DPX vs ICO
A detailed comparison of Digital Moving-Picture and ICO Icon — file size, quality, compatibility, and which format to choose for your workflow.
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Short answer: these formats serve completely different worlds. DPX (Digital Picture Exchange) is the cinema VFX intermediate format — used to store individual frames of motion picture footage at 10-bit or 16-bit color depth, often as sequences of thousands of files (one per frame). ICO is the Windows icon container — designed to hold multiple sizes of the same icon (16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 256×256) in one file for desktop/file system display.
They have essentially zero overlap in real-world use. The only reason this comparison appears in search is that some people are exploring image format options without realizing how specialized each is.
DPX vs ICO at a glance
DPX vs ICO| Dimension | .DPX | .ICO |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | Cinema / VFX post-production | Windows desktop icons |
| Released | 1994 (SMPTE 268M) | 1985 (Windows 1.0) |
| Bit depth | 10, 12, 16 bit per channel | 4, 8, 24, 32 bit (with alpha) |
| File size (single frame) | ~12-50 MB per frame at 2K-4K | ~5-50 KB total bundle |
| Typical use | Frame sequences for VFX | App icons, file type icons, favicons |
| Image type | Single frame, no compression typically | Bundle of multiple sizes |
| Software | Nuke, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve | Windows, image editors with ICO support |
| Browser support | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Universal (favicon.ico) |
When should you use DPX vs ICO?
.DPX Use when…
- VFX post-production — exporting frames from Nuke/After Effects for color grading
- Cinema digital intermediate (DI) workflow — preserve full color depth
- Color grading reference frames — DaVinci Resolve frame export
- Film scanning archives — preserves original scan data
DPX is essentially uncompressed pixel data with a header — guaranteed bit-for-bit storage. Files are huge but lossless. Used between every step of the VFX pipeline.
.ICO Use when…
- Windows desktop icons — .lnk shortcut icons reference .ico
- Application executable icons — .exe embeds ICO resources
- Legacy favicons —
/favicon.ico(browsers fall back to this) - Multi-size icon bundles — 16/32/48/64/128/256 in one file
Technical Specifications
| Specification | .DPX | .ICO |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/x-dpx | image/vnd.microsoft.icon |
| Extension | .dpx | — |
| Standard | SMPTE 268M | — |
| Bit depths | 8, 10, 12, 16 bits per channel | — |
| Color encoding | Logarithmic (Cineon-style) by convention | — |
| Max resolutions per file | — | 65 535 images |
| Max single image size | — | 256×256 px |
| Color depths | — | 1, 4, 8, 24, 32 bits per pixel |
| Compression | — | Uncompressed bitmap or embedded PNG (Vista+) |
Strengths Comparison
.DPX Strengths
- Industry-standard archival format for film.
- Logarithmic color encoding preserves film look.
- Lossless — no generation degradation.
- SMPTE standardized (SMPTE 268M).
- Every VFX and color-grading app reads and writes DPX.
.ICO Strengths
- Multi-resolution: one file, many sizes, OS picks the right one.
- Universal favicon support in every browser since IE5.
- Supports transparency (1-bit since 1985, full alpha since XP).
- Tiny file size — an entire favicon pack typically fits in under 15 KB.
- No licensing or patent concerns — fully in the public domain spec-wise.
Limitations
.DPX — Limitations
- No compression — file sizes are enormous.
- Not a display format — requires color-managed pipelines.
- Gradually superseded by OpenEXR in modern VFX.
- Overkill for anything but professional film work.
.ICO — Limitations
- Cannot compress continuous-tone images efficiently — use PNG or WebP for photos.
- Format is essentially frozen in 1999 — no HDR, no wide gamut, no modern features.
- Maximum image dimension is 256×256 px (inside an ICO container).
- Editing requires specialized tools — most image editors treat it as a curiosity.
Technical deep dive: DPX vs ICO
Two formats for completely different audiences
DPX (Digital Picture Exchange, 1994) is professional cinema and VFX format standardized by SMPTE for high-quality audiovisual post-production. Stores digital video frames with bit-perfect cinema quality, support for logarithmic color (Cineon log), bit depth 10/12/16, and extensive metadata for professional workflows.
ICO (Windows Icon, 1985) is Windows icon format that contains multiple resolutions of the same icon in a single file (16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 256×256) to display correctly in different operating system contexts.
They're not real competitors — they're formats for completely different worlds. The comparison only arises through extension confusion or casual searches. DPX for professional cinema. ICO for Windows icons. No real overlap.
