Editing GIF (section)

==Alternatives==

===PNG===
[[Portable Network Graphics]] (PNG) was designed as a replacement for GIF in order to avoid infringement of Unisys' patent on the LZW compression technique.<ref name="PNG" /> PNG offers better compression and more features than GIF,<ref name="png_fea">{{cite web |title=PNG versus GIF Compression |date=31 March 2007 |url=http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/png/ |access-date=8 June 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715080828/http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/png/ |archive-date=15 July 2009}}</ref> animation being the only significant exception. PNG is more suitable than GIF in instances where true-color imaging and [[alpha transparency]] are required.

Although support for PNG format came slowly, new [[web browser]]s support PNG. Older versions of [[Internet Explorer]] do not support all features of PNG. Versions 6 and earlier do not support [[alpha channel]] transparency without using Microsoft-specific HTML extensions.<ref>{{cite web |title=AlphaImageLoader Filter |date=4 September 2012 |publisher=Microsoft |url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms532969(VS.85).aspx |access-date=26 May 2015 |archive-date=3 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003214847/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms532969(VS.85).aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> [[gamma correction|Gamma]] correction of PNG images was not supported before version 8, and the display of these images in earlier versions may have the wrong tint.<ref name="new_ie7">{{cite web |url= http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms649487%28VS.85%29.aspx |title= What's New in Internet Explorer 7 |work= [[MSDN]] |access-date= 6 March 2009 |archive-date= 1 March 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090301140032/http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms649487(VS.85).aspx |url-status= live }}<!--<on no gamma support--></ref>

For identical 8-bit (or lower) image data, PNG files are typically smaller than the equivalent GIFs, due to the more efficient compression techniques used in PNG encoding.<ref name="png_opt">{{cite web |title=PNG Image File Format |url=http://www.scantips.com/basics9p.html |access-date= 8 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614110627/http://www.scantips.com/basics9p.html |archive-date=14 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> Complete support for GIF is complicated chiefly by the complex canvas structure it allows, though this is what enables the compact animation features.

===Animation formats===
Videos resolve many issues that GIFs present through common usage on the web. They include drastically smaller [[file size]]s, the ability to surpass the [[8-bit color]] restriction, and better frame-handling and compression through [[Inter frame|inter-frame coding]]. Virtually universal support for the GIF format in [[web browser]]s and a lack of official support for video in the [[HTML]] standard caused GIF to rise to prominence for the purpose of displaying short video-like files on the web.

* [[Multiple-image Network Graphics|MNG]] ("Multiple-image Network Graphics") was originally developed as a PNG-based solution for animations. MNG reached version 1.0 in 2001, but few applications support it.
* [[Animated Portable Network Graphics|APNG]] ("Animated Portable Network Graphics") was proposed by [[Mozilla]] in 2006. APNG is an extension to the PNG format as alternative to the MNG format. APNG is supported by most browsers as of 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://caniuse.com/#feat=apng|title=Can I use... Support tables for HTML5, CSS3, etc|website=caniuse.com|access-date=10 April 2020|archive-date=19 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219074228/https://caniuse.com/#feat=apng|url-status=live}}</ref> APNG provides the ability to animate PNG files, while retaining backwards compatibility in decoders that cannot understand the animation chunk (unlike MNG). Older decoders will simply render the first frame of the animation.

: The PNG group officially rejected APNG as an official extension on 20 April 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=131482|title=VOTE FAILED: APNG 20070405a|publisher=[[SourceForge]] mailing list|date=2007-04-20|access-date=14 July 2013|archive-date=13 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213103632/http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=131482|url-status=live}}</ref>

: There have been several subsequent proposals for a simple animated graphics format based on PNG using several different approaches.<ref name="proposalcomparison">{{cite web |url=http://gjuyn.xs4all.nl/pnganim.html |title=Discussion for a simple "animated" PNG format |archive-date=2009-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226103407/http://gjuyn.xs4all.nl/pnganim.html |access-date=2011-07-12}}</ref> Nevertheless, APNG is still under development by Mozilla and is supported in [[Mozilla Firefox#Version 3.0|Firefox 3.0]]<ref name="APNG">{{cite web|url=https://wiki.mozilla.org/APNG_Specification|title=APNG Specification|access-date=26 May 2015|archive-date=5 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705233055/https://wiki.mozilla.org/APNG_Specification|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mozlabsapng">{{Cite web |url=https://blog.mozilla.org/labs/2007/08/better-animations-in-firefox-3/ |title=Mozilla Labs » Blog Archive » Better animations in Firefox 3<!-- Bot generated title --> |date=13 August 2007 |access-date=3 February 2016 |archive-date=7 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307093938/https://blog.mozilla.org/labs/2007/08/better-animations-in-firefox-3/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while MNG support was dropped.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=195280|title=195280 – Removal of MNG/JNG support|access-date=26 May 2015|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225102000/https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=195280|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=18574|title=18574 – (mng) restore support for MNG animation format and JNG image format|access-date=26 May 2015|archive-date=17 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210317013748/https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=18574|url-status=live}}</ref> APNG is currently supported by all major web browsers including Chrome (since version 59.0), Opera, Firefox and Edge.

