Microsoft has submitted its proposal for the successor of the old JPEG format for revision, hoping to make the HD Photo format (formerly known as Windows Media Photo) the next industry standard.
Standardization of HD Photo, tentatively titled, "JPEG XR," (XR is short for "extended range") will ensure that camera, printer, display and software companies will be able to develop products with the confidence of a consistent scheme that ensures interoperability across their properties.
HD Photo offers compression with up to twice the efficiency of JPEG, with fewer damaging artifacts, resulting in higher-quality images that are one-half the file size. In addition, HD Photo offers increased image fidelity, preserving the entire original image content and enabling higher-quality exposure and color adjustments in the image. This new format offers the ability to decode only the information needed for any resolution or region, or the option to manipulate the image as compressed data.
HD Photo supports a wide range of features including:
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Multiple color formats for display or print
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Fixed or floating point high-dynamic-range image encoding
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Lossless or high-quality lossy compression
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Efficient decoding for multiple resolutions and subregions
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Minimal overhead for format conversion or transformations during decode
In addition, HD Photo offers both lossless and lossy image compression, and can retain the full dynamic range and color gamut data from a camera's sensor. Also, because making adjustments to common color balance and exposure settings won't discard or truncate data as other common bitmap formats typically do, it's easier to "undo" those changes at a later time. As a result, significantly smaller files can be created while still retaining optimum picture quality.
The HD Photo image-coding technology incubated in Microsoft Research and was developed by Microsoft's Core Media Processing team, which has been working on the technology for over five years.
"Microsoft is very pleased that the JPEG working group is considering HD Photo as a new standard, and we are committed to working cooperatively with JPEG and its affiliated standards organizations to ensure that this file format serves the needs of the next generation of consumer and professional photographers," said Tom Robertson, general manager of Interoperability and Standards at Microsoft. "This is an excellent example of Microsoft's multibillion-dollar annual investment in R&D, producing a technology that represents a big step forward in multimedia innovation and tangible benefits for consumers."
"We greatly appreciate the contribution Microsoft is making to the IT ecosystem with the development of HD Photo," said Dr. Daniel Lee, convener of the Joint Photographic Expert Group. "We are voting on consideration of this new file format for standardization because we believe it will foster breakthrough, innovative products and services in the photography and printing industries that will have widespread value for consumers around the world."
"ARM fully supports the standardization of a technology such as Microsoft's HD Photo because it promises to improve the digital photography experience for users," said Lance Howarth, general manager of the Media Processing Division at ARM Holdings PLC. "Higher compression efficiency offers faster wireless uploads for longer battery life and an enhanced dynamic range that will help improve photographs taken in low-light conditions with a mobile phone or digital camera that does not offer sufficient flash assistance."
"The proposed JPEG XR technology simultaneously enables dynamic range extension and preservation of precise details in highly compressed images. This capability is particularly important for applications that demand the high image quality made possible by Foveon's X3 image sensors," said Federico Faggin, president and CEO of Foveon Inc. "We are very excited that there is finally a compression technology that is consistent with our goals of getting the most information out of digital images and enabling uncompromising quality for the full range of digital imaging devices and systems."
"As an organization, Hasselblad believes the proposed JPEG XR file format is a valuable and timely technology to standardize, promising to bring new consumer and professional success and value to the digital photography marketplace," said Peter Stig-Nielsen, director of Digital Camera Products for Hasselblad.
"As a digital camera processor provider, it would be valuable to offer this proposed JPEG XR file format to our camera manufacturer customers who can then deliver innovative products that exploit its higher dynamic range, flexible adjustment of color temperature, better compression ratio, and higher overall original image quality," said David Chen, vice president, Novatek Microelectronics Corp.
Bill Crow, program manager for HD Photo, said that Microsoft is "committed to standardizing HD Photo as an open format" and that the company's goal was "to develop the ultimate successor to JPEG as the format of choice for all digital photography."
"From the beginning, Microsoft designed HD Photo to meet the specific needs of end-to-end consumer and professional digital photography, and address the current limitations of the original JPEG format. HD Photo offers new pixel formats to retain higher image quality, great new progressive decoding features for more powerful image access and manipulation, and significant compression improvements to improve quality, reduce file sizes and enable better performance."
According to the press statement, Microsoft submitted HD Photo to Joint Photographic Expert Group, which is considered as the premier standards organization for image compression technologies. JPEG has submitted to its national body members a new project, which would include JPEG XR as the new standard, if formally approved. JPEG XR would be the second part of a larger scope of work item called JPEG Systems, which is a forum for standardization of systems integration technologies focused on the current and emerging needs of consumer and professional digital photography.
The ballot deadline for this new project is early October 2007. Finalizing and publishing the completed standard is expected to take up to one year after that.
Source: Microsoft
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