JPEG vs. BPG - what are the differences?
The new BPG image format is to replace the previously known JPEG file format. In this practical tip, we will show you what the differences between the two formats are.
JPEG competitor: the image format BPG
Whether with digital cameras, image processing programs or on the web: Images are usually saved in JPEG format. The software developer Fabrice Bellard has presented an alternative to the JPEG format. The new compression format Better Portable Graphics (BPG) is intended to replace the old JPEG image format. It offers some qualities that clearly stand out from the classic JPEG.
- Compression: Due to a high compression rate, compression artifacts occur in JPEG images - the photos appear pixelated. Since the BPG format supports a larger color space, the artifacts are reduced to a minimum.
- Display in the browser: A JPEG image is rendered directly in the web browser. Most browsers require a small JavaScript decoder of approximately 250 kilobytes for a BPG image. This allows you to display images in the browser without having to install plugins.
- Codec: In contrast to the JPEG format, BPG uses a video codec - x265. This codec is the open source implementation of HEVC / H.265, which has become a standard of high definition video.
- File size: At half the file size, BPG achieves the same image quality as a full-size JPEG image.
- Color channels: JPEG is not able to display transparent backgrounds. Due to the higher color depth, BPG has an alpha channel that stores the transparency of the pixels in each pixel.
- Color depth: The JPEG format supports a maximum of 8 bits per channel, which corresponds to the RGB color space. In theory, this supports approximately 16.7 million color options. With the H.265 codec, the BPG format can render 14 bits per channel. For comparison, you have about 4.4 trillion color options there.
The next practical tip will tell you how to convert PDF to JPG online.