Get your Microsoft HD Photo plug-in for Photoshop

I disagree with the stance that we are in a position where we require this new format - the time will come, sure, but we're some way off. We are not in such a hurry that we need to go running to Microsoft.

Whether this new format will still be free in the future is rather beside the point. Let's say it is - that doesn't stop it doing widespread damage, in the same way as a free IE has been doing for the last decade.

Microsoft's business tactic has consistently been to flood an emerging market with substandard products, and hope to dominate by bullying and sheer inertia. It happened with Windows, it happened with web servers, they tried it with Windows Media, it happened with Office (although that, despite being as user-friendly as a fuseless firework, is actually one of their better products)... It's happening as we speak with the BBC's on-demand video services, and I'm a damned licence payer - we mustn't be so naive as to welcome them into yet another market with open arms.

As has been said, let's see them spin it off into an independent body, over which Microsoft have no influence. Then I might believe them.

After doing the interview on This WEEK in MEDIA with Bill Crow I'm convinced that there isn't anything "sinister" behind what Microsoft is doing. In this case it's the behemoth using its powers for good. There are so many different problems when it comes to manufactuering things from ICs, casing, software, packaging, etc. And anything adding to the cost of a product simply won't get adopted. That is, if there is a fee that needs to get paid to a "patent owner" the technology will get skipped. This is why panarama photography has taken so freaking long to catch on because a greedy patent holder made it impossible for nearly everyone to participate. Sure the patent still exists but becuase IPIX is caput nobody is chasing down potential "money".

The HD photo team is very aware that this "standard" will not get adopted if there is draconian anything attached to it.

The reason why we did the "Anything but JPEG" show is the help fuel the discussion that RAW is too heavy (for 96% of the marketplace) and JPEG sucks.

The link to the episode is above.

Read the article in Wikipedia about the proposed standard. MS is already working with the Joint Photographic Experts Group - HD Photo may one day be called "JPEG XR"

JPEG is fine? Whomever is saying this probably doesn't have much graphics experience and certainly doesn't work on the web. If you argued that it's "passable" for Digital Cameras, then I'd give you that. But for the web we really need better compression and more widely supported formats with alpha channel support (read: transparency)

JPEG2000 is *slow*

Back to my previous comment. IE is a terrible browser. At one time it was the better browser (Netscape was RANK). But that has nothing to do with the fact it's always been free.

Please someone, anyone, put forth an example showing MS jerking the public around on a similar type of commitment.

I'm hoping Apple add support for HD Photo into an OS update sooner rather than later. Baby steps of course.

And yes, I know all about PNG and use them extensively on my site. Almost exclusively as a matter of fact.

@Bruno: You didn't just talk about how Microsoft might be reliable, upstanding and honest, and then mention Internet Explorer in the next sentence - did you?

Whenever something comes out of Redmond, it almost always has strings attached. Even if it's technically good, or has laudable principles behind it, there's some dude in an office looking to leverage it to his advantage.

I'm not saying any other company is better - it's human nature - but when there aren't insurmountable problems with the status quo why take a risk on *known* bandits?

History's biggest tyrants have portrayed themselves as friends. And boy, do these guys have history.

I can't even install this plugin - I have CS3 running just fine but the installer tells me it can't be installed because it couldn't find CS3...

Curious to see whether Microsoft can back their claims (and a bit skeptical I might add--I hate Windows Media Player and all associated codecs) I set out to do my own amateur real world tests by simply opening up a RAW image in Photoshop and saving it in both JPEG and HD Photo format.

I must say I was VERY pleasantly surprised, and for those that are bashing the format just because Microsoft is behind it I encourage you to at least give it a try.

I wrote in more detail and also have a multi-layered PSD with the results here: http://www.albertmartin.name/blog/?p=18

I fu... don't care about whatever "freetard" insult of people reading too much fake steve

I will say, yes Patent system is GOOD to protect from sneaky bastard , yes.

BUT, the good thing to do to promote free(dom and as beer) standard is to give rights of patent to an industrial consortium, to publish all explanations of the format publicly and real official test implementation of the new standard and let ISO to normalize it.

to be sure whatever product and licence can write their own implementation of the new format, whatever it's a commercial, a non-commercial, a MIT licence, GPL, BSD, typical industrial EULA or whatever. with _no_ fees and no legal risks.

at last, reasonable warranties are produced.



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jpeg is good and fine to publish picture to people.
why to change ?

Tiff, png and others are totally fine to archive pictures.


why not jpeg2000 ? because jpeg2000 is too much encumbered with POTENTIAL patent and no warranties to be free of legal threat. the fact is, if you want to use jpeg2000 in your product, you have to be sure yourself there are no a sneaky bastard waiting with a complex patent.

of course, jpeg2000 is available in some products and even in free software in debian linux, but there are no massive use of it because of "fear".

I'm sure if Firefox, IE or Webkit officially support jpeg2000, someone will appear immediately to say he has a patent and want 3 gazillions dollars of the offenders.

Mozilla foundation can't support a long legal fight. MS seems to not wanting to lose time and prefer to control all standards of computing. Apple will pay whatever it has to pay.


sad.


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to summarize :
technically, I'm all for a great microsoft standard, politically, no until microsoft accept to loose all control of the standard for an industrial entity (with microsoft in it). MS has to transfer patent to it.

the sheeple I guess.

Microsoft... Image?.. Free?... Standards?.... Who are they trying to fool here?

MS needs to open source and ISO this baby. It sounds impressive. But there's no way I'm going to dive into this as long as M$ has its grubby little hands around it.

Hey it's got the initials "HD" in it! That means it must be awesome!!!