Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Geodatabase an Open Souce Tar-Baby?
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I was reading the latest ArcNews and took some time to carefully read the Open Source Technology and Esri article. I'm very pleased Esri is beginning to address open source formally. The article highlights some of the misconceptions about open source, which is always welcome. I learned that Esri uses two different open source licenses in its current list of two open source products. The OSM Editor is under a Microsoft Public License and the GeoPortal Extension is under Apache 2.0. Interesting.
More interesting? This comment about the open API for the file geodatabase:
Esri's most recent API, the File Geodatabase API, while not yet open source, opens up the file geodatabase for developers to create applications that access file geodatabases from a variety of outside environments without using ArcObjects.
It's that "yet" that struck me. I was not aware Esri planned to open the API up under and open source license. I thought the end goal was "just" an API. Did I read that right? What benefit would the API itself being open source mean to Esri? To the developer community?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
NAVTEQ Maps Now Power Panasonic's New Digital CamerasNAVTEQ puts Maps in Panasonic DMC-TZ20 and FT3/TS3
CHICAGO, March 29, 2011 -- NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of maps, traffic and location data enabling navigation, location-based services and mobile advertising around the world is supplying NAVTEQ® map and location content for Panasonic's LUMIX DMC-TZ20/ZS10 and DMC-FT3/TS3, the newest member of Panasonic's acclaimed LUMIX Series of digital cameras.
Traditionally, consumers can only organize their photo collection via date/time. With the integration of maps and location content in an increasing number of imaging devices, consumers can now geographically organize their photos effortlessly, allowing them to easily determine the exact location of where the photo was taken and when. In addition, a timestamp feature allows users to determine the exact date and time a photo is taken. Cameras and camcorders are now among the latest market segments to integrate maps and location content in an aim to create a more compelling user experience.
NAVTEQ location content enables cameras and camcorders to geotag photos and images directly to points of interest (POI) data from the NAVTEQ map using image detection, determining a POI based on its structure latitude and longitude. The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ20/ZS10 and DMC-FT3/TS3 features a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) function allowing geotagged images to be pinpointed via POI data supplied by NAVTEQ. As such, images can be shared with friends and families easily. This built-in GPS system automatically tags the latitude and longitude data of each photo taken, giving users details on where the photos or videos were taken. For example, it could show the name of the Country/Region, State/Prov./County, County/Township, City/Town/Village and Landmark.
Traditionally, consumers can only organize their photo collection via date/time. With the integration of maps and location content in an increasing number of imaging devices, consumers can now geographically organize their photos effortlessly, allowing them to easily determine the exact location of where the photo was taken and when. In addition, a timestamp feature allows users to determine the exact date and time a photo is taken. Cameras and camcorders are now among the latest market segments to integrate maps and location content in an aim to create a more compelling user experience.
NAVTEQ location content enables cameras and camcorders to geotag photos and images directly to points of interest (POI) data from the NAVTEQ map using image detection, determining a POI based on its structure latitude and longitude. The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ20/ZS10 and DMC-FT3/TS3 features a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) function allowing geotagged images to be pinpointed via POI data supplied by NAVTEQ. As such, images can be shared with friends and families easily. This built-in GPS system automatically tags the latitude and longitude data of each photo taken, giving users details on where the photos or videos were taken. For example, it could show the name of the Country/Region, State/Prov./County, County/Township, City/Town/Village and Landmark.
"Digital cameras and camcorders is one of the newest areas in which location is being leveraged to enhance the device experience. NAVTEQ and Panasonic have had a strong collaboration globally, with NAVTEQ® Maps powering Panasonic's first GPS enabled digital camera, which was launched last year. Moving forward, we plan to further enhance the location experience through the integration of location content into various mobile mediums," said Rich Shuman, senior vice president, Asia Pacific, NAVTEQ Sales.
SmartPhone Predictions 2100 versus 2015
IDC fails to learn from previous mistakes, issues 2015 smartphone predictions
SONY GPS Cameras
Comparing with Other Video Geotagging Options, Including Smartphones
By Fred Zahradnik, About.com Guide
Of course, most of the new generation of smartphones, including iPhones and a number of Android OS devices can geotag video. The iPhone, for example, automatically tags video location (unless the user has GPS turned off) and displays the video in iPhoto's "places" maps. But it's more more challenging to geotag high-end digital stills and video.
