Do Kindle covers stretch to fit?

Stodder · 01-20-2014, 06:11 AM

Hi everyone :-)

I wanted to ask what happens if a Kindle loads an ebook with a small image cover (i.e. 800 x 600)? Does the image get stretched to fit?

I know the Kindle Fire has a high res screen that WAY exceeds 800x600. So does that mean that 800x600 pixel covers look teeny tiny on a Kindle Fire?

For reference sake, I use KindleGen to generate these books. The reason why I'm asking these questions is because I have a ton of books in the 800x600 size and I don't know how pressing it is for me to re-do them all in a high res size.

If the images scale to 100% on Kindle devices (Kindle DX, Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite), then I might not be bothered to upscale them all just yet.

Any help would be great, for I do not have Kindles.

Stodder

AcidWeb · 01-20-2014, 11:10 AM

The following statement applies only E-Ink Kindles.

On new models (that support displaying covers in library) covers are not read from a file but from Amazon cloud.
On older - covers are only displayed in two places. As very small thumbnail in book menu and as page of the book. In this case they are displayed in original size if possible. Otherwise they are downscaled.

Stodder · 01-21-2014, 08:25 AM

Thanks Acidweb :-)

So in other words, there's never a situation where an 800x600 cover would be tiny on a Kindle?

I wonder why Kindle Fire draws covers from the cloud even if they're in the file itself. Doesn't that drain unnecessary bandwidth from Amazon's servers? Seems weird...

Hitch · 01-22-2014, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stodder

Thanks Acidweb :-)

So in other words, there's never a situation where an 800x600 cover would be tiny on a Kindle?

I wonder why Kindle Fire draws covers from the cloud even if they're in the file itself. Doesn't that drain unnecessary bandwidth from Amazon's servers? Seems weird...

I wouldn't bet on it. I've seen 800x600 look pretty damn tiny. After all, consider the HDX (and, yes: this could be overridden by cloud-loads), which has a screen rez of 339ppi, or 2560x1600. Now, no matter what anyone says, a 600px wide cover on that screen would be ~ 2" wide. A little under. Again, IF the cloud-loads work, then it's nothing to worry about, but if we're talking about any other images...it's a problem.

Moreover, I'm not sure that all the Fires cloud-load, either. AFAIK, my KFire does not. I've had it...2 years? (I think, sorry, don't remember). Now, it only has a rez of 169, so 600 would still be fair-sized on it. My PMgr's (Len's) screen, though, is the 8.9" HD, and that's 254, 1920x1200. On that, a 600px would be ~half the screen.

Those are my thoughts. It's a never-ending juggling act.

Hitch

Stodder · 01-22-2014, 04:35 AM

Thanks for sharing that. Yes, it does seem crazy.

I am thinking of upscaling my covers but they push up the file size. Sigh. Which means I get charged more "delivery" by Amazon's KDP.

I don't want to compress more because I'm always wary about how future proof super compression is. Maybe I'm just paranoid though.

01-20-2014, 06:11 AM	#1
Stodder Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 12 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: ipad, kindle	Do Kindle covers stretch to fit? Hi everyone :-) I wanted to ask what happens if a Kindle loads an ebook with a small image cover (i.e. 800 x 600)? Does the image get stretched to fit? I know the Kindle Fire has a high res screen that WAY exceeds 800x600. So does that mean that 800x600 pixel covers look teeny tiny on a Kindle Fire? For reference sake, I use KindleGen to generate these books. The reason why I'm asking these questions is because I have a ton of books in the 800x600 size and I don't know how pressing it is for me to re-do them all in a high res size. If the images scale to 100% on Kindle devices (Kindle DX, Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite), then I might not be bothered to upscale them all just yet. Any help would be great, for I do not have Kindles. Stodder

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01-20-2014, 11:10 AM	#2
AcidWeb KCC Co-Author Posts: 845 Karma: 765434 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Poland Device: Kindle Oasis 2	The following statement applies only E-Ink Kindles. On new models (that support displaying covers in library) covers are not read from a file but from Amazon cloud. On older - covers are only displayed in two places. As very small thumbnail in book menu and as page of the book. In this case they are displayed in original size if possible. Otherwise they are downscaled.

01-21-2014, 08:25 AM	#3
Stodder Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 12 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: ipad, kindle	Thanks Acidweb :-) So in other words, there's never a situation where an 800x600 cover would be tiny on a Kindle? I wonder why Kindle Fire draws covers from the cloud even if they're in the file itself. Doesn't that drain unnecessary bandwidth from Amazon's servers? Seems weird...

01-22-2014, 04:35 AM	#5
Stodder Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 12 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: ipad, kindle	Thanks for sharing that. Yes, it does seem crazy. I am thinking of upscaling my covers but they push up the file size. Sigh. Which means I get charged more "delivery" by Amazon's KDP. I don't want to compress more because I'm always wary about how future proof super compression is. Maybe I'm just paranoid though.

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