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Comparison of Compressed Output Formats

For raster images, GeoExpress can create compressed images in the MrSID and JPEG 2000 formats. Because the NITF format can contain JPEG 2000 files, you can also create compressed NITF files. For LiDAR data, GeoExpress can create compressed files in the MrSID and LAZ formats. For LiDAR data, LAZ files can only be created using lossless compression. MrSID files are lossless by default, but you can also specify a compression ratio to create lossy files.

TIP:Select an image in the job list to view the file format, output file size, and more in the Properties tab.

Compressed Raster Formats

The following table compares some of the features supported by the raster output formats:

Feature Output Format
  MG2 MG3 MG4 JPEG 2000
Lossy output with maximum of 3 bands, cropping but no advanced encoding, output less than 2 GB
Advanced encoding (reprojection, color balancing, despeckling, area of interest encoding, etc.)  
Output file size greater than 2 GB  
Lossless output  
Mosaic that has MrSID tiles as input  
Multispectral output    
Arbitrary band mapping      
Per-band compression      

Compressed LiDAR Formats

The following table compares some of the features supported by the LiDAR output formats:

Feature Output Format
  LAZ LAS BPF MG4
Lossless compression
Specifying a compression ratio      
Creating mosaics      

For more information on output formats, see Supported Output Formats.