heic2any vs heic-convert
HEIC Image Conversion Libraries Comparison
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What's HEIC Image Conversion Libraries?

HEIC image conversion libraries are specialized npm packages designed to handle the conversion of HEIC (High Efficiency Image Coding) files into more widely supported formats such as JPEG or PNG. These libraries are particularly useful for web developers working with images captured on Apple devices, which often use the HEIC format due to its superior compression capabilities. By utilizing these libraries, developers can ensure compatibility across various platforms and devices, enhancing user experience and accessibility.

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heic2any237,2287532.72 MB242 years agoMIT
heic-convert126,1652887.92 kB102 years agoISC
Feature Comparison: heic2any vs heic-convert

Conversion Capabilities

  • heic2any:

    heic2any supports a wider range of output formats, including JPEG, PNG, and even GIF. This flexibility allows developers to cater to various use cases and user needs, making it suitable for both client-side and server-side applications.

  • heic-convert:

    heic-convert focuses primarily on converting HEIC files to JPEG and PNG formats. It is optimized for performance and simplicity, making it a great choice for backend applications that require quick and efficient image processing.

Browser Compatibility

  • heic2any:

    heic2any is designed to work in the browser, allowing users to convert HEIC images directly on the client side. This feature is particularly beneficial for web applications that require immediate image processing without server interaction.

  • heic-convert:

    heic-convert is primarily designed for Node.js environments and does not support direct browser usage. It is best suited for server-side applications where images are processed before being sent to the client.

Ease of Use

  • heic2any:

    heic2any provides a user-friendly interface for browser-based applications, allowing developers to implement conversion features with minimal code. Its flexibility makes it easy to adapt to various project requirements.

  • heic-convert:

    heic-convert offers a simple API that is easy to integrate into existing Node.js applications. Its straightforward approach makes it accessible for developers who need to implement image conversion quickly.

Performance

  • heic2any:

    heic2any is designed to perform well in the browser, but performance may vary based on the user's device capabilities. It is suitable for smaller images and quick conversions but may not handle large files as efficiently as server-side solutions.

  • heic-convert:

    heic-convert is optimized for performance in server-side environments, allowing for fast processing of large batches of HEIC images. It leverages native libraries for efficient conversion, ensuring minimal overhead.

Community and Support

  • heic2any:

    heic2any benefits from a larger community and more extensive documentation, making it easier for developers to find solutions and examples. This can be a significant advantage for those new to HEIC image conversion.

  • heic-convert:

    heic-convert has a smaller community compared to heic2any, which may result in less available support and fewer resources for troubleshooting. However, it is still actively maintained and updated.

How to Choose: heic2any vs heic-convert
  • heic2any:

    Choose heic2any if you require a more versatile library that supports multiple output formats and offers additional features such as browser compatibility. It is ideal for client-side applications where you want to convert HEIC images directly in the browser without relying on server-side processing.

  • heic-convert:

    Choose heic-convert if you need a straightforward, efficient solution for converting HEIC images to JPEG or PNG formats. It is particularly useful for server-side applications where you want to handle file conversions with minimal setup and dependencies.

Similar Npm Packages to heic2any

heic2any is an npm package designed to convert HEIC (High Efficiency Image Coding) files into other image formats such as JPEG or PNG. HEIC is a modern image format that offers better compression than traditional formats, but it is not universally supported across all platforms and devices. The heic2any library provides a straightforward solution for developers looking to ensure compatibility with a wider range of image viewers and applications by converting HEIC files into more commonly used formats.

While heic2any is a robust option for HEIC file conversion, there are alternatives available, such as:

  • heic-convert. This package also focuses on converting HEIC files to other formats like JPEG and PNG. It provides a simple API for developers to work with, making it easy to integrate into various applications. heic-convert is built on top of the libheif library, which allows it to handle HEIC files efficiently. If you are looking for a reliable alternative to heic2any, heic-convert offers similar functionality with its own set of features.

To see how heic2any compares with heic-convert, check out the comparison: Comparing heic-convert vs heic2any.

README for heic2any

HEIC2ANY

Demo, Documentation & more

Client-side (browser-side, using Javascript) conversion of HEIC/HEIF image files to JPEG, PNG, or GIF.

What is HEIC format?

High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIC) is a new image container format from the developers of MPEG, a popular audio and video compression standard. HEIC will be used by default on new photos on iOS 11, and it’s designed to save you storage space. As it’s a new container format, there will be some incompatibilities along the way, and Apple does a good job at handling most of these. iOS 11 will automatically share HEIC files as the default JPEG format for apps, so you won’t notice anything when you share a photo on Twitter or Instagram. iOS 11 also offers to automatically transfer photos and videos in a compatible format for Mac or PC users, useful if you’re simply plugging your iPhone into your laptop or PC. theverge.com

Why you might need it?

While developing some web-based application that should be able to handle mobile uploads, I've come across a problem where browsers can not display certain images uploaded from the iPhone, after investigating through the issue, I noticed that that my iPhone was giving a heic formatted image.

Currently there are zero web browsers that support HEIC photos. Even Apple's latest-greatest version of Safari can't decode HEIC and doesn't recognize the "image/heic" mimetype. A solution that came across my mind is to utilize the benefits of high resolution and low storage of heic images when storing in the server and client-side conversion to JPEG for viewing on the browser.

Usage and limitations

This library would typically be used for viewing purposes, as currently it's not focusing on copying any metadata from the original heic file to the output jpeg, gif or png. The development process of this library is focusing on viewing a browser-consumable version of an heic file, and doing it quickly, asynchronously (using web workers) and accurately. This library would even convert heic containers that have multiple heic images into an animated gif.

However, if you're planning on storing the files (not just viewing them), I'd suggest you look for a server-side tool, or you try to get your hands dirty and contribute to this library and make it capable of storing metadata.

Last but not least, this tool is specifically for the browser environment, it will not work in node environment.

Known issues

Those are the known issues of the library, pull requests are welcome:

  1. Library doesn't take any metadata from the original file, resulting file doesn't have any metadata.
  2. Library can convert bursts into an animated gif, however when a heic animation is given (like the stars animation in the demo) library will only take the first shot of the animation.
  3. Support for IE11 is not here yet.
  4. The library requires a browser-like environment to work, i.e. it needs the existence of the DOM and window object.
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