Displaying album art in nStream

On my setup (Twonky 5) I tag the Flac files and have a Folder.jpg file with the artwork, in each folder. If updating several folders with this .jpg file, I would then have to rebuild the database.  It works for me, I have 1800 albums all tagged and showing artwork...!! :-)  (note the upper case F on Folder.jpg)

OK, I checked and inside each album folder I also have the Folder.jpg with the artwork. And it does display in nStream when I view the contents of that album. What it doesn't do is display any images when viewing the list of albums by a given artist. Help!

I believe this feature is called Upstream Artwork and is dependent on the UPNP Server supporting it.

Asset supports this and they define it as "UpStream Artwork enables artwork from the first discovered track to appear next to an Artist, or Genre"

I've noticed that if I stream directly from my Netgear Readynas 102 that the upstream artwork doesn't appear, this is from the same files that Asset sees which does show the artwork.

So the bad news is that your server may not support it, but the good news is that you can continue ripping with embedded artwork and a folder.jpg file and when you use a supported server it will be OK without any need for rework.

Richard

In Nstream, if you select just albums, it should display all the albums as thumbnails.  If you select Artist/album  it should display just the albums for that artist as thumbnails.  Then if you select the album, it should display just that cover, plus the track list.

If you are only getting the cover when you select the album, and not the covers when you are higher up the tree, I would suggest you do a database rebuild on your NAS (if you know where to access this).  It seems like you have done everything correctly..

Note there are no images available for an Artist (not on twonky anyway)

cheers

Not sure about nstream, but some other players look for "cover.jpg" in the album folder and ignore folder.jpg

I'd suggest changing all of the folder.jpg files for 1 artist to cover.jpg manually, then refreshing Nstream (not sure if it does this automatically - I've never used it.) See if that works.

If it does, you have a few options. If you know how to write scripts, or can use the Mac automator, rename all of the files.  If not, you could get the Bliss utility. that should re-organize all of the cover art properly. www.blisshq.com

then, change the setting on dbpoweramp to create cover.jpg

Bliss will go through folders and add folder.jpg for you.  It doesn't extract them from the files, it re-looks them up on the internet.  Generally it gets them right, although there are one or two that you'd have to manually select via its interface

Indeed - this is not related to NStream - but is down to your UPnP DLNA application.

NStream simply displays what is sent to it......

Simon

Look the Options in the menu bar. There is an item called "Meta Data & ID Tag". Push the options button on that line (at the right side). This opens another window where there is a line "Write to [output folder] \". Check that it has not been set to "None" (i.e. make sure to choose Folder.jpg).

I would bet that Asset UPnP would show the upstream artwork....

Have you tried to rescan your library in Synology/Twonky? Unfortunately I have no experience in your set up but in mine (ReadyNAS / ReadyDLNA) I have to perform the rescan every time I add something to the library in order to make it show the album art correctly (even if autoscan is enabled).

Hi

i have similar setup to you, nd5xs and synology 213+ and I get album artwork for display by album, album artist and composer/album. It's good quality too on an iPad. 

i think you need to look at your media server settings. I'm assuming you are using the default one inside synology?

if yes, launch media server and go through the different tabs. Hopefully you will spot something. Also, search for synology on here and there is a good thread regarding album artwork and settings. 

Let me know how you get on.

all the best

Anton

Dont panic please!

ill try my best to help.

the setting you found is correct. You need to type the name of the file in the open field that yyou have stored in your album folders, syntax is important I think.

e.g. in my folders, I have folder.jpg

so I also type folder.jpg in the field you mention above.

have you also gone to the device list option and set your iPad and nd5 to the Naim option?

Anton

I'm with you a little here, the US can see album artwork via the N-Stream app if you select the album you are playing  but displays the default NAIM disc black image in the full library list? 

I can't work it out either, also sometimes artwork is there then it goes without anything being done, or so it would seem.

I have also lost albums, they are in the MQ folder as ripped WAVs with their artwork but are not being presented to the streamer to playback? Just gone, but are still WAVs in the folders on the music store, probably need to re-fresh the whole system :-)

Hmm these tiny issues.

Also launch control panel and then media server. I think there are settings for high quality thumbnails. Set this also.

Also, make sure all the settings you find regarding image quality are set to the highest.

when you get this sorted you will be happy, the images show up really crisply so then Nstream is a pleasure to use

Thank you all for being so supportive... I mean it. This is my first venture into the world of streaming - before that it was "stick the CD in the player and... it plays!"

Pls see 4 posts above how I resolved my problems. Sorry for all the drama but hopefully this thread will save someone the frustration one day.

You guys are a GREAT bunch - I can't praise this forum enough. Half of the reason to go NAIM could be just this forum.

Really glad you have it sorted now.

i do agree with you, it's not that straight forward unfortunately but once it's all setup it works a dream.

you can now get rid of your 9-5 stress with the nd5's help 

Just keep buying and playing music.

i ripped another 12 albums today 

I just can't stop buying, oh and listening. 

All the best

Anton

Good advice, Anton... Getting the Naim last Xmas really got me back into music (listening, not only playing) and buying CDs.

50 years from now our children (or children's children) will laugh at this... It will be all plug-and-play (REALLY plug and play, not like in UPnP name). I recently read a book on the history of motoring and there was a picture of the full toolkit included with all new cars by Ford in 1920s... FIFTY THREE tools that you had to know how to use, some requiring a lot of physical force and determination, like the "spoon" for getting a spare tire onto a rim. Now we just... drive to work I do hope it's the same with computers half a century from now. BTW, this is where we always differed with Bill over our pizza'n'beer in Tokyo. He saw them as something fascinating and technological, I saw them in terms of Ergonomics - tools to make human life easier. Which they are not. Yet...

That's a good trick!

But I had situations, where clearing the cache in n-Stream was not sufficient. Then I had to terminate n-Stream from the multitasking view, and start it from new... Then I could see the changes from the UPnP server.

Yes, that's good practice.

this is not true....

when using jriver media center all my cover art is shown regardless of the "group" , but in nstream it is not shown. the music is on the same nas, so there must be an issue  that is fixable via naim nstream, and not via the individual user trying to change the software problems of nstream... Anyone agree?

I have the same problem trying to to see album art.

For the last 2 days NSTREAM has either shown no art / individual mozart opera art in Wagner, and just basically jummbled up Unusable and a waste of time.

Coupled with the fact that my Operas and Symphonies (6000 cds worth) play in the wrong order because I have to have them in files for ease of finding, I REALLY TRUELY HONESTLY wish I had never started streaming. More time is spent on the PC trying to sort out problems (Which are still there)

Yours disappointing NDS streamer.

Sorry to grumble though!

Hi Mark

Have you checked the tracks are tagged in the correct order. Yes more time in front of the pc but i cant say iv had this problem or at least never noticed. Mp3tag is great for showing tagging issues

Graeme