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Image MIME Reference
TGA

Truevision TGA (Legacy MIME Alias)

image/x-tga
VS

Windows Metafile

image/x-wmf
WMF

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

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature TGA WMF
Transparency (Alpha) Yes Yes
Animation Support ✕ No ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support ✕ No ✕ No
EXIF Metadata ✕ No ✕ No
ICC Color Profile ✕ No ✕ No
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 →
Windows Metafile
image/x-wmf
Extension
.wmf.emf
Container Windows GDI Metafile Command Stream
Compression Uncompressed (Command Stream)
Algorithm
None
Color Depth Varies based on GDI rendering engine
Developed by Microsoft Corporation
Released 1990
Magic Bytes
D7 CD C6 9A (Aldus Placeable Metafile Header) or 01 00 09 00 (Standard WMF Header)
Full WMF reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser TGA WMF
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕
✓
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
WMF

WMF Strengths

  • Infinitely scalable vector format that remains remarkably compact for simple geometric illustrations and charts
  • Historically served as a seamless conduit for copying and pasting vector graphics between disparate Windows applications via the system clipboard
Limitations
  • Notoriously plagued by historic security vulnerabilities, making raw WMF parsing a vector for exploits in legacy software
  • Completely obsolete and unsupported in modern web environments (browsers cannot render them)
  • Strictly tied to the Windows GDI architecture, making cross-platform rendering inconsistent across Linux and macOS

When to choose which format

TGA
Use TGA when…
  • Video Game 3D Textures and Materials
  • 3D Rendering and Animation Sequences
  • Legacy Video Production Workflows
WMF
Use WMF when…
  • Legacy Microsoft Office Clip Art and Icons
  • Windows GDI Graphics Export
  • Early Windows Desktop Publishing

More comparisons

TGA vs ACES → WMF vs ACES → TGA vs APNG → WMF vs APNG → TGA vs AVCI → WMF vs AVCI → TGA vs AVCS → WMF vs AVCS → TGA vs AVIF → WMF vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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