At a glance
| Tool | Runs on | Typical output | Useful when |
|---|---|---|---|
| ithmb.org | Modern browser | PNG | You want to preview and export locally without installing an app. |
| iThmb Converter | Windows PC | JPEG, PNG, BMP | You need a Windows app with broad iDevice index-file support. |
| File Juicer | macOS | TIFF for iTHMB photos | You prefer a Mac desktop utility that also extracts other file types. |
| Keith's iPod Photo Reader | Mac project; modern compatibility unverified | PICT | You want hands-on control of dimensions, offset and decoding. |
Features above reflect each project's published documentation. File coverage varies by iPod generation and cache profile; no converter can recreate detail absent from the stored thumbnail.
Which tool should you try?
For a quick local preview
Start with ithmb.org. Drop an .ithmb file or an iPod Photo Cache folder, inspect the decoded images, then download all or selected results as PNG. Processing happens in your browser. If automatic decoding looks wrong, try another mode in the preview screen. The format guide explains those modes.
For Windows and more iDevice index formats
iThmb Converter is a Windows application. Its documentation describes support for FXXXX and TXXX iTHMB files, DAT files, and index files including Photo Database, ArtworkDB and Photos.sqlite. That makes it a distinct option when your recovery set includes those indexes.
For a Mac desktop workflow
File Juicer extracts iTHMB images to TIFF and accepts files or folders. It is also a general file extraction utility. If you want to tune an older Mac decoder manually, Keith's iPod Photo Reader documents controls for dimensions, endian, encoding and offset.
Before you start
Copy the cache files off the device before experimenting. Keep the original .ithmb files and any Photo Database or related index files together. Extracted photos may be smaller than the originals because iPods stored display-sized copies.
Source documentation
ithmb.org is one of the tools compared here. Claims about the other tools are linked to their own documentation.