Guide to supported photo & video formats
Discover the full list of still image formats, animations, and video containers natively supported by Pixora Viewer.
1. Supported image formats
Pixora Viewer takes advantage of hardware decoders built into Chromium, Gecko, and WebKit rendering engines to ensure instant, accurate color decoding.
JPEG / JPG (.jpg, .jpeg)
The most universal photography format. Full support for sRGB color profiles, Adobe RGB and EXIF orientation metadata.
PNG (.png)
Lossless compression format with transparent alpha channel. Ideal for graphics, screenshots and illustrations.
WebP (.webp)
Modern format developed by Google offering a 30% weight reduction at equal quality compared to JPEG, with animation support.
AVIF (.avif)
Based on the AV1 video codec, AVIF offers the best current quality/compression ratio, with support for 10-bit and 12-bit HDR.
GIF (.gif)
Continuous loop playback of animated GIF files without stuttering and with frame rate synchronization.
BMP, SVG, ICO
Support for uncompressed bitmaps, high-definition icons and infinitely resizable vector graphics. TIFF, a print and archiving format, is not decoded by web browsers: convert it to JPEG, PNG or WebP.
2. Video formats and codecs
Videos are played using hardware acceleration (GPU) to minimize battery usage and ensure smoothness at 60/120 frames per second.
| Container | Recommended Codecs | Maximum resolutions | Compatibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| MP4 (.mp4, .m4v) | H.264 (AVC) + AAC | Up to 8K Ultra HD | 100% Universal |
| MP4 / MOV (H.265) | H.265 (HEVC) + AAC | Up to 8K Ultra HD | Safari & Edge |
| WebM (.webm) | VP8, VP9, AV1 + Opus | Up to 4K 60fps | All browsers |
| MOV (.mov) | H.264 + AAC | Up to 4K | Chrome, Edge, Safari |
| MKV (.mkv) | H.264, VP9, AV1 + Opus | Up to 4K | Chrome & Firefox 145+ |
| AVI, WMV, FLV, MPEG-1/2 | — | — | Unsupported |
Browsers do not embed a universal video decoder: compatibility depends on your browser and the codecs it ships with. ProRes (Final Cut), AVI, WMV and FLV are not readable and are skipped automatically: convert them to MP4 (H.264) or WebM first.
The formats that genuinely raise questions
Some formats deserve more than a table row: their support depends on your browser version, and sometimes on the codec inside the file. These five pages detail what works, what fails, and why.
Opening an AVIF file
The most compressed format on the web. Supported by recent Chrome, Firefox and Safari, but not by 2020-2022 browsers.
Read the detailed page → WEBPOpening a WebP image
The best-supported format on the web. The real obstacle is usually the Windows preview, not the browser.
Read the detailed page → MKVPlaying an MKV file
Impossible in a browser for years, now possible on recent Chrome, Edge and Firefox — but never on Safari.
Read the detailed page → MOVPlaying a MOV file
The iPhone video container. Playable in H.264, problematic in H.265, and never in ProRes.
Read the detailed page → HEICConvert a HEIC to JPG
The iPhone photo format. No browser except Safari 17 will display it: converting a copy is the only option.
Read the detailed page →3. Comparison table: Which format should you choose for your photos?
| Format | Compression | Transparency | HDR / 10-bit | Recommended use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVIF | Max | Yes | Yes (HDR10) | Modern web galleries, high fidelity photos |
| WebP | High | Yes | No | Light and fast slideshows |
| JPEG | Standard | No | No (8-bit) | SLR camera photos, universal archives |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | No | Infographics, diagrams, logos |
4. Recommendations for maximum fluidity
- Choose the MP4 format (H.264 codec): It is the codec that benefits from the best hardware acceleration on almost all graphics chips (Intel UHD, Apple Silicon, Nvidia GeForce, AMD Radeon).
- Adapted image dimensions: For a 4K (3840x2160) screen, images between 2000px and 4000px wide offer surgical sharpness without unnecessarily consuming video memory.