DDS to PNG Converter

Encoding: the DDS uses block compression (BC1 to BC7, also called DXT) or uncompressed RGBA; PNG uses lossless DEFLATE with a prediction filter chosen per row, and the download is a lossless 8-bit PNG with full alpha.

Bit depth: 8 bits per channel for common texture formats in the DDS; PNG allows 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bits per channel, and the PNG written here has 8 bits per channel.

Colour: RGB(A); normal maps and packed masks store data rather than colour in the DDS; PNG supports RGB, greyscale, or an indexed palette of up to 256 colours, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the DDS stores it as alpha inside the compressed blocks (BC2, BC3, BC7) or a 1-bit cut-out (BC1); the PNG keeps it as a full alpha channel, so edges and shadows can fade smoothly.

Other images: the DDS can hold mipmaps, cubemap faces or texture arrays; only the main image is converted.

Metadata: the DDS can carry a 128-byte header (plus a DX10 header) describing the pixel format, nothing about the picture; PNG can carry text chunks, an ICC profile, physical resolution and EXIF in an eXIf chunk, but nothing is copied across.

DDS is a GPU texture format used by DirectX games. It stores block-compressed textures (DXT/BC) and mipmaps that graphics cards decode directly.

A DDS file starts with 'DDS ' and a 124-byte header giving the size, mipmap count and pixel format: a FourCC such as DXT1 or DXT5, or 'DX10' followed by an extra header naming a DXGI format. The largest mipmap comes first.

DDS files usually come from DirectX games, game mods and texture tools such as NVIDIA Texture Tools and Intel's texture plugin.

PNG stores pixels losslessly with full alpha transparency. It is ideal for screenshots, logos, UI and anything with sharp edges, but photos saved as PNG are several times larger than JPEG.

A PNG opens with an 8-byte signature and is a chain of chunks, each with its own CRC: IHDR (size, depth, colour type), optional PLTE and tRNS for palettes, one or more IDAT chunks with the compressed rows, and IEND.

PNG is the better choice for screenshots, logos, graphics and anything that needs transparency, while DDS suits game textures and mods.

PNG strengths: Lossless: no quality loss, ever; Full transparency with smooth edges; Perfect for text, screenshots and graphics. Drawbacks to weigh: Large files for photographs; No standard animation (that is APNG).