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HD Photo Now Available Within Pictools SDK by Pegasus Imaging
Pegasus Imagings HD Photo implementation in PICTools is 40% to 60% faster than Microsofts shipping HD Photo DPK.
Tampa, FL, October 1, 2007 Pegasus® Imaging Corporation, the leading provider of digital image compression technology, today announced the release of speed-optimized image decompression libraries supporting the HD Photo image format. These libraries are now available within the advanced PICTools Software Development Kit (SDK). Customers may license HD Photo technology directly from Pegasus for integration within their own applications.
HD Photo is a format from Microsoft designed for end-to-end digital photography which offers faster speeds, higher image quality, greater preservation of data and advanced features for todays digital imaging applications. It is a still image compression algorithm for continuous tone photographic images and features lossy, as well as lossless, compression, multiple colorspaces, wide dynamic range, and extensive metadata support.
The Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) has agreed to consider HD Photo as a standard. If successful, the new file standard will be known as JPEG XR. Pegasus Imaging supports standards-based compression formats, and optimizes the underlying code for faster speed and higher compression ratios. Pegasus Imaging currently provides both JPEG and JPEG 2000 technology to many leading photo imaging and medical imaging equipment manufacturers and software developers. The benefits of using Pegasus Imaging compression technologies over freely available technologies include indemnification from potential license infringements, access to responsive technical experts, support for multiple operating systems, and periodic improvements to speed and compression ratios.
"Pegasus Imaging is already a dominant player in both JPEG and JPEG 2000, with the only fully indemnified technology base and unmatched speed and compatibility," says Paul Firth, product manager at Pegasus Imaging. "HD Photo is a natural progression for us."
Pegasus Imaging gained experience working with HD Photo prior to this PICTools SDK release. Microsoft contracted with Pegasus Imaging to complete development of the HD Photo Plug-in for the CS3 and CS2 versions of the Adobe® Photoshop® software on Windows, Mac (Intel) and Mac (PowerPC). Microsoft owns the rights to these plug-ins and is responsible for all distribution and support. The official press release can be found here and more information on the HD Photo Plug-In from Microsoft can be found here.