High-end camcorders with built-in GPS are still rare, so I've been using the Sony HandyCam HDR-XR550V ($1,000 - $1,300) with built-in GPS to see what it can do. Consumer camcorder technology has become very advanced, and just to highlight the list of features, they include: full 1920x1080 HD recording, built-in 240GB hard drive and an SD card slot; a big, high-quality, wide-angle lens, hi-res digital still photography (geotagged), SteadyShot image stabilization that works really well... It's a long list. Bottom line is the video capability of the XR550V goes way beyond that found in the mini handhelds and smartphones.
When you start the Sony XR550V, a little satellite icon appears on the fold-out screen, and then shows bars when it is receiving GPS signals. The camera is ready to shoot geotagged video. I found the camera was always able to lock on GPS when outdoors, but rarely when indoors. The XR550V's GPS functionality may be easily switched on or off via a clearly marked physical slider switch right on the camera body. I like this, because there will be shooting sessions for which you don't want to include location data in your digital video file, and this makes it easy to turn off GPS logging.
One interesting feature is the inclusion of basic map data right in the camcorder. A couple of menu layers down, you may select "show my location" and a basic, zoomable, color street map will appear with your position shown (accurate in my tests).
After you've shot your video, you may download it to a PC via an included USB cable, or via a computer SD card reader, if you've saved your video to the SD card, rather than the hard drive (the camera's menu lets you choose). The camcorder comes with (on a DVD) Sony's Picture Motion Browser (PMB) software for Windows PCs. This software makes use of GPS location data, including showing locations of every video on a map.
Movies are recorded with AVCHD 1920 1080/60i format when the FX or FH mode of the high definition image quality (HD) is selected. And when the HQ or LP mode of the high definition image quality (HD) is selected, movies are recorded with AVCHD 1440
1080/60i format. Movies are recorded with MPEG-2 format when the standard image quality (STD) is selected. You can select the following high definition image quality (HD) recording mode. “24M” of [HD FX] is the maximum bit-rate, and the value other than of [HD FX], such as “17M,” is an average bit-rate.
· [HD FX] AVC HD 24Mbps
· [HD FH] AVC HD 17Mbps
· [HD HQ] AVC HD 9Mbps the default setting
· [HD LP] AVC HD 5Mbps
· [STD HQ] (STD 9M (HQ))
Sony uses the VBR (Variable Bit Rate) format to automatically adjust image quality to suit the recording scene. This technology causes fluctuations in the recording time of the media. Movies containing quickly moving and complex images are recorded at a higher bit-rate, and this reduces the overall recording time.
The recording mode of the standard image quality (STD) is limited to the following value. “9M” is an average bit-rate.
· 12.0M ( ) Records photos in the highest quality (4,000 × 3,000).
· 9.0M ( ) Records photos in the high quality in the 16:9 (wide) ratio (4,000 × 2,250).
· 6.2M ( ) Records photos clearly (2,880 × 2,160).
· 1.9M ( ) Allows you to record more photos in relatively clear quality (1,600 × 1,200).
· VGA (0.3M) (Allows the maximum number of photos to be recorded (640 × 480
It's a treat to use the impressive zoom, low-light, and image-stabilization features of the XR550V, especially if you've become frustrated with the quality of lower-end camcorder or smartphone video. Mac compatibility issues should give Apple users pause on this unit however.
Other Sony HD camcorder models with built-in GPS include the HDR-XR350V ($899 list), and HDR-CX350V ($799 list). The HDR-XR550V and HDR-CX550V will record high definition 1920 x 1080 videos using the AVCHD compression method. Both camcorders will record to at a maximum bitrate of 24Mbps.
Nikon leading the pack in Auto-focus Technology?
Auto-focus accuracy: a scientific cross brand analysis (guest post)
The next guest post is by Lionel Humbert who took a scientific approach when examining the AF accuracy acros camera brands:
Many discussions emerge on the Internet about image quality, noise, focus accuracy… when a new camera hits the market. Some people move from one brand to another based solely on some brief, vague and not justified reports viewed on the web. Generally tests published on the Internet are by design not reproducible and biased. A scientific approach will required multiple bodies and lenses, and at least more than one sample for each model because of small manufacturing differences that may influence results.
In this article I will discuss the accuracy of focus with a rigorous analysis using modern statistical methods on data collected from a well known website (www.lenstip.com, 8000 visits per day). This analysis is focused on their tests because it is the only website that reports the accuracy of focus for each lens. They get a percentage of error, measured as the number of times the resolution on the target is less than 20% of the maximum MTF50 obtained by this lens. The data cover 18 bodies of six brands, 114 lenses from 11 manufacturers for a total of 162 bodies/lenses tests.
