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Truevision TGA
Truevision TGA, often referred to as TARGA, is a raster graphics file format created by Truevision (now part of Avid Technology). It was the native format of TARGA and VISTA boards, which were the first graphic cards for IBM PC compatibles to support high color or true color display. This family of graphic cards was intended for professional computer image synthesis; the usual resolutions of TGA image files match those of the NTSC and PAL video formats.
TARGA is an acronym for Truevision Advanced Raster Graphics Adapter; TGA is an initialism for Truevision Graphics Adapter.
TGA files commonly have the extension ".tga" on MS-DOS, Windows, and macOS (older Macintosh systems use the "TPIC" type code). The format itself permits any pixel bit depth up to 255, of which up to 15 bits can be dedicated to an alpha channel; however, the only bit depths supported in practice were 8, 15, 16, 24, and 32, where the 16- and 32-bit formats used 1 and 8 bits respectively for the alpha channel. Color data can be color-mapped, or in direct color or truecolor format. Image data may be stored raw, or optionally, a lossless RLE compression similar to PackBits can be employed. This type of compression performs poorly for typical photographic images, but works acceptably well for simpler images, such as icons, cartoons and line drawings.
The TGA file format was originally defined and specified by AT&T EPICenter with feedback from Island Graphics Inc in 1984. AT&T EPICenter was an internal spin-off of AT&T created to market new technologies AT&T had developed for color frame buffers. What later became Truevision was the result of a leveraged employee buyout from AT&T in 1987.
EPICenter's first two cards, the VDA (video display adapter) and ICB (image capture board), used the first incarnations of the TGA file format. The file extensions ".vda" and ".icb" implied information about the board specific data contained.
It was later determined by Alan Wlasuk (then head of EPICenter), Brad Pillow (EPICenter) and Steven Dompier (Island's president) that a more codified file format was needed. The file format was created and implemented by Brad Pillow (EPICenter) and Bryan Hunt (EPICenter) and was developed in response to this need for a less board specific file format. A very simple extension was made to what was already in use, and contained information on width, height, pixel depth, an associated color map and image origin. A label field (up to 255 characters) was also included in the initial spec, but was rarely used.
At the time, another technically superior file format called TIFF also appeared, but its use for true color images was very limited as the implementation and sharing of files between applications supporting the TIFF specification was rather difficult and involved. The TGA file format's simpler nature and portability between platforms is the main reason for its widespread adoption and its continued success in a wide variety of applications worldwide to this day.
Initially the TGA file format was used in the ICB-PAINT and TARGA-PAINT programs (what later became known as TIPS) and for several projects in online real estate browsing and still-frame video teleconferencing.
Hub AI
Truevision TGA AI simulator
(@Truevision TGA_simulator)
Truevision TGA
Truevision TGA, often referred to as TARGA, is a raster graphics file format created by Truevision (now part of Avid Technology). It was the native format of TARGA and VISTA boards, which were the first graphic cards for IBM PC compatibles to support high color or true color display. This family of graphic cards was intended for professional computer image synthesis; the usual resolutions of TGA image files match those of the NTSC and PAL video formats.
TARGA is an acronym for Truevision Advanced Raster Graphics Adapter; TGA is an initialism for Truevision Graphics Adapter.
TGA files commonly have the extension ".tga" on MS-DOS, Windows, and macOS (older Macintosh systems use the "TPIC" type code). The format itself permits any pixel bit depth up to 255, of which up to 15 bits can be dedicated to an alpha channel; however, the only bit depths supported in practice were 8, 15, 16, 24, and 32, where the 16- and 32-bit formats used 1 and 8 bits respectively for the alpha channel. Color data can be color-mapped, or in direct color or truecolor format. Image data may be stored raw, or optionally, a lossless RLE compression similar to PackBits can be employed. This type of compression performs poorly for typical photographic images, but works acceptably well for simpler images, such as icons, cartoons and line drawings.
The TGA file format was originally defined and specified by AT&T EPICenter with feedback from Island Graphics Inc in 1984. AT&T EPICenter was an internal spin-off of AT&T created to market new technologies AT&T had developed for color frame buffers. What later became Truevision was the result of a leveraged employee buyout from AT&T in 1987.
EPICenter's first two cards, the VDA (video display adapter) and ICB (image capture board), used the first incarnations of the TGA file format. The file extensions ".vda" and ".icb" implied information about the board specific data contained.
It was later determined by Alan Wlasuk (then head of EPICenter), Brad Pillow (EPICenter) and Steven Dompier (Island's president) that a more codified file format was needed. The file format was created and implemented by Brad Pillow (EPICenter) and Bryan Hunt (EPICenter) and was developed in response to this need for a less board specific file format. A very simple extension was made to what was already in use, and contained information on width, height, pixel depth, an associated color map and image origin. A label field (up to 255 characters) was also included in the initial spec, but was rarely used.
At the time, another technically superior file format called TIFF also appeared, but its use for true color images was very limited as the implementation and sharing of files between applications supporting the TIFF specification was rather difficult and involved. The TGA file format's simpler nature and portability between platforms is the main reason for its widespread adoption and its continued success in a wide variety of applications worldwide to this day.
Initially the TGA file format was used in the ICB-PAINT and TARGA-PAINT programs (what later became known as TIPS) and for several projects in online real estate browsing and still-frame video teleconferencing.