2008-10-19, 12:07 AM
1. I use black backgrounds for my GIFs not because it's required by the GIF spec, but because it allows for high contrast between a black background and the image itself. You'll notice that in your APNG, you really can't see what's going on too well due to the light background. However, using a black background, as in the GIF, will allow the viewer to see much more of what's going on. The southperry database has a black background for a damn good reason.
2. I created that GIF you're using in a GIF creator and obviously it has no problems with transparency. You need a better GIF maker (I use uLead, you should too).
3. The principle problem with APNG is that those images will actually be larger than their GIF counterparts even though APNG uses zlib! GIF can compress across frames, whereas APNG cannot. This is a fundamental flaw of APNG, since every other animated design on the planet can compress across frames. The main reason why I still use GIFs is because it's easier on bandwidth, APNG isn't well supported, and APNG goes against the principle purpose of the original PNG format.
2. I created that GIF you're using in a GIF creator and obviously it has no problems with transparency. You need a better GIF maker (I use uLead, you should too).
3. The principle problem with APNG is that those images will actually be larger than their GIF counterparts even though APNG uses zlib! GIF can compress across frames, whereas APNG cannot. This is a fundamental flaw of APNG, since every other animated design on the planet can compress across frames. The main reason why I still use GIFs is because it's easier on bandwidth, APNG isn't well supported, and APNG goes against the principle purpose of the original PNG format.