iLounge + Mac

Article

Scaling Album Art to the iPod photo’s screen

Author's pic

By Kirk McElhearn

Contributing Editor
Published: Thursday, April 21, 2005
Category: Ask iLounge, iTunes, Music

Ask iLounge offers readers the opportunity to get answers to their iPod-, iPhone-, iPad-, iTunes-, or Apple TV-related questions from a member of the iLounge editorial team. We'll answer several questions here each week, and of course, you can always get help with more immediate concerns from the iLounge Discussion Forums. Submit your questions for consideration using our Ask iLounge Submit Form. We reserve the right to edit questions for grammar, spelling, and length.

Q: I’m currently adding album art images to my MP3 files via iTunes. I was wondering whether there is an ideal width and height that would enhance their appearance in the iPod photo and would make them look sharper while minimizing “pixel distortion.” Is 170x170 pixels OK?

- Takis

A: There are two answers to your question. The easier answer is to use high-resolution artwork and let iTunes handle the sampling for you, and this would be our recommendation. We tried one set each of practical and theoretical tests with the iPod photo’s screen, and found that in our practical tests with an actual piece of album artwork, the differences between iPod album art downsampled from various resolutions were barely if at all noticeable.

However, when you sync your files to your iPod, iTunes downsamples album art to 140x140 pixels for full-screen display, and 56x56 pixels for the thumbnail view (the one that displays with the name of the track and other information). If you want to optimize your artwork for one of these views, choose the appropriate size. For example, if you add 140x140 pixel album art in iTunes, it will appear with no subsequent distortion on the iPod photo when you display it full-sized. However, you will have some distortion when you view it in iTunes, as iTunes has to resample it to display at 200x200 pixels.

If you’d like to try and see exactly what the results are, here are two graphics: this one is a 140x140 pixel pattern, and this one is a 280x280 pixel pattern (which we used to check the 1/4 downsampling). You’ll notice that the 280x280 image looks better in iTunes, but the dots look like flat gray on your iPod photo, whereas the 140x140’s dots display identically on iTunes and the iPod.

Kirk McElhearn is the author of several books including iPod & iTunes Garage. His blog, Kirkville features articles about the iPod, iTunes, Mac OS X and much more.
Clip to Evernote

The most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I copy content from my iPod/iPhone onto my computer?

Converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and more:

The Complete Guide to iPod, Apple TV and iPhone Video Formats

Converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and more:

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Mac)

Converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and more:

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Win)

Best Speakers?

Best Headphones?

Best Case?

Best In-Car Solution?

Best Battery Extender?

Find more answers in the latest publications in our Library. Free downloads developed by the editors of iLounge!

Ask iLounge Archives:

5-24-12: iTunes TV show size totals don’t match actual disk storage

5-23-12: Consolidating Multiple iTunes Libraries

5-22-12: Converting Purchased Videos to 1080p HD

5-21-12: Find My Friends always reports home location

5-18-12: Creating an iTunes Match library from an external hard drive

See the rest of the Archives...

« Using the iPod remote and shuffling songs

Choosing a custom location for your iTunes Music folder »

Related Stories

Comments

If you have a comment, news tip, advertising inquiry, or coverage request, a question about iPods/iPhones/iPad or accessories, or if you sell or market iPod/iPhone/iPad products or services, read iLounge's Comments + Questions policies before posting, and fully identify yourself if you do. We will delete comments containing advertising, astroturfing, trolling, personal attacks, offensive language, or other objectionable content, then ban and/or publicly identify violators.




Email:

Recent News

Recent Reviews

Recent Articles

New Deals


Shop for Accessories: Cases, speakers, chargers, etc.