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What's the Difference between GIF and PNG?
Animated GIF vs. PNG File
By Kendra D. Mitchell | Mar 11,2020 17:00 pm
PNG and GIF are two different formats used for compressing files and using less space to store it. Although both are used for the same purposes, they are not the same. Not every file can be compressed/reduced by one format. They differ in many ways and functions. To know more about GIF and PNG formats, read further detailed information.
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Part 1. General Knowledge about GIF and PNG
What is GIF?
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) was developed in the 80s, but it is still very popularly used. It is a format file that uses the LZW algorithm to compress files; it works when LZW tracks the colors and reduces the file size. The format file is used widely all over the world due to its strong establishment as the default preference for simple graphics online. Although not being very advanced, it is still a very safe choice over PNG due to its natural uses, especially in writing QA Tips.
What is PNG?
PNG or Portable Network Graphics, developed in mid-1995 soon became very popular till 1998 after W3C strongly suggested it. It is an expandable file format for portable, well-compressed and lossless compression storage for graphics. PNG is a patentless format file, unlike GIF, with much more features like grayscale, true-color images and index-color, and an additional option of the alpha channel. PNG has better compression than that of GIF. PNG is not very acceptable by the old browsers of the web and also lacks support when it comes to transparency.
Comparison Chart
| Basis | PNG | GIF |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Portable Network Graphics | Graphics Interchange Format |
| Support for multipage | NO | YES |
| Support for transparency | YES | YES |
| Rastor/vector | Raster | Raster |
| Extendable | NO | Yes(GIF89a) |
| Interlacing Support | YES | YES |
| Support for layers | NO | YES |
| Indexed color | Yes (for 1 bit PNGs) | Yes |
| MIME type | image/PNG | image/GIF |
| Type of format | Raster graphics image format | raster graphics image format |
| Compression algorithm | Lossless DEFLATE compression algorithm | Lempel-Ziv-Wilch(LZW) |
| Uniform Type Identifier | public.png | com.compuserve.gif |
| Applications compatible | Most productivity series and web browsers | Most productivity series and Web browsers |
| Magic number | 89 50 4e 47 0d 0a 1a 0a | GIF87a/GIF89a |
| Support for animation | No | YES |
| File extensions | .png | .gif , .gfa |
| Color management | Support by including International Color Consortium space profiles | No |
| Patented | No | No |
| Support for metadata | Yes | Yes |
Part 2. GIF and PNG Converter for Windows/Mac
Wondershare UniConverter is a program with many features used for multiple uses. The primary goal of the converter is video conversion, achieved through powerful software. It claims to convert a video 30 times faster than other converters; it has been noted that this goal is not met with every conversion, but only the smaller ones with less or no significant settings. One hundred fifty-nine formats support device compatibility issues, and more are yet to come. People who are fond of big screens can find a 4K format which would help the massive conversion along with living streaming. You can have access to videos on your TV wireless once you connect your PC network to your chromecast, console or television; this will be an inexpensive approach for you.
- · Video conversion with thousands of supported formats with premium quality on relatively high speed.
- · Video editor with simple and easy steps to edit your video; also downloads any video in HD quality, from thousands of websites to run on any platform (TV, smartphone).
- · Provides DVD templates for free, DVD converter from any format to Blu-ray discs and DVD. Also helps in editing DVD files.
- · Transports and converts media to Android and Apple devices, external hard drives and USB drives incompatible formats.
- · Multi-purpose tool kit with image converter, GIF maker, video compressor, CD burner, screen recorder, and DVD converter.
How to Convert PNG to GIF in Wondershare UniConverter
Step 1. Download, install, and run the UniConverter.
Step 2. Click the "Toolbox" from the Menu Bar, then select the "GIF Maker-Photos to GIF" section.
Step 3. Upload PNG images and Click the "Create GIF".
Simple operation image conversion software is free to download now! Try Wondershare UniConverter for free!
Summary
Converters have proved a beneficial application to convert files from one format to another. But keep in mind that different videos support different formats while they are being transformed. The Wondershare Converter is customer-friendly software that can be used for almost all converters. In spite of its failure to convert media files 30 times faster, it is the best you could ask for. It is also compatible in connecting the videos to many devices so that you can watch them on any of them; a single converter does not generally offer features like these. So, it is doing a great job.
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