14 DAY TRIAL // The Joint Photographic Expert Group have decided to welcome the JPEG killer tucked away in Microsoft's latest operating system Windows Vista, with open arms. And the Redmond company scrambled to applaud the Joint Photographic Expert Group's decision to support the standardization of its HD Photo file format. In this context, JPEG XR, the standardization project of HD Photo, was submitted for approval to the JPEG national delegations. Microsoft informed that the ballot deadline on the JPEG XR project is early October 2007.
"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."
HD Photo was put together by Microsoft Research and the company's Core Media Processing team, the latter playing the key role in the file formats development. HD Photo is nothing more than an alternative to the ubiquitous JPEG format for digital images. Still, there are differences, as Microsoft carefully pointed out. HD Photo brings to the table superior image quality as well as improved compression capabilities.