Free webp to jpg
EN
Image MIME Reference
APNG

Animated Portable Network Graphics

image/vnd.mozilla.apng
VS

Kodak KDC Raw Image

image/x-kodak-kdc
Kodak-KDC

A complete technical comparison of Animated Portable Network Graphics and Kodak KDC Raw Image — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

APNG wins on browser support

Feature Support

Feature APNG Kodak-KDC
Transparency (Alpha) Yes ✕ No
Animation Support Yes ✕ No
Progressive Loading Yes ✕ No
HDR Support ✕ No Yes
EXIF Metadata Yes Yes
ICC Color Profile Yes Yes
Animated Portable Network Graphics
image/vnd.mozilla.apng
Extension
.apng.png
Container PNG Chunk Stream
Compression Deflate (Lossless)
Algorithm
Deflate (zlib)
Color Depth 8-bit (Indexed), 24-bit (TrueColor), 32-bit (RGBA)
Developed by Mozilla Corporation (Stuart Parmenter & Vladimir Vukićević)
Released 2004
Magic Bytes
89 50 4E 47 0D 0A 1A 0A
Full APNG reference →
Kodak KDC Raw Image
image/x-kodak-kdc
Extension
.kdc
Container TIFF/EP
Compression Uncompressed / Proprietary Lossless
Algorithm
NoneLossless JPEG (ITU-T81)Proprietary Kodak Compression
Color Depth 10-bit, 12-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by Eastman Kodak Company
Released 1995
Magic Bytes
49 49 2A 00 or 4D 4D 00 2A
Full Kodak-KDC reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser APNG Kodak-KDC
Chrome Chrome
✓ 59
 ✕
Firefox Firefox
✓ 3
 ✕
Safari Safari
✓ 8
 ✕
Edge Edge
✓ 79
 ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
APNG

APNG Strengths

  • Supports 8-bit alpha transparency, completely solving the ugly 'white halo' problem inherent to GIFs
  • Gracefully degrades; viewers that do not support APNG will render a perfectly valid, static PNG of the first frame
  • Provides lossless compression that retains absolute pixel-perfect quality for UI elements and line art
Limitations
  • Because it relies on lossless Deflate compression, file sizes for complex, video-like animations can be massive compared to lossy formats like WebP or AVIF
  • Was initially rejected by the official PNG group, delaying its adoption for nearly a decade
  • Lacks native hardware decoding acceleration, unlike video-based animated formats (like MP4 or WebM)
Kodak-KDC

Kodak-KDC Strengths

  • Preserves original raw sensor data, allowing modern demosaicing software to extract significantly more detail and dynamic range than the camera's built-in JPEG engine could at the time
  • Utilizes the standard TIFF container structure, ensuring broad compatibility with open-source decoding libraries (like LibRaw)
Limitations
  • Completely obsolete proprietary format tied to a defunct line of consumer digital cameras
  • Subject to widespread misidentification by automated MIME detection libraries due to structural similarities with standard TIFFs
  • Cannot be natively viewed in web browsers or standard operating system image viewers without specialized decoders

When to choose which format

APNG
Use APNG when…
  • High-Quality Web Animations
  • Stickers (Apple iMessage, LINE, Discord)
  • UI Loaders with Alpha Transparency
  • GIF Replacement
Kodak-KDC
Use Kodak-KDC when…
  • Vintage Digital Photography Archival
  • Kodak DC and EasyShare P-Series Raw Post-Processing
  • Historical Imaging Research

More comparisons

APNG vs ACES → Kodak-KDC vs ACES → APNG vs AVCI → Kodak-KDC vs AVCI → APNG vs AVCS → Kodak-KDC vs AVCS → APNG vs AVIF → Kodak-KDC vs AVIF → All comparisons →
Share this comparison