, of course; 99 Red Balloons.mp3 would show up as track 99 in the absence of any other track information, but nothing's perfect).
The resulting title cards should end up looking like the ones on a physical CD jukebox, not a video jukebox:
(http://www.suomenpeliautomaattihistoriallinenseura.fi/pics/ray/ray24.jpg)
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>The resulting title cards should end up looking like the ones on a physical CD jukebox, not a video jukebox
Excellent! Excactly how I want it.
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Hi Chris,
Any chance of support for:
Coverart1=drive:\directory\artist - album.jpg
If you don't ask etc . . . ;)
Best regards
Gary
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Hi Chris,
Any chance of support for:
Coverart1=drive:\directory\artist - album.jpg
Well, anything is of course possible... :) I wasn't aware anyone actually stored album covers in this fashion. I guess I would need to account for all of these possibilities:
drive:\directory\artist - album.jpg
drive:\directory\artist\album.jpg
drive:\directory\song.jpg
drive:\directory\artist - song.jpg
Seems like I did a poll on this subject way back when and the only way anyone seemed to be storing album covers was in the folder with the music. Right now, during indexing, when I first enter a folder I grab an image based on the art rules, and then I apply that to all songs found in the folder. What I would have to do in this case is once I find the album and artist, look through the alternate folder for a match. This, of course, takes extra work and slows down the indexer, whch is why I didn't bother if no one organized their collection this way.
What I would probably do if I needed to implement this would be to have an ArtFolder parameter that you could set to drive:\directory, preindex all images in that folder and its subfolders, and then for each song, look for artist - album.jpg, artist\album.jpg, song.jpg, etc. within that pre-index. If you don't have an ArtFolder, you don't really lose performance because the size of the preindex is 0 and the extra searches never happen.
So is anyone actually storing their art this way? If so, is there a particular reason (i.e. this is how MusicMatch or iTunes or something stores the art)?
Thanks!
--Chris
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Sorry Chris, suppose I should have said that this is the format used by TouchTone http://www.mp3touchscreens.com/touchtone/ which is what I am using until WinCab supports a touchscreen under Win98 :)
Personally I like the idea of keeping the JPGs separate from the OGGs.
regards
Gary