This page will be regularly updated by incorporating information from the posts.
Introduction
History
Names
- Lightning Strike: the trademark registered as the product name for the compression technology
- COD: very likely stands for “coded” (image)
- CIS: almost certainly stands for “Computer and Information Sciences, Inc.”, a company that was involved in the implementation of the Lightning Strike image codec.
Companies
- Computer and Information Sciences, Inc.
- Infinop, Inc. (also called Infinet Op in the help file of the Lightning Strike Image Compressor (LSIC) version 2.5, in MacUser 05/1996, page 28, and on some contemporary web pages)
- Infinitron Research International, Inc.
Versions
There exist at least four versions:
- 2.3
- 2.4
- 2.5
- 3.0
These do not necessarily match the version numbers of the software described below – see Compatibility with File Format Versions.
File format
Visualization of the file format (for version 3.0) generated from cis.ksy using Kaitai Struct:
Coding / compression
Software
Lightning Strike Image Compressor (LSIC)
| version | 2.5 | 2.6 |
|---|---|---|
| file name | lsic25.exe | lsic.exe |
| file size | 126976 bytes | 601088 bytes |
| file date | 1996-04-11 | 1996-10-17 |
| file MD5 hash | 3f6d7e0c8260e51f61b3fdf85efd8931 | 1a4ed8edeb6bbd66ff3bad6c0a3e0276 |
| supported file formats | .bmp, .cod, .tga | .bmp, .cod, .tga, .gif, .jpg |
| source | lsic25.zip | LSIC26~1.ZIP |
LSIC 2.5
- can resize image
- “master setup” allows fine-grained control over compression
parameters:
- number of A, B, and C levels
- quantization vectors
- total levels
- threshold vector
LSIC 2.6
- can sharpen image and apply some filters
- “master setup” allows fine-grained control over compression
parameters:
- levels to discard
- levels to sample
- quantization vectors
- total levels
- threshold vector
- The help file states: “LSIC 2.6 increases compression ratio approximately 10% over LSIC V2.5. The new format of coded file can be decompressed in incremental mode.”
LSIC 3.0
According to the patent WO1998040842A1 “System and method for image compression and decompression”, there existed a “Lightning Strike™ Image Compressor (LSIC) version 3.0”.
Web Browser Plugin
| version | file name | file size | date | file MD5 hash | source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.7 | 16 bit | NPCOD16.DLL | 125312 | 1996-04-23 (DLL) | 7c7c5df1f7ea6c95acb7118d1e995093 | ls16tiny.exe, lstplug.exe |
| 1.7 | 32 bit | NPCOD32.DLL | 179712 | 1996-04-23 (DLL) | 2d4f3656979c2cc27145f25b379c7bec | ls32tiny.exe, lstplug.exe |
| 2.6.0 | 32 bit | NPLS32.DLL | 237056 | 1997-02-14 (README) | bd3c81d8185588b9ca76af8b196897df | ls26.exe |
| 3.1.3 | 32 bit | NpLS32.dll | 280064 | 1997-09-29 (DLL) | d9c1b69f2a5081350c66bc23b696b582 | lsnswi32.exe |
Lightning Strike Video Codec 3.5
| file name | file size | file date | file MD5 hash |
|---|---|---|---|
| lsvc30.dll | 83968 | 1998-04-23 | 7162a06af5c258caccb2ee1e9bde6441 |
| lsvc.dll | 123392 | 1998-05-12 | ebe72859ffd2da2d280d9f08b73a302f |
| lsvd30.dll | 91648 | 1998-04-23 | 3746ceafe7ec518a96421ca4515ddbbb |
source: lsvideo5_NT.zip
Lightning Strike Video Messenger 2.4
| file name | file size | file date | file MD5 hash |
|---|---|---|---|
| encvm.dll | 229376 | 1999-01-03 | 9b509174dae3f519a65228e2e437c7dc |
| lsvmplus.dll | 262144 | 1999-01-03 | 5d67c1410ec5ec0f5011fd0a4c62bc11 |
| VideoMessenger.exe | 985367 | 2000-04-03 | 7ef54e6303c09f022b51060c20005586 |
source: Neo Volume 5
Other DLLs
| file name | file size | file date | file MD5 hash | source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lsd26dll.dll | 69632 | 1996-08-07 | fb3fc544f1a0b94fc286f1eb43bd1bbd | D-Sat 1 |
| lsvxdec.dll | 204800 | e93ad6b252aaa2631dbc1bd7abca00f9 | GitHub |
Java
A Java browser applet and application for reading CIS/COD images is contained in NEWJAVA.ZIP. The app(let) can open some (but not all!) version 3.0 images.
Compatibility with File Format Versions
The following table lists for a selection of software, which of the four known file format versions (2.3, 2.4, 2.5, and 3.0) each can read or write:
| software | version | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 3.0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSIC | 2.5 | read | read | read/write | - |
| LSIC | 2.6 | - | - | - | read/write |
| browser plugin 16 bit | 1.7 | ||||
| browser plugin 32 bit | 1.7 | read | read | read | - |
| browser plugin 32 bit | 2.6.0 | read | read | read | read |
| browser plugin 32 bit | 3.1.3 | read | read | read | read |
| lsd26dll.dll | read |
The browser plugins have an option to write (a previously opened) CIS/COD file which creates a copy of the file.
Use
- D-Sat, at least version 1
- possibly Dark Reign