Without rigor we could draw a bar plot with on the X axis the percentage of auto-focus error and on the Y axis the frequency of lens tested showing this auto-focus error (Figure 1) for each brand. Samsung was removed in this figure, since only one test was available.
Figure 1: Barplot of Auto-Focus error per brand
Based on this figure the conclusion is : Nikon gets the best results with 70% of tests with a low auto-focus error (between 0 and 5% of error) and only 10% of tests with high auto-focus error (more than 10% of error) , followed by Sony and Canon, Pentax and Olympus with worst results (45% of good results – 0-5% error – and 25% of high levels of error – > 10% -) . However this figure is terribly misleading, because other variables can influence these tests: the model of the body, the lens manufacturers, lenses model, and aperture…
Many discussions emerge on the Internet about image quality, noise, focus accuracy… when a new camera hits the market. Some people move from one brand to another based solely on some brief, vague and not justified reports viewed on the web. Generally tests published on the Internet are by design not reproducible and biased. A scientific approach will required multiple bodies and lenses, and at least more than one sample for each model because of small manufacturing differences that may influence results.
In this article I will discuss the accuracy of focus with a rigorous analysis using modern statistical methods on data collected from a well known website (www.lenstip.com, 8000 visits per day). This analysis is focused on their tests because it is the only website that reports the accuracy of focus for each lens. They get a percentage of error, measured as the number of times the resolution on the target is less than 20% of the maximum MTF50 obtained by this lens. The data cover 18 bodies of six brands, 114 lenses from 11 manufacturers for a total of 162 bodies/lenses tests.
Without rigor we could draw a bar plot with on the X axis the percentage of auto-focus error and on the Y axis the frequency of lens tested showing this auto-focus error (Figure 1) for each brand. Samsung was removed in this figure, since only one test was available.
Figure 1: Barplot of Auto-Focus error per brandBased on this figure the conclusion is : Nikon gets the best results with 70% of tests with a low auto-focus error (between 0 and 5% of error) and only 10% of tests with high auto-focus error (more than 10% of error) , followed by Sony and Canon, Pentax and Olympus with worst results (45% of good results – 0-5% error – and 25% of high levels of error – > 10% -) . However this figure is terribly misleading, because other variables can influence these tests: the model of the body, the lens manufacturers, lenses model, and aperture…
Help I am starved for mobile content...
4G won't solve 3G's problems
Network providers are also scrambling for ways to make data more efficient. Companies like Vantrix and Cisco believe that optimized video can help cut mobile traffic by as much as 50%. For instance, by predicting what a user wants to watch, networks could physically place videos closer to the user so that there is no buffering and less usage of the overall network
Monday, March 28, 2011
CODEC Confusions - Just a bit of facts?
Once upon time, video codecs and formats were really only the concern of AV nerds, anime freaks and hardcore not-so-legal movie downloaders. Now, even the most part-time of geeks has to deal with them, whether they're trying to stream a flick across their house with an Apple TV, dump some video onto their phone or just trying to grab last night's episode of Dexter because they, uh, forgot to renew their Showtime subscription. It's messy and annoying, but we're here to clean it up. Take a deep breath.
You might recall our discussion about video bitrates earlier, or how much data is packed into a file. As a general rule, more bits per second translates into more betterer quality audio and video. The variable in that—the other part of the equation—is how the content is compressed and de-compressed. Better compression techniques—the zen of knowing what bits of data to pull out to make big data chunks smaller—make for better quality video while taking up less space on your hard drive. Basically, the part you need to know is that codecs are the software that make that magic happen.
Standard Standards
• H.261 is not a term you have to worry about, but it's the technology that most video standards and codecs were originally based on. Originating in 1990, it's the first major digital video compression standard, and like other "H" standards, it was developed by the International Telecommunication Union. This one was primarily for teleconferencing over ISDN lines, and as such, it looks like ass.
• H.261 is not a term you have to worry about, but it's the technology that most video standards and codecs were originally based on. Originating in 1990, it's the first major digital video compression standard, and like other "H" standards, it was developed by the International Telecommunication Union. This one was primarily for teleconferencing over ISDN lines, and as such, it looks like ass.
• MPEG-1 Part 2 is another oldie, developed by the Movie Picture Experts Group and approved in 1991. (BTW, the whole "part" thing is because video is just one "part" of each MPEG standard.) Based quite a bit on H.261, MPEG-1 was designed to take VHS quality video and squeeze it down to a bit rate of about 1.5Mbps, optimized for CD transfers. No surprise, it's the standard used for all VCDs (which can play in most DVD players), but not a standard you would see hanging around today.
