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Image MIME Reference
AVIF

AV1 Image File Format

image/avif
VS

JPEG 2000 Image (HEIF Container)

image/hej2k
HEJ2K

A complete technical comparison of AV1 Image File Format and JPEG 2000 Image (HEIF Container) — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

AVIF wins on browser support

Feature Support

Feature AVIF HEJ2K
Transparency (Alpha) Yes Yes
Animation Support Yes ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No Yes
HDR Support Yes Yes
EXIF Metadata Yes Yes
ICC Color Profile Yes Yes
AV1 Image File Format
image/avif
Extension
.avif
Container HEIF / ISOBMFF
Compression AV1 Lossy / AV1 Lossless
Algorithm
AV1
Color Depth 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit
Developed by Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia)
Released 2019
Magic Bytes
XX XX XX XX 66 74 79 70 61 76 69 66
Full AVIF reference →
JPEG 2000 Image (HEIF Container)
image/hej2k
Extension
.hej2
Container HEIF / ISOBMFF (ISO/IEC 15444-16)
Compression Lossy / Lossless
Algorithm
JPEG 2000HTJ2K
Color Depth 8-bit, 10-bit, 12-bit, 16-bit
Developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1 / ITU-T
Released 2019
Magic Bytes
XX XX XX XX 66 74 79 70 6A 32 6B 69
Full HEJ2K reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser AVIF HEJ2K
Chrome Chrome
✓ 85+
 ✕
Firefox Firefox
✓ 93+
 ✕
Safari Safari
✓ 16+
 ✕
Edge Edge
✓ 121+
 ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
AVIF

AVIF Strengths

  • Best-in-class compression — typically 20–50% smaller than WebP at equivalent quality
  • Native HDR and wide color gamut (BT.2020) support
  • Supports 8, 10, and 12-bit color depth
Limitations
  • Encoding is highly CPU-intensive — significantly slower than JPEG or WebP
  • Requires Edge 121+ (not supported in earlier Edge versions)
  • Limited support in native desktop image viewers
HEJ2K

HEJ2K Strengths

  • Brings the extensive capabilities of the HEIF container (like EXIF/XMP, thumbnails, and depth maps) to JPEG 2000
  • Supports mathematically lossless compression via wavelet transformation
  • High scalability and progressive decoding out of the box
Limitations
  • Extremely limited software support outside of niche industries
  • Zero native compatibility with web browsers
  • High computational complexity compared to simpler formats like JPEG or PNG

When to choose which format

AVIF
Use AVIF when…
  • Next-Gen Websites
  • HDR Photography
  • High-Quality Web Images
HEJ2K
Use HEJ2K when…
  • Medical Imaging
  • Geospatial Data
  • Scientific Archiving

More comparisons

AVIF vs ACES → HEJ2K vs ACES → AVIF vs APNG → HEJ2K vs APNG → AVIF vs AVCI → HEJ2K vs AVCI → AVIF vs AVCS → HEJ2K vs AVCS → All comparisons →
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