[ashlar]

so here's what i suggest -
 

1. backup the entire kodi userdata folder (!)
   
   
2. perform step 1 again (or not, just reiterating its importance)
   
   
3. rename (dont delete) the "Thumbnails" folder -> Thumbnails.old or some such
   
   
4. rename (dont delete) the Textures.db file
   
   
5. open kodi, change the source's content to None
   
   
6. when it asks to remove from library SAY NO
   
   
7. change the content back to what it was before
   
   
8. when it asks to rescan the content SAY YES
   
   

this should refresh your content with new artwork urls, without obliterating the database, without individual refresh per item

put your desired artwork level into the advancedsettings.xml before the refresh so you get the higher quality artwork

First of all, thank you for looking into this. I confirm you interpreted the scenario correctly. You decribed the situation correctly.

I had done a full userdata backup before using the tool. So I am currently with a fully populated database (but with lower res artwork and artwork cached using the old scaling algorithm). Meaning, basically, I can start from scratch, as if this tool hadn't ever been used on my db.

Now, I've read the quoted procedure and I'm not sure I understand how it would differ from a full rescan. The only thing I can think of is that, by following it, I will end up with Kodi not rescraping the "text based" metadata but just the artwork material which I have removed by renaming the texture db (where URLs are saved) and thumbs folder (whose content is the actual cached artworks, right?).

Is my interpretation correct? I will test this. Thanks a lot, once more, for trying to help.