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{{Notice|Some of the naming conventions (music especially) mentioned on this page have changed for XBMC v12 (Frodo), but haven't been updated yet. Most location conventions are still valid.  For a quick list of naming conventions see '''[[Frodo FAQ#Local images]]'''}}<br />
{{Artwork_Contents}}
{{mininav|[[Music_library|Music Library]] {{l2|[[Video_library|Video Library]]}} |[[HOW-TO:Create_Music_Library|Create Music Library]] {{l2|[[HOW-TO:Create_Video_Library|Create Video Library]]}}}}


{{cleanup}}
<section begin="intro" />The use of artwork takes pride of place in Kodi. The artwork will transform your mundane media player into a showpiece to be proud of, especially when teamed up with your favourite skin. Kodi  will allow you to display Movie Posters, Fanart, Album Covers, Actor and Artist images to name a few. Install the Kodi slideshow add-on, and you will have a constant display of video or music fanart to brighten your entertainment room.<section end="intro" />


An impressive feature of XBMC is its ability to display custom '''thumbnails''' (also known as an "icon") on most items displayed. You can assign thumbnails to folders, programs, music, videos, bookmarks, and of course pictures. You can choose to let XBMC automatically download thumbnails for music-albums and video/movies from the internet or you can create your very own custom thumbnails. You can also download custom thumbnails that others have created.
As the topic covering artwork is comprehensive, it has been broken down into smaller and more manageable pages for ease of reading. Choose the subject that interests you to obtain further information. Information common to all categories is located on this page. Specific category details are located on linked pages.


When talking about movies the terms "Cover Art", "Posters" (term used on [http://thetvdb.com/ TheTVDB]) and "Folder Image" are all used to refer to the '''same''' thing we are talking about here. In the XBMC world Thumbnail is the generic term that encompasses all of those things, so don't get confused.
'''Be aware that artwork is skin dependent. Not all artwork types are used in all skins.'''


{{Note|Despite what the term Thumbnail implies, thumbnails in XBMC are NOT necessarily small images in terms of resolution or size on disk. A Thumbnail in XBMC can be a 800 x 1200 pixel image with a file size of over 300 Kilobytes for example, but typically thumbnails are restricted to smaller sizes than that due to performance concerns.}}<br />
= Flexible artwork types =


<gallery mode="packed" widths=350px heights=200px>
File:Artwork-PosterView01.jpg
File:Artwork-FanartView01.jpg
File:Artwork-Banner01.jpg
File:Artwork-PosterView02.jpg
File:Artwork-MusicArtist01.jpg
File:Artwork-ClearLogo02.jpg
</gallery>


== Custom Thumbnails ==
{{Kodi}}'s support for artwork types to represent media items is very flexible: Any number of artwork can be added to a media item with free-form names that have only a few rules.
You can easily create your very own user-defined thumbnails on your computer with image tools like Adobe Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Paint.NET or even Paint in Windows. <br /> You can alternatively download thumbnails that others have created on the internet.
Then you simply have to rename those thumbnails and transfer/copy them to the right location and XBMC will display them. Use JPG or PNG (with transparency) image-format, and size of the picture to anything from 128x128 to 256x256 in pixel size, (the larger the image is the better it will look on a good display but at the same time large thumbnails loads slower). On a non-HDTV displays a image that is approx 100x140 is recommended for video/movies thumbnails (which is the size that is most common on [http://www.imdb.com/ IMDb]), and approx 75x75 for music-albums (which is the default size on [http://www.allmusic.com allmusic.com]). For 720p/1080i HDTV displays a size of approx 182x256 for video/movies thumbnails, and approx 200x200 for music-albums (such music-albums can be found on [http://www.allmusic.com allmusic.com]).


==== Thumbnail Cache ====
To view all art types that are already assigned in your Kodi library for any particular media type, use Kodi's built-in [[Artwork#Kodi- Choose Art| Choose Art]] dialog on nearly any item in the library (movie, TV show, episode, so on), and the list of artwork types shown on this window are assigned to at least one media item of the same type.
:''see also:'' '''[[ThumbnailCache]]''' for a thorough description of the '''thumbnail cache'''<br />


XBMC will cache all thumbnails to [[userdata]]\Thumbnails\ using the '''CRC''' of the path of the file or folder as a filename. That is the first location XBMC will generally look for a thumbnail for a given item.<br />
== Naming rules ==


In order for your custom thumbnail to show, you may have to delete the cached thumbnail.
* artwork names must be
** only alphanumeric characters
** lowercase letters
** keep them short - 20 characters is a bit long, though not forbidden
* Named by convention so that skins and JSON-RPC consumers can find and use them reliably
* Some common types of artwork are "fanart", "clearlogo", "landscape", "banner", and "poster"


When thumbnails are cached they may be scaled down from the source image. How much they are scaled down depends on a setting that you can control using the  [[Advancedsettings.xml#.3Cthumbsize.3E|<imageres>]] tag in  [[advancedsettings.xml]].
== Artwork whitelist ==


If you are running XBMC on a very high resolution display and you have Movie cover art, for example, that is displayed as a very large image onscreen with the skin and layout that you are using, then you may want to adjust the <imageres> tag to increase the display quality of your thumbnails.  
Starting with Kodi 18, there is a whitelist configuration for artwork types to be added automatically. This whitelist applies to all artwork added automatically by Kodi, either when scanning in local files or scraping from online sources. This allows you to share one media file library with a full artwork selection and configure individual Kodi clients separately based on processing power, skin selection, or client-local storage space (the local artwork cache takes up the most space of all Kodi running data). It is currently configured with advancedsettings.xml '''[[Advancedsettings.xml#Extra artwork| for the video library]]''' and '''[[Advancedsettings.xml#Extra artwork 2| for the music library]]'''.


Be aware, however, that increasing the size of cached thumbnails obviously carries an implied disk space usage, and possible XBMC performance penalty, with it.
= Obtaining Artwork =
Movie, TV Show and Music artwork can be obtained using a variety of methods. The most common method is via the Kodi scraper.


== Wide banner icons ==
== Scrapers ==
{|
A scraper is a Kodi core function which, in combination with the relevant metadata API add-on, will preform an automatic online search for movie, tv show and music information and then retrieve all relevant metadata and artwork and import the data into the Kodi Library and the artwork into the [[Artwork#Cache|cache]]. The default sources for information are:  
[[File:Wideview_tvshows.png|500px|right|Wide view for TV shows|thumb]]
Some of the most visually appealing forms of thumbnails are [[wide banner icons]]. They are an integral part of the XBMC look and feel and are used for the TV shows [[Video library|library]].<br />
With different adjustments to the [[XBMC Skinning Manual|skin]] [[w:XML|XML]] files, you may disable title names or stack one icon on top of another.<br />
To show wide banner icons switch to Wide or 'Media info 2' view. XBMC will remember what view you have for each folder. Thus you can keep your TV shows in Wide and your Movies in [[FanArt|Fanart]].
:* [[Wide banner icons#Sources for wide banner icons|Sources for wide banner icons]]
|}
{{-}}