* Embedded [[Adobe Flash]] objects and [[MPEG]] files were used on some websites to display simple video, but required the use of an additional browser plugin.
* [[WebM]] and [[WebP]] are in development and are supported by some web browsers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.chromium.org/2013/11/chrome-32-beta-animated-webp-images-and.html |title=Chromium Blog: Chrome 32 Beta: Animated WebP images and faster Chrome for Android touch input |publisher=Blog.chromium.org |date=2013-11-21 |access-date=2014-02-01 |archive-date=17 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717235844/https://blog.chromium.org/2013/11/chrome-32-beta-animated-webp-images-and.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Other options for web animation include serving individual frames using [[AJAX]], or animating [[Scalable vector graphics|SVG]] ("Scalable vector graphics") images using [[JavaScript]] or [[Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language|SMIL]] ("Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language").<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calou |first=Juan |title=SVG Animation - A Guide |website=Toptal |url=https://www.toptal.com/front-end/svg-animation-guide |access-date=March 15, 2024}}</ref>
* With the introduction of widespread support of the [[HTML video]] (<code><video></code>) tag in most web browsers, some websites use a looped version of the video tag generated. This gives the appearance of a GIF, but with the size and speed advantages of compressed video.

: Notable examples are [[Gfycat]] and [[Imgur]] and their GIFV metaformat, which is really a video tag playing a looped [[MP4]] or [[WebM]] compressed video.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://imgur.com/blog/2014/10/09/introducing-gifv/ |title=Introducing GIFV - Imgur Blog |publisher=imgur.com |date=2014-10-09 |access-date=2014-12-14 |archive-date=14 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214115941/http://imgur.com/blog/2014/10/09/introducing-gifv/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

* [[High Efficiency Image File Format|HEIF]] ("High Efficiency Image File Format") is an image file format, finalized in 2015, which uses a [[discrete cosine transform]] (DCT) [[lossy compression]] algorithm based on the [[HEVC]] video format, and related to the [[JPEG]] image format. In contrast to JPEG, HEIF supports animation.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomson |first1=Gavin |last2=Shah |first2=Athar |title=Introducing HEIF and HEVC |url=https://devstreaming-cdn.apple.com/videos/wwdc/2017/503i6plfvfi7o3222/503/503_introducing_heif_and_hevc.pdf |publisher=[[Apple Inc.]] |year=2017 |access-date=5 August 2019 |archive-date=19 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119034339/https://devstreaming-cdn.apple.com/videos/wwdc/2017/503i6plfvfi7o3222/503/503_introducing_heif_and_hevc.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

: Compared to the GIF format, which lacks DCT compression, HEIF allows significantly more efficient compression. HEIF stores more information and produces higher-quality animated images at a small fraction of an equivalent GIF's size.<ref>{{cite web |title=HEIF Comparison - High Efficiency Image File Format |url=https://nokiatech.github.io/heif/comparison.html |publisher=[[Nokia Technologies]] |access-date=5 August 2019 |archive-date=25 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725135250/http://nokiatech.github.io/heif/comparison.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

* [[VP9]] only supports [[alpha compositing]] with 4:2:0 [[chroma subsampling]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://trac.ffmpeg.org/ticket/3271?cversion=0&cnum_hist=3|title=#3271 (Allow using additional pixel formats with libvpx-vp9) – FFmpeg|website=trac.ffmpeg.org|access-date=10 April 2020|archive-date=16 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616041834/https://trac.ffmpeg.org/ticket/3271?cversion=0&cnum_hist=3|url-status=live}}</ref> which may be unsuitable for GIFs that combine transparency with [[rasterisation|rasterised]] [[vector graphics]] with fine color details.
* [[AV1]] video codec or [[AVIF]] can also be used either as a video or a sequenced image.

====Uses====
In April 2014, [[4chan]] added support for silent [[WebM]] videos that are under 3 MB in size and 2 min in length,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dewey|first1=Caitlin|title=Meet the technology that could make GIFs obsolete|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/04/08/meet-the-technology-that-could-make-gifs-obsolete/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=4 February 2015|archive-date=11 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511102846/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/04/08/meet-the-technology-that-could-make-gifs-obsolete/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=WebM support on 4chan|url=http://blog.4chan.org/post/81896300203/webm-support-on-4chan|publisher=[[4chan|4chan Blog]]|access-date=4 February 2015|archive-date=6 April 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140406171238/http://blog.4chan.org/post/81896300203/webm-support-on-4chan|url-status=live}}</ref> and in October 2014, [[Imgur]] started converting any GIF files uploaded to the site to [[H.264]] video and giving the link to the HTML player the appearance of an actual file with a <code>.gifv</code> extension.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2016-07-21|date=2014-08-09|title=Introducing GIFV|publisher=Imgur|url=http://blog.imgur.com/2014/10/09/introducing-gifv/|archive-date=5 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505012906/https://blog.imgur.com/2014/10/09/introducing-gifv/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Allan|first1=Patrick|title=Imgur Revamps GIFs for Faster Speeds and Higher Quality with GIFV|date=9 October 2014 |url=http://lifehacker.com/imgur-revamps-gifs-for-faster-speeds-and-higher-quality-1644494212|publisher=[[Lifehacker]]|access-date=4 February 2015|archive-date=3 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203080613/http://lifehacker.com/imgur-revamps-gifs-for-faster-speeds-and-higher-quality-1644494212|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2016, [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]] started re-encoding all GIFs to [[MPEG-4]] videos that "require up to 95% less disk space for the same image quality."<ref>{{cite web|title=GIF Revolution|url=https://telegram.org/blog/gif-revolution|website=Official Telegram Blog|date=4 January 2016|access-date=4 January 2016|archive-date=10 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110202119/https://telegram.org/blog/gif-revolution|url-status=live}}</ref>