What is HDR?

Radiance HDR is an image format that stores high dynamic range pixel data, commonly used for HDRI environment maps and lighting.

What is CUR?

Windows Cursor (CUR) is the mouse cursor format for Windows, supporting static and animated pointers with hotspot definitions.

When Should You Use HDR vs CUR?

HDR vs CUR: Key Differences

• •HDR and CUR diverge on compression: lossless compression for the source, lossless compression for the target.
• •Since both HDR and CUR use lossless compression, the quality characteristics are comparable — differences in file size come down to how efficiently each format implements compression.
• •Alpha channel support: CUR handles transparency.
• •HDR files are typically 5-30MB for typical HDR maps while CUR files range Very small, typically under 50KB
• •HDR is optimized for hdri lighting, panoramic photography while CUR is designed for windows ui cursors, mouse pointer graphics — choose based on your specific workflow needs

Advantages of HDR

• ✓HDR compresses data using lossless methods, keeping file sizes manageable for HDRI lighting, panoramic photography.
• ✓Industry-wide support means HDR files open anywhere — from legacy systems to the latest devices.
• ✓Lossless quality makes HDR the gold standard for archival and master copies.
• ✓From Adobe Photoshop to open-source alternatives, HDR works out of the box.

Advantages of CUR

• ✓The lossless nature of CUR means file sizes stay reasonable while handling Windows UI cursors, mouse pointer graphics efficiently.
• ✓From mobile devices to enterprise servers, CUR is recognized and supported everywhere.
• ✓The trade-off for CUR's perfection is larger files — but for archival work, it is worth every megabyte.
• ✓CUR is a first-class citizen in all major software ecosystems, from creative suites to development environments.

Common Use Cases for HDR to CUR Conversion

• Presentation graphics
• Blog and article illustrations
• Mobile app UI assets
• Product photography for marketplaces
• Digital art portfolios
• Brochure and flyer design

Industry Applications

Best Practices for HDR to CUR Conversion

• →When converting HDR to CUR, check whether CUR supports transparency — if not, your transparent areas will be filled with a solid color
• →Use CUR for maximum quality archival and HDR for lossless workflows
• →Optimize images for web to reduce page load times — tools like our converter let you adjust quality settings before conversion
• →Maintain original aspect ratio to avoid distortion during conversion
• →Always keep a backup of your original files before converting
• →Choose the appropriate quality settings for your specific use case

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Troubleshooting HDR to CUR Conversion

• !CUR shows visible compression artifacts → lower the compression level or switch to a lossless variant
• !The converted CUR image looks washed out → the source HDR likely uses a wider color space than CUR supports
• !CUR file is much larger than expected → check if the conversion preserved an unnecessarily high resolution
• !Text in the converted CUR looks fuzzy → text-heavy images benefit from higher quality settings or a different output format

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