== Thumbnails for individual items in a single directory ==
Movies- [https://www.themoviedb.org/ The MovieDB]<br />
Name the icon file the same as the file you would like it to display for with a -poster.jpg or -poster.png extension ie: ''Transformers.avi, Transformers-poster.jpg''. This is particularly useful for using custom thumbnails for movies.
TV Shows- [http://thetvdb.com/ The TVDB]<br />
 
Music- [http://www.theaudiodb.com/ The AudioDB]<br />
'''Example:'''
Movies\path\'''moviename.avi'''
Movies\path\'''moviename-poster.(jpg/png)'''
Movies\path\'''moviename.tbn''' *Depricated, Eden format but still functional
 
== Folder Thumbnails ==
{|
| valign="top" |
If you store each of your media files in separate subfolders to keep things organized, you can also make the folder have a custom thumbnail image. To do this you either need to save your JPG/PNG thumbnail as folder.jpg and place it inside your movie/album folder, or you can save it as <foldername>.tbn and place it at the same level as the folder in the directory tree.
* Remember, XBMC first checks for <foldername>.tbn before checking for folder.jpg.
* Some documentation suggests that folder.tbn can be used. In general folder.jpg is superior as it is detected during a scan, i.e. XBMC will correctly use folder.jpg but not folder.tbn.
* Note that folder.jpg '''must''' be named .jpg, even if it is a .png format image.
* You can force XBMC to look for folder image (Cover Art) files with different file names to "folder.jpg" (eg. cover.jpg, poster.jpg) by setting the [http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Userdata/advancedsettings.xml#.3Cdvdthumbs.3E <dvdthumbs>] tag in the [http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Userdata/advancedsettings.xml advancedsettings.xml] file.
 
<br />
'''Examples:'''
Movies\path\'''foldername'''\
Movies\path\'''foldername.tbn'''
or
Movies\path\moviename\'''folder.jpg'''
Music\path\album\'''folder.jpg'''
 
Now your media folder will have a lovely custom thumbnail-image.
 
You can via [[advancedsettings.xml]] change the default filename of the image that XBMC uses for music folders.  See the [[advancedsettings.xml#<musicthumbs>|<musicthumbs>]] tag. for more information.
|
[[File:Files.myvideos.jpg|right|500px]]
|}
 
== Program Thumbnails ==
In order to display the image displayed for a game, emulator or application, simply rename the desired image '''default.tbn''' and place it in the folder where the corresponding default.XBE is located.
 
== Music Thumbnails ==
Music Thumbnails are assigned as part of a multi-tier process. First, the Tag Reader runs and caches any embedded art using the album name and album artist (or song artist, if that is all that is available). If the album name or artist is unavailable, it is cached using the path name of the song. This assumes, of course, that you have tag reading enabled.<br />
You can also use "Get Thumb" to download the album thumbnail from [http://www.allmusic.com allmusic.com (AMG)] for a specific album/folder or do a scan of all your music files in all shares.<br />
Thumbnails also get downloaded when you rip AudioCD's to your XBMC device (which is described in the [[Ripping CDs]] section).<br />
Recommended is that you store each of your music-albums or artists in a separate subfolder to keep things organized. You can also of course make the folder have a custom thumbnail image.<br />
<br />
{|
|
[[File:mymusic.jpg|right|500px]]
| valign="top" |
:{{Note|Running a scan automatically enables 'tag reading' so everything can be cached. Once a scan is run, all your files and their associated thumbnails are stored in the database.}}
:The Album Information dialog (available from the context menu) will allow you to choose between the cover art available for download from [http://www.allmusic.com allmusic.com] and any user-defined thumbnail you may have.
:Press the "Get Thumb" button to bring up a choice of the local thumbnails you have, the currently assigned thumbnail and the [http://www.allmusic.com allmusic.com] thumbnail.<br />
|}
'''The code which assigns thumbnails to files runs and assigns thumbnails in the following order:'''
 
;1) Cached Album Thumbnail
:This is all the embedded album art read by the tag reader and cached using the album name and album artist.
;2) Cached filename.tbn
:This includes an embedded thumbnail cached with the fully qualified name.
;3) Remote filename.tbn
:This is a filename.tbn on a remote share/folder which is then cached.
;4) Cached folder.jpg
:This is a folder.jpg which is cached based off the folder path.
;5) Remote folder.jpg
:This is a folder.jpg on a remote share/folder which is then cached.
;6) Remote foldername.tbn
:This is a foldername.tbn on a remote share/folder which is then cached.<br /><br />
 
'''Examples:'''
 
In this example audiofilename.mp3 will use audiofilename.tbn as thumbnail:
Music\path\'''audiofilename.mp3'''
Music\path\'''audiofilename.tbn'''
 
The same goes for playlists, cue-sheets, SHOUTcast, and [[HOW-TO: Play Internet Streams|internet-stream files]], example:
Music\path\'''audioplaylistname.m3u'''
Music\path\'''audioplaylistname.tbn'''
Music\path\'''cuelistname.cue'''
Music\path\'''cuelistname.mp3'''
Music\path\'''cuelistname.tbn'''
Music\path\'''shoutcastlinkname.pls'''
Music\path\'''shoutcastlinkname.tbn'''
Music\path\'''audiostreamname.strm'''
Music\path\'''audiostreamname.tbn'''
 
== Video Thumbnails ==
You can either use your own custom thumbnails or XBMC can retrieve video thumbnails from the internet via [[How To use Scrapers|scrapers]] and cache them locally.<br />
'''XBMC applies thumbnails to video files in the following order:'''
{|
| valign="top" |
;1) Cached Thumbnail
Thumbnails are cached to UserData\Thumbnails\Video using the CRC of the path of the file or folder.
<br />
<br />
;2) User-Defined Thumbnail<br />
There are many other scraper information sources, but most are specialist listings for foreign language movies or Disney movies, for example.
'''For files:'''
 
XBMC looks for '''<filename>-poster.(jpg/png)''' in the folder containing the media files and uses that as the thumbnail.
Note: <filename>.tbn will supersede '''<filename>-poster.(jpg/png)''' (result of Eden backward compatibility)
 
The thumbnail is cached the first time it is read.<br />
 
'''Note: Deprecated, no longer functional as of Frodo''' -If movie.tbn is in the same folder it will override any other thumbnail and will be used as the thumbnail for all movie files in that folder.-
'''End Deprecation'''
 
'''For folders:'''
 
XBMC checks inside the movie folder for the following files in this order:<br />
*'''<filename>-poster.(jpg/png)'''
*'''poster.(jpg/png)'''
*'''folder.jpg'''
'''Note: Deprecated, no longer functional as of Frodo''' - XBMC first checks for <foldername>.tbn in the parent folder of the movie folder being processed.
 
If no <foldername>.tbn exists in the parent folder XBMC then checks inside the movie folder for folder.jpg (by default) or any other thumbnail source file names you've specified in the [http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Userdata/advancedsettings.xml#.3Cdvdthumbs.3E <dvdthumbs>] tag in [http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Userdata/advancedsettings.xml advancedsettings.xml].
 
'''End Deprecation'''
 
'''For TV series specifically:'''
 
'''This info is all deprecated and no longer functions as of Frodo'''
 
The thumbnail image can be either a Poster type image OR a Banner type image. A Poster is longer than it is wide in aspect and a Banner is much wider than it is long in aspect.
 
