VIFF to SIXEL Converter

Online VIFF to SIXEL — instant image conversion

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Quality Output

Professional-grade SIXEL output from VIFF source data. The converter optimizes for the target format strengths.

Visual Fidelity

Your VIFF visual data maintains its quality through the conversion pipeline — the SIXEL output looks accurate.

No Account Needed

Anyone can convert VIFF to SIXEL without creating an account. The tool is ready to use the moment you arrive.

How to convert VIFF to SIXEL

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose sixel or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your sixel file right afterwards

About formats

VIFF (Visualization Image File Format) is a scientific image format developed by Khoral Research (originally at the University of New Mexico), first appearing around 1990 with the Khoros visual programming environment for image processing and data visualization. VIFF files use a 1024-byte header followed by optional color map data, and the image data itself, with the header containing detailed specifications: data storage type (bit, byte, short, integer, float, double, complex), data encoding (none, CCITT Group 3/4), color space model (none, generic, RGB, HSI, CMYK, and others), and support for multi-band (multi-channel) images with arbitrary numbers of bands. The format accommodates one-dimensional signals, two-dimensional images, three-dimensional volumes, and location data (sparse pixel coordinates), making it versatile beyond simple image storage. VIFF was designed for the Khoros/VisiQuest visual dataflow programming environment, where users constructed image processing pipelines by connecting processing nodes in a graphical canvas — an approach that influenced later systems like AVS, MATLAB Simulink, and LabVIEW. One advantage is scientific data fidelity: VIFF supports the full range of numeric types used in scientific computing (including complex numbers and double-precision floats), stores multi-band datasets natively, and carries calibration metadata — making it suitable for remote sensing, medical imaging, and spectral analysis applications where generic image formats lose information. The format's connection to the Khoros visual programming paradigm provides another notable dimension — VIFF was the standard I/O format for one of the most influential early visual programming environments for scientific image analysis. VIFF files can be read by ImageMagick and legacy Khoros/VisiQuest installations.
Developer: Khoral Research
Initial release: 1990
SIXEL (Six Pixel) is a bitmap graphics encoding format created by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1983 for rendering images on character-cell printers and video terminals. The name derives from the encoding's fundamental unit: a column of six pixels represented by a single ASCII character. Each printable character in the sixel data stream (ASCII 63-126) encodes a 6-pixel vertical column, with the character's binary value determining which pixels are on or off. Color is specified through register-based palette control: a Select Color Sequence assigns an HLS or RGB color value to a numbered register, and subsequent sixel characters use that color until another register is selected. The encoding supports raster attributes for specifying pixel aspect ratio and image dimensions, repeat sequences (! followed by a count and character) for run-length compression of identical columns, and $ (carriage return) and - (new line) for navigating the sixel grid. DEC implemented SIXEL support in their VT240, VT241, VT330, and VT340 terminals, as well as multiple printer models. One advantage of the SIXEL encoding is its ASCII-clean nature: the data stream consists entirely of printable characters and standard control sequences, meaning SIXEL graphics can be transmitted through any text-based communication channel — serial terminals, SSH sessions, telnet connections — without requiring binary-safe transport or protocol modifications. The format's modern renaissance provides another remarkable dimension: after decades of obscurity, SIXEL support has been implemented in numerous contemporary terminal emulators, enabling inline image display in command-line workflows. SIXEL output can be generated by ImageMagick, libsixel, chafa, and various plotting libraries.
Initial release: 1983

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert VIFF to SIXEL?

Converting VIFF to SIXEL lets you share scientific visualization data as standard images for reports and publications — SIXEL is widely recognized and easy to share.

How do I open SIXEL files?

DEC terminals, xterm, mlterm will handle SIXEL files without issues. The format is well-supported across platforms.

What platforms support this conversion?

The converter runs entirely in the browser, so it works on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android without issues.

Can I convert multiple VIFF files at once?

Upload as many VIFF files as you need. Every file processes independently and delivers its own SIXEL output.

Do I need to install anything?

Zero installs needed. Open Convertio in any browser, upload VIFF, and download SIXEL — that simple.

What quality can I expect from SIXEL output?

Quality depends on the source data, but SIXEL format provides terminal-based image display for excellent results.