• With MPEG-2 Part 2, approved in 1994, we're finally talking decent vid. Also known as H.262, since it was developed jointly by the ITU-T and ISO, MPEG-2 is an extension of MPEG-1 that delivers better resolution and higher bit rates (3-15Mbps for standard def and 15-30Mbps for HD, though the spec allows for up to 100Mbps). It's the video codec used by DVD and digital television, though now it's slowly being replaced by the more efficient MPEG-4, except on DVDs, where it'll ride out that disc format's lifetime.
• H.263 is designed for sending video over crappy connections. So it's used to encode most Flash video and to send video over mobile networks.
• MPEG-4 is where we really stand right now. It has a much broader scope than past MPEG standards, aiming to tackle both the low end (crappy cellphones on a crappy network) and the high end (Blu-ray). It's still developing, so it's not-so-coincidentally where this whole story gets messier. There are two relevant parts of the MPEG-4 standard for our myopic video purposes: There's Part 2. And there's Part 10—which is also known as H.264 or Advanced Video Coding (AVC). To be clear though, even though they're both part of the MPEG-4 standard, they're totally different formats. Nevertheless, both are more efficient at compression than past MPEG codecs, delivering better quality using less space.
• Okay, so if you've ever frequented a Torrent site, you've actually watched tons of videos that use MPEG-4 Part 2, though it's not like they would've had a flashing sign telling you so. MPEG-4 Part 2 actually has different "profiles"—the two that matter being Simple Profile, for low bitrate, low-res stuff, and Advanced Simple Profile. The latter profile is what's used by movies you would download in formats like DivX or XviD or 3ivx—which are all codecs that are essentially just differing implementations of the MPEG-4 Part 2 standard.
• MPEG-4 Part 10, the other part, was actually co-devopled by MPEG and the ITU-T, so it's also known—in fact, more commonly known—as H.264. It's more efficient than MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Part 2, delivering the same quality video in as little as half the space, making it suitable for the low and high-end. Because of this, it's quickly becoming the standardest standard. It's part of the HD DVD and Blu-ray spec, replacing MPEG-2 in digital TV (like with satellite services and AT&T's U-Verse IPTV) and supported by pretty much every portable video player on the planet from the iPod to the PSP. Apple has a decent, if Kool-Aid flavored, FAQ about H.264.
• VC-1 is essentially a Microsoft developed alternative video codec to H.264 released as a standard by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, though it descends from the same H.26X/MPEG family. (It essentially started life as WMV9, but then Microsoft shopped it to the SMPTE to make it an industry standard, and now it is.) It too, is part of the mandatory Blu-ray and HD DVD spec, and is the official video codec of the Xbox 360. It's pitch is the same as H.264's—trying to deliver better quality using less space, like HD video in 6-8Mbps.
Free-Floating Codecs
Okay, so all that stuff up there are industry-wide standard video codecs. On top of all of those, various entities love putting out their own spin on those standards. As we mentioned before, DivX (proprietary) and XviD (open source), for instance, use MPEG-4 Part 2 (more specifically, MPEG-4 ASP) compression, meaning stuff that'll natively play back MPEG-4 ASP will also play back DivX. Like the Xbox 360, for instance. There are a ton of MPEG-4 ASP-based codecs, actually, like FFmpeg, 3ivx and others, but DivX and XviD are the most common. Same deal with H.264: Some well known codecs that use it are Apple's Quicktime H.264, x264 and Nero Digital. You've also got Windows Media Video (WMV) codecs, which are Microsoft's proprietary twists on industry standards.
Okay, so all that stuff up there are industry-wide standard video codecs. On top of all of those, various entities love putting out their own spin on those standards. As we mentioned before, DivX (proprietary) and XviD (open source), for instance, use MPEG-4 Part 2 (more specifically, MPEG-4 ASP) compression, meaning stuff that'll natively play back MPEG-4 ASP will also play back DivX. Like the Xbox 360, for instance. There are a ton of MPEG-4 ASP-based codecs, actually, like FFmpeg, 3ivx and others, but DivX and XviD are the most common. Same deal with H.264: Some well known codecs that use it are Apple's Quicktime H.264, x264 and Nero Digital. You've also got Windows Media Video (WMV) codecs, which are Microsoft's proprietary twists on industry standards.