The same rules apply regarding file naming conventions and by default XBMC will look for folder.jpg for BOTH Posters AND Banners despite the fact that the naming convention might seem
counter intuitive in the case of Banners.
 
Note: Deprecated as of Frodo <dvdthumbs> is no longer part of advancedsettings.xml - Again, you can use the <dvdthumbs> element in advancedsettings.xml to override the default thumbnail file name that XBMC looks for to make things more meaningful for TV series. If, for example, you
prefer to use Banners you would probably want to set the <dvdthumbs> element in advancedsettings.xml to remove folder.jpg from the search filter and add banner.jpg to the search filter as follows:
 
  <dvdthumbs>
    <remove>folder.jpg|Folder.jpg|folder.JPG|Folder.JPG</remove>
    <add>banner.jpg|Banner.jpg|banner.JPG|Banner.JPG|cover.jpg|Cover.jpg|cover.JPG|Cover.JPG</add>
  </dvdthumbs>
 
The above example will make XBMC ignore all variants of folder.jpg when searching for thumbnails but recognise multiple variants of banner.jpg and cover.jpg and import those instead.
 
'''End Deprecation'''
{{note|<code>TV series:</code>}}
 
There is a special case with TV Series where, if you choose to use Banners as your primary thumbnails, you also need Posters in some areas of the UI depending on which skin you are using.
 
The Aeon Nox skin, which is extremely popular, has a very nice View mode called BannerPlex for example. If you are using that View as your TV Series View, your primary thumbnails for your TV series will
be Banners BUT there are still places where you need to supply a Poster, like the "TV show information" screen that is accessible from the context menu for a Series. In that screen you need a Poster image for the big area on the left that takes up a third of the screen. By default the Banner thumbnail that XBMC imported will be stretched vertically to fill that area and it looks horrible.


As of Frodo, XBMC will import Banners and Posters.  
The Video scraping process is reliant on your local directory and file names being named in accordance with the title listed at the scraper site. To ensure correct naming, simply visit the website, search for your title, and copy the title from the site and paste into your directory/filename.  


'''Deprecated as of Frodo'''
The Music scraping process is reliant on correct file naming and music tags.
Fortunately there is a special exception to this rule for TV Series where XBMC will also recognise and import a file called poster.jpg over and above the default thumbnail image.  


For this reason you should NEVER name your primary thumbnail images poster.jpg and you should NEVER modify the <dvdthumbs> element in advancedsettings.xml to make it search for variants of poster.jpg.
Kodi will then match the video or music and download all relevant metadata and artwork. It is important to note that if you already have correctly named artwork in the video and music folder, then Kodi will scrape the local artwork and ignore the online source. Metadata will still be downloaded though.


Effectively, you should consider the file name poster.jpg to be a reserved file name in XBMC that is used specifically to solve the Banner / Poster combo issue as described further below.
If you subsequently locate artwork that is preferable, it is possible to replace the Kodi selected artwork. Refer to [[Artwork#Kodi-_Choose_Art|paragraph 2.1]] below.
; {{see also|Naming video files}}
; {{see also|Add-on:The Movie Database}}
; {{see also|Add-on:The TVDB}}
; {{see also|Add-on:Universal Album Scraper}}
; {{see also|Add-on:Universal Artist Scraper}}


'''End Deprecation'''
== Media Managers ==
There is a range of software that can create nfo files and download artwork and save them to the correct location and correct naming. They perform the same process and function as the Kodi Scraping operation does natively, but they do not add any entries into the Kodi library. Instead they create what is known as '''[[NFO_files|NFO files]]'''. This file holds all the metadata for that particular movie, tv show or music. The software will also download associated artwork from the scraper site. Kodi can then read this file and scrape it into the library along with the artwork.


Certain skins, like Aeon Nox, typically provide an option in the settings for the View itself that allows you to explicitly stipulate that a poster file should be used for those areas where a Poster type image is applicable.
Although these programs are quick and easy to use, they are more suited for use where a movie or tv show is not listed at the scraper site. You are then able to create the metadata from scratch. You would normally use this for, say, home movies, sporting events or other items that are not listed at the scraper site.  


It is always best to use Kodi for the normal mainstream scrapes and the Media Managers for the non-listed movie, tv show and music scrapes.
; {{see also|NFO_files}}


In Aeon Nox, the setting is on the slide out menu on the left of the screen when you are viewing your series. If you have the BannerPlex view activated and you slide out that menu, then go to  
== Web Search ==
"Viewtype settings", then look under "GENERAL OPTIONS", you will find an option labelled "Use 'poster.jpg' for poster style viewtypes". If you turn that on, then any poster.jpg that you have in your folders
Using an online search engine can help you discover individual artworks, or additional sites where artwork is hosted. When downloading, check that the resolution is of an acceptable standard. Also pay respect to any copyright notices that are attached to the artwork.
when you import your media from disk will be used where a poster type image is appropriate.


{{note|However, that regardless of any settings, poster.jpg will NOT be used as the All Seasons image. For that you MUST provide a season-all.(jpg/png) file. A quick workaround to this problem is to copy an existing poster.jpg file and rename it to season-all.(jpg/png). That will actually work and import fine.}}
Once downloaded, they must be named and saved correctly for the artwork to be visible to Kodi.


|
== Create Your Own ==
[[File:Files.videos.thumbnails.WSCR.jpg|right|500px]]
So you are not happy with the artwork the scraper downloaded? And you just can't find that perfect artwork by manually searching the internet. Then, you will just have to create your own. For those who are artistically minded and can easily navigate around image editing software, then you should be able to easily create your very own user-defined artwork on your computer. Only your imagination is the limit, but be mindful that the artwork needs to remain true to the movie or tv show it represents.  
|}


==== Examples for User-Defined Video Thumbnails ====
If you are unsure where to start, the following links may prove useful. Especially if you plan to share your masterpieces. If this is the case, it is best to stick to the posted guidelines.
;Single Video File
*Fanart.TV- The premier repository for all things artwork. They have an in-depth guide for artwork requirements
The following example "videofilename.avi" will now use the thumbnail "videofilename-poster.(jpg/png)".
:;''see : [https://fanart.tv/movie-fanart/<nowiki>Fanart.tv- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''
Movies\path\'''videofilename-poster.(jpg/png)'''
*The MovieDB- The go to movie scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork that are created and uploaded to the site by people just like you. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
Movies\path\'''videofilename.avi'''
:; ''see : [https://www.themoviedb.org/documentation/editing/images<nowiki>themoviedb- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''
Note that '''videofilename.tbn''' is old Eden terminology, but WILL supersede '''videofilename-poster.(jpg/png)''' which is the standard for Frodo and later versions of XBMC.
*The TVDB- The go to TV Show scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork devoted to TV Shows. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
:; ''see : [http://www.thetvdb.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Images<nowiki>theTVDB- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''
*IMDB- A comprehensive listing of ensuring artwork is appropriate and suitable.
:; ''see : [https://contribute.imdb.com/updates/guide/images<nowiki>IMDB- Image Submission Guide</nowiki>]''
*TheAudioDB- The go to scraper site for all things music. They hold metadata on Artists, Albums and Songs with a large collection of music artwork.
:; ''see : [http://theaudiodb.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1<nowiki>TheAudioDB- Image Creation Guide</nowiki>]''


;Multi Part (Stacked) Video Files
= Importing-Scanning Artwork =
This may not be Frodo terminology, but '''''should''''' still work
{{anchor|Importing-Scraping Artwork}}
You can either use the filename of the first file in the stack or the name of the stack, so for:
Movies\path\'''moviename-CD1.avi'''
Movies\path\'''moviename-CD2.avi'''
Either of the below would work:
Movies\path\'''moviename-CD1.tbn'''
Movies\path\'''moviename.tbn'''


;Movies in Folders
This section does not apply to the Kodi scraper or any other add-on scraping process. It only applies to artwork you have manually sourced and saved.
'''Note Deprecated as of Frodo''' - If [[Set Content (Video Library)|content]] has been set to Movies, movie.tbn will override any other thumbs for media in that folder.<br />
'''End Deprecation'''<br />
In he following example "videofilename.avi" will now use the thumbnail "poster.(jpg/png)".


