Nieuwe JPEG 2000 compressie standaard

ZDNet heeft een artikel over de nieuwe JPEG 2000 compressie standaard die gebruik maakt van een nieuwe wavelet compressie techniek en die zowel lossy als lossless compressie mogelijk maakt. Dat alles gebeurd ook nog eens tegen een kleinere bestandsomvang:

JPEG 2000 delivers extremely high compression ratios and still guarantees high image quality. On the simplest level, JPEG 2000 will offer both lossy and lossless compression. More important, it abandons DCT compression in favor of wavelet compression. Wavelets are mathematical expressions that describe an image in a continuous stream, and so avoid the blocky artifacts associated with DCT compression."

"The Internet provides a perfect example of wavelet technology in action, because it will let you download the same image at different resolutions depending upon the available bandwidth. For instance, with a T1 link you'd be able to download more of the wavelet stream (for higher-resolution display) than you could with a 56K connection. This ability to uncompress multiple resolutions on the fly can also pay big dividends in print production workflows."

"While today's JPEG files contain only RGB data, JPEG 2000 will handle up to 256 channels-enough to describe alternate color models such as CMYK or CIE Lab and store alpha channels internally. JPEG 2000 will also work within a color managed environment, because it will include ICC profile information. And extensible metadata fields will make it possible for developers to add all sorts of information to the file. For example, a digital camera could insert the date and time a picture was created.