Microsoft Close to Establishing a New JPEG Format

I saw this today:

http://www.usatoday.co​m …-microsoft-hd-photo_N.htm

Sounds like we will be seeing a new format - JPEG XR - pushed by Microsoft and supported by Adobe.

16 or 32 bit color, lossless compression - So far it sounds like a winner.

Have Fun,

So did that oh-so-popular JPEG 2000. And DNG. And they didn't have the Microsoft burden . . .

Yes I know, Jon, and I am far from the biggest Microsoft fan in the house - but their ability to define standards should not be ignored. As I understand it, Vista already has support for the format in it, and with Adobe praising it can Canon, Ni*on, Sony, et al be far behind?

Have Fun,

CoolToolGuy wrote in post #3650863
... can Canon, Ni*on, Sony, et al be far behind?

Only if licensing is not cost-prohibitive to them.

I'll stick with RAW, thank you.

Here's a little quote from the article:

OK, Not sure how higher dynamic range will enhance longevity. A durable storage medium will, but higher DR has no effect on longivity.

Second, I don't see printers and displays being "well beyond" what current JPEG technology is capable of accessing. What is the limit of printing paper now, around 6 stops? You can only go as white as the whitest paper, and as black as the blackest ink.

Not sure about displays either - we've been making them for decades, and I don't see any giant leaps in capability coming.

Ah, Microsoft is looking to do for imaging what it did for Java development... splinter it into their own proprietary standard they control. Lovely. MS does a lot of things well, but I am not even a little bit excited for them to try to control photographic innovation like they have help all the other industries they so helped. No thanks.....

They've been trying to do this for a couple of years without much success. This is just another iteration in the process.

Mark

If M$ didn't think there was money to be made they wouldn't care in the slightest. Just another attempt at "embrace and extend". NOT!

Even if they are able to make it, my guess for some time it will require for you to buy the editing/ viewing software (or maybe included with future OS/update).
They certainly have the capability for making it I believe.

I wish there is a standard for RAW files.

thedjo wrote in post #3660584
Even if they are able to make it, my guess for some time it will require for you to buy the editing/ viewing software (or maybe included with future OS/update).
They certainly have the capability for making it I believe.

I wish there is a standard for RAW files.

See DNG I mentioned above. Really taking the world by storm, isn't it?

Tom W wrote in post #3654707
Second, I don't see printers and displays being "well beyond" what current JPEG technology is capable of accessing. What is the limit of printing paper now, around 6 stops? You can only go as white as the whitest paper, and as black as the blackest ink.

Some printers are already past jpeg's (8 bit) limitations.. in a few more years this gap will be larger. (ie 16 bit native printers with super large color gambits)

As to the whole M$ and new file tye thing, I've nothing against a new jpeg format, but with M$ we have only seen annoying attempts to control more of the pie with these new file types.
Every time MS gets involved they make a file type that is not as good as or as universally compatible as the current standard.. (think WMV etc..)

And as mentioned jpeg 2000 and DNG are dead in the water for the most part. Wasn't jpeg 2000 already a 16 bit jpeg?

Croasdail wrote in post #3655974
Ah, Microsoft is looking to do for imaging what it did for Java development... splinter it into their own proprietary standard they control. Lovely. MS does a lot of things well, but I am not even a little bit excited for them to try to control photographic innovation like they have help all the other industries they so helped. No thanks.....

Maybe so, but at this point in time, the acceptance/standardiza​tion of a new JPEG format will be driven by the general consumer, not by java programmers or photo enthusiasts like us. Now that digital photography is pretty much the standard, if Joe Sixpack or Aunt Suzie sees that they can do 90% of what Photoshop can do with the software and format that comes with their computer they will make it the standard.

If you think not, ask any of the former WordPerfect users (like me) that preferred it over MS Word why they don't use it today (because that's what they have at work or what they got with their computer, and why fight City Hall?)

I don't like it very much, but the threat is very real.

Have Fun,

The end users won't be able to make it a standard unless there's equipment that produces files in that format. Until there are cameras that use it, it'll remain Steve Ballmer's fantasy.

How is DNG dead? At least there are some that use it. Hasselblad, Leica, Ricoh, and Samsung currently have cameras that offer DNG as a file format. While this is not a staggering amount of camera makers I wouldn't call it dead. And since Adobe backs it I don't dee it going away anytime soon.