Movies\path\'''poster.(jpg/png)'''
'''When performing an Update Library or Scrape, Kodi will always use Local Artwork first if it exists. If there is no local artwork, Kodi will obtain the artwork from online sources.'''
Movies\path\'''videofilename.avi'''
Note that movie.tbn will supersede '''poster.jpg''' due to Eden backward compatibility


;TV Shows
'''It is important to note that once a movie, tv show, artist or album has been scraped into the library, Kodi will ignore them on subsequent scans.''' If you have made changes to either artwork and/or metadata (in the form of a nfo file), you must instruct Kodi to update using one of the following methods...
TV\showfolder\'''poster.(jpg/png)'''
#If the Library has not yet been created, or the source has not yet been added
or
#*Ensure your artwork is named and saved correctly. Add the [[Media sources]] to Kodi and allow to update. Artwork will be cached
TV\showfolder\'''banner.jpg''' '''Note - Deprecated as of Frodo'''( See [http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Userdata/advancedsettings.xml#.3Cdvdthumbs.3E <dvdthumbs>] in [http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=Userdata/advancedsettings.xml advancedsettings.xml] ) '''End Deprecation'''
#This Movie/TV Show/Album/Artist is new and has not been added to the library yet
#*An Update Library will scrape and cache the artwork, or
#*For Videos, navigate Videos>Files, navigate to the item and call up the Information page. This will start an automatic scrape for that single item
#*For Music, navigate Music>Files, locate and highlight the new artist or album. From the context menu select ''Scan item to library''
#I added new artwork for Movie/TV Show/Album/Artist already in the library
#*For videos follow instructions for ''Kodi- Choose Art'' below
#*For music follow instructions in [[Music_artwork]]
#I added new artwork for a lot of Movies/TV Shows/Music already in the library
#*Update each Movie/TV Show/Music manually using instructions in the previous option, or
#*Remove the Source and clean library. Re-add the source and allow the Update Library
:'''''See also: [[Updating_or_removing_videos|Update Video Library]]'''''


;TV Show Season Thumbnails
== "Available" artwork ==
As of Frodo, XBMC can use either posters OR banners as the Season thumbnail.  In the following example, the thumbnail will be used for the appropriate season in the [[Video Library]] season node. Where xx is 01, 02 etc.
TV\showfolder\'''seasonxx-poster.(jpg/png)'''
or
TV\showfolder\'''seasonxx-banner.(jpg/png)'''


;TV Show Specials
Scrapers and NFO files can include multiple images for a single type of artwork. The first image will be assigned to the media item for skins and other interfaces to access for display, and the full list will be saved for the "Choose art" dialog, where you can select a new image for any art type.
TV\showfolder\'''season-specials-poster.(jpg/png)'''
or
TV\showfolder\'''season-specials-banner.(jpg/png)'''


;For the all seasons item:
== Kodi- Choose Art ==
TV\showfolder\'''season-all-poster.(jpg/png)'''
From within Kodi, you have the ability to manually change the artwork at any time by following these directions.  
or
TV\showfolder\'''season-all-banner.(jpg/png)'''


;Fanart
#Highlight the media item whose artwork you want to change.
Movies in Folders:
#Call up the ''Information'' page, (Image 1)
Movies\path\'''fanart.(jpg/png)'''
#* For seasons and movie sets the "Choose Art" option is in the [[Context menu]].
TV Series:
#Select ''Choose Art''. (Image 1)
TV\showfolder\'''fanart.(jpg/png)'''
#From within this page, you will be given the option to select which type of artwork you would like to change. (Image 2)
TV Season:
#* If the type of artwork you would like to change is not listed, use the '''Add art type''' button to add it. An onscreen keyboard will be displayed. Enter the new type of artwork and select '''Ok'''.
TV\showfolder\'''seasonxx-fanart.(jpg/png)'''
#* Examples of artwork type are those listed in the following pages- eg clearlogo, clearart, banner etc...
TV Season All:
#Once selected, you will then be provided with a list of available artwork at the scraper site, or you can navigate to a local or network location. (Image 3)
TV\showfolder\'''season-all-fanart.(jpg/png)'''
#Once you select the desired image, it will replace the existing image. You will be returned to the screen displayed in Image 2
TV Specials:
#If you do not intend to change any other artwork types, simply Esc or Back out of the screen
TV\showfolder\'''season-specials-fanart.(jpg/png)'''


;[[Extra fanart|Extra Fanart Page]]
<gallery widths=350px heights=200px>
File:Artwork-ChooseArt03.jpg|Image 1- Choose Art on the Information Page
File:Artwork-ChooseArt01.jpg|Image 2- Select which type of artwork to change
File:Artwork-ChooseArt02.jpg|Image 3- List of available remote artworks from the scraper site, as well as the ability to ''Browse'' local and network sources
File:Artwork-ChooseArt04.jpg|Image 4- Using the Refresh Method
</gallery>
An alternative method:
#Choose ''Refresh'' as seen in Image 1.
#You will then be asked ''Locally stored information found. Ignore and refresh from Internet?'' (Image 4)
#*To scrape local artwork and metadata - Select '''No''' note- If you have no local nfo file, Kodi will scrape metadata from the online scraper site
#*To scrape online artwork and metadata - Select '''Yes'''


Movies\path\'''extrafanart\fanart1.jpg'''
= Artwork details for media sections =
Movies\path\VIDEO_TS\'''extrafanart\fanart1.jpg''' *Special case if using DVD Video structure
TV\showfolder\'''extrafanart\fanart1.jpg'''


The concept of extra fanart exists in XBMC for some skins whereby you can have more than one fanart image for a movie or TV show.
<gallery mode="packed" widths=350px heights=200px>
If you have more than one fanart image any fanart image after the main one (fanart.jpg) must be named using sequential numbering.
File:Skin.rapier fullscreen music.jpg
File:Artwork-MusicBanner01.jpg
File:Artwork-FanartView02.jpg
File:Rapier new tvshows.jpg
File:Artwork-Animated01.gif
File:Artwork-musiclandscape-EstuaryATF.jpg
</gallery>


e.g. fanart1.jpg, fanart2.jpg and so on.
== Movie Artwork ==
{{#lst:Movie_artwork|intro}}
{{see|Movie artwork}}


