We are always improving our products. Sometimes in major releases and sometimes in service packs (SP). Work is well underway for improving ERDAS Desktop 2013 (ERDAS IMAGINE, LPS, and ERDAS ER Mapper). These improvements address customer reported improvements as well as improvements defined by product managers. The expected product deliver version number is 2013 Version 13.00.0002.
This SP may be limited to customers with current customer support only as it has a lot of enhancements.
I am not in a position to outline exactly what we are improving in the SP, yet. But, what I can say, we are improving LAS, ECW, JP2, NITF, Spatial Modeler, Spatial Modeler (Legacy), Virtual Mosaic, and much more. This SP, and what we did in the ERDAS IMAGINE 2013 release (released early December 2012) are very powerful.
This SP development period will be a short time-frame one. I would expect ERDAS IMAGINE 2013 Version 13.00.0002 to arrive on the website well before the Hexagon 2013 conference in Las Vegas (June 3 – 6).
Showing posts with label JP2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label JP2. Show all posts
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK GDAL Driver Updated
The ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK team in Perth Australia has done some work to update the ECW drivers in GDAL. These have been submitted to the GDAL community, and should make their way into a future version of GDAL.
There are multiple changes, but what I want to raise in this post, the performance of GDAL driver was improved in two main areas. While these bottlenecks were not in the ERDAS Desktop and Server product lines, we wanted to ensure our GDAL users had as similar a decoding performance as possible.
The Perth Team in Australia will improve the GDAL drivers more so when we upgrade GDAL to support the v5 of the SDK and the new ECW v3 file format early in the upcoming new year.
As has been policy, developer tools for decoding ECW and JP2 data using the SDK on desktop continue to be free.
See: http://trac.osgeo.org/gdal/ticket/4822
There are multiple changes, but what I want to raise in this post, the performance of GDAL driver was improved in two main areas. While these bottlenecks were not in the ERDAS Desktop and Server product lines, we wanted to ensure our GDAL users had as similar a decoding performance as possible.
- GDAL 1.9 and earlier versions have a performance bottleneck when a single band is decoded line by line. This is not the preferred method of reading ECW data; nevertheless it is done by some folks.
- GDAL 1.9 and earlier versions did not use the SDK’s implementation of supersampling, and GDAL’s own implementation was slower. Switching to supersampling using the SDK implementation halved time of the execution.
The Perth Team in Australia will improve the GDAL drivers more so when we upgrade GDAL to support the v5 of the SDK and the new ECW v3 file format early in the upcoming new year.
As has been policy, developer tools for decoding ECW and JP2 data using the SDK on desktop continue to be free.
See: http://trac.osgeo.org/gdal/ticket/4822
Monday, July 11, 2011
Which image file formats do you use in your geospatial work?
Over a year ago I put out a poll on this blog to measure what image file format people who frequent this blog use. At that time, I put the following in the poll: GeoTIFF, IMG, ECW, MrSID, JPEG, NITF, TIFF World and JPEG2000. These are the order in which the poll defined their popularity.For this poll I combined TIFF World and GeoTIFF together and added PNG. I have noticed a dramatic down-tick in NITF votes. I believe this is likely to defense people not frequenting my blog as much as others more than what are really in the marketplace. Or, it could be the defense people voting against NITF as it is cumbersome and they want issues in the format addressed. Or... something else?
PNG is use in mobile devices and has a very solid showing.
JPEG2000 popularity has improved. You might think that JPEG2000 would hurt the ECW and MrSID formats, but the image format hurt appears to be IMG.
I did not post the final percentages from the last poll, but have posted the 2011 poll here.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop Available
The latest release of the free ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop is now available on the ECW Plugin Download site, http://www.erdas.com/products/ECWPlugins/Downloads.aspx.
The ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop 2011 is built with the ERDAS ECW/JP2 Desktop SDK version 4.2 and offers many advantages over the previous versions of ECW Plugin for ArcGIS that were built with the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK 3.x. These advantages are increased performance, additional capabilities and numerous fixes.
ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop 2011:
Is compatible with ArcGIS Desktop 9.3, and 9.3.1 SP1 or higher, and ArcGIS Desktop 10 SP1 or higher
Decodes local ECW and JP2 data faster and more efficiently
Has a wider projection system support for ECW and JP2 than earlier plugin versions and native ArcGIS ECW support
Supports GML in JP2 data
Streams ECW and JP2 data via ECWP from ERDAS APOLLO Essentials IWS or ERDAS APOLLO Advantage
Uses dynamic progressive rendering of ECWP layers
Provides opacity channel support, not available in native ArcGIS ECW support
Provides a configurable persistent local disk cache of ECWP blocks
Provides an ECWP selection capability for discovery of ECWP streams on an ERDAS APOLLO Essentials IWS 2010 and 2011
Is compatible with foreign language versions of Windows (GUI not localized)
Re-projects ECWP streams on-the-fly
Supports multi-band ECWP streams
Supports 16-bit ECWP streams using min-max calculation
Improved printing support for large scale ECWP plots (tested up to A0)
ECW for ArcGIS Desktop will not:
Encode (compress) any data
Enable ArcGIS Desktop to serve ECW or JP2 data
Query the ERDAS APOLLO Advantage Catalog
Read ERDAS ER Mapper ALG or ERS files
The ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop 2011 is built with the ERDAS ECW/JP2 Desktop SDK version 4.2 and offers many advantages over the previous versions of ECW Plugin for ArcGIS that were built with the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK 3.x. These advantages are increased performance, additional capabilities and numerous fixes.
ECW Plugin for ArcGIS Desktop 2011:
Is compatible with ArcGIS Desktop 9.3, and 9.3.1 SP1 or higher, and ArcGIS Desktop 10 SP1 or higher
Decodes local ECW and JP2 data faster and more efficiently
Has a wider projection system support for ECW and JP2 than earlier plugin versions and native ArcGIS ECW support
Supports GML in JP2 data
Streams ECW and JP2 data via ECWP from ERDAS APOLLO Essentials IWS or ERDAS APOLLO Advantage
Uses dynamic progressive rendering of ECWP layers
Provides opacity channel support, not available in native ArcGIS ECW support
Provides a configurable persistent local disk cache of ECWP blocks
Provides an ECWP selection capability for discovery of ECWP streams on an ERDAS APOLLO Essentials IWS 2010 and 2011
Is compatible with foreign language versions of Windows (GUI not localized)
Re-projects ECWP streams on-the-fly
Supports multi-band ECWP streams
Supports 16-bit ECWP streams using min-max calculation
Improved printing support for large scale ECWP plots (tested up to A0)
ECW for ArcGIS Desktop will not:
Encode (compress) any data
Enable ArcGIS Desktop to serve ECW or JP2 data
Query the ERDAS APOLLO Advantage Catalog
Read ERDAS ER Mapper ALG or ERS files
ERDAS Press Relase: http://erdas.com/company/news/newsreleases/11-06-28/ERDAS_Extends_ArcGIS_Support_with_New_Version_of_ECW_Plug-in.aspx
Blog Post on Release of ECW for ArcGIS Server product
See info on the latest ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Q/A From Today's ECW/JP2 SDK Webinar
Below are the questions and answers that we covered in today's ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK Webinar.
Q1: Compression is always followed by the loss of detail information, right? How does ECW handle that? Which compression rates are useful?
A1: ECW does not support numerically lossless compression at this time. However, if you use a target compression of 4 to 6:1 on RGB data, you should have a visually lossless image at a 2x zoom. See my blog for more information: http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2010/07/understanding-target-compression-ratio.html
Q2: Would you recommend ECW over JP2?
A2: I would recommend ECW over JP2 for all applications where an 8-bit lossy compression works. In the GIS community, a visually lossless setting is usually fine. We did a test when I was at Georgia Tech to see what compression was needed for the majority of users using a statewide dataset. The results are documented on my blog, linked above.
But remember, the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK supports JP2 very solidly! Any product using the SDK will have fast JP2 support and even faster ECW support.
Q3: It seems ECW cannot be used on ArcGIS Server and image server, any comment?
A3: ERDAS will release a new product, ECW for ArcGIS Server, spring 2011 to address this very issue. Look for it!
Q4: For aerial photos and orthophotos, which is better for delivering products without losing resolution and data, ECW or JP2?
