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Web Development & Graphic Design Problem Solving for Graphic Design, PHP, ASP, Perl, MySQL, SQL, XML, HTML issues |
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#1
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Must I go back to JPG?
Hi, I've been posting lots of strategy game screenshots in game websites (via Photobucket and Imageshack) for the past few years in JPG format, but recently I switched to PNG format because its much better definition.
But PNG pics seem to display much slower, or am I imagining it? Is there any way round it, or shall I switch back to JPG? Thanks |
#2
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How do the file sizes compare for identical images between the two formats? If you compress the jpg so it loads faster (smaller file size) you'll also lose quality.
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#3
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id stick with the png, there should'nt be too much difference in the load speed, ive never even noticed one
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#4
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Thanks for the suggestions guys, but as a fallback plan I might upgrade to a faster connection speed anyway because its cheaper than my current 2Mb speed package, (if I understand the AOL adviser properly) as english wasn't his first language..
He said - "I can offer you Broadband Wireless up to 8Mb with WiFi Router", but when I kept asking him to explain what 'wireless' and 'Wifi router' meant, he just kept saying stuff like "it depends on your requirements" without giving me straight answers, so I hung up, and he'll rate a big fat 'zero' on my next AOL feedback form..;) Anybody here at Cyber care to tell me about wireless and Wifi routers, like what are they? Thanks |
#5
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WEB Design 101
The Web has rules for handling images. Basically, they are: You should only use JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) and GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) images. Your image should be as small (in bytes) as possible. The smaller the file, the faster it loads. The resolution of your images should be 72 dpi (dots per inch). Follow these simple rules and you shouldn't have any problems with download and pageload times. |
#6
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Quote:
The best thing about png is it can replace gif and png gif is great due to the transparency abilities, but lacks quality big time. Png can be used transparent or with a BG color, and has the best quality available Jpg is ok too, but quality is still pretty low, and lacks transparency capabilities. Png is the all-around file format |
#7
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I agree. PNG is the best image format. The only issue with it is that IE does not support PNG24 well.
it's completely wrong to think gif and jpg are the only correct formats. Your web 101 class sucked |
#8
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Okay maybe we can work something out here, what do you think of this idea -
I can use JPG for images where pinsharp definition isn't all that necessary I can use GIF if I need slightly better definition I can use PNG if I need topnotch definition. Just to recap my original problem - I used to use PNG for everything, but it meant my images displayed very slowly at websites, (8 minutes or more for a typical page of 20 images as if they were slowly 'scanning' onto the screen in a series of horizontal strips) I've asked around, and some other people say they experience the same slowness when accessing my pics, yet other people say 'no slowness for me'. My AOL connection speed is 2Mb which I'm told should be fine, so i presume my middle-range PC is somehow to blame. So i'll try my mixed JPG/GIF/PNG approach which should help speed things up, right? One last thing - when saving as GIF, there are 2 check boxes - 'Save interlaced', and 'Save transparent colour'. Should I tick them or leave them empty? |
#9
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Quote:
I think you meant "gif and jpg" (not png). Quote:
Quote:
I agree that png files are superior in many ways but total png support is still some years away. In the meantime there are options. |
#10
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As for "interlaced" it's mostly preference in the way it's displayed as it loads. You should check the transparency box if your gif has transparency that you wish to retain. That should give you a prompt to set the color that you wish to be transparent . |
#11
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PNG has great support for transparency, don't u think so?
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#12
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There are two PNG formats PNG8 and PNG24. Both PNG formats support transparency. In general PNG8 is closer to a GIF format and PNG24 is closer to a JPG format + transparency.
IE supports PNG8 just fine. However, IE does not fully support PNG24. For this reason you need to be aware when you are using PNG24 that if there is transparency in the image, IE may not allow that transparency. IF there is no transparency in the image, then use JPG rather than PNG for full support from all browsers. PNG24 is by far the best image format in general. But because of the IE limitations it's not always feasible. And as rockboy points out it's the file size that is important. If an image is only 900 bytes in gif format and 120 kilobytes in PNG8 format, then it's best to go with gif provided the image looks good. |
#13
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According to the "World Almanac Book of Facts - 2008" Broadband users in the US is only 47%.
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#14
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isn't this file size difference too big? It really depends what you need, but my idea is to go with png's. Why? Because most people are using fast internet now and quality in getting important every day. Do you want that your visitors see crappy gif's on their brand new HD 150 inches screen?
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#15
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Format has little to do with speed issues. It's the file size that matters. Simply using png, gif, or jpg will NEVER automatically make a file larger.
When I create images for web sites I try all three formats. Whichever format gives me the best image at the smallest files size is what I use. The only caveat is I do not use PNG24 with transparency because IE will not support it. But if there is no transparency, I have no problem using PNG 24 for an image if the file size is good. For example, say you are saving an image. This image results in 4 different file sizes in each format: PNG8 = 14k PNG24 19k GIF = 10k JPG = 12k Imagine I know I need transparency for this image. In this case I only look at GIF and PNG8. I pick which format looks better and use that. I'm not concerned with the 4k file size difference because appearance with transparency is my primary concern. Now imagine the image does not contain transparency. The GIF looks choppy and terribly dithered. The PNG8 is not much better in appearance than the GIF but it's slightly better. The JPG and PNG24 look almost identical and of good quality. In this case I use the JPG because it's 7k smaller in file size. Every image is different. There are no hard and fast rules for which format to use for any image. The ONLY rule is if you need transparency it should be a GIF or PNG8. At least until IE catches up. The notion of "crappy images on a 150 HD screen" is backwards. The larger the screen the smaller the images get thus resulting in better quality for standard images. I run a 30" monitor set at 2560x1600 pixels - far larger than any HD TV screen is capable of generating. |
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