Extra fanart must be put into a sub-folder of the movie or TV show folder called '''extrafanart'''.
== TV Show Artwork ==
{{#lst:TV-Show_artwork|intro}}
{{see|TV-Show artwork}}


For those skins that support extra fanart you must turn on the "Enable Extrafanart" option and then you will see the different fanart images display as a repeating slideshow with a 10 second delay between each image.
== Music Artwork ==
{{#lst:Music_artwork|intro}}
{{see|Music artwork}}


;Playlist and [[HOW-TO: Play Internet Streams|internet-stream file]] examples
== Music Videos Artwork ==
Playlists\path\'''videoplaylistname.pls'''
{{#lst:Music_Video_artwork|intro}}
Playlists\path\'''videoplaylistname.tbn'''
{{see|Music Video artwork}}
Streams\path\'''videostreamname.strm'''
Streams\path\'''videostreamname.tbn'''


;Actor thumbnails
== Live TV Artwork ==
You can add actor thumbnails to any movie or TV show by adding an '.actors' folder in the corresponding movie / TV show / Episode directory. You may need to use the command line to create this directory in Windows.<br />
{{#lst:Live_TV_Artwork|intro}}
The folder can then contain actor images using the following naming convention:<br />
{{see|Live TV Artwork}}
Videos\path\.actors\'''actor_name.jpg''' (spaces replaced with underscores)
Movies\Movie1\.actors\'''actor_name.jpg''' (spaces replaced with underscores)
Movies\Movie1\VIDEO_TS\.actors\'''actor_name.jpg''' (spaces replaced with underscores) *Special case if using DVD Video structure
TV Shows\TV Show 1\.actors\'''actor_name.jpg''' (spaces replaced with underscores)


== Picture Thumbnails ==
== Pictures Artwork ==
'''XBMC applies thumbnails to picture files in the following order:'''
There is no user definable artwork for the Pictures section of Kodi.<br />
:'''''See: [[Pictures]]


;1) Cached Thumbnail
All images added to Pictures are cached as follows:
:Thumbnails are cached to UserData\Thumbnails\Pictures using the CRC of the path of the file or folder.
#Embedded EXIF previews are scanned and cached. If none available then
#Preview images are created and cached
:'''''See: [[Artwork#Cache|Artwork Cache]]'''''<br />


;2) Images
To add an image to the folder icon:
:EXIF thumbnail in JPEG images are then read. If no EXIF thumbnail is available, XBMC will load the image and generate a thumbnail from the image. These are then cached.
:'''''See: [[Movie_artwork#Source Folder Artwork|Folder Image]]'''''


;3) Folders
= Add-ons to display artwork =
:<MyHolidayPictures>\folder.jpg is checked first. If that file doesn't exist, XBMC will generate a thumbnail from up to 4 random images inside that folder.
The following add-ons allow you to display your movie, TV show and music artwork.


== Thumbnails for Sources ==
=== Screensavers ===
You can change the thumbnail displayed for a source by editing '''UserData\sources.xml'''.<br />
{{note|Source thumbnails have to be in a folder on the local XBMC device harddrive!}}
;Simply modify your source as shown:
<pre><nowiki>
<source>
  <name>Music</name>
  <path>xbms://192.168.1.100:1400/Music/</path>
  <thumbnail>F:\Apps\XBMC\thumbs\shares\thumb.png</thumbnail>
</source>
</nowiki></pre>


== Auto switch to icon Mode ==
Want to do more with all that wonderful fanart? Install this Kodi screensaver. Just like a screensaver on computers from yesteryear, the Kodi screensaver will produce a slideshow of your Movie and TV Show fanart, or set it to display your Music Fanart. Don't like either of those? Then setup a directory with your own pictures and it can produce a screensaver from your selection of photos.
XBMC tries to automatically switch to ''Large Icon'' [[General Navigation#View|view]] when the ''View Mode'' is set to ''Auto'' in the [[Settings]]. It first checks if the skin has ''Large Icon'' view, failing that switches to ''Icon'' view. If neither is available it goes for ''List View''.<br />
; {{see also|Add-on:Picture Slideshow Screensaver}}
'''The rules are as follows:'''


==== [[Programs Settings#Files|Programs]] ====
= Managing Artwork =
Auto switches to Icon view when 50% of all the items (files and folder) have thumbs.
There are a number of ways to maintain and improve Kodi's handling of the artwork.  


==== [[Pictures Settings#General|Pictures]] ====
== Cache ==
Auto switches to Thumbs view when the list contains more than 25% files. (In the case of Pictures, all items have thumbs as they are generated upon entering the folder.)
{{#lst:Artwork/Cache|intro}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Cache}}


==== [[Videos Settings#General|Videos]] ====
== Recovering Disk Space ==
Auto switches to Thumb view when 50% of all the items (files and folder) have thumbs.
After years of use, it is expected that your system will gather some clutter- that being either orphaned artwork files or corrupted artwork which will not display.  
; {{see also|HOW-TO:Reduce disk space usage}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Cache}}


==== [[Music Settings#Files|Music]] ====
=== Texture Cache Maintenance ===
Auto switches to Thumb view when the list contains at least 75% folders and at least 50% of them have thumbs. (Remember that playlist files like m3u, pls, etc, are treated as folders by default)
{{#lst:Texture_Cache_Maintenance_utility|intro}}
; {{see also|Texture Cache Maintenance utility}}


== Hashing ==
== Import/Export ==
The thumbnail .tbn file is created via a hashing function. As explained earlier, the hash is based off the CRC32 of the pathname (plus filename) in lowercase. Files which are local are hashed using their drive letter. Remote files are hashed using the <code>smb://</code> protocol designation and optional username and password.
{{#lst:import-export_library|intro}}
; {{see also|Import-export library}}


=== Examples ===
= Troubleshooting =
* '''<code>123456789</code>''' returns '''<code>0376e6e7</code>'''
There are certain scenarios where attempting to replace existing artwork with new artwork, '''you may experience {{kodi}} refusing to load the new artwork'''. This occurs when replacing one artwork with another artwork having the same name. eg replacing ''poster.jpg'' with a new ''poster.jpg''.
* '''<code>F:\Videos\Nosferatu.avi</code>''' returns '''<code>2a6ec78d</code>'''
* '''<code>smb://user:pass@server/share/directory/</code>''' returns '''<code>c5559f13</code>'''
* '''<code>smb://user:pass@server/share/directory/file.ext</code>''' returns '''<code>8ce36055</code>'''


{{tip|<u>'''Remember:'''</u>}}
Rest assured that the new image has been accepted, but due to the same filename, {{kodi}} may take upto 24 hrs to check the image hash, realise the image is different and clear out the cached image and replace it with the new one. This is intended behaviour. Further reading available in the following link
* When hashing remote shares, use the path as displayed in the <code>sources.xml</code> file, which can include the ''username'' and ''password''.
* When hashing directories for thumbnails, include the final slash.


