Graphics Interchange Format
lastmod 2024-05-24created 2021-10-083 edits
The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a bitmap graphics file format. It was released by CompuServe in 1987 and is also one of the most widely used file formats on the World Wide Web. Because it requires no special plug-in and is easy to use in many environments, it was widely used for things like banner ads using multi-frame animation, but many websites use Adobe Flash instead of GIF.
It is a lossless compression format that can store up to 256 colors. After it became known that Unisys held a patent on the LZW algorithm used in GIF, and as the 256-color limit came to feel restrictive, a new standard called PNG was developed.
GIF is pronounced "jif" (/dʒɪf/), "gif" (/ɡɪf/), or as the letters G-I-F. The author of the GIF format stated that it is pronounced "jif", but the "gif" pronunciation is still in use. Rotating earth (large).gif In Korea, people also call GIFs umjjal (short for "moving jjal", i.e. a moving meme image)
Categories
- hecate - Automagically generate thumbnails, animated GIFs, and summaries from videos
How to make one with FFmpeg
See FFmpeg:Tool#Converting to a good-resolution GIF for details.