BMP vs MPEG
A detailed comparison of BMP Image and MPEG Video — file size, quality, compatibility, and which format to choose for your workflow.
BMP Image
Raster & Vector ImagesBMP is an uncompressed raster image format native to Windows. Files are large but preserve exact pixel data with no compression artifacts. Rarely used on the web due to file size.
About BMP filesMPEG Video
Video FilesMPEG is an early digital video standard that formed the basis for later formats like MP4. MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files are common in DVD rips and older digital video archives.
About MPEG filesStrengths Comparison
BMP Strengths
- Dead-simple format — trivially easy to read and write.
- Lossless and uncompressed — perfect bit-exact pixel storage.
- Universally supported in Windows applications since 1985.
- Supports 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 32-bit color depths.
MPEG Strengths
- Universal playback on every OS, player, and DVD/TV hardware since 1995.
- Proven, well-documented — three decades of spec refinement and tooling.
- Best-in-class for broadcast — Transport Streams carry multiple channels, error correction, and PSI/SI metadata.
- Low CPU decoding — even 1990s hardware can handle MPEG-1/2.
Limitations
BMP Limitations
- Enormous file sizes — no meaningful compression in typical use.
- Not a web format — browsers support it but nobody serves BMPs over HTTP.
- No metadata support (no EXIF, no ICC profile in practice).
- Multiple header versions mean "a BMP" is ambiguous — parsers must handle several variants.
MPEG Limitations
- Aging codec — MPEG-2 is 2-3× larger than H.264 at equivalent quality.
- Patent licensing still active for some MPEG-2 patents in certain territories.
- Consumer devices rarely default to .mpg — everything ships as .mp4 today.
- No modern features (HDR, HEVC, AV1) inside classic MPEG Program Streams.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | BMP | MPEG |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/bmp | — |
| Extensions | .bmp, .dib | .mpeg, .mpg, .mpe, .m1v, .m2v |
| Compression | None (typical); RLE 4/8 bit (rare) | — |
| Color depths | 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 bits per pixel | — |
| Byte order | Little-endian | — |
| MIME types | — | video/mpeg, video/x-mpeg |
| Containers | — | MPEG Program Stream (PS), Transport Stream (TS) |
| Standards | — | ISO/IEC 11172 (MPEG-1), ISO/IEC 13818 (MPEG-2) |
| Typical use | — | DVD, DVB, ATSC broadcasts |
Typical File Sizes
BMP
- Small icon (32×32) 4 KB
- Screenshot (1920×1080) ~6 MB
- 4K image (3840×2160) ~25 MB
- Scanned A4 at 300 dpi ~25 MB
MPEG
- 2-min VCD clip (MPEG-1) 20-25 MB
- 2-hour DVD movie (MPEG-2) 4-7 GB
- 1 channel HDTV broadcast (1 hour) 6-10 GB
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Frequently Asked Questions
BMP (Bitmap) is a raster image format developed by Microsoft for Windows. It stores images with no compression by default, resulting in large file sizes but pixel-perfect quality. It has been part of Windows since version 1.0.
BMP (Bitmap) is a raster image formato developed by Microsoft para Windows. It stores images com no compressão by default, resulting in large tamanho do arquivos mas pixel-perfect quality. It has been part of Windows since version 1.0.
BMP files open in Windows Paint, Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, and virtually any image viewer. All Windows applications support BMP natively.
BMP arquivos abrir in Windows Paint, Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, e virtually any image viewer. All Windows aplicativos support BMP natively.
PNG is better than BMP in almost every scenario since it provides lossless compression (smaller files), transparency support, and wider cross-platform use. BMP is mainly relevant for legacy Windows applications.
PNG is melhor que BMP in almost every scenario since it fornece sem perdas compressão (smaller files), transparência support, e wider cross-platform use. BMP is mainly relevant para legacy Windows aplicativos.