Microsoft launches photoshop plugin for Windows
Vista
Microsoft has revealed a new product at the Photo Marketing
Association International Convention and Trade show
2007 in Las Vegas. Microsoft has released a set of HD
Photo plug-ins for the latest version of Adobe Photoshop
with the help of Adobe Corporation. This plug-ins support
both CS2 and CS3 versions of Photoshop, enables users
to read and write HD Photo files from within Photoshop
software, supports high dynamic range of pixel formats.
The plug-in will be available, not only for Windows
Vista, but also for Windows XP as well as MAC OS X.
HD Photo
But, actually, what makes the news is, the new picture
format, known as HD Photo. HD Photo is the latest introduction
by the Microsoft, which is used to improve image quality.
HD Photo format was formerly known as Windows Media
Photo, which is developed as a part of Windows Media
Family. This format is for continuous-tone photographic
still images that surpass limitations of existing image
formats. It supports both lossy and lossless compression
methods and is a preferred format for Microsoft’s
XPS documents.
Image compression algorithm with a small memory
The format is of still image compression algorithm
with a small memory foot print, which enables practical,
in-device encoding and decoding capabilities. The format
earlier known as “photon” is an image codec
that gives a high-dynamic-range image encoding. It supports
monochrome, CMYK, RGB and even the n-channel color representation.
It also supports RGBE Radiance format. It includes an
optional embedded ICC color profile to achieve consistent
representation across multiple devices. An alpha channel
is present for transparency. The Exif and XMP metadata
formats are also supported in HD Photo.
Reversible color space conversion
HD Photo makes use of a reversible color space conversion,
a reversible lapped biorthogonal transform and a non-arithmetic
entropy encoding scheme, which is very efficient and
intelligent in terms of preserving data. This trick
makes the algorithm to maintain high quality of image
against a higher compression ratio.
Microsoft said in the announcement that it would like
to standardize the new emerging technology and will
be submitting HD Photo to a standards organization shortly.
It will release the finished final, full version of
plug-ins, which will be free of cost shortly within
60 days. For now, the beta version of the Windows Plug-in
is made available on the download center website.
HD Photo Device Porting Kit in the download center
Microsoft has also announced the availability of HD
Photo Device Porting Kit in the download center, which
allows manufacturers to add HD Photo support in their
new devices and other platforms. The HD Photo is included
with Microsoft .NET Frame work 3.0, and is natively
supported in Windows Vista by using Windows Imaging
Component Codec and is similarly supported in Windows
XP and Windows Server 2003, which is made available
through a free Windows Imaging Component download. HD
Photo will enable users to easily view, edit and share
images without any conversion or by making use of any
special applications. The format allows flexible metadata
handling and there by supports industry-standard metadata
formats.
Exceptionally well, when compared with the JPEG format
Microsoft also claims that the HD Photo offers image
quality which is exceptionally well, when compared with
the JPEG format. The lossless compression method compresses
images at 2.5 times more, but maintains a high quality
than JPEG image format.
HD Photo is may be infant technology, at this point
of time. If Microsoft delivers its other products with
support to HD Photo format, then the format will be
popularized like existing JPEG and GIF file format for
storing images. If it is popularized, one will get lot
of good, high quality images at low file sizes. |
