GIF to PCX Converter

Encoding: the GIF uses lossless LZW over a palette of at most 256 colours; PCX uses byte-wise run-length encoding, and the download is a run-length encoded PCX: 8-bit indexed when the image has 256 colours or fewer, otherwise 24-bit RGB.

Bit depth: 8 bits per pixel, as indexes into a palette in the GIF; PCX allows 1, 2, 4 or 8 bits per pixel with a palette, or 24-bit as three 8-bit planes, and the PCX written here has 8-bit indexed or 24-bit RGB.

Colour: an indexed palette of up to 256 colours per frame in the GIF; PCX supports a 16 or 256-colour palette, or 24-bit RGB, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the GIF stores it as one palette entry marked transparent, so each pixel is either fully shown or fully hidden; the PCX has none, so transparent areas are filled with the colour you choose.

Animation: image blocks with their own delay and disposal method, looped by the NETSCAPE2.0 extension; the PCX holds one image, so only the first frame is converted.

Metadata: the GIF can carry comment and application extension blocks, but no EXIF; PCX can carry only a 128-byte header with the resolution, but nothing is copied across.

GIF is the classic animated image format. It is limited to 256 colours per frame and 1-bit transparency, so photos look grainy and files are large, but it plays everywhere.

A GIF starts with 'GIF89a' (or the older 87a), a logical screen descriptor and an optional global colour table, then image blocks, each preceded by a graphic control extension that sets its delay and transparent colour.

GIF files usually come from reaction clips, memes, old websites and screen recordings.

PCX is the image format of ZSoft's PC Paintbrush, the standard for DOS paint programs, scanners and games before GIF and BMP took over. It compresses with a simple run-length scheme.

A PCX file has a 128-byte header (the byte 0x0A, version, encoding, bits per pixel, image window, DPI, a 16-colour palette and the number of colour planes), then RLE-compressed scanlines; 256-colour files end with the byte 0x0C and a 768-byte palette.

PCX is the better choice for DOS-era software, retro games and old fax or scanner tools, while GIF suits short animations and reactions that must play everywhere.

PCX strengths: Read by most legacy and modern viewers; Simple, lossless run-length compression. Drawbacks to weigh: Poor compression for photographs; No transparency; Obsolete outside retro software.