Digital nautical chart Raster

Your navigation area, usage and habits are some of the many criteria to take into account before making the right choice for your nautical chart. Raster or Vector, let’s get into their differences. Vector charts are extremely accurate at their reference scales (as long as they are not “over-zoomed”), but can appear quite different from traditional paper charts. MapMedia mm3d Vector Charts allow you to customize your chart display. Raster charts Main advantages Similar appearance to marine paper charts. Reliability of true color copy of official hydrographic offices paper charts. Main drawbacks Raster charts appear “grainy” when over zoomed. The depth units cannot be changed. There is no possibility to "hide" information on the map. Where do electronic charts originate? Marine Raster Charts are geo-referenced, digital images of the Official Hydrographic Office and select private navigational charts. True color copies of the official paper chart of the hydrographic services, marine raster charts are the most reliable, allowing you to display on screen the official paper charts that you were accustomed to using. What is the best chart format: Vector or Raster Vector charts or raster charts? The choice is complex and raises a real debate between two schools. Hard to say which format is better than the other, and in the end the choice often lies on user habits or personal preference. Traditional paper chart users tend to like Raster Charts, since visually these are an exact reproduction of the paper chart. Vector Charts are stored as a database and drawn on the computer or plotter screen by the software, thus the display of a Vector Chart does not resemble a paper chart.