When to use DPX
- Professional cinema and VFX production: Hollywood, BBC, Netflix Studios — use DPX as intermediate post-production format
- Color grading: software like DaVinci Resolve, Baselight work natively with DPX in log workflow
- Film-to-digital transfer: scanning 35mm/16mm cinema negative produces DPX
- VFX intermediate: visual effects elements typically delivered as DPX sequences for maximum fidelity
- Cinema masters archival: DPX preserves SMPTE quality for long-term preservation
- LUT workflows: DPX works naturally with LUTs (Look-Up Tables) for color transformations
When to use ICO
- Windows application icons: any .exe needs ICO embedded as resource
- Legacy web favicons: favicon.ico in site root is historical convention
- Windows cursors: .cur files derive from ICO structure
- Custom folder icons: Windows Explorer uses ICO to display custom icons
- Compatibility with old browsers: legacy IE only accepted ICO for favicons
Why the comparison is confusing
Users occasionally search "DPX vs ICO" probably because:
- They saw files with those extensions on their system and want to understand what they are
- Search confusion — perhaps they were looking for specific image format
- Researching multimedia workflows and saw both terms
The reality: these formats don't compete in any use case. If you need icons for your Windows app: ICO. If you work in cinema post-production: DPX.
DPX → other formats conversion
Post-production workflows frequently convert DPX to other formats for distribution:
- DPX → ProRes/DNxHR (MOV): for editing and delivery to NLE (Premiere, Final Cut, Avid)
- DPX → H.264 (MP4): for preview screening, web distribution
- DPX → TIFF: for photo-style archival with LZW compression
- DPX → JPG: for reference frames, not for final cinema use
KaijuConverter handles DPX → MP4 conversion with optional logarithmic color preservation.
ICO → PNG conversion
Much more common. Useful for:
- Extract Windows application icons for use in modern web/mobile contexts where PNG is expected
- Modernize legacy favicons for current multi-format use
- Convert custom icons to editable format in Photoshop/Figma
KaijuConverter extracts each ICO size as separate PNG or specific size you choose, packaged as ZIP if multiple.
Practical recommendation
- Working in cinema/VFX: DPX is standard. KaijuConverter converts to delivery formats when necessary
- Need icons for Windows app: ICO mandatory. KaijuConverter converts PNG → ICO multi-size
- Have nothing to do with professional cinema or Windows development: probably don't need either format. Consider PNG/JPG/SVG based on real use case
Frequently Asked Questions
DPX (Digital Picture Exchange) is professional SMPTE format for cinema post-production. Stores video frames with bit-perfect quality, log color support (Cineon log), 10/12/16 bit depths, and extensive metadata. Hollywood, BBC, Netflix Studios use DPX as intermediate format.
ICO allows containing multiple resolutions of the same icon in a single file (16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 256×256). Windows chooses appropriate resolution by context (taskbar, Explorer, desktop, alt-tab). A single ICO file efficiently serves all sizes.
Technically possible but rarely useful. DPX is for high-quality cinema frames (typically 2K/4K professional resolution); ICO is for small icons with multiple sizes. Use cases don't overlap — converting between them solves no real workflow.
They share some characteristics (lossless, high bit-depth, rich metadata), but DPX is cinema-specific with log color support and cinematographic metadata. TIFF is more general purpose. For professional post-production, DPX is standard; for photography/scanning, TIFF.
Yes, modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) prefer PNG favicon referenced via `<link rel="icon" type="image/png">`. For maximum compatibility, serve both: ICO at root as legacy fallback + PNG referenced in HTML for modern browsers.
DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro (with plugin), Avid Media Composer, Baselight, Nuke — all professional post-production tools. For casual viewing, ImageMagick can convert DPX to JPG/PNG. KaijuConverter converts DPX to delivery formats (MP4, MOV).
DPX (Digital Moving-Picture) is an image format used to store raster graphics — a two-dimensional grid of pixels describing a picture. It is part of the raster & vector images family and designed around a specific trade-off between file size, visual fidelity, and feature support (transparency, colour depth, compression type). Photographers, web designers, and content creators choose DPX when its particular strengths match the publishing target.
Most desktop photo viewers (Windows Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, Affinity Photo) open DPX natively. On mobile, iOS Photos and Google Photos display DPX in the gallery when supported by the OS. If the format is rare or new, convert to JPG or PNG first — both are universally readable — using our DPX to JPG or DPX to PNG converter.
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