Belgian company intoPIX, leading technology provider of innovative image processing and video compression, has invented a new revolutionary low-energy image compression. This new international ISO standard, called JPEG XS, will seat next to the famous JPEG format. It’s the first time that a Belgian company creates a compression algorithm that becomes an international ISO standard. JPEG-XS consists of innovative technology that will simplify video transport between and within any device. JPEG-XS is eagerly awaited by market leaders in various industries, and will be officially launched by intoPIX at CES Las Vegas and at intoPIX’ JPEG XS Media Day on 28 January 2019.
The revolutionary JPEG XS standard defines a new lossless quality compression algorithm with very low latency and very low complexity. Once implemented by manufacturers, JPEG XS will reduce energy consumption of electronic devices, enable ultra-high definition video such as 4K & 8K, and foster the video connectivity over lower bandwidth links such as wireless connections. This will increase possibilities in a wide range of communication technologies:
- In virtual reality, a transmission latency of no longer than a few microseconds between the headgear and the video source is crucial to the experience. JPEG-XS enables this transmission wireless, offering significantly better video resolutions and eliminating the need for cables.
- In any type of mobile device, the video transmission between electronic chips consumes a lot of energy, particularly when handling high video quality. By reducing the data that need to be transmitted, JPEG-XS significantly reduces power consumption and thus extends battery life.
- Autonomous cars greatly rely on image sensors and video to run reliably and avoid errors. Inducing a time-lag of only a fraction of a second can result in a car crash. JPEG-XS compresses the images in such a way that this latency is reduced to the absolute minimum, which is a microsecond, providing lossless quality for both human vision and artificial intelligence-based detection.
- With drones becoming a part of everyday life, JPEG-XS will provide them with an instant live video signal from drone to pilot, which is crucial to avoiding navigation errors.
- With 5G and wireless networks advancing at a rapid pace, JPEG-XS positions itself as the standard to improve quality, reduce latency and simplify video transport over the air, which is ideal for online gaming and live broadcasting.
The technology was invented and developed under the supervision of Pascal Pellegrin, head of R&D at intoPIX: “JPEG-XS is the very first ISO compression standard ever to be invented in Belgium. And the outcome of the agile innovation process created at intoPIX, the understanding of the customer and market needs and the motivation of a team of 20 young, dedicated and creative engineers. In Belgium, also the UCL and VUB universities have supported the standardization process, providing their expertise and support on quality assessments. Our company has been innovating and gradually growing since it was founded in 2006. JPEG-XS is an enormous milestone in our existence, and will be a strong catalyst for our international growth ambitions in the coming years. We really look forward to seeing our technology come to life in all sorts of applications.”
Certified and awarded
The story started 5 years ago at intoPIX, when the company created a first proprietary compression algorithm called TICO, which was adopted by major companies over the world. In 2016, the JPEG association, part of ISO, decided to launch a call for a new codec. intoPIX’ proposed technology was selected and since then, intoPIX has led the standardization process. For this effort, intoPIX received the NBN award (National Body of Normalization in Belgium) last month in the SME category.
Launch and availability
The JPEG XS standard is being finalized as we speak and intoPIX is to present it at the upcoming CES Las Vegas (8-11 January 2019) and at the JPEG-XS Media Day ( January at ) at intoPIX’ office in Mont-Saint-Guibert. The first concrete implementation of the new standard will be shipped by intoPIX in Q1 of 2019.
About intoPIX
intoPIX is an innovative technology provider of compression, image processing, and security solutions to audiovisual equipment manufacturers. We are passionate about offering people a higher quality image experience and have developed FPGA/ASIC IP-cores and software tools that enable leading edge TICO, JPEG-XS and JPEG2000 compression, security, video over IP, and hardware enforcement. More information on our company, customers, and products can be found on www.intopix.com.
Follow intoPIX on Twitter @intopix
