CONVERT PCX → BMP (PCX to BMP)
Fast, secure PCX to BMP conversion. No registration required.
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Lossless JPEG Q100 + standard COM segment padding for government & exam portals
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Automatic format identification and lossless transcoding across 201+ formats.
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- ✓ sRGB Color Fidelity
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EXIF & Color Verification Audit ISO Verified
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✓
GPS Coordinates (37.1773° N, 3.5986° W): Stripped (Zero Location Leak)
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✓
Device Serial & Lens ID: Stripped (EXIF / IPTC / XMP Clean)
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Color Space Profile: Display P3 → sRGB IEC61966-2.1
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Chroma Subsampling: 4:4:4 High Fidelity (High-fidelity algorithmic conversion)
HOW TO CONVERT PCX → BMP
Upload your PCX
Start by dropping the PCX onto the uploader. Files up to 25 MB go through on the free tier without registration; paid plans go up to 2 GB.
Conversion happens server-side
Our imagemagick-based pipeline reads the PCX pixel grid, preserves resolution and colour profile, and encodes a clean BMP.
Grab the result
A download button appears as soon as the BMP is ready. Save locally or share the short-lived URL.
Opening note — PCX is the legacy ZSoft/PC Paintbrush bitmap format from the DOS era. The BMP you want is two clicks away. A PCX to BMP conversion is almost always about making an image land cleanly in another piece of software. PCX Image is well-suited to its original niche, but BMP Image opens on more platforms or fits better into a publishing pipeline. Upload a PCX file above, pick any quality knobs, and download a ready-to-use BMP. One more beat. PCX is the legacy ZSoft/PC Paintbrush bitmap format from the DOS era. Receiving format: BMP is the uncompressed Windows bitmap format — bulky but pixel-perfect.
Why convert PCX to BMP
Converting keeps the picture recognisable end-to-end while changing the container that ships it. BMP typically wins on one of three fronts: broader software support, smaller files for the same visual quality, or features like transparency that PCX cannot express. The conversion itself is fast because both sides are raster formats.
PCX vs BMP — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
PCX
- MIME type
- image/x-pcx
- Extension
- .pcx
- Header
- 128 bytes fixed
- Compression
- Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
- Creator
- ZSoft Corporation (1985)
- MIME Type
- image/x-pcx
- Category
- Raster & Vector Images
- Full Name
- PCX Image
- Conversion Engine
- IMAGEMAGICK
BMP
- MIME type
- image/bmp
- Extension
- .bmp
- Compression
- None (typical); RLE 4/8 bit (rare)
- MIME Type
- image/bmp
- Category
- Raster & Vector Images
- Full Name
- BMP Image
- Conversion Engine
- IMAGEMAGICK
- Extensions
- .bmp, .dib
- Color depths
- 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 bits per pixel
- Byte order
- Little-endian
| Specification | PCX | BMP |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/x-pcx | image/bmp |
| Extension | .pcx | .bmp |
| Header | 128 bytes fixed | — |
| Compression | Run-Length Encoding (RLE) | None (typical); RLE 4/8 bit (rare) |
| Creator | ZSoft Corporation (1985) | — |
| MIME Type | image/x-pcx | image/bmp |
| Category | Raster & Vector Images | Raster & Vector Images |
| Full Name | PCX Image | BMP Image |
| Conversion Engine | IMAGEMAGICK | IMAGEMAGICK |
| Extensions | — | .bmp, .dib |
| Color depths | — | 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 bits per pixel |
| Byte order | — | Little-endian |
PCX vs BMP — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
PCX Strengths
- Simple format — easy to parse in any language.
- RLE compression keeps flat-color images compact.
- Historic archive format for 1985-1995 PC art.
- Stable since 1985 with no breaking changes.
Limitations
- Legacy — no new content created as PCX in 2026.
- Inefficient for photographs (RLE is wrong algorithm).
- Limited to 24-bit color depth.
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.
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).
Quality & Compatibility
Converting keeps resolution, aspect ratio and colour profile identical to the source. Metadata (EXIF, XMP) transfers where BMP supports it; otherwise it is dropped. If the PCX contained an alpha channel and BMP does not support transparency, the background is flattened to white by default.
Tips for Best Results
- When uploading to Retina / high-DPI contexts, render the BMP at 2× the CSS pixel size; the crispness gap over 1× is noticeable on modern screens.
- Strip EXIF metadata from the BMP before publishing if the PCX came from a phone camera — it often contains GPS coordinates and device IDs.
- If the PCX is a screenshot of text or UI, prefer a lossless BMP target to avoid the JPEG-style ringing around glyph edges.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the codecs involved. If both PCX and BMP are lossy, the pixels are re-encoded and a small amount of detail is discarded — invisible at default quality settings on photographs. If BMP is lossless (PNG, TIFF, BMP) the output keeps every pixel of the decoded PCX exactly, but cannot recover detail that PCX had already compressed away.
Often yes, especially when BMP is lossless. PCX tuned for efficient web delivery will usually produce smaller files than BMP's default settings. If file size matters, drop the quality in Advanced or pick a more compressed target format instead.
KaijuConverter uploads over HTTPS, processes the image in an isolated container and deletes both the source and the output within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never logged, and we do not use uploads to train any model. For confidential material, the paid plan includes a data-processing agreement.
PCX Image
Source formatPCX (PiCture eXchange) is a legacy raster image format created by ZSoft for their PC Paintbrush program. It was one of the first widely supported image formats on IBM PC compatibles and uses simple run-length encoding compression.
BMP Image
Target formatBMP 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.
Going the other way? Convert BMP back to PCX with the same engine.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send BMP files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for PCX.
Embed in documents
Drop BMP output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
BMP often produces smaller files than PCX for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
PCX vs BMP — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
- Simple clipart 2-40 KB
- VGA-era screenshot (320×200) 30-80 KB
- Scanned page 200 KB - 2 MB
- Small icon (32×32) 4 KB
- Screenshot (1920×1080) ~6 MB
- 4K image (3840×2160) ~25 MB
Need to Convert Gigabyte Archives or Mass Folders?
KaijuConverter delivers ultra-fast in-memory conversions for everyday tasks. For multi-gigabyte production workloads without browser bandwidth bottlenecks, explore high-throughput desktop suites.
One-time payment with zero recurring commitment: convert files up to 1 GB, OCR, PDF/A, and .ZIP batches for 24 hours.
Full 7 days of unlimited conversions, up to 2 GB per file, 100% ad-free with zero subscription.
High-throughput enterprise pipeline for files up to 2,048 MB, 50-file batches, ISO PDF/A, and priority processing.
Convert thousands of camera RAW files (CR3, NEF, ARW) to WebP, AVIF, or TIFF in one pass.
GPU-accelerated RAW development with end-to-end 16-bit ICC color profile management.
Related comparisons
See these formats side by side to understand which fits your use case best.
Related Guides
BMP Bitmap Format: The Complete Technical Guide
Everything about the BMP format: DIB header variants, pixel storage, color depths (1 to 32-bit), RLE compression, alpha channels, and BMP vs PNG vs TIFF.
Read guide →BMP Format: Windows Bitmap Images Explained — Headers, Compression & Use Cases
Learn what BMP files are, how the Windows Device Independent Bitmap format works, supported colour depths, compression options, and when to use BMP vs PNG.
Read guide →BMP Bitmap Format: Complete Technical Guide to Windows Bitmap Images
Learn BMP (Windows Bitmap): BITMAPINFOHEADER structure, pixel encoding, color palettes, RLE compression, and raster fundamentals for legacy graphics.
Read guide →
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