Image File types

This is a 500 by 500 pixel image, but instead of taking 750,000 bytes it takes only 9,000 bytes to store it as a GIF file.

A JPEG file uses a much more complex technique to compress images, like photographs, where the color of every pixel is different. A GIF file creates a perfect reproduction of the original, while a JPEG does not.

An animated GIF is a sequence of GIF files all bonded together and displayed one after the other. With enough panes, you can get very realistic animations.

An MPEG file uses a complex algorithm like a JPEG file does -- it tries to eliminate repetition between frames to significantly compress video information.

Shockwave provides a vector-based animation capability. Instead of specifying the color of every pixel, a Shockwave file specifies the coordinates of shapes (things like lines, rectangles, circles, etc.) as well as the color of each shape.