JPEG XR becomes ISO / IEC standard

    Today it is announced that the JPEG XR ( wiki ) format developed by Microsoft to replace JPEG has become the international standard ISO / IEC 29199-2. Previously, it was called HD Photo. On a habr already was written about him. According to a Microsoft blog entry , the new format has the following main advantages:

    * Better compression level - JPEG XR offers greater compression efficiency compared to JPEG, and compression artifacts are not as noticeable as typical JPEG artifacts. JPEG XR offers a wide range of compression levels, including lossless compression or full lossless compression;

    * More image formats - JPEG XR supports both 8bpc (bits per channel), 16bpc and 32bpc as well as other special formats. The pixel color value can be stored as an integer and a floating-point number of different precision (scaled fixed point numbers or full floating point). This allows both HDR support and images with an extended gamut color spaces. In addition to RGB, JPEG XR supports monochrome, CMYK and n-channel formats, up to 16 independent channels. Most of these formats support the alpha channel. Broad support for many formats can significantly improve image quality and replace with one new format several previous formats designed for different scenarios;

    * Advanced decoding functions - JPEG XR offers progressive decoding, which allows you to create as a preview of the full image with low resolution or any part of it without fully decoding the entire image. In addition, JPEG XR images can be cut, rotated, mirrored, or resized without the need for decoding and re-encoding the original image. This means that the described operations will be carried out significantly, significantly faster and without loss of quality as could be previously with repeated decoding / encoding.

    Currently, there is wide support for the HD Photo format for many popular programs in the form of plug-ins and extensions. More details in the list in the article.on the wiki. Support for the format, according to the ISO standard, is also not long in coming.

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