A4: Pixel resolution is never lost in compression. The first thing you’ll notice in compression is very minor loss of contrast. As you compress further, a little more contrast is lost, and in heavier compression artifacts appear around road lines, edges and other linear features on aerial imagery. The question to ask is, “Do I need visually lossless or numerical lossless compression?” In most GIS applications, visually lossless compression works very well. In some (but not all) remote sensing applications, numerically lossless compression is needed.
The reason data vendors deliver numerically lossless data is that the data provider does not know if you are a GIS user doing imagery analysis or an image expert doing detailed remote sensing. They deliver one version to all, numerically lossless JP2. No problem, the ECW/JP2 SDK supports this!
Q5: Does a standard/report exist for the compression rates for several products (vector map production, base ortho maps, etc.)?
A5: I wish I knew of one, but I do not. This is an area for cartographers and remote sensing researchers to look for research grants. We need a standard.
Q6: How much faster can ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK make image compression?
A6: I tested and documented this on my blog. Some SDK customers say their applications using v4.2 ECW encode 7x faster than it did in v3.3. Our research indicates most applications will experience greater than 2 x improvements over v3.3. But, JP2 is faster in v4.2 as well. Please see the following link for some tests I ran: http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2010/04/single-core-vs-multi-core-image.html
Q7: What can I provide a customer if he cannot read the ECW format - can I offer him a simple/free ECW reader/decoder?
A7: Many GIS applications can read ECW. ERDAS has a free viewer, ER Viewer that can be used as well. See: http://www.erdas.com/products/ERDASERMapper/ERDASERViewer/Details.aspx
Q8: At times, ECW cannot be opened directly in ArcGIS 10. Any suggestions about how to do that?
A8: There are two possibilities. One, ArcGIS 10 uses a version of GDAL that uses an older version of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK . GDAL has now addressed that and supports v4.2; ESRI will pick up the ball and do the rest.
Two, some organizations who have licenses for the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK have added things to the ECW file that are not in compliance with the file format. This will cause problems. You might want to contact the organization that created the data to make sure they do not add any ‘goodies’ to the file format.
Q9: Are there any plans to use GP-GPU for compression?
A9: Yes. I cannot give specifics at this time, but I can say ‘yes.’
Q10: Can I lose accurate pixel value when I compress ECW data?
A10: At the present time, ECW has a visually lossless capability, not a numerically lossless capability.
Q11: Do you have any plans to support the updating of parts of an existing ECW file?
A11: Yes, this is under discussion. I will assume your question indicates an interest and will put your name in the request column. Thanks!
Q12: What would you use for storing floating point data, e.g. DEM data?
A12: Up until now, geospatial people have been using some sort of DR-RLE compression, such as that found in ERDAS’s IMG file format. Going forward, as the floating point JPEG2000 standard takes hold we will see more people use JP2 for lossless floating point data.
The question to ask is whether the maximum 2.5x reduction in file size on encoding worth the slowdown in decoding?
Q13: Which format is useful for signed16-bit data, ECW or JP2?
A13: ECW does not support signed data right now. Therefore, JP2 is the solution at this time.
Q14: Spanish users are having issues with plug-ins when using the Spanish version of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK. Are you going to solve this soon?
A14: The ECW/JP2 SDK should not have a problem with this. If there is a problem with the free plug-in, it is in the plug-in code, not the ECW/JP2 SDK. We are working with Autodesk Germany on the AutoCAD 2011/2011 Plug-in to solve language support issues right now.
Q15: Paul, can you say anything publicly about when the AutoCAD 2010 plug-in will appear?
A15: We are waiting on Autodesk to help with a few installer questions. After that, we are ready to go.
Q16: Does ECW support stereo imagery data?
A16: Not inside the ECW file format. There are some companies that have modified the ECW file format (breaking the file for others), to support stereo parameters inside the file format. We have asked them to work with us to get it formally supported in the formal standard.
Until that time, the stereo parameters can be stored in the external .aux file.
Q17: Why is it necessary to have a plug-in to work with ECW in ERDAS software?
A17: When older versions of ERDAS software were made, ERDAS had not purchased ER Mapper and ECW support was incomplete. ERDAS purchased ER Mapper in May 2007, so that is when native ECW support became standard.
