What is a DJVU file?
DjVu Image
- Developed By
- AT&T Labs
- Initial Release
- 1996
- MIME Type
- image/vnd.djvu
DjVu is a raster image file format developed by researchers at AT&T Labs (including Yann LeCun) specifically for storing high-resolution scanned documents. It employs a content-specific compression algorithm that separates images into three layers: background (paper texture), foreground (text/line art), and a bi-level mask (JB2 compression), enabling high compression ratios superior to PDF or TIFF. The format utilizes arithmetic coding (ZM-coder) and wavelet-based compression (IW44) to deliver legible text rendering at low bitrates.
How to open a DJVU file
Most operating systems do not include native kernel support for DjVu rendering. To open these files, users require specialized viewers such as DjView4, WinDjView (Windows), or MacDjView (macOS). Multi-format image viewers like IrfanView (with plugins) and XnView also support the format. For browser-based access, specific plugin implementations or conversion to PDF are often required as modern browsers do not render DjVu natively.