The problem with this idea is that each mp3 has its own album art embedded, so if you had several tracks from one album, each with a different art file included, then only one of the art files would be visible for that album.

Actually what you are describing sounds like an alternate version of browsing. Throwing up the pictures of the albums instead of the names. I suspect the option though cool, would not be as popular as some others we could work on, because (a) many people don't use the album tag, (b) many people don't bother inserting the artwork.

still in all to have it as a browse option would be very hot

especially when rockin at a club in the dark much easier to identify jointz from artwork then readin the name

Please make artwork bigger in the browser.
I use to look at records in the crate (the real one) and find the one I want looking at the cover, not reading artist/title, so IMHO it makes sense.

Ye the artwork is tiny

Not "instead" of, but rather "with" so you get the best of both search worlds (graphical AND text).

Example: soulsonica.com

Thread: www.scratchlive.net

The thumbnails next to the tracks would make flying through crates very realistic because you would be able to see multiples at a time and go straight to the one you want to select all on visual cues. As it is right now, you have to mouse/key onto a track before you ever see the artwork to see if it is the one you want or not. Think of how selection speed would increase ten-fold being able to see a half dozen or so tracks' coverart at a time while scrolling through tracks in a crate.

yes, my searching trough real crates of vinyl is very visual... i look for album covers not a name or track or label.. in fact, i dont even know half of my collections names cuz i just grab the cover out of there becouse i know which songs are inside.

this would make perfectley sense.

and i would like to add, could the scrolling be magnified id the middle like searchin through your Dock on a Mac so that the selected album cover is bigger and better viewable and the rest is tiny.

could also display the selected album in the screen we use now in 1.7 but the size of it is not adjustable... hmm

I see several ways this could be implemented. I guess a browsing feature would be the most obvious one? Like Soulsonica I really enjoy selecting my tracks from visual cues. It's just the habbit I've developed over the years spinning LP's & 12”s. For me at least, being able to browse the “acutal” albums would probably make me more creative out on a gig...

For this to work and be stable, I guess serato needs to prebuild the icons to a certain optimized size, most likely in the build overviews function, while the hardware is disconnected. I think SSL would be best of NOT doing it in a fancy “iTunes-Style”, as this probably would slow the interface down and create to much load on the system.

For the layout it would be nice to have the option between a horisontal and vertical split.

Vertical:
farm1.static.flickr.com
farm1.static.flickr.com

Horisontal:
farm1.static.flickr.com
farm1.static.flickr.com

For the loaded decks it would be nice to have the artwort AND the name of the album. Someone suggested to have this on the spinning platter, but I think that would obstruct pitch, bpm, cues and color coding info.

This type of browsing really only makes sense when either sorting by artist or album. If people assign different pictures to songs for the same album, I guess they really need to think about how they organize their music? Then maybe this feature is not for them.

When It comes to how to select all of this strictly using vinyl, I guess that need some rethinking. Maybe 2 different selection tracks at the end of the vinyl?

This is just my thoughts on this issue. It would be nice to hear what you people think? As I understand Serato is working on the video version, and I guess video selection presents a similar challenge?

Thanks for reading,
WarpNote

I'm repeating myself, but I'm just adding to the thread. this would be way cool, I remember my records more by the sleeve than actually by the name. So yes, this graphical use of artwork would help VERY much and make me feel more at home.

Serato is all about vinyl Emulation... Well, I think that feeling like you're going through you vinyls in your crates is a great part of that. It would approach the "real" thing since my memory works in a graphical way (if it works at all)


+1

as said in the other thread, and in a discussion I was having with some friends, I think that the cover artwork browse feature that is in iTunes is a good idea. I agree with EB, I grew up flipping through crates, and it would be cool to recreate that digitally somehow.

+1

Another mockup with iTunes style listview: farm2.static.flickr.com

So AJ, what you think about this type of coverart browsing? I guess there's different opionions about iTunes, but seems to me official serato policy is to make the 2 work together as smooth as posible? Would it slow down serato signinfically, or would it be possible to implement?
WarpNote

Glad to see so many others have the same idea. For me the covers are pretty much how i find my vinyl choons, can't remember all the names, only the pictures and the music. Find scratch a little less intuitve cause of this. I rekon theres plenty of room in the browser for an i-tunes cover flow style thing in the top third and the rest with track names, would be awesome, just like the real thing. Dunno how hard it would be to do this.

Another one who'd love to see Cover Flow for browsing.

ok guys fingas is rite the clip art will be doper than da list view, here why I had a long weekend of 4 days playing 5hr each nite an the list view was starting to kill my eyes, i started to think itunes have the sleave view an i use itunes so it would be cool if scratch live had such a view it all so help when scrolling for track where the name is in ya head be cant place it but you knw it if ya get me . so guys please look into putting in an option where ya can choose between views bless an keepon doing ya thing its being good over the years CrzzzD

+1 on the cover flow.

well, 5 years have passed since the first suggestion... I'm guessing they're not interested ;)

But yeah, it would be a cool idea :D

Oh, I do believe the do, I'm hoping 1.9 is the beginning of the implementation.

