ECW File Documentation

Overview

Feature Value
Format Name Enhanced Compression Wavelet (ECW)
File Extension .ecw
MIME Type image/ecw
Developed By Earth Resource Mapping
Compression Wavelet compression
Color Depth 24-bit Truecolor
Max Image Size 65,535 x 65,535 pixels
Color Models RGB, Grayscale
Transparency Support No
Lossless Compression No
Channels Up to 3 (RGB)
Metadata Support Yes
Multi-resolution Levels Yes
Typical Use Geo-spatial imaging, aerial and satellite imagery
Pyramidal Tiling Yes
Georeferencing Yes
Progressive Decoding Yes
Advantages High compression with minimal loss; efficient for large images
Disadvantages Not universally supported; lossy compression
Software Support ERDAS IMAGINE, ArcGIS, QGIS