April 9, 2009 9:52 AM PDT
Custom iTunes movie artwork not displaying in Cover Flow
Many users have experienced an issue with iTunes not displaying user-added artwork for their movies. While most movies come with artwork, some people enjoy changing the artwork to a particular movie poster or other picture.
Apple Support Discussions user oleus describes the issue:
Read the Apple Support Dis... Let us know! More from Late-Breakers
Apple Support Discussions user oleus describes the issue:
"I like adding original theatrical posters to the movies in my iTunes movie list, but as of yesterday I can no longer add artwork. It lets me drop artwork into the info window but once I press "OK" it just disappears. All of my previous artwork is still there, I just can't add any more. Any help appreciated - Thanks"The problem continues throughout the thread, with many fix attempts not working. ASD user John Krenek relays:
"I'm in the same boat. I can't add much except to tell you some things I checked out that didn't help. Movie permissions, no. Artwork permissions, nope. Movie format, nada. Artwork format, not that. Music affected, no. iTunes version 8.0.2, yes."I tested the issue on my MacBook Pro running 10.5.6 and the latest iTunes update (8.1.1). With movies I created myself I was easily able to change the artwork that displays in Cover Flow in iTunes. When I tried to change the artwork of a movie I had downloaded, the issue was exactly as described. The artwork did not appear in Cover Flow, although it seemed to go in the Summary tab of the file info window.
After a few minutes of trying different processes, I remembered that the naming structure in iTunes is extremely strict. For example, if an album has a space after its name, it will be seen as a different album by iTunes.
Possible workaround
Here's what worked for me: I added my artwork to the purchased movie as I normally would. I then clicked on the Info tab in the file info window. In the space provided for "Album Artist," I simply entered a blank space. After clicking OK, my artwork showed in Cover Flow. I posted this workaround on the Apple Support Discussions thread below.
Experiencing problems? Have feedback? Let us know!
Resources
I tried all combination of "workarounds" listed online (including the one above, here at CNET) with limited success. Because once you shut down iTunes and reopen it, the problem comes right back (at least, it did for me). However, I did find out one interesting thing...
If you're using Handbrake to encode your rips to H.264 make sure to do the following:
- Click on the Audio & Subtitles tab
- Ensure that Track 1's Audio Codec is set to AAC (faac) and not AC3 (passdown)
If you've updated Handbrakes built-in presets lately (the little gear icon, bottom right of the preset window) you'll notice both Track 1 (AAC) and Track 2 (AC3) set by default. I think this is ok too, as long as AC3 is not set in Track 1. I'm testing that theory out as I type this....
Why would an audio setting affect a .jpg? I haven't the foggiest, it makes no logical sense. But once I changed this setting back (I think I may have changed it initially thinking I would get better audio) the problem went away and I can add my artwork as usual. You'll still have to re-encode those titles in your iTunes Movie folder that aren't showing the Artwork - but at least it's an easy permanent fix now.