What Is a JPEG File?

JPEG, short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, is a standard image format commonly used for digital images with lossy compression. It mainly uses a joint coding method of differential pulse code modulation (DPCM), discrete cosine transform (DCT), and entropy coding to remove redundant images and color data. So, the image size can be compressed into a tiny size.

The JPEG file supports compressing images with different compression ratios, ranging from 10:1 to 40:1. The higher the compression ratio is, the lower the quality of the image is.

JPEG was standardized in 1992 and is widely used for color fax, still images, teleconferencing, printing, and news photo transmission. It’s also used for image preview and the creation of HTM web pages because almost all browsers support JPEG.

Image files with an extension of .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, .jif, .jfif, and .jfi are all JPEG files.

By the way, JPEGs and JPGs are in the same file format. The only difference is in their abbreviations: JPEG keeps four characters, while JPG keeps three.

How to Open a JPEG File

Usually, there’s a default image viewing program on your computer to open a JPEG file, such as Photos (Windows) or Preview (Mac). The most common way to open a JPEG file on a desktop is to double-click the image, and it will be opened with the default software.

In addition, if you want to use another program to open the image, you only need to right-click on the image and select a preferred program to Open With.

How to Convert a JPEG File

If you want to convert JPEG files, you need a dedicated converter. Different conversions require different tools, and it depends on what target files you need. For example, when converting a JPEG file to another image format, you will need an image converter, such as Cloud Convert and Convertio; while if you require a Word or PDF file, you must get a Word or PDF converter, such as Zamzar or SwifDoo PDF.

Advantages and Disadvantages of JPEG File Format

The advantage of using JPEG:

• JPEG can easily handle colors with a number of 16.8 million, so it can reproduce full-color images very well.
• When compressing a JPEG image, you can choose the file size according to your actual needs.
• JPEG supports a super high compression ratio, which speeds up the downloading process to a great extent.
• JPEG files are often small, and it takes little time to download them, which helps you share images without trouble even if the Internet connection is poor.

The disadvantage of using JPEG:

• Not all browsers support inserting JPEG images.
• It may cause posterization when compressing the image.
• When compressing a JPEG image, especially adopting a high compression ratio, the quality of the image is easily damaged.