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> LZW is used in an obsolete graphic format called GIF Tell that to all the kids that 22 years later after this article, still use GIFs several times a day in

• sp332 4y ago
  Most chat apps convert GIFs to video formats like WEBM to save money. https://c.tenor.com/bD9vHNiR1rQAAAAd/boom-mind-blown.webm https://c.tenor.com/bD9vHNiR1rQAAAAd/boom-mind-blown.webm It also supports higher frame rates and more colors. Edit: A better comparison is https://c.tenor.com/3eIvVsG3yPYAAAPo/the-universe-tim-and-eric-mind-blown.mp4 https://c.tenor.com/3eIvVsG3yPYAAAPo/the-universe-tim-and-er... vs https://c.tenor.com/3eIvVsG3yPYAAAAd/the-universe-tim-and-eric-mind-blown.gif https://c.tenor.com/3eIvVsG3yPYAAAAd/the-universe-tim-and-er...
  • egfx 4y ago
    but not drag and drop most notably
  • naet 4y ago
    I work with GIFs sometimes still on production sites. I know Webm and other formats might be heavily recommended, but there are a ton of issues currently in the browser ecosystem with videos and autoplay rules (looking at iOS specifically as a major problem causer here...). Those issues can make webm/etc more trouble than they are worth unless you're operating at a really large scale, or you're willing to lose your animations for a decent percentage of users.
    • robertoandred 4y ago
      There's no autoplay issues on iOS, just make sure it's muted. It's the same rules as on Android.
      • naet 4y ago
        If an ios device is in low power mode it won't autoplay a muted video but it will display a gif.
    • chrismorgan 4y ago
      That videos might not autoplay is a feature. That I can’t stop GIFs from autoplaying without disabling playing at all is a bug. (One that I don’t expect to ever be fixed, or even widely acknowledged as a bug, but a bug nonetheless.)
      • nine_k 4y ago
        While I agree with you, the problem here as a lack of consistency between browsers, which leads to using the least common denominator from 1990s. Ideally all browsers should have uniform means to control animated graphics (allow or not autoplay, stop all or stop a particular one, etc), and a uniform way to show the intent (autoplay or not, play on hover, etc).
  • ki_ 4y ago
    for some reason, chrome network tab says they are both 6.4MB. or is that normal?
  • jjoonathan 4y ago
    It's lame but common for an app to support GIF but not WEBM as input while converting all GIF to WEBM behind the scenes.
  • banana_giraffe 4y ago
    Or it's just a GIF: $ wget "https://c.tenor.com/bD9vHNiR1rQAAAAd/boom-mind-blown.webm" --2022-08-12 09:39:06-- https://c.tenor.com/bD9vHNiR1rQAAAAd/boom-mind-blown.webm Resolving c.tenor.com (c.tenor.com)... 142.251.46.225 Connecting to c.tenor.com (c.tenor.com)|142.251.46.225|:443... connected. HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK Length: 6381102 (6.1M) [image/gif]
    • fragmede 4y ago
      The first url just returns GIF regardless of the extension given. https://c.tenor.com/bD9vHNiR1rQAAAAd/boom-mind-blown.asdf https://c.tenor.com/bD9vHNiR1rQAAAAd/boom-mind-blown.asdf is also a gif. The mp4 of it is at https://c.tenor.com/Oc4nf8N08jIAAAPo/mind-blow-galaxy.mp4 https://c.tenor.com/Oc4nf8N08jIAAAPo/mind-blow-galaxy.mp4, and is 12.1 MiB to the HD gif's 17 MiB (https://c.tenor.com/Oc4nf8N08jIAAAAC/mind-blow-galaxy.gif https://c.tenor.com/Oc4nf8N08jIAAAAC/mind-blow-galaxy.gif). As you noted, the SD gif is only 6.1 MiB.
  • robertoandred 4y ago
    There's nothing special about webm, it's just a video format. GIFs are also converted to MP4s.
• bombcar 4y ago
  Even now it’s still the most guaranteed to work on all systems and platforms, even if very space inefficient.
  • RodgerTheGreat 4y ago
    And if you optimize with something like gifsicle, you might be surprised at how small GIFs can wind up being: https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/ https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/
• kzrdude 4y ago
  The word GIF has actually expanded its meaning. It now (in chatting apps) just means animated picture even though it's not using that file format.