Image MIME Reference
Sealed-PNG
SealedMedia Portable Network Graphics
image/vnd.sealed.png
VS
WebP Image
image/webp
WebP
A complete technical comparison of SealedMedia Portable Network Graphics and WebP Image — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.
WebP wins on browser support
Feature Support
| Feature | Sealed-PNG | WebP |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency (Alpha) | ✕ No | Yes |
| Animation Support | ✕ No | Yes |
| Progressive Loading | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| HDR Support | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| EXIF Metadata | ✕ No | Yes |
| ICC Color Profile | ✕ No | Yes |
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)
WebP Image
image/webp
Extension
.webp
Container
RIFF
Compression
Lossy / Lossless
Algorithm
VP8VP8L
Color Depth
8-bit
Developed by
Google
Released
2010
Magic Bytes
52 49 46 46 XX XX XX XX 57 45 42 50
Browser Support Comparison
| Browser | Sealed-PNG | WebP |
|---|---|---|
|
|
✕ |
✓ 32+
|
|
|
✕ |
✓ 65+
|
|
|
✕ |
✓ 14+
|
|
|
✕ |
✓ 18+
|
|
|
✕ | ✕ |
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
WebP
WebP Strengths
- Superior lossy compression — 25–35% smaller than JPEG at equivalent quality
- Supports both animation and full alpha transparency
- Lossless mode available with smaller file sizes than PNG
Limitations
- Slower encoding than JPEG, especially for lossless
- Not supported in Internet Explorer or very old browsers
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
WebP
Use WebP when…
- Websites
- Ecommerce
- Mobile Apps
- CMS Images