.HIF File Extension
High Efficiency Image Format
| Developer | Moving Picture Experts Group |
| Popularity |
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What is a HIF file?
An HIF file contains one or more images saved in the High Efficiency Image Format (HEIF). It stores a single image or sequence of images exported by an image editor or captured by select Sony and Canon digital cameras, such as the 1DX Mark III and EOS R5. HIF files also contain metadata that describes each image.
More Information
HEIF, or H.265, is a digital photo storage format that saves images at a higher quality and in smaller-sized files than the .JPEG format. There are two brands, or variations, of HEIF that provide different features: HEIC and HEIX. HEIC is the most well-known because of its usage in iOS devices for storing photos. Images saved in the HEIC variation use the .heic file extension (.HEIC files).
The lesser-known variation, HEIX, provides differing features from HEIC. The primary difference is its support for color profiles that extend past 8-bit depth per color channel and chroma subsampling past 4:2:0 (4:2:2 or 4:4:4). Images saved in the HEIX variation use the .hif file extension.
How to open a HIF file
You can open HIF files in macOS with the built-in Apple Preview application. In Windows, you can use Microsoft Photos, but you'll need to download and install both the Microsoft HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions packages from the Microsoft Store. There is a small charge for the HEVC Video Extensions package.