Microsoft have decided to come up with a new image format to add to the common JPGs, GIFs and PNGs of today. It is to be called Windows Media Photo format or WMP for short. It is said to "Surpass the limitations of existing file formats" and here is what it'll offer:

• Numerous colour formats for printing and displaying
  
• High-quality lossy or even lossless compression
  
• Really efficient decoding for numerous resolutions

    [/tab][tab]For more features, visit http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/xps/wmphoto.mspx

Presumeably, the JPEG2000 format or JP2 was designed as an update for the now popular JPEG format but it didn't succeed. But maybe if WMPs become an important part of Windows Vista, the format may become popular.

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More Information: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/xps/wmphoto.mspx

Definitely, we´ll have to give it a try but I don´t know... if it´s really new and good, it would be the first time that Microsoft develops something on his own. Windows Media Video format has become popular, so I suppose this will be also.

This post has been edited by Sprnknwn: Jun 4 2006, 03:40 PM

I personally think that there is no need for this new format. There are already plenty of good formats and I haven't encountered problems with them. The improvments microsoft can offer seem minor. Also, It's probably going to be released under a very restrictive license. I have no plans on using the new image format unless it becomes the standard.

Well I'm with you Arigato, we simply don't need another image format, we have the JPG. As said before there are plenty of image formats out there all of which have been relative failures when compared to the JPG. Even the JP2. The one thing I will consider using this new format for is if it allows for alpha transparencies (unlike the JPG, but even if it does I will probably stick to the PNG).

I will however say that if any one has the opportunity to dethrone the JPG, it would be Microsoft. I do not however base this one the quality of the format, but on Microsoft's previous behaviour, no doubt this will become the primary format in Vista, hell the may even cripple the operating systems handeling of JPG's in an attempt to reduce the use of them (but that would definately end up in an antitrust court and MS would lose).

Unless this image format is something exceptional (and judging from WMA and WMV, it won't be) then I see no need for it and I expect the JPG to remain the standard, indeed if any current image format is to overtake the JPG as the standard I feel it will be PNG and not this new MS format, we shall however see what MS can do for this format in Vista, who knows this creation of a new format may make the Vista version of Paint actually good.

This post has been edited by dontmaimyourself: Jun 6 2006, 05:59 PM

I can't wait to see how many (how few rather) hardware manufacturers will adopt this format. I don't see what is wrong with the current JPEG spec, I certainly find nothing wrong with it. The next thing we will need is for the Linux world to adopt it; the possibilities of Micro$**t (kidding) passing on the secrets of WMP[hoto] are slim to none. *smiles and makes an evil laugh*

I'm with Arigato as well. There are way too many image file formats, if anything we need less of them. Where I work it becomes a pain when there we have pictures in one format and we have to convert them to another, even worse when we don't even have any software to convert it with.

...but you can never trust Microsoft to say such things. To be honest, the part in italics should really say "become a requirement for correct image rendering for Windows, causing problems in other OSes and older Windows Versions". In fact, to be honest, even if it does work out:



As Arigato so well pointed out, there is not much improvement such a new format would be able to deliver. It is practically just windows' rip-off of JPEG, made to "look better", without actually BEING better. However, I have no doubt that Microsoft will make it the "Standard", meaning that we're all pretty much screwed.

Thank you, Microsoft(!)

This post has been edited by NDPA: Jun 25 2006, 09:21 PM

i dont like it. soon windows programs will all save stuff in wmp and then linux users and whatnot have to pay to be able to view those files. it'll be sooper lame. why cant we use jpg n png n gif?!

JPEG has its problems already. It sometimes has artifacts in the pictures. Although certain programs can remove them, it's still a troublesome thing. I like PNG. It saves lossless. Even if it does make the filesize bigger than the standard JPG, it's good enough for standard web use. Since WMP from Microsoft... we can expect another bias. Works well with Windows, and doesn't with others. I really don't think we need another format. It will be more troublesome. As if there aren't plenty of other image formats out there...