Q18: For unsigned 8-bit, unsigned 16 bit mss data, which format is more useable, ECW or JP2?
A18: ECW is an unsigned 8-bit data format. It can store panchromatic, RGB and multispectral data. 16-bit data should be stored in JP2 at this time.
Q19: Can the ECW format support hyperspectral data?
A19: ECW is a lossy, unsigned 8-bit data format that supports 65,535 bands. Give ECW a try!
Q20: We need to be able to make the background pixels of imagery transparent in ArcMap. ECW doesn't support this, but JP2 does. Is there any way to get the background pixels in ECW files to "disappear" in ArcMap (i.e. set the bg values to 255 or 0)?
A20: ECW added support for transparency in ECW/JP2 SDK v4.1, released in the fall of 2010. We had beta versions available in the summer, but this was too late for ESRI to get it supported in ArcGIS Desktop 10. GDAL is now updated, and the ball is in ESRI’s court. Let them know you want it!
In the ERDAS IMAGINE 2011 Exporter and MosaicPro, we enable you to define whatever value you want to be transparent; you can even define a region using a polygon.
Using ERDAS IMAGINE 2011’s “Create ECW Transparency” feature, you can also add a transparency layer to an existing ECW file via DNs or polygons without recompressing.
Q21: ECW or JP2 - where can I use each format and I how do I know?
A21: Both file formats are broadly accepted in the geospatial industry. If you wish to buy a product that does not support ECW/JP2, tell that product’s manager to give me a call. Remember, the SDK to provide desktop/client ECW, JP2, ECWP reading is free to the software developer.
Q22: Will you post the webinar.
A22: As usual, I forgot to record the webinar! I will re-record and post it later this week.
ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK Product Page Link: http://www.erdas.com/products/ERDASECWJPEG2000SDK/Details.aspx
YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6rjEgOkhoc&feature=plcp
Q1: Compression is always followed by the loss of detail information, right? How does ECW handle that? Which compression rates are useful?
A1: ECW does not support numerically lossless compression at this time. However, if you use a target compression of 4 to 6:1 on RGB data, you should have a visually lossless image at a 2x zoom. See my blog for more information: http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2010/07/understanding-target-compression-ratio.html
Q2: Would you recommend ECW over JP2?
A2: I would recommend ECW over JP2 for all applications where an 8-bit lossy compression works. In the GIS community, a visually lossless setting is usually fine. We did a test when I was at Georgia Tech to see what compression was needed for the majority of users using a statewide dataset. The results are documented on my blog, linked above.
But remember, the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK supports JP2 very solidly! Any product using the SDK will have fast JP2 support and even faster ECW support.
Q3: It seems ECW cannot be used on ArcGIS Server and image server, any comment?
A3: ERDAS will release a new product, ECW for ArcGIS Server, spring 2011 to address this very issue. Look for it!
Q4: For aerial photos and orthophotos, which is better for delivering products without losing resolution and data, ECW or JP2?
A4: Pixel resolution is never lost in compression. The first thing you’ll notice in compression is very minor loss of contrast. As you compress further, a little more contrast is lost, and in heavier compression artifacts appear around road lines, edges and other linear features on aerial imagery. The question to ask is, “Do I need visually lossless or numerical lossless compression?” In most GIS applications, visually lossless compression works very well. In some (but not all) remote sensing applications, numerically lossless compression is needed.
The reason data vendors deliver numerically lossless data is that the data provider does not know if you are a GIS user doing imagery analysis or an image expert doing detailed remote sensing. They deliver one version to all, numerically lossless JP2. No problem, the ECW/JP2 SDK supports this!
Q5: Does a standard/report exist for the compression rates for several products (vector map production, base ortho maps, etc.)?
A5: I wish I knew of one, but I do not. This is an area for cartographers and remote sensing researchers to look for research grants. We need a standard.
Q6: How much faster can ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK make image compression?
A6: I tested and documented this on my blog. Some SDK customers say their applications using v4.2 ECW encode 7x faster than it did in v3.3. Our research indicates most applications will experience greater than 2 x improvements over v3.3. But, JP2 is faster in v4.2 as well. Please see the following link for some tests I ran: http://field-guide.blogspot.com/2010/04/single-core-vs-multi-core-image.html
Q7: What can I provide a customer if he cannot read the ECW format - can I offer him a simple/free ECW reader/decoder?
