Full Name	PCD (Kodak Photo CD)
Format ID	IG_FORMAT_PCD = 29
File Extension(s)	*.pcd
Data Type	Raster Image
Data Encoding	Binary
Color Profile Support	No
Multi-Page Support	Yes
Alpha Channel Support	No
ImageGear Platforms Support	WIN32, WIN64, Unix, Unix64, .NET, .NET64, MAC

ImageGear Supported Versions:

All valid PCD files in 5 different resolutions:

• Page 1: 768x512
• Page 2: 384x256
• Page 3: 192x128
• Page 4: 1536x1024
• Page 5: 3072x2048

ImageGear Supported Features:

• IG_FLTR_DETECTSUPPORT - autodetection
• IG_FLTR_PAGEREADSUPPORT - single page file reading
• IG_FLTR_MPAGEREADPSUPPORT - multi-page file reading

ImageGear Read Support:

• IG_COMPRESSION_NONE - RGB: 24 bpp
• IG_COMPRESSION_HUFFMAN - RGB: 24 bpp

ImageGear Write Support:

None

ImageGear Filter Control Parameters:

None

Comments:

"Photo CD" is the informally adopted name for files created using the Photo CD-ROM-based storage and retrieval system created by Kodak. The images are digitized versions of photographic images. Using a Photo CD player, images can be viewed on television. Although intended for photographic images, the data source does not necessarily have to be film. Due to the large storage capacity of the CD medium, this format supports very large and/or intricate images.

Images and their associated information are stored in groups called "sessions". Originally, they were stored at the rate of one session per CD, but later versions allowed multiple sessions per disc.

For each stored image, there are up to 5 bitmaps, each representing the image at a different resolution. The bitmaps at the lowest resolution are intended for such purposes as displaying thumbnails and previewing an image.

References Used

Murray, James D. and William vanRyper. Encyclopedia of Graphics File Formats. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., 1994.