1.8.3: Compatibility issues with XnView AVIF files and Windows AV1 component from Microsoft store

[sTi]

Hi
There seem to be compatibility issues with AVIF images generated in XnView when viewed in applications that make use of the WIC AV1 plugin from the Microsoft store:
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9mvzq ... n-us&gl=CH

This component is used in lots of Windows applications like Windows native photo application or other image viewers like Faststone.
To reproduce, download e.g. this color chart and save it as an AVIF file in XnView:
https://htmlcolorcodes.com/assets/downl ... -chart.png

The AVIF file created by XnView is displayed correctly in XnView itself, but shows strong color shifts in applications that rely on the Windows AV1 plugin. I tested several other AVIF converters like online convertio or cloudconvert and these do not have the color shift problem.
As more and more applications make use of this AV1 system codec I think it is necessary to ensure good compatibility and color rendering with AVIF files created by XnView.
Thank you for looking into this issue.
Kind regards
sTi

[xnview]

could you send me the avif that works in Fastone?

[sTi]

Sure, here you can download the avif file converted from the png color chart linked above:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10ZRWay ... sp=sharing
Converted with this converter:
https://cloudinary.com/tools/jpg-to-avif

The rendering in Faststone of the original PNG and this avif is identical.

[xnview]

sorry but the link is no more available

[sTi]

sorry but the link is no more available

Shortly after first posting I edited the post and changed the link because I accidentally shared the wrong file. Maybe you somehow still see the old link in your forum software? The Google Drive link above still works for me.
Anyway, here is new link that should work for sure:
https://file.io/vsGIJtglawUl

[xnview]

Please send me the original and converted file?

[sTi]

Please send me the original and converted file?

OK, I uploaded all files here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing
and here as backup: https://easyupload.io/m/dnptr5

It includes the following files:
flat-design-color-chart (converted with cloudinary).avif
flat-design-color-chart (converted with xnview).avif
flat-design-color-chart (original).png

The original and cloudinary converted one are rendered indentically in Faststone or other programs that use the Windows AV1 component from Microsoft store, whereas the xnview converted file shows a color shift.
Can you reproduce the issue?

[xnview]

will be fixed in next release, related to this issue

[sTi]

will be fixed in next release, related to this issue

Great, thanks!

[xnview]

This problem is supposed to be fixed in XnView MP 1.8.4. Please check and confirm the bug fix here.

[sTi]

This problem is supposed to be fixed in XnView MP 1.8.4. Please check and confirm the bug fix here.

Sorry, but I don't notice any change. The problem seems exactly the same as before. What did you change for AVIF pictures in 1.8.4.? In the changelog I only found a reference to "3448: [Bug] AVIF HEIF - lossless output", but this does not seem related at all to the problem described here.
How does it work for you? If you save an image as AVIF and open the AVIF e.g. in Windows Photo viewer or Faststone and compare to the original, can you confirm there is no color shift? Thanks for checking.

[xnview]

It seems that you need to use chroma 444 to be compatible with AV1 component

[sTi]

It seems that you need to use chroma 444 to be compatible with AV1 component

I just tried various settings, and only the "lossless" option in AVIF preserves the right colors. All lossy compression settings (444, 422, 420) show the same strong color shift, so there seems to be a general problem with the lossy compression.
I just compared the exiftool output from the two versions, maybe there is a hint there what goes wrong:

Lossless version with correct colors:

Code: Select all

ExifTool Version Number         : 13.11
File Name                       : flat-design-color-chart-xnviewnewLL.avif
Directory                       : D:/MEGAsync/2-Photo
File Size                       : 1435 kB
File Modification Date/Time     : 2025:02:12 08:55:50+01:00
File Access Date/Time           : 2025:02:12 08:59:38+01:00
File Creation Date/Time         : 2025:02:12 08:55:35+01:00
File Permissions                : -rw-rw-rw-
File Type                       : AVIF
File Type Extension             : avif
MIME Type                       : image/avif
Major Brand                     : AV1 Image File Format (.AVIF)
Minor Version                   : 0.0.0
Compatible Brands               : avif, mif1, miaf
Handler Type                    : Picture
Primary Item Reference          : 1
AV1 Configuration Version       : 1
Chroma Format                   : YUV 4:4:4
Chroma Sample Position          : Colocated
Color Profiles                  : nclx
Color Primaries                 : BT.709
Transfer Characteristics        : sRGB or sYCC
Matrix Coefficients             : Identity matrix
Video Full Range Flag           : Full
Image Width                     : 6324
Image Height                    : 2332
Image Spatial Extent            : 6324x2332
Image Pixel Depth               : 8 8 8
Media Data Size                 : 1434757
Media Data Offset               : 270
Image Size                      : 6324x2332
Megapixels                      : 14.7

Lossy version (444 chroma) with color shift:

Code: Select all

ExifTool Version Number         : 13.11
File Name                       : flat-design-color-chart-xnview-new444.avif
Directory                       : D:/MEGAsync/2-Photo
File Size                       : 387 kB
File Modification Date/Time     : 2025:02:12 08:52:16+01:00
File Access Date/Time           : 2025:02:12 09:00:22+01:00
File Creation Date/Time         : 2025:02:12 08:52:03+01:00
File Permissions                : -rw-rw-rw-
File Type                       : AVIF
File Type Extension             : avif
MIME Type                       : image/avif
Major Brand                     : AV1 Image File Format (.AVIF)
Minor Version                   : 0.0.0
Compatible Brands               : avif, mif1, miaf
Handler Type                    : Picture
Primary Item Reference          : 1
AV1 Configuration Version       : 1
Chroma Format                   : YUV 4:4:4
Chroma Sample Position          : Colocated
Color Profiles                  : nclx
Color Primaries                 : Unspecified
Transfer Characteristics        : Unspecified
Matrix Coefficients             : BT.601
Video Full Range Flag           : Full
Image Width                     : 6324
Image Height                    : 2332
Image Spatial Extent            : 6324x2332
Image Pixel Depth               : 8 8 8
Media Data Size                 : 386473
Media Data Offset               : 270
Image Size                      : 6324x2332
Megapixels                      : 14.7

Especially these differences seem suspicious:
Lossless:
Color Primaries : BT.709
Transfer Characteristics : sRGB or sYCC
Matrix Coefficients : Identity matrix

Lossy:
Color Primaries : Unspecified
Transfer Characteristics : Unspecified
Matrix Coefficients : BT.601

Here are the files:
Original:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GNQv43 ... sp=sharing
Lossless:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qbfwL7 ... sp=sharing
Lossy:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Z3Ft1i ... sp=sharing

Thanks for checking.

[xnview]

Thanks to your detailed description I can reproduce the problem.

[sTi]

Thanks to your detailed description I can reproduce the problem.

Perfect, thank you.