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Image MIME Reference
Sony-SRF

Sony SRF Raw Image

image/x-sony-srf
VS

Truevision TGA (Legacy MIME Alias)

image/x-tga
TGA

A complete technical comparison of Sony SRF Raw Image and Truevision TGA (Legacy MIME Alias) — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature Sony-SRF TGA
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No Yes
Animation Support ✕ No ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes ✕ No
EXIF Metadata Yes ✕ No
ICC Color Profile Yes ✕ No
Sony SRF Raw Image
image/x-sony-srf
Extension
.srf
Container TIFF-based (Proprietary)
Compression Uncompressed
Algorithm
None
Color Depth 12-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by Sony Corporation
Released 2003
Magic Bytes
49 49 2A 00
Full Sony-SRF reference →
Truevision TGA (Legacy MIME Alias)
image/x-tga
Extension
.tga.icb.vda.vst
Container Truevision TGA Footer/Header
Compression Uncompressed / Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
Algorithm
NoneRLE
Color Depth 8-bit (Grayscale or Indexed), 16-bit (High Color), 24-bit (True Color), 32-bit (True Color with Alpha Channel)
Developed by Truevision Inc.
Released 1984
Magic Bytes
54 52 55 45 56 49 53 49 4F 4E 2D 58 46 49 4C 45 2E 00 (At the end of the file)
Full TGA reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Sony-SRF TGA
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Sony-SRF

Sony-SRF Strengths

  • Retains perfectly raw, unprocessed sensor data from legacy early-2000s cameras, allowing modern raw processors to extract much better dynamic range and color than the camera's original internal JPEG engine could
  • Utilizes a standard TIFF container structure, ensuring broad compatibility with community-maintained open-source decoding libraries like LibRaw
Limitations
  • Completely obsolete format that has long been abandoned in favor of ARW
  • MIME detection via magic bytes is unreliable due to TIFF header spoofing, requiring deeper EXIF inspection for accurate routing
  • Cannot be natively viewed in web browsers or standard operating system image viewers without specialized decoders
TGA

TGA Strengths

  • Incredibly simple byte layout allows developers to write custom loaders and exporters in a few dozen lines of code, bypassing the need for heavy external libraries
  • Native support for 8-bit alpha channels ensures flawless transparency masking for real-time 3D rendering
  • Fast, predictable RLE decoding requires almost no CPU overhead compared to DEFLATE (PNG) or DCT (JPEG)
Limitations
  • RLE compression is relatively weak by modern standards, resulting in large file sizes
  • Lacks a standard magic byte header at the beginning of the file, making file-sniffing unreliable for older v1.0 files
  • Zero support in web browsers; must be converted to PNG or WebP for web delivery

When to choose which format

Sony-SRF
Use Sony-SRF when…
  • Legacy Sony Cyber-shot Photography
  • Non-destructive Image Post-Processing
  • Early 2000s Raw Imaging Archival
TGA
Use TGA when…
  • Video Game 3D Textures and Materials
  • 3D Rendering and Animation Sequences
  • Legacy Video Production Workflows

More comparisons

Sony-SRF vs ACES → TGA vs ACES → Sony-SRF vs APNG → TGA vs APNG → Sony-SRF vs AVCI → TGA vs AVCI → Sony-SRF vs AVCS → TGA vs AVCS → Sony-SRF vs AVIF → TGA vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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