

H.264 and VP8 for still image coding: WebP? - astrange
http://x264dev.multimedia.cx/?p=541

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patrickaljord
> it doesn’t even support all of JPEG’s features, let alone many of the much-
> wanted features JPEG was missing (alpha channel support, lossless support).
> It only supports 4:2:0 chroma subsampling, while JPEG can handle 4:2:2 and
> 4:4:4. Google doesn’t seem interested in adding any of these features
> either.

Wrong:

> We plan to add support for a transparency layer, also known as alpha channel
> in a future update.

from: [http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2010/09/webp-new-image-
format...](http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2010/09/webp-new-image-format-for-
web.html)

~~~
tvon
Wrong on just the alpha channel or all of it?

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sprout
Even if all the vendors in a position to do so put in support for WebP today,
it would be pretty much a decade before it got any serious use. Most Cameras
take pictures as jpegs, and re-encoding jpegs in another lossy format is a
losing proposition.

So anything released today is of necessity in it for the long haul. That said,
maybe releasing a spec today from one player isn't the way to go. Google
should be talking with Microsoft, Apple, and their hardware partners to look
at next-generation technology they can put out, unencumbered by any patents
and figure out a 3-year timetable after which they will have the format ready
for use in cameras and phones. At the hardware level where the data is encoded
off the CCD. Partnering with Flickr, Facebook, etc. they could make sure that
these phones and cameras with next-gen encoders work out of the box, on the
web.

~~~
patrickaljord
> Google should be talking with Microsoft, Apple, and their hardware partners
> to look at next-generation technology they can put out, unencumbered by any
> patents

But Apple and Microsoft are not interested by formats unencumbered by patents.
Google, xiph and the fsf have been pushing for such formats for decades and
Apple and Microsoft have been doing the contrary, pushing hard for their
patents encumbered wm9 and AAC.

Unfortunately, Google is alone on this one and will have to push webm and webp
and any other open format on their own.

~~~
werftgh
Might not be possible, it's not the format or algorithm thats patented - in
many cases it's the concept. A patent on compressing an image by only storing
some spatial frequencies gets you however you code the DCT.

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teilo
I don't know... Judging from this article, I think these conclusions are
premature: [http://englishhard.com/2010/10/01/real-world-analysis-of-
goo...](http://englishhard.com/2010/10/01/real-world-analysis-of-googles-webp-
versus-jpg/)

I am especially interested in the lack of banding vs. JPEG.

Now - next question: Can it support CMYK?