=== Sample code ===
; {{see also|Artwork/Cache}}
The following code snippets produce the same output as the XBMC hashing function.
==== C# ====
public string Hash(string input)
{
    char[] chars = input.ToCharArray();
    for (int index = 0; index < chars.Length; index++)
    {
        if (chars[index] <= 127)
        {
          chars[index] = System.Char.ToLowerInvariant(chars[index]);
        }
    }
    input = new string(chars);
    uint m_crc = 0xffffffff;
    byte[] bytes = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(input);
    foreach (byte myByte in bytes)
    {
        m_crc ^= ((uint)(myByte) << 24);
        for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++)
        {
            if ((System.Convert.ToUInt32(m_crc) & 0x80000000) == 0x80000000)
            {
                m_crc = (m_crc << 1) ^ 0x04C11DB7;
            }
            else
            {
                m_crc <<= 1;
            }
        }
    }
    return String.Format("{0:x8}", m_crc);
}


==== Python ====
= Animated artwork - experimental =
Code provided by [http://forum.xbmc.org/member.php?u=117767 baderj].
def get_crc32( string ):
    string = string.lower()       
    bytes = bytearray(string.encode())
    crc = 0xffffffff;
    for b in bytes:
        crc = crc ^ (b << 24)         
        for i in range(8):
            if (crc & 0x80000000 ):               
                crc = (crc << 1) ^ 0x04C11DB7               
            else:
                crc = crc << 1;                       
        crc = crc & 0xFFFFFFFF
       
    return '%08x' % crc


==== Perl ====
Kodi has basic support for displaying animated artwork, and two artwork types have a decent collection of animated options: posters and fanart for movies. The most comprehensive support for animated artwork is Skin Helper Service, which has taken to naming these as "animatedposter" and "animatedfanart".
Code provided by [http://forum.xbmc.org/member.php?u=117767 baderj].
sub get_crc32 {
    my $string = shift;
    my @bytes = unpack 'C*', $string;
    my $crc = 0xffffffff;
    for my $b (@bytes) {       
        $crc = $crc ^ ($b << 24);       
        for(my $i = 0; $i < 8; $i++) {
            if ($crc & 0x80000000 ) {               
                $crc = ($crc << 1) ^ 0x04C11DB7;               
            } else {
                $crc = $crc << 1;
            }           
        }       
        $crc = $crc & 0xFFFFFFFF;       
    }
    return sprintf('%08x', $crc);
}
==== PHP ====
Code provided by [http://forum.xbmc.org/member.php?u=59588 tamplan] and [http://forum.xbmc.org/member.php?u=104085 narfight].
  private function _get_hash($file_path)
{
    $chars = strtolower($file_path);
    $crc = 0xffffffff;
    for ($ptr = 0; $ptr < strlen($chars); $ptr++)
    {
      $chr = ord($chars[$ptr]);
      $crc ^= $chr << 24;
      for ((int) $i = 0; $i < 8; $i++)
      {
          if ($crc & 0x80000000)
          {
            $crc = ($crc << 1) ^ 0x04C11DB7;
          }
          else
          {
            $crc <<= 1;
          }
      }
    }
    // Système d'exploitation en 64 bits ?
    if (strpos(php_uname('m'), '_64') !== false)
    {
      //Formatting the output in a 8 character hex
      if ($crc>=0)
      {
          $hash = sprintf("%16s",sprintf("%x",sprintf("%u",$crc)));
      }
      else
      {
          $source = sprintf('%b', $crc);
          $hash = "";
          while ($source <> "")
          {
            $digit = substr($source, -4);
            $hash = dechex(bindec($digit)) . $hash;
            $source = substr($source, 0, -4);
          }
      }
      $hash = substr($hash, 8);
    }
    else
    {
      //Formatting the output in a 8 character hex
      if ($crc>=0)
      {
          $hash = sprintf("%08s",sprintf("%x",sprintf("%u",$crc)));
      }
      else
      {
          $source = sprintf('%b', $crc);
          $hash = "";
          while ($source <> "")
          {
            $digit = substr($source, -4);
            $hash = dechex(bindec($digit)) . $hash;
            $source = substr($source, 0, -4);
          }
      }
    }
    return $hash;
}


==== Javascript ====
New animated movie posters (and textless posters / keyart which could be named "animatedkeyart") are often posted to [https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=215727 this forum thread].
Code provided by [http://forum.xbmc.org/member.php?u=48334 Fiasco] and [http://forum.xbmc.org/member.php?u=117767 baderj].
Number.prototype.unsign = function(bytes) {
    return this >= 0 ? this : Math.pow(256, bytes || 4) + this;
};
function FindCRC(data) {
    var CRC = 0xffffffff;
    data = data.toLowerCase();
    for ( var j = 0; j < data.length; j++) {
      var c = data.charCodeAt(j);
      CRC ^= c << 24;
      for ( var i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
          if (CRC.unsign(8) & 0x80000000) {
            CRC = (CRC << 1) ^ 0x04C11DB7;
          } else {
            CRC <<= 1;
          }
      }
    }
    if (CRC < 0)
      CRC = CRC >>> 0;
    var CRC_str = CRC.toString(16);
    while (CRC_str.length < 8) {
      CRC_str = '0' + CRC_str;
    }
    return CRC_str;
}


==== MySQL Function ====
== Limitations of animated artwork ==
Found this to be very useful when using a MySQL backend and moving/updating files. Code provided by [[User:Nxj18]]


<pre>
Kodi's support for displaying animated artwork is basic, and does have some limitations.
create function fnXBMCHash(sourceString VARCHAR(2000))
returns varchar(8) deterministic
begin
    declare crc bigint unsigned; -- bigint to prevent casting/overflow issues
    declare len, cur, i int;
    declare mask, xorBase, curCharCode, intMask bigint unsigned;
   
    set intMask = pow(2,32) - 1;
    set crc = pow(2,32) - 1; -- 0xFFFFFFFF
    set sourceString = LOWER(TRIM(sourceString));
    set mask = pow(2,31);  -- 0x8000000
    set xorBase = 79764919; -- 0x04C11DB7
    set len = LENGTH(sourceString), cur = 0;
    while cur < len do
        set curCharCode = ASCII(SUBSTRING(sourceString,cur+1,1));
        set crc = (crc ^ (curCharCode << 24)) & intMask;
        set i = 0;
        while i < 8 do
            set crc = (case (crc & mask)
                when mask then (crc << 1) ^ xorBase
                else (crc << 1) end) & intMask;
            set i = i + 1;
        end while;
        set cur = cur + 1;
    end while;
    return lpad(hex(crc),8,'0');
end;
</pre>


==== AutoIT function ====
Number one is a hard limit on the number of pixels in a single animated artwork. The size of animated artwork is limited to roughly 12 frames of 1920x1080. This limit is defined as fully decoded pixels. The trend for animated posters is for smaller images with more frames (a recent "animatedposter" is 500x713 with 60 frames). Kodi will discard any remaining frames after it has reached this limit, which will probably hitch unpleasantly, so obeying this limit is important.
Code provided by [http://forum.xbmc.org/member.php?action=profile&uid=125795 Nexus.Commander].
* Technically this limit is 11 frames but Kodi will decode full frames until it has decoded MORE than this, so the calculation is
** 1920 × 1080 = 2,073,600 * 11 =
*** 22,809,600 pixels '''plus''' one more frame