A7: Many GIS applications can read ECW. ERDAS has a free viewer, ER Viewer that can be used as well. See: http://www.erdas.com/products/ERDASERMapper/ERDASERViewer/Details.aspx
Q8: At times, ECW cannot be opened directly in ArcGIS 10. Any suggestions about how to do that?
A8: There are two possibilities. One, ArcGIS 10 uses a version of GDAL that uses an older version of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK . GDAL has now addressed that and supports v4.2; ESRI will pick up the ball and do the rest.
Two, some organizations who have licenses for the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK have added things to the ECW file that are not in compliance with the file format. This will cause problems. You might want to contact the organization that created the data to make sure they do not add any ‘goodies’ to the file format.
Q9: Are there any plans to use GP-GPU for compression?
A9: Yes. I cannot give specifics at this time, but I can say ‘yes.’
Q10: Can I lose accurate pixel value when I compress ECW data?
A10: At the present time, ECW has a visually lossless capability, not a numerically lossless capability.
Q11: Do you have any plans to support the updating of parts of an existing ECW file?
A11: Yes, this is under discussion. I will assume your question indicates an interest and will put your name in the request column. Thanks!
Q12: What would you use for storing floating point data, e.g. DEM data?
A12: Up until now, geospatial people have been using some sort of DR-RLE compression, such as that found in ERDAS’s IMG file format. Going forward, as the floating point JPEG2000 standard takes hold we will see more people use JP2 for lossless floating point data.
The question to ask is whether the maximum 2.5x reduction in file size on encoding worth the slowdown in decoding?
Q13: Which format is useful for signed16-bit data, ECW or JP2?
A13: ECW does not support signed data right now. Therefore, JP2 is the solution at this time.
Q14: Spanish users are having issues with plug-ins when using the Spanish version of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK. Are you going to solve this soon?
A14: The ECW/JP2 SDK should not have a problem with this. If there is a problem with the free plug-in, it is in the plug-in code, not the ECW/JP2 SDK. We are working with Autodesk Germany on the AutoCAD 2011/2011 Plug-in to solve language support issues right now.
Q15: Paul, can you say anything publicly about when the AutoCAD 2010 plug-in will appear?
A15: We are waiting on Autodesk to help with a few installer questions. After that, we are ready to go.
Q16: Does ECW support stereo imagery data?
A16: Not inside the ECW file format. There are some companies that have modified the ECW file format (breaking the file for others), to support stereo parameters inside the file format. We have asked them to work with us to get it formally supported in the formal standard.
Until that time, the stereo parameters can be stored in the external .aux file.
Q17: Why is it necessary to have a plug-in to work with ECW in ERDAS software?
A17: When older versions of ERDAS software were made, ERDAS had not purchased ER Mapper and ECW support was incomplete. ERDAS purchased ER Mapper in May 2007, so that is when native ECW support became standard.
Q18: For unsigned 8-bit, unsigned 16 bit mss data, which format is more useable, ECW or JP2?
A18: ECW is an unsigned 8-bit data format. It can store panchromatic, RGB and multispectral data. 16-bit data should be stored in JP2 at this time.
Q19: Can the ECW format support hyperspectral data?
A19: ECW is a lossy, unsigned 8-bit data format that supports 65,535 bands. Give ECW a try!
Q20: We need to be able to make the background pixels of imagery transparent in ArcMap. ECW doesn't support this, but JP2 does. Is there any way to get the background pixels in ECW files to "disappear" in ArcMap (i.e. set the bg values to 255 or 0)?
A20: ECW added support for transparency in ECW/JP2 SDK v4.1, released in the fall of 2010. We had beta versions available in the summer, but this was too late for ESRI to get it supported in ArcGIS Desktop 10. GDAL is now updated, and the ball is in ESRI’s court. Let them know you want it!
In the ERDAS IMAGINE 2011 Exporter and MosaicPro, we enable you to define whatever value you want to be transparent; you can even define a region using a polygon.
Using ERDAS IMAGINE 2011’s “Create ECW Transparency” feature, you can also add a transparency layer to an existing ECW file via DNs or polygons without recompressing.
