TGA to JPG Converter
Targa files are big, uncompressed or barely compressed, and invisible to most apps outside games and 3D software. Converting them to JPG makes screenshots and renders a fraction of the size and viewable everywhere.
Image Converter
or drop JPG, JPEG, JPE … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
85 keeps photos visually identical to the original. Lower it only when you need a smaller file.
JPG, BMP and EPS have no transparency. Transparent pixels are filled with this color.
Hex color used behind transparent pixels, e.g. #FFFFFF.
This format holds a single image. Choose GIF or WebP output if you want to keep the animation.
A multi-size icon contains several resolutions in one file; browsers and operating systems pick the one they need.
Keep the original dimensions, or enter one side and the aspect ratio is kept.
Pixels for the side you chose above.
Percentage of the original dimensions.
sRGB is right for screens and the web. Keep the original for print workflows; grayscale discards color.
Metadata only, 0 keeps the original value. Printers and some portals read this number; it does not change pixel dimensions.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the .tga files
Add up to 20 screenshots or render frames, 95 MB each, from your game's screenshot folder or your render output directory.
- 2
Set quality and background
Quality starts at 90 for crisp HUD text and edges. If a render has an alpha channel, choose what fills it under Transparent areas: white, black or a custom color.
- 3
Convert to JPG
Press Convert to JPG, then download the files or a single ZIP of the batch.
What happens when I convert TGA to JPG?
The image is re-encoded as a compressed JPG, typically around a tenth of the size. Any alpha channel is flattened onto a background color, and everything else, size and colors included, stays the same.
Where TGA screenshots and renders come from
Truevision created the Targa format in 1984 for its TARGA video graphics boards, and the simple layout outlived the hardware. A TGA is little more than a short header followed by rows of pixels, optionally run-length encoded. Writing one costs almost nothing, so game engines use it for screenshots, and 3D programs offer it as a render output: Blender lists both Targa and Targa Raw among its output file formats.
That simplicity is the problem once the file leaves the machine. Windows Photos, macOS Preview and phones handle TGA unevenly at best, and browsers, Discord, Reddit, email clients and online printing services do not display it at all. A folder of TGA screenshots is also heavy: each full HD frame weighs several megabytes because nothing is compressed beyond simple run-length coding.
TGA to JPG file size: what to expect
TGA screenshot
6.2 MB
1920 × 1080 · 24-bit, uncompressed
JPG copy
≈ 0.6 MB
Same frame · quality 90, typical result
TGA
Truevision TGA (Targa)
TGA, also called Targa, was created by Truevision in 1984 for its graphics cards. It stores raster images uncompressed or with lossless run-length encoding and supports an 8-bit alpha channel. The simple structure made it a long-standing favourite for game textures, 3D renders and video graphics. Files are large compared with PNG, and browsers and phones do not display TGA. Most image editors, game engines and 3D programs read it.
- Compression
- Lossless
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- 1984 · Truevision
JPG
JPEG image
JPEG (or JPG) is the most widely used photo format, standardised by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 1992. It uses lossy compression that discards fine detail the eye is unlikely to notice, which keeps photos small enough for the web, email and phone storage. It handles smooth gradients and natural scenes well, but sharp text, line art and flat colours pick up visible blocky or fuzzy artefacts. JPEG has no transparency and no animation, and every re-save loses a little more quality. Every browser, phone, camera and image editor can open it.
- Compression
- Lossy
- Transparency
- No
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- 1992 · Joint Photographic Experts Group
People convert TGA to JPG to make heavy game screenshots and render frames small and viewable enough to post, email or print, where the alpha channel and lossless pixels no longer matter.
Flattening TGA alpha onto a JPG background
A 32-bit TGA carries an 8-bit alpha channel next to the color. In a game screenshot it is usually meaningless, often fully opaque or full of leftover values from the frame buffer, and flattening it changes nothing you can see. In a render with a transparent background, the alpha marks the cut-out object, and the converter composites it onto the color set under Transparent areas. Soft edges blend into that color, so match it to the page, slide or print where the picture will go.
Some programs save Targa files bottom-up, others top-down, and a flag in the header says which. The converter reads that flag, so the JPG opens the right way up in every viewer. Dimensions are kept exactly; use Resize output image if a forum or chat app limits the size, for example a longest side of 1920 px for 4K captures.
For print or a portfolio, convert at quality 95 and keep the TGA files as masters. To shrink the JPGs further for an upload form with a size cap, run them through compress JPEG to 200 KB afterward.
TipRendering a sequence for video editing? Keep TGA or PNG for the edit and make JPGs only for review copies; each JPG pass adds its own compression.
Questions about TGA to JPG
Why did my game save screenshots as TGA?
Many engines write Targa because it is trivial to save without slowing the frame: pixels go to disk almost as they sit in memory. Source engine games are a known example, where the screenshot console command writes .tga and the jpeg command writes .jpg.
How much smaller will my TGA screenshots get?
Usually around a tenth of the original or less. An uncompressed 1920 × 1080 24-bit TGA is just over 6.2 MB by arithmetic alone, while a JPG of the same frame at quality 90 typically lands under 1 MB, depending on detail.
My render has a transparent background. What does the JPG show?
The color set under Transparent areas, white by default. Pick black or a custom hex color to match the page or slide where the image will sit, or keep the alpha with TGA to PNG.
Does TGA to JPG reduce quality?
JPG is lossy, so the result is not pixel-identical. At quality 90 a game frame or render looks the same at normal size; fine HUD text and pixel art are the first places a difference shows, so raise Quality to 95 for those.
Can I convert a numbered render sequence in one go?
Yes, in batches of 20 frames. Files keep their names, so frame_0001.tga becomes frame_0001.jpg and the order stays intact for an editor or slideshow.
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