M2 – Compare different animation formats

There are numerous other file types which can be used to store animations. Each have their own merits and downsides in comparison to animated GIFs. These formats include but not limited to the following:

Dynamic HTML – This is a format which is coupled with client-side scripting language (JavaScript & CSS). This format allows for the creation of web page banners and buttons which can animate to display different colours and images. dHTML is also used to create web browser based games. However, dHTML is platform dependant, meaning that some content created using dHTML may not be supported in older web browsers (IE6).

Advantages:
Animated buttons and banners that can be interacted with can be created using this format. For example, with a rollover button, when a user hovers their mouse cursor over it, the colour will change.

Disadvantages:
Content created in this format may not be supported in older web browsers, which lead to an unprofessional looking website as the animations cannot be displayed to the user.

Flash – Flash is an application which allows animation to run as well as create them on a computer. This application allows users to create an animation using layers and frames, so a animation can consist of many objects which are stored on separate layers, allowing for easy editing, as well as spread across many frames, again allowing for easy editing. The speed of the animation can be sped up or slowed down.
Flash is also used to create browser based games and web page banners. These animations can also now be viewed on mobile devices which support flash. However, if a browser does not have flash installed, then the content created cannot be viewed or accessed.
Flash is used primarily to produce vector based animations.

Advantages:
Creating animations is easy with flash, as not only are you able to create them frame by frame and with different layers, there are also a number of learning resources for flash, allowing for beginner animators to pick up flash very quickly. Flash is also used to create games which can not only be played on the PC, but also mobile devices which support flash, allowing the user to view animations and play games from wherever they are. Flash also supports multiple video formats and compression to make the file size relatively small.

Disadvantages:
A disadvantage however, is that some platforms may not have a flash player, meaning that content created using flash cannot be viewed (iOS as an example). A user will also be unable to view flash animations without the appropriate browser plugins installed. Finally, the flash software used to create animations is rather expensive, which may put off most users except industry professionals.

Silverlight – Silverlight is rather similar to the flash player, in that animation can be viewed. However, a distinguishing feature of Silverlight is the fact that it has search engine optimisation features, which allow for increased web traffic. Another difference between Silverlight and Flash is that Silverlight is time-based, rather than using frames. Silverlight files are generally large, as it does not use any compression techniques. Silverlight only supports a handful of platforms and operating systems, such as Windows XP, Vista, 7 & 8, as well as Mac OSX 10.5 and newer. It does not support any mobile platforms, so animations cannot be displayed on them. The software was created and is maintained by Microsoft.

Advantages:
Silverlight features SEO for web traffic, so when a user puts in keywords, the higher likelihood that the animation will be near the top of the search result. Silverlight uses the WPF animation model, which enables the user to define the start and end points of the animation. This eliminates the need for calculating object positions within frames.
Silverlight makes use of a number of scripting languages, such as .NET, C# and Visual Basic. As they are all Microsoft based languages, they work in tandem with each other, so code from one of these languages can be interpreted by the other.

Disadvantages:
Silverlight only supports the following operating systems: Windows Vista, XP, 7, 8, Server 2003/8 and Mac OSX (on Intel based Macs). Silverlight lacks support for Linux, so users with the Linux OS or a variation of it will not be able to play animations that rely on Silverlight for playback.

Shockwave – Adobe Shockwave is a piece of software used to display 3D based animations and video renderings. It is generally used on websites to allow users to view 3D animations and multimedia objects (video). Originally, the software was created for the purpose of adding movies and TV shows online, however the software has now evolved into a tool for games development, due to the high powered render engine it uses, it allows for high quality 3D object renderings to be made and viewed. In order to create a Shockwave file, an authoring tool called ‘Director’ is required. This tool adds the objects that a user requires and then compresses them using another tool called the ‘Afterburner’. A reference of the file is then displayed on the web page.
To view a shockwave file, a plugin is required for the web browser. This needs to be downloaded separately. It supports both audio and video and can be accessed on either Windows or Mac.

Advantages:
The software allows for the creation of highly detailed objects which can be rendered and used in video games. It also supports not only animation, but also full video and audio.

Disadvantages:
Despite being supported on both Windows and Mac, it lacks support for the Linux and Solaris platforms. This leads to a minority of users not being able to have access to shockwave files without a specially designed converter. In order to view shockwave files that are hosted on a website, the plugin must first be installed manually by the user, it does not come pre-installed with the OS. Another downside to shockwave is the relatively large file sizes in comparison to Flash and dHTML.

Quicktime – Quicktime is a multimedia application which processes and plays back video, audio, text and animation. The software was created by Apple and supports both Mac OSX and windows platforms. Quicktime also supports a wide range of different file formats for playback, such as .MP4, .AAC, .MPEG4 etc. quicktime also supports iOS mobile device playback, examples include playing music and movies on the iPhone and iPad.
Another feature of Quicktime is the ability to combine multiple Quicktime files into one, as well as the ability to embed Quicktime files into documents or send them through Email.

Advantages:
Quicktime is a free piece of software and can be downloaded on Mac OSX and Windows, the two most commonly used Operating Systems. Quicktime also allows for easy sharing of file by embedding files within documents and then uploading them to the web as whole cohesive file. Finally, Quicktime files are of a high quality output, ideal for movies and TV shows.

Disadvantages:
Quicktime files tend to be much larger than for example Flash files due to their high quality. This can be troublesome for some users who have slow internet connections and wish to download/upload Quicktime files online.

RealPlayer – RealPlayer is a piece of software which is capable of playing back media such as audio, text and video. RealPlayer was first released in 1995, making it one of the oldest multimedia playback applications available. As such, this application supports a wide range of older, as well as newer file formats, such as .mp3, .mpeg4, Quicktime files and Microsoft media files. Like its counterparts, it is compatible with Windows and Mac OSX, but also with the Solaris and Linux operating systems, although the latter two are no longer kept up to date.

Advantages:
RealPlayer supports almost all common file formats for media, so it will most likely be able to playback a user’s animations. RealPlayer is also available on the most popular Operating Systems, such as Windows and Linux, ensuring compatibility for many users. The application is also free to download, allowing users to playback their animation without having to spend money on specialised software.

Disadvantages:
The application is old, so video buffering is an increasing problem. This means that videos take longer to load and playback. The software has also stopped supporting Linux and Solaris, so if an error or bug occurs, it will not be fixed. The software also requires a user to download it from the internet, if the user does not have an internet connection or if it is very slow, the user cannot access the application.