Geospatial data is delivered in file formats that help store and transmit data while ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and interoperability.
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Raster
Raster data consists of a grid of pixels, each containing a value representing continuous geospatial information like elevation or color.
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Vector
Vector data represents discrete geographic features such as points, lines, and polygons, defined by coordinates and attributes.
TIFF is a commonly used format for raster data.
It supports high resolution storage and transfer of complex images.
It uses lossless file compression, which can lead to large file sizes.
It uses the .tiff or .tif extensions.
GeoTIFF is an extension of TIFF specifically used for geospatial raster data.
It has embedded geospatial metadata, such as the position and coordinate reference system, which allows the raster data to be georeferenced.
GeoTIFF is the industry standard raster format for the remote sensing and GIS industry.
It uses the .tiff or .tif extensions.
On the UP42 platform, all raster data is delivered as cloud-optimized GeoTIFFs. COGs are regular GeoTIFF files hosted on an HTTP server, allowing for streaming of raster data and compatibility with cloud-based geospatial workflows.
JPEG 2000 is a compression standard for storing high resolution raster images.
It supports both lossless and lossy compression techniques, providing flexibility in balancing file size and image fidelity.
It uses the .jp2 extension.
JSON is a commonly used text-based data interchange format.
It supports storage and transfer of geometry and attribute data in a readable and lightweight format.
It’s suited for complex vector data, like geospatial features and their properties.
It uses the .json extension.
GeoJSON is an extension of JSON specifically used for geospatial vector data.
It has embedded geospatial metadata, such as the position and coordinate reference system, which allows the vector data to be georeferenced.
GeoJSON is one of the most common open-standard formats for online web mapping applications.
It uses the .geojson or .json extensions.
Why is my imagery black?
If your imagery doesn’t appear as expected in an image viewer, the imagery probably has a higher bit depth per pixel than the viewer can render. To view the imagery, visualize it in QGIS.