<pre>
Number two is that Kodi doesn't save animated artwork to the texture cache and will not play them (only displaying the first frame) unless they are stored on a client-local file system.
func CRC32_XBMC($string_input)
$chars = StringSplit(StringLower($string_input),'',2)
$crc = 0xffffffff
For $ptr = 0 To UBound($chars)-1
$chr = StringToBinary($chars[$ptr],4)
$crc = BitXOR($crc,BitShift($chr,-24))
For $i = 0 To 7
if BitAND($crc,0x80000000) = 0x80000000 Then
$crc = BitXOR(BitShift($crc,-1),0x04C11DB7)
else
$crc = BitShift($crc,-1)
EndIf
Next
Next
Return Hex($crc)
EndFunc
</pre>


==== Java ====
= Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC =
Code provided by [http://forum.xbmc.org/member.php?action=profile&uid=80320 Duffy].
{{#lst:Artwork/Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC|intro}}
; {{see also|Artwork/Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC}}


  public String Hash(String input) {
{{Top}}
    int m_crc = 0xffffffff;
    input = input.toLowerCase();
    byte msg[] = input.getBytes();
    for (int i = 0; i < msg.length; i++) {
      int p = (msg[i]) << 24;
      m_crc ^= p;
      for (int j = 0; j < 8; j++) {
        if ((m_crc & 0x80000000) == 0x80000000) {
          m_crc = (m_crc << 1) ^ 0x04C11DB7;
        }
        else {
          m_crc <<= 1;
        }
      }
    }
    return String.format("%08x", m_crc);
  }


[[Category:Thumbnails]]
{{updated|18}}
[[Category:Scraper]]
[[Category:FAQ]]
[[Category:Video Library]]
[[Category:Index]]
[[Category:Music Library]]
[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:XBMC Manual]]
[[Category:Manual]]
[[Category:Karellen]]
[[Category:Video library]]
[[Category:Music library]]
[[Category:Advanced topics]]
[[Category:First time user]]
[[Category:Quick Start Guide]]

Revision as of 18:50, 23 March 2019

Artwork contents

Artwork Main Page



See also:


Return to:

Home icon grey.png   ▶ Music Library
▶ Video Library
▶ Create Music Library
▶ Create Video Library
▶ Artwork

The use of artwork takes pride of place in Kodi. The artwork will transform your mundane media player into a showpiece to be proud of, especially when teamed up with your favourite skin. Kodi will allow you to display Movie Posters, Fanart, Album Covers, Actor and Artist images to name a few. Install the Kodi slideshow add-on, and you will have a constant display of video or music fanart to brighten your entertainment room.

As the topic covering artwork is comprehensive, it has been broken down into smaller and more manageable pages for ease of reading. Choose the subject that interests you to obtain further information. Information common to all categories is located on this page. Specific category details are located on linked pages.

Be aware that artwork is skin dependent. Not all artwork types are used in all skins.

Flexible artwork types

Kodi's support for artwork types to represent media items is very flexible: Any number of artwork can be added to a media item with free-form names that have only a few rules.

To view all art types that are already assigned in your Kodi library for any particular media type, use Kodi's built-in Choose Art dialog on nearly any item in the library (movie, TV show, episode, so on), and the list of artwork types shown on this window are assigned to at least one media item of the same type.

Naming rules

  • artwork names must be
    • only alphanumeric characters
    • lowercase letters
    • keep them short - 20 characters is a bit long, though not forbidden
  • Named by convention so that skins and JSON-RPC consumers can find and use them reliably
  • Some common types of artwork are "fanart", "clearlogo", "landscape", "banner", and "poster"

Artwork whitelist

Starting with Kodi 18, there is a whitelist configuration for artwork types to be added automatically. This whitelist applies to all artwork added automatically by Kodi, either when scanning in local files or scraping from online sources. This allows you to share one media file library with a full artwork selection and configure individual Kodi clients separately based on processing power, skin selection, or client-local storage space (the local artwork cache takes up the most space of all Kodi running data). It is currently configured with advancedsettings.xml for the video library and for the music library.

Obtaining Artwork

Movie, TV Show and Music artwork can be obtained using a variety of methods. The most common method is via the Kodi scraper.

Scrapers

A scraper is a Kodi core function which, in combination with the relevant metadata API add-on, will preform an automatic online search for movie, tv show and music information and then retrieve all relevant metadata and artwork and import the data into the Kodi Library and the artwork into the cache. The default sources for information are:

Movies- The MovieDB
TV Shows- The TVDB
Music- The AudioDB

There are many other scraper information sources, but most are specialist listings for foreign language movies or Disney movies, for example.

The Video scraping process is reliant on your local directory and file names being named in accordance with the title listed at the scraper site. To ensure correct naming, simply visit the website, search for your title, and copy the title from the site and paste into your directory/filename.

The Music scraping process is reliant on correct file naming and music tags.

Kodi will then match the video or music and download all relevant metadata and artwork. It is important to note that if you already have correctly named artwork in the video and music folder, then Kodi will scrape the local artwork and ignore the online source. Metadata will still be downloaded though.

If you subsequently locate artwork that is preferable, it is possible to replace the Kodi selected artwork. Refer to paragraph 2.1 below.

Media Managers

There is a range of software that can create nfo files and download artwork and save them to the correct location and correct naming. They perform the same process and function as the Kodi Scraping operation does natively, but they do not add any entries into the Kodi library. Instead they create what is known as NFO files. This file holds all the metadata for that particular movie, tv show or music. The software will also download associated artwork from the scraper site. Kodi can then read this file and scrape it into the library along with the artwork.

Although these programs are quick and easy to use, they are more suited for use where a movie or tv show is not listed at the scraper site. You are then able to create the metadata from scratch. You would normally use this for, say, home movies, sporting events or other items that are not listed at the scraper site.

It is always best to use Kodi for the normal mainstream scrapes and the Media Managers for the non-listed movie, tv show and music scrapes.

Web Search

Using an online search engine can help you discover individual artworks, or additional sites where artwork is hosted. When downloading, check that the resolution is of an acceptable standard. Also pay respect to any copyright notices that are attached to the artwork.

Once downloaded, they must be named and saved correctly for the artwork to be visible to Kodi.

Create Your Own

So you are not happy with the artwork the scraper downloaded? And you just can't find that perfect artwork by manually searching the internet. Then, you will just have to create your own. For those who are artistically minded and can easily navigate around image editing software, then you should be able to easily create your very own user-defined artwork on your computer. Only your imagination is the limit, but be mindful that the artwork needs to remain true to the movie or tv show it represents.

If you are unsure where to start, the following links may prove useful. Especially if you plan to share your masterpieces. If this is the case, it is best to stick to the posted guidelines.

  • Fanart.TV- The premier repository for all things artwork. They have an in-depth guide for artwork requirements
see : Fanart.tv- Image Creation Guide
  • The MovieDB- The go to movie scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork that are created and uploaded to the site by people just like you. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
see : themoviedb- Image Creation Guide
  • The TVDB- The go to TV Show scraper site for Kodi. In addition to metadata, they also hold a large repository of artwork devoted to TV Shows. Read their easy to understand artwork creation guide.
see : theTVDB- Image Creation Guide
  • IMDB- A comprehensive listing of ensuring artwork is appropriate and suitable.
see : IMDB- Image Submission Guide
  • TheAudioDB- The go to scraper site for all things music. They hold metadata on Artists, Albums and Songs with a large collection of music artwork.
see : TheAudioDB- Image Creation Guide

Importing-Scanning Artwork

This section does not apply to the Kodi scraper or any other add-on scraping process. It only applies to artwork you have manually sourced and saved.