Containers aka Wrappers
Alright, well you've probably noticed that none of your video files have the extension .h264 or .vc1 or the like. That's because videos are packaged in containers or wrappers that stuff things like the audio, navigational info, etc. along with the video in a single pretty file. Naturally, there are about as many of them as there are codecs. To be clear, you would take a video encoded with, say, H.264, and wrap it up as a .mp4 or .avi file.
Alright, well you've probably noticed that none of your video files have the extension .h264 or .vc1 or the like. That's because videos are packaged in containers or wrappers that stuff things like the audio, navigational info, etc. along with the video in a single pretty file. Naturally, there are about as many of them as there are codecs. To be clear, you would take a video encoded with, say, H.264, and wrap it up as a .mp4 or .avi file.
The majors ones are:
• AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is Windows' standard multimedia container
• MPEG-4 Part 14 (known to you as .mp4) is the standardized container for MPEG-4
• FLV (Flash Video) is the format used to deliver MPEG video through Flash Player
• MOV is Apple's QuickTime container format
• OGG, OGM and OGV are open-standard containers
• MKV (Mastroska) is another open-specification container that you've seen if you've ever downloaded anime
• VOB means DVD Video Object. Guess what? It's DVD's standard container, and what you get when you rip a DVD.
• ASF is a Microsoft format designed for WMV and WMA—files can end in .wmv or .asf
• AVI (Audio Video Interleave) is Windows' standard multimedia container
• MPEG-4 Part 14 (known to you as .mp4) is the standardized container for MPEG-4
• FLV (Flash Video) is the format used to deliver MPEG video through Flash Player
• MOV is Apple's QuickTime container format
• OGG, OGM and OGV are open-standard containers
• MKV (Mastroska) is another open-specification container that you've seen if you've ever downloaded anime
• VOB means DVD Video Object. Guess what? It's DVD's standard container, and what you get when you rip a DVD.
• ASF is a Microsoft format designed for WMV and WMA—files can end in .wmv or .asf
So, in order to play a video file, your setup has to be able to handle both the actual video codec and the container. It's why you can try to play an AVI file and Windows Media Player laughs at you, even though it totally played one a minute ago— the container was no problem, but it didn't have the right codec. Or conversely, even though an iPod could play back an H.264 encoded video, if it was wrapped up in MKV, it won't be able to read it.
Okay, my brain hurts. Hopefully this will make yours hurt less when it comes to dealing with pesky videos. If you'd like to do even more homework, Wikipedia, as always, has a more in-depth discussion. And Doom9 is always an amazing resource for all things digital video.
Something you still wanna know? Send any questions about codecs, kitties or pad thai (but not RealMedia) to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.
Kodak Patent Fight with Apple and RIM
The Associated Press | Friday, March 25, 2011
Eastman Kodak is awaiting a high-stakes patent dispute decision regarding smartphone technology used by Apple Inc. and Research in Motion Ltd. And company shares are spiking.
The U.S. International Trade Commission will decide Friday whether to review a judge's finding in January that Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry don't violate a Kodak patent obtained in 2001.
A favorable decision could mean royalty deals worth as much as $1 billion or more. The agency's six commissioners would then decide by May 23 whether to alter the initial determination by its chief administrative judge.
Kodak has amassed more than 1,000 digital-imaging patents, and almost all digital cameras rely on that technology.
Shares of Eastman Kodak Co. jumped 34 cents, or 10.7 percent, to $3.47 in morning trading.
Apple ProRes Codec
Apple ProRes QuickTime Decoder 1.0 for Mac and Windows
Earlier tonight we saw the release of the ProRes Decoder tool for QuickTime.According to Apple, this tool will allow QuickTime to play Apple ProRes 422 files, using the codec that provides "visually lossless, uncompressed HD video at SD data rates" for Final Cut users. This is the first version of the codec that includes playback on Windows machines.
"It is an excellent choice for mastering and can easily be transcoded to distribution formats like H.264. With new support for playback on both Mac and Windows computers, Apple ProRes can also be used for review and approval of Final Cut Studio sequences," says Apple.
The Mac update/plug-in can be downloaded for free from Apple's support downloads website, and if you are using QuickTime on Windows, there's a separate download.
"It is an excellent choice for mastering and can easily be transcoded to distribution formats like H.264. With new support for playback on both Mac and Windows computers, Apple ProRes can also be used for review and approval of Final Cut Studio sequences," says Apple.
The Mac update/plug-in can be downloaded for free from Apple's support downloads website, and if you are using QuickTime on Windows, there's a separate download.
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