Image MIME Reference
FastBid
FastBid Sheet
image/vnd.fastbidsheet
VS
RealNetworks RealFlash
image/vnd.rn-realflash
RealFlash
A complete technical comparison of FastBid Sheet and RealNetworks RealFlash — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.
Equal browser support
Feature Support
| Feature | FastBid | 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 |
FastBid Sheet
image/vnd.fastbidsheet
Extension
.fbs
Container
Proprietary FastBid Container
Compression
Proprietary
Algorithm
Unknown
Color Depth
Unknown
Developed by
FastBid, Inc. (Scott Becker)
Released
Late 1990s
Magic Bytes
Unknown (Proprietary)
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 | FastBid | RealFlash |
|---|---|---|
Chrome
|
✕ | ✕ |
Firefox
|
✕ | ✕ |
Safari
|
✕ | ✕ |
Edge
|
✕ | ✕ |
IE (Legacy)
|
✕ | ✕ |
FastBid
FastBid Strengths
- Historically allowed the FastBid application to securely associate and load proprietary construction plans within its ecosystem
Limitations
- Completely obsolete and unsupported in modern software environments
- The official IANA registration of the .fbs extension causes widespread false positives, breaking modern parsers, text editors, and AI SDKs attempting to read FlatBuffers schemas
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
FastBid
Use FastBid when…
- Legacy Construction Blueprints
- FastBid Estimating Software
- Causing .fbs MIME Type Conflicts (FlatBuffers)
RealFlash
Use RealFlash when…
- Historical Dial-up Web Animation
- Late-1990s Interactive Music Videos
- Streaming Vector Graphics