Microsoft’s JPEG Killer Closer to Becoming Reality
Microsoft’s JPEG Killer Closer to Becoming Reality
August 1st, 2007: Microsoft’s HD photo technology is being considered for standardisation by the Joint Photographic Expert Group (JPEG).
Back in April Microsoft’s (MS) Windows Media Photo file format was being hailed as “The JPEG Killer” by countless news sites. Now it is looking like it could actually become a reality with a work order being accepted to consider MS’s HD photo (also known as Windows Media Photo) technology for standardisation.
Most people think of JPEG as just a file extension for photos, when in actuality it is also a group of photographic experts who decide on the standards used by the industry, the most common being the ‘JPEG’ standard, hence the confusion.
The goal of the MS HD photo project has been “develop the ultimate successor to JPEG as the format of choice for all digital photography” said Bill Crow, the Program Manager for HD Photo in a blog update.
According to Crow, if accepted JPEG XR would become an open standard making it publicly available and have various rights to use associated with it. MS officially made this into a secondary goal of the project earlier this year, which started all the “JPEG Killer” hype.
“With today's announcements, we're moving a lot closer to both of those goals” Crow said. If the technology does become standardised, it would mean a dramatically changed world for next generation digital photography, as well as a product that is labeled a ‘Killer’ by the media actually lived up to the hype.