Ever since I first got SSL Ive been wanting this. Since soulsonica.com came up with his sketch I've also done my own, Also, my ideas came from using Rapid Evolution farm1.static.flickr.com

1st installment
I was using a widescreen laptop at that time..
farm1.static.flickr.com (vertical left split)
farm1.static.flickr.com (vertical right split)
farm1.static.flickr.com (horisontal top split)
farm1.static.flickr.com (horisontal bottom split)

2nd installment
People thought you would need a large screen, not so:
www.flickr.com (List view, like iTunes)
www.flickr.com (horisontal top split)
www.flickr.com (vertical left split)

3rd installment
I made some mockups for netbook resolution to further prove my point, also using library zoom:
www.flickr.com (Small Icons/Artwork, zoom level 1)
www.flickr.com (Medium Icons/Artwork zoom level 2)
www.flickr.com (Large Icons/Artwork zoom level 3)

Keep begging and I believe they will eventually deliver it...
Also, I guess you've seen the other thread about this -> www.scratchlive.net

Bump > soulsonica.com

This interface looks amazing, and I know that when I'm trying to put together music for a mix, I end up listening through iTunes, making a playlist and letting Serato import that because I've been used to picking my music visually through the album art. So to have a view where I could do this in the offline SSL mode as well as live when trying to create a mix would be incredible. It is literally the only feature that I want, that is short of making SSL IMHO perfect.

This has to get implemented!!

As many others have said in this thread, I remember 99% of my vinyl by sight (cover/label art), not by track names.

This can't be that difficult to implement Serato?

they're working on it

+1
I find it hard to associate track names and artists to the track itself, but spotting a cover brings it right back to me.

It would mean a lot less squinting at the list too.

Begging like a hungry dog.
+1
Also posted in a seperate thread, longer and wider scroll bars instead of little dots.
Similar to typical windows scroll bars.

Adjustable bpm information according to platter speed up in the album art / title section instead of the static base bpm information.

+1

+1

Guys, add you preference/comments to scratchlive.net
It's about the exact same thing, but it has a lot more posts (But more to show interest is always better :o)

Well it seems that they have done the loaded track part... what about the creats.. is there any ETA as too when it may come out or if they are even looking at it?

This visual creat feature that would be just left or right of the actual track would be key for my full move to digital... don't get me wrong I will always love my "Black Crack" (vinyl) But I deffently could use help sorting through all that new stuff that I have added to my collectin via digital :)

COME ON SERATO... lets make it happen :)

As i'm sure many of you have done the transition from Vinyl to Digital and there is no better way to get it done than with Serato... Hands Down. I guess the issue i'm still having is that I just have way too much music and for me, a Visual person, would love to be able to reference a lable cover (album Cover) while i'm searching for that special fit (Track).

Starting off for the first 4 years djing with vinyl I had unfortunatly relied a little too much on what the record/cover/lable looked like and not as much on what the track was called. No excuses just my own issues.. LOL

MY QUESTION IS.. (finally) Is or will serato look at putting "art on deck" feature in the crates... I feel this would seriously help us vinyl heads and long time partiers move smother and quicker into the digital world, since i'm sure for many of us Memorization is not always our strong suit ;)

PLEASE HELP THE SORTING BRAIN FREEZE!

Best Regards
StatixXx

Your opinions, needs, and questions regarding true browsable cover art are shared by many SL users StatixXx - please add your messages to this thread scratchlive.net (as Evil_Banana noted, it's probably the largest one covering this topic).

PLEASE increase the size of the artwork in player and browsing window.
being an old school Dj and used to playing with real records. I have trained my mind to use visual recall.In the club dark lighting situations combned with drinks make reading small text difficult. I can look at an album sleeve and hear 4 bars in my mind for the track.Having Artwork and Vinyl control is why I have chosen Serrato. And I do have the artwork in the Id3 of every mp3 i play out.

Seriously, this would be the best thing to happen to Scratch. As most DJ's come from an environment of flicking through a crate to pick a tune and then, to use Scratch, have to pick a tune by it's name/artist, I thought this would be top of the list for Serato to implement.

Just like iTunes cover flow.

Stop faffing about, do it!

dudes.... i started this thread in 2004....

u kidding me?

Serato almost got there, but just almost. I use library list view at the smallest setting myself these days. Not optimal, but does the job for now. I'm gonna try to present this in the SDJ feature suggestion area, and hope the idea catches on.

serato.com

Big ups WarpNote.

Actually what this sounds like to me is the "Linking Files to each other" suggestion. Or the way I would like to see it "Embedded Crates" serato.com

If you could place a Subcrate within the Files Window you could 'group or link' all whatever songs you want together yet within a playlist.

Then all we would need for this suggestion is to let that crate be seen as a cover art.

So, you could group an entire album into a subcrate, and place that crate into the File Window, assign the art - and there you go.

I guess that would make a lot of crates Akiem,
sadly SSL gets sluggish and unstable with huge amounts of crates.

well it shouldn't tho