Q21: ECW or JP2 - where can I use each format and I how do I know?
A21: Both file formats are broadly accepted in the geospatial industry. If you wish to buy a product that does not support ECW/JP2, tell that product’s manager to give me a call. Remember, the SDK to provide desktop/client ECW, JP2, ECWP reading is free to the software developer.
Q22: Will you post the webinar.
A22: As usual, I forgot to record the webinar! I will re-record and post it later this week.
ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK Product Page Link: http://www.erdas.com/products/ERDASECWJPEG2000SDK/Details.aspx
YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6rjEgOkhoc&feature=plcp
Monday, March 14, 2011
ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK, Version 4.2 Available Now!
ERDAS Just released the following Press Release:
Norcross, GA — ERDAS announces the release of a new version of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK, which allows software developers to enable rapid and efficient file handling in the applications they create by including robust support for selected wavelet compression formats and protocols.
The ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK provides support for the visually-lossless ECW imagery format and the ECWP protocol. ERDAS’ Enhanced Compression Wavelet (ECW) technology compresses bulky imagery files into manageable sizes, enabling faster processing and transfer of imagery and reducing the hardware investment required for the geospatial workflow. Using minimal memory, ECW can compress massive files to smaller sizes faster than other formats, while still preserving the quality of the images. ECW files can then be reopened quickly, in many cases faster than uncompressed imagery. Additionally, multi-resolution level of detail is built into the file, eliminating the need to generate or distribute pyramids or overviews. Enhanced Compression Wavelet Protocol (ECWP) allows streaming of ECW images, enabling rapid delivery of large quantities of imagery over the internet to thousands of users with standard server hardware of just eight cores or less. The SDK also provides support for the numerically-lossless JPEG2000, an ISO-certified compressed image format commonly used for geospatial imagery.
“Massive files are a fact of life in the geospatial industry, and as sensors evolve to collect more information and at higher resolutions, typical file sizes are steadily increasing. While any compression format can make a file somewhat smaller to save money on storage space, the highest hardware costs of dealing with large files result from the need to acquire extra memory and more expensive server technology. Organizations also experience a relentless drain on profit from the productivity reduction caused by a slow workflow,” said Mark Sheridan, Development Manager for the ECW SDK and Image Web Server, ERDAS. “Using ECW and ECWP, applications can compress, decompress and transfer files extremely fast with very little memory and standard server equipment, imparting a comprehensive cost reduction that other formats just cannot offer.”
New for Version 4.2, the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK is being offered as three different editions, with tool sets targeted specifically for either desktop or server applications. As in previous versions, the SDK is also available as a free, read-only edition that allows developers to sample the speed and power of ECW and ECWP before upgrading to one of the full editions. All editions of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK are compatible with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, 2008, and 2010.
ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK Desktop Read-Only is a free product that provides software developers with tools to add read support for ECW, ECWP and JPEG2000 in their desktop applications.
ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK Desktop Read-Write provides software developers with tools to add read support for ECW, ECWP and JPEG2000 in their desktop applications. It also provides the tools to compress images into ECW and JPEG2000 data formats.
The newly released ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK Server Read-Write provides software developers with tools to enable server applications to read ECW, ECWP, and JPEG2000 data, serve ECW and JPEG2000 data, and compress images into the ECW and JPEG2000 data formats.
To learn more about the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK, please visit the official product page or attend a free webinar on March 22nd.
For more information about ERDAS or its products and services, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 877 GO ERDAS, or visit www.erdas.com.
Norcross, GA — ERDAS announces the release of a new version of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK, which allows software developers to enable rapid and efficient file handling in the applications they create by including robust support for selected wavelet compression formats and protocols.
The ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK provides support for the visually-lossless ECW imagery format and the ECWP protocol. ERDAS’ Enhanced Compression Wavelet (ECW) technology compresses bulky imagery files into manageable sizes, enabling faster processing and transfer of imagery and reducing the hardware investment required for the geospatial workflow. Using minimal memory, ECW can compress massive files to smaller sizes faster than other formats, while still preserving the quality of the images. ECW files can then be reopened quickly, in many cases faster than uncompressed imagery. Additionally, multi-resolution level of detail is built into the file, eliminating the need to generate or distribute pyramids or overviews. Enhanced Compression Wavelet Protocol (ECWP) allows streaming of ECW images, enabling rapid delivery of large quantities of imagery over the internet to thousands of users with standard server hardware of just eight cores or less. The SDK also provides support for the numerically-lossless JPEG2000, an ISO-certified compressed image format commonly used for geospatial imagery.