When performing an Update Library or Scrape, Kodi will always use Local Artwork first if it exists. If there is no local artwork, Kodi will obtain the artwork from online sources.

It is important to note that once a movie, tv show, artist or album has been scraped into the library, Kodi will ignore them on subsequent scans. If you have made changes to either artwork and/or metadata (in the form of a nfo file), you must instruct Kodi to update using one of the following methods...

  1. If the Library has not yet been created, or the source has not yet been added
    • Ensure your artwork is named and saved correctly. Add the Media sources to Kodi and allow to update. Artwork will be cached
  2. This Movie/TV Show/Album/Artist is new and has not been added to the library yet
    • An Update Library will scrape and cache the artwork, or
    • For Videos, navigate Videos>Files, navigate to the item and call up the Information page. This will start an automatic scrape for that single item
    • For Music, navigate Music>Files, locate and highlight the new artist or album. From the context menu select Scan item to library
  3. I added new artwork for Movie/TV Show/Album/Artist already in the library
    • For videos follow instructions for Kodi- Choose Art below
    • For music follow instructions in Music_artwork
  4. I added new artwork for a lot of Movies/TV Shows/Music already in the library
    • Update each Movie/TV Show/Music manually using instructions in the previous option, or
    • Remove the Source and clean library. Re-add the source and allow the Update Library
See also: Update Video Library

"Available" artwork

Scrapers and NFO files can include multiple images for a single type of artwork. The first image will be assigned to the media item for skins and other interfaces to access for display, and the full list will be saved for the "Choose art" dialog, where you can select a new image for any art type.

Kodi- Choose Art

From within Kodi, you have the ability to manually change the artwork at any time by following these directions.

  1. Highlight the media item whose artwork you want to change.
  2. Call up the Information page, (Image 1)
    • For seasons and movie sets the "Choose Art" option is in the Context menu.
  3. Select Choose Art. (Image 1)
  4. From within this page, you will be given the option to select which type of artwork you would like to change. (Image 2)
    • If the type of artwork you would like to change is not listed, use the Add art type button to add it. An onscreen keyboard will be displayed. Enter the new type of artwork and select Ok.
    • Examples of artwork type are those listed in the following pages- eg clearlogo, clearart, banner etc...
  5. Once selected, you will then be provided with a list of available artwork at the scraper site, or you can navigate to a local or network location. (Image 3)
  6. Once you select the desired image, it will replace the existing image. You will be returned to the screen displayed in Image 2
  7. If you do not intend to change any other artwork types, simply Esc or Back out of the screen

An alternative method:

  1. Choose Refresh as seen in Image 1.
  2. You will then be asked Locally stored information found. Ignore and refresh from Internet? (Image 4)
    • To scrape local artwork and metadata - Select No note- If you have no local nfo file, Kodi will scrape metadata from the online scraper site
    • To scrape online artwork and metadata - Select Yes

Artwork details for media sections

Movie Artwork

This page details information specific to the movie library.

See: Movie artwork

TV Show Artwork

This page details information specific to TV Shows. For Seasons and Episodes, see linked pages.

See: TV-Show artwork

Music Artwork

See: Music artwork

Music Videos Artwork

This page details information specific to artwork for music videos used in the Music Video library.

See: Music Video artwork

Live TV Artwork

Kodi provides the ability to insert the Logo of your TV Stations which then becomes visible in the program guide, on-screen displays and all channel listings, making it easy to distinguish each channel.

See: Live TV Artwork

Pictures Artwork

There is no user definable artwork for the Pictures section of Kodi.

See: Pictures

All images added to Pictures are cached as follows:

  1. Embedded EXIF previews are scanned and cached. If none available then
  2. Preview images are created and cached
See: Artwork Cache

To add an image to the folder icon:

See: Folder Image

Add-ons to display artwork

The following add-ons allow you to display your movie, TV show and music artwork.

Screensavers

Want to do more with all that wonderful fanart? Install this Kodi screensaver. Just like a screensaver on computers from yesteryear, the Kodi screensaver will produce a slideshow of your Movie and TV Show fanart, or set it to display your Music Fanart. Don't like either of those? Then setup a directory with your own pictures and it can produce a screensaver from your selection of photos.

Managing Artwork

There are a number of ways to maintain and improve Kodi's handling of the artwork.

Cache

Kodi maintains a texture cache on local device storage for all artwork displayed in the GUI, whether from an online source or the local file system. These textures are optimized and stored locally for faster loading.

When media is added to the library, Kodi initially only has a URL or path to the artwork. The artwork itself is downloaded (if from an online source) and then cached.

Recovering Disk Space

After years of use, it is expected that your system will gather some clutter- that being either orphaned artwork files or corrupted artwork which will not display.

Texture Cache Maintenance

Texture Cache Maintenance utility is a python script created by MillhouseVH, that can do a number of artwork related maintenance on the Kodi library. The script can be used to pre-generate thumbnails, clean up old thumbnail files, find corrupted files, and much more. The script can work on any OS that can run Python 2.6 or higher.

Import/Export

Kodi has the option to Export and Import the library databases. These options may be used for a number of reasons including the following more popular ones:

  • Perform database backup and recovery
  • Reorganization of data or eliminate database fragmentation (export, clean/remove database, re-import)
  • Move data between Kodi databases on different platforms (eg Widows to Linux)

Troubleshooting

There are certain scenarios where attempting to replace existing artwork with new artwork, you may experience Kodi refusing to load the new artwork. This occurs when replacing one artwork with another artwork having the same name. eg replacing poster.jpg with a new poster.jpg.

Rest assured that the new image has been accepted, but due to the same filename, Kodi may take upto 24 hrs to check the image hash, realise the image is different and clear out the cached image and replace it with the new one. This is intended behaviour. Further reading available in the following link

Animated artwork - experimental

Kodi has basic support for displaying animated artwork, and two artwork types have a decent collection of animated options: posters and fanart for movies. The most comprehensive support for animated artwork is Skin Helper Service, which has taken to naming these as "animatedposter" and "animatedfanart".

New animated movie posters (and textless posters / keyart which could be named "animatedkeyart") are often posted to this forum thread.

Limitations of animated artwork

Kodi's support for displaying animated artwork is basic, and does have some limitations.

Number one is a hard limit on the number of pixels in a single animated artwork. The size of animated artwork is limited to roughly 12 frames of 1920x1080. This limit is defined as fully decoded pixels. The trend for animated posters is for smaller images with more frames (a recent "animatedposter" is 500x713 with 60 frames). Kodi will discard any remaining frames after it has reached this limit, which will probably hitch unpleasantly, so obeying this limit is important.

  • Technically this limit is 11 frames but Kodi will decode full frames until it has decoded MORE than this, so the calculation is
    • 1920 × 1080 = 2,073,600 * 11 =
      • 22,809,600 pixels plus one more frame

Number two is that Kodi doesn't save animated artwork to the texture cache and will not play them (only displaying the first frame) unless they are stored on a client-local file system.

Accessing with skins and JSON-RPC

The primary usage of artwork is to be displayed, and to that end, they can be accessed by name in skins and over JSON-RPC.

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