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Album Artwork in BitDek

Album artwork makes your library visual. BitDek finds artwork embedded in your audio files and stored alongside them in folders. This guide explains how artwork discovery works and how to organize your images for best results.

How BitDek Finds Artwork

Section titled “How BitDek Finds Artwork”

BitDek looks for artwork in two places, in order:

  1. Embedded artwork - Images stored inside the audio file itself
  2. Folder artwork - Image files in the same directory as the audio

If both exist, embedded artwork takes priority.

Embedded Artwork

Section titled “Embedded Artwork”

Most audio formats support storing images directly inside the file.

FLAC: Uses PICTURE blocks. Supports multiple images (front cover, back cover, etc.). BitDek extracts the front cover.

MP3: Uses APIC frames in ID3 tags. Supports multiple images with type designations.

M4A/AAC: Uses the covr atom. Full iTunes artwork support.

WAV/AIFF: Limited embedded artwork support. Varies by file.

Advantages of Embedded Artwork

Section titled “Advantages of Embedded Artwork”
  • Artwork travels with the file
  • No missing images when moving files between devices
  • Single file contains everything needed

Disadvantages

Section titled “Disadvantages”
  • Increases file size (typically 200KB-2MB per file)
  • Same image stored repeatedly across an album’s tracks
  • Requires re-embedding to change artwork

Folder Artwork

Section titled “Folder Artwork”

When no embedded artwork exists, BitDek searches the audio file’s directory for image files.

Naming Priority

Section titled “Naming Priority”

BitDek looks for these filenames, in order:

  1. cover.jpg, cover.jpeg, cover.png
  2. folder.jpg, folder.jpeg, folder.png
  3. front.jpg, front.jpeg, front.png
  4. album.jpg, album.jpeg, album.png
  5. artwork.jpg, artwork.jpeg, artwork.png
  6. Any other .jpg, .jpeg, or .png file

Filename matching is case-insensitive. Cover.JPG matches cover.jpg.

Section titled “Recommended Approach”

Use cover.jpg in each album folder. This is the most common convention and ensures consistent discovery across different music software.

/Music/Pink Floyd/Dark Side of the Moon/
    cover.jpg
    01 - Speak to Me.flac
    02 - Breathe.flac
    ...

Multiple Images in a Folder

Section titled “Multiple Images in a Folder”

If a folder contains multiple image files and none match the priority names, BitDek uses the first one found (alphabetically by filename).

To control which image is used, rename your preferred image to cover.jpg.

WiFi Transfer Artwork

Section titled “WiFi Transfer Artwork”

When uploading music through BitDek’s WiFi Transfer feature, you can include artwork in your uploads.

Folder uploads: Include cover.jpg in each album folder. BitDek discovers it automatically.

Drag-and-drop: Upload the image file along with the audio files. BitDek associates images with tracks from the same upload batch.

The WiFi Transfer interface shows artwork alongside your uploaded tracks once association completes.

Artist Artwork

Section titled “Artist Artwork”

Beyond album covers, BitDek also displays artist images. These are fetched automatically from TheAudioDB for album artists in your library.

How it works:

  1. After import completes, BitDek identifies album artists
  2. For each album artist without artwork, BitDek queries TheAudioDB
  3. Artist images are downloaded and cached locally

Requirements:

  • Internet connection (for initial fetch)
  • Artist name must match TheAudioDB’s database

You cannot manually set artist artwork. TheAudioDB lookups happen automatically.

Image Specifications

Section titled “Image Specifications”
Section titled “Recommended Dimensions”
UseMinimumRecommendedMaximum
Album artwork300×3001000×10003000×3000
Embedded images300×300500×5001000×1000

Larger images look better on high-resolution displays. Smaller images load faster.

File Formats

Section titled “File Formats”
  • JPEG - Best for photographs (most album art). Smaller files, slight quality loss.
  • PNG - Best for graphics with solid colors or transparency. Larger files, no quality loss.

BitDek supports both. For album artwork, JPEG is typically the better choice.

File Size

Section titled “File Size”

Keep embedded images under 1MB for reasonable file sizes. A 500×500 JPEG at 80% quality is typically 50-150KB.

For folder artwork, file size matters less. You can use higher resolution images without affecting audio file sizes.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Missing Artwork

Section titled “Missing Artwork”

If artwork doesn’t appear:

  1. Check embedded artwork - Open the file in a tagging tool and verify the image exists
  2. Check folder artwork - Verify an image file exists in the same directory
  3. Check filename - Use standard names like cover.jpg
  4. Check format - Use .jpg, .jpeg, or .png extensions

Wrong Artwork Appearing

Section titled “Wrong Artwork Appearing”

If the wrong image shows:

  1. Embedded takes priority - If embedded artwork exists, folder artwork is ignored
  2. First match wins - If multiple images exist, check priority order
  3. Re-import may help - Delete the album from BitDek and re-import

Artwork for Compilations

Section titled “Artwork for Compilations”

Compilation albums work the same as regular albums. A single cover.jpg in the compilation folder serves all tracks.

If tracks have individual embedded artwork (common on compilations), those images are used per-track. Album-level artwork uses the first track’s embedded image or the folder image.

Organizing Your Artwork

Section titled “Organizing Your Artwork”

Simple Approach

Section titled “Simple Approach”

One cover.jpg per album folder. No embedded artwork.

/Music/
    Artist/
        Album/
            cover.jpg
            track1.flac
            track2.flac

Pros: Small file sizes, easy to change artwork Cons: Artwork lost if files moved without folder

Embedded Approach

Section titled “Embedded Approach”

Embed artwork in every audio file. No folder images.

Pros: Portable, self-contained files Cons: Larger files, harder to update

Belt and Suspenders

Section titled “Belt and Suspenders”

Embed artwork AND keep folder images.

Pros: Works everywhere, flexible Cons: Slightly redundant storage

Recommendation

Section titled “Recommendation”

For local collections managed through BitDek, folder-based artwork with cover.jpg works well. If you frequently move individual files between devices or apps, embedded artwork provides better portability.

Technical Details

Section titled “Technical Details”

FLAC PICTURE Blocks

Section titled “FLAC PICTURE Blocks”

FLAC stores images in PICTURE metadata blocks. Each block includes:

  • Picture type (3 = front cover, 4 = back cover, etc.)
  • MIME type (image/jpeg, image/png)
  • Description (optional)
  • Image data

BitDek extracts type 3 (front cover) by preference, falling back to any available image.

ID3 APIC Frames

Section titled “ID3 APIC Frames”

MP3 stores images in APIC frames with:

  • Text encoding
  • MIME type
  • Picture type (same codes as FLAC)
  • Description
  • Image data

Multiple APIC frames can exist. BitDek prefers front cover type.

M4A Atoms

Section titled “M4A Atoms”

M4A uses the covr atom which stores:

  • Image format flag (JPEG or PNG)
  • Image data

Simpler than FLAC/MP3, but less metadata about image type.

Further Reading

Section titled “Further Reading”