“Massive files are a fact of life in the geospatial industry, and as sensors evolve to collect more information and at higher resolutions, typical file sizes are steadily increasing. While any compression format can make a file somewhat smaller to save money on storage space, the highest hardware costs of dealing with large files result from the need to acquire extra memory and more expensive server technology. Organizations also experience a relentless drain on profit from the productivity reduction caused by a slow workflow,” said Mark Sheridan, Development Manager for the ECW SDK and Image Web Server, ERDAS. “Using ECW and ECWP, applications can compress, decompress and transfer files extremely fast with very little memory and standard server equipment, imparting a comprehensive cost reduction that other formats just cannot offer.”
New for Version 4.2, the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK is being offered as three different editions, with tool sets targeted specifically for either desktop or server applications. As in previous versions, the SDK is also available as a free, read-only edition that allows developers to sample the speed and power of ECW and ECWP before upgrading to one of the full editions. All editions of the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK are compatible with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, 2008, and 2010.
ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK Desktop Read-Only is a free product that provides software developers with tools to add read support for ECW, ECWP and JPEG2000 in their desktop applications.
ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK Desktop Read-Write provides software developers with tools to add read support for ECW, ECWP and JPEG2000 in their desktop applications. It also provides the tools to compress images into ECW and JPEG2000 data formats.
The newly released ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK Server Read-Write provides software developers with tools to enable server applications to read ECW, ECWP, and JPEG2000 data, serve ECW and JPEG2000 data, and compress images into the ECW and JPEG2000 data formats.
To learn more about the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK, please visit the official product page or attend a free webinar on March 22nd.
For more information about ERDAS or its products and services, please call +1 770 776 3400, toll free +1 877 GO ERDAS, or visit www.erdas.com.
Friday, November 20, 2009
JPEG2000 Performance
When the former ER Mapper, Ltd (purchased in May 2007 by ERDAS) began work in 2003 to add support for JPEG2000 (JP2) to the ECW SDK, ER Mapper noticed JP2 specifications were very broad. As a result, JP2’s speed would not approach ECW speeds for decades, if ever. Think of it this way, JP2 is a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV or 4-wheel drive) and ECW is a Formula 1 Ferrari.
The geospatial industry deals with dozens to thousands of images at a time and speed is critical. While geospatial users need the Formula 1 Ferrari, they must drive on public roads (lowest common IT standards), and thus must use the S
UV not the Formula 1.How can SUV owners get more speed from their JP2 beast? By using the ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK’s J2I file. This ‘index’ file to the JP2 file allows customers to more rapidly access JP2 data in a viewing technology that uses the ECW SDK to read ECW and JP2 files. The J2I file will significantly improve your performance by fine tuning your existing engine.
The improvement in speed depends on the encoding method. Some encoding methods mandated by less geospatially sophisticated IT departments are like pulling a loaded trailer behind the SUV. An engine tuning helps, but slow starts cannot be avoided.
You may ask, how do I create these on JP2 J2I files in ERDAS IMAGINE 2010? For one image at a time, just touch the file with any ERDAS IMAGINE function, and like the aux file, it is automatically created.
For batch creation, use the Edit Image Metadata (aka Image Command Tool). Select one image needed, select ‘Batch’, the select all images needed in the batch tool.
You may be asking, why is there no check-box function for creation the J2I file on Edit Image Metadata? All you need to do is touch the file with any ERDAS IMAGINE function and it is created. Thus only touching the file in Batch Mode is needed.
And with the IMAGINE Advantage 2010 batch mode, you can touch up to four images at a time with each IMAGINE Advantage floating license you have available.
Back to our cars (image file formats); what I want from my GIS and remote sensing data format and software is a street version Ferrari (has a roof, stereo, leather seats, electric windows, air-conditioning, and of course GPS).Ref: What are J2I files? and Why compress?
See info on the latest ERDAS ECW/JP2 SDK.
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