Another image format type??

[Jamdiver]

What are your thoughts on this?

Apparently Microsoft has dreamed up yet another file format, Windows Media Photo.
They're lots of supposed advantages, I just can't bear the thought of having yet more letters to remember, compatibility issues with older programs and just general stress!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0605/06052901windowsmediaphoto.asp

Microsoft has announced a new still image format called Windows Media Photo (with a WDP file extension). According to their white paper this new format offers compression ratios close to JPEG-2000 but with the computational requirements of JPEG (smaller files with the same image quality). The use of new algorithms are also claimed to reduce the visibility of 'objectionable spatial artifacts' (those mosquito JPEG artifacts). Windows Media Photo supports a wide range of image formats including both fixed and floating point numerical representations (think wide dynamic range), various color spaces, metadata (including EXIF) and even transparency. This new format will be supported in Windows Vista when it arrives and will be made available for Windows XP, there has been no word yet of support for the format in any hardware devices.

 

[CompuDude]

Just another example of Microsoft trying to "improve" things by inflicting yet another proprietary file format on the populace.

Why use .wma when .mp3 is ubiquitous, well supported and works well? Because MS can't make any money off of it, of course.

Why use this new .wdp when .jpg (or .png, or raw, or even .psd!) is ubiquitous, well supported and works well?

The one argument I can *almost* give them is .wmv, although real and quicktime are both viable alternatives. But they lost the argument when they refused to give it any truly viable level of support on other platforms.

If they make wdp open source, or at least make it royalty free for use on other platforms, it could be a viable format. But I doubt it will get much traction. Look at how well supported wma files are in hardware music players compared to mp3. All cameras shoot jpg or raw. They have the same hurdle to overcome. And if they don't open it up the Mac platform, while rules the creative market, it'll never make it in the professional advertising and entertainment industry, either.

 

[Jamdiver]

So true on all counts CompuDude.
We can only wait and see if this new format will be consigned to the dustbin of history..