Image MIME Reference
EDMICS-RLC
Fuji Xerox EDMICS-RLC
image/vnd.fujixerox.edmics-rlc
VS
RealNetworks RealFlash
image/vnd.rn-realflash
RealFlash
A complete technical comparison of Fuji Xerox EDMICS-RLC and RealNetworks RealFlash — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.
Equal browser support
Feature Support
| Feature | EDMICS-RLC | RealFlash |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency (Alpha) | ✕ No | Yes |
| Animation Support | ✕ No | Yes |
| Progressive Loading | ✕ No | Yes |
| HDR Support | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| EXIF Metadata | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| ICC Color Profile | ✕ No | ✕ No |
Fuji Xerox EDMICS-RLC
image/vnd.fujixerox.edmics-rlc
Extension
.rlc.edm
Container
Fuji Xerox EDMICS Wrapper
Compression
Run-Length Coding (RLC / RLE)
Algorithm
Run-Length Coding (RLC)
Color Depth
1-bit (Monochrome), 8-bit (Grayscale)
Developed by
Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
Released
1990s
Magic Bytes
Unknown (Proprietary Container)
RealNetworks RealFlash
image/vnd.rn-realflash
Extension
Container
RealMedia / SWF
Compression
Vector (Flash) / RealAudio Compression
Algorithm
Macromedia Vector CompressionDeflate (Zlib)
Color Depth
8-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit
Developed by
RealNetworks & Macromedia
Released
1997
Magic Bytes
46 57 53 (FWS - Standard Flash) or 2E 52 4D 46 (.RMF - RealMedia Container)
Browser Support Comparison
| Browser | EDMICS-RLC | RealFlash |
|---|---|---|
Chrome
|
✕ | ✕ |
Firefox
|
✕ | ✕ |
Safari
|
✕ | ✕ |
Edge
|
✕ | ✕ |
IE (Legacy)
|
✕ | ✕ |
EDMICS-RLC
EDMICS-RLC Strengths
- Simple, computationally inexpensive Run-Length Coding enabled rapid compression and decompression on low-power legacy hardware
- Deeply integrated into Fuji Xerox enterprise hardware for seamless, automated scan-to-archive workflows
Limitations
- Completely proprietary and closed-source, making modern archival extraction and migration extremely difficult
- No support in modern image processing libraries like ImageMagick, libvips, or standard viewers without bespoke decoding tools
- RLC compression is far less efficient than modern algorithms like PNG (Deflate) for complex documents
RealFlash
RealFlash Strengths
- Allowed complex, interactive vector animations to stream smoothly over 28.8k dial-up modems
- Perfectly synchronized streaming audio with timeline-based animations, which was revolutionary in 1997
Limitations
- Heavily reliant on proprietary browser plugins (RealPlayer), which were notoriously bloated
- Completely obsolete and unsupported on the modern web
- Tightly coupled server-client architecture required expensive RealServer licenses to host
When to choose which format
EDMICS-RLC
Use EDMICS-RLC when…
- Fuji Xerox EDMICS Enterprise Systems
- Archival of Scanned Engineering Documents
- Legacy Corporate Scanning Pipelines
RealFlash
Use RealFlash when…
- Historical Dial-up Web Animation
- Late-1990s Interactive Music Videos
- Streaming Vector Graphics