COPYCENSE

“If it is up to Microsoft, the omnipresent JPEG image format will be replaced by Windows Media Photo.

“The software maker detailed the new image format last week at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seatlle. Windows Media Photo will be supported in Windows Vista and also be made available for Windows XP. In a presentation, the Windows Media Photo product manager showed an image with 24:1 compression that visibly contained more detail in the Windows Media Photo format than the JPEG and JPEG 2000 formats compressed at the same level.

“Still, the image in the Microsoft format was somewhat distorted because of the high compression level. Typically digital cameras today use 6:1 compression. Windows Media Photo should offer better pictures at double that level, according to Microsoft. Not only does compression save storage space, which is especially important for devices such as cell phones and digital cameras, a smaller file can also print faster, transfer faster and help conserve battery life on devices.”

Joris Evers. Microsoft Shows Off JPEG Rival. News.com. May 24, 2006.

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