ART image file format
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ART is a proprietary image file format mostly used by the America Online® (AOL) client software. The ART format (file extension ".art") holds a single still image that has been highly compressed. Originally, the compression was developed by the Johnson-Grace Company which was then acquired by the AOL service. When an image is converted to the ART format, the image is analyzed and the software decides what compression technique would be best.[1] Internet Explorer used to be able to display ART images but now is no longer capable.
The AOL service can automatically convert images downloaded from the Internet to the ART format. This conversion reduces the downloading time for the image file. If you notice image display problems with the AOL web browser, see this America Online webmaster FAQ entry.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Johnson-Grace Company official Web site via the Internet Archive
- "Profile - Irving Reed": An article with information on the history of Johnson-Grace and the ART image compression.
- "Optimizing Web Graphics: Compression": A webreference.com article with technical details on the ART image format.
- Graphics Questions: An America Online webmaster FAQ entry on graphics display problems.
- U.S. Patent 5,682,152 Data compression using adaptive bit allocation and hybrid lossless entropy coding
- U.S. Patent 5,822,456 Optimal spline interpolation for image compression
- U.S. Patent 5,892,847 Method and apparatus for compressing images
