Image MIME Reference
Sealed-PNG
SealedMedia Portable Network Graphics
image/vnd.sealed.png
VS
Silicon Graphics Image
image/x-rgb
SGI-RGB
A complete technical comparison of SealedMedia Portable Network Graphics and Silicon Graphics Image — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.
Equal browser support
Feature Support
| Feature | Sealed-PNG | SGI-RGB |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency (Alpha) | ✕ No | Yes |
| Animation Support | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Progressive Loading | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| HDR Support | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| EXIF Metadata | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| ICC Color Profile | ✕ No | ✕ No |
SealedMedia Portable Network Graphics
image/vnd.sealed.png
Extension
.spng.sealed-png
Container
SealedMedia / Oracle IRM Wrapper
Compression
Encrypted Payload (Deflate)
Algorithm
AES EncryptionDeflate (Internal PNG payload)
Color Depth
Encrypted Payload
Developed by
SealedMedia (Acquired by Oracle Corporation)
Released
Late 1990s / Early 2000s
Magic Bytes
Unknown (Proprietary SealedMedia Container)
Silicon Graphics Image
image/x-rgb
Extension
.rgb.sgi.rgba.bw.int.inta
Container
SGI Image Header (512 bytes)
Compression
Uncompressed / Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
Algorithm
NoneScanline RLE
Color Depth
8-bit (Per Channel), 16-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (Paul Haeberli)
Released
1988
Magic Bytes
01 DA
Browser Support Comparison
| Browser | Sealed-PNG | SGI-RGB |
|---|---|---|
|
|
✕ | ✕ |
|
|
✕ | ✕ |
|
|
✕ | ✕ |
|
|
✕ | ✕ |
|
|
✕ | ✕ |
Sealed-PNG
Sealed-PNG Strengths
- Provided absolute control over intellectual property, allowing enterprise administrators to instantly revoke viewing rights of a local file globally
- Detailed audit trails tracked exactly who opened the image, when, and from what IP address
Limitations
- Completely proprietary and relies on a central authentication server; if the server goes offline, the image is permanently inaccessible
- No support in modern operating systems, web browsers, or standard image editing software without installing heavy enterprise DRM clients
- Oracle effectively deprecated the IRM product line, leaving legacy sealed documents difficult to recover
SGI-RGB
SGI-RGB Strengths
- Supports 16-bit precision per channel and an embedded alpha channel, making it ideal for the demanding compositing workflows of 1990s cinema VFX
- The scanline-based RLE compression was exceptionally fast to decode on classic MIPS-based SGI workstations
- Features a straightforward 512-byte header, making it relatively easy to parse and write custom decoders in C or Python
Limitations
- Completely obsolete and unsupported in modern web environments
- Replaced entirely by TIFF, OpenEXR, and PNG in modern visual effects and 3D rendering pipelines
- Lacks support for modern color management via ICC profiles or advanced EXIF metadata
When to choose which format
Sealed-PNG
Use Sealed-PNG when…
- Enterprise Information Rights Management (IRM)
- Secure Corporate Intellectual Property Distribution
- Revocable Medical or Legal Imaging
SGI-RGB
Use SGI-RGB when…
- Legacy 3D Animation and VFX Textures
- Silicon Graphics IRIX Workstation Archival
- 1990s Medical Imaging