Event note: JPEG – The most popular electronic media format becomes 25

Logo for JPEG Jubiläum

Conference at the University of Leipzig to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the constitution of JPEG

LEIPZIG, September 29 2016 – The 07th October 2016 is precise to the day the 25th „technical“ birthday of the worldwide most popular electronic image format JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). On this day the Independent JPEG Group (IJG) at the Institute for Applied Informatics (InfAI, www.infai.org) together with the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science host an anniversary conference. On the 07th October 1991 the IJG published the first version of the JPEG library „libjpeg”, which as reference software became the crucial basis for the enormous popularity of the format. The software library „libjpeg” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libjpeg) is since then used in countless applications for the processing of images in JPEG format. At the present time several billions of JPEG files are produced every day (!). Every smartphone and virtually every digital camera save photos in this format, of which every single day about two billion photos are uploaded and shared in social networks.

The current anniversary release JPEG 9.2 provides extensive functions and enhancements in reference quality and performance. Yet with present applications the full potential of the format isn’t tapped by far. JPEG developers will show at the conference that JPEG compression does not necessarily have to be lossy and that the format can address far wider color spaces than previously assumed. JPEG as one of the oldest image formats offers at the same time many untapped opportunities for further development.

Conference with historical highlights

One of the highlights of the conference will be an eyewitness account of an original member of the Joint Photographic Experts Group about the constitution and history of the JPEG format. The presentation follows the path which the format had to go from the idea to the standard and how it was achieved to free JPEG from unsustainable claims of private corporations. Today the library is „open source“ and the format is free from any commercial licenses.
The conference takes place

on Friday, the 07.10.2016, from 09:00 to 16:00

in the Paulinum of the University of Leipzig, Room P 702

Augustusplatz 10, 04109 Leipzig.

Due to the limited capacity of participants it is asked for a registration for the conference. Further information about the conference and an opportunity for registration can be found on the website of the Independent JPEG Group: http://jpegclub.org/reference/ . Editorial contributions to the subject can be arranged with Dr. Göhler.

Links: www.ijg.org, www.jpegclub.org

 About InfAI:

The Institute for Applied Informatics e. V. is a non-profit organization supporting science and research as an associated institute of the Leipzig University on the areas of Computer Science and Business Informatics. Currently more than 100 employees conduct research there. The Independent JPEG Group (http://infai.org/jpeg/) is located at InfAI and benefits from its know-how. The InfAI features an excellent network and has realized numerous research and industry projects since its formation in 2006.

Conference organization:

Dr. Lars Göhler, eastpress media
Thomasiusstr. 28
04109 Leipzig
Germany
Phone: +49 341 4612787
jpeg@eastpress.de
www.eastpress.de

Project Contact Independent JPEG Group at the Institute for Applied Informatics:

Guido Vollbeding
Hainstraße 11
04109 Leipzig
Germany
Phone: +49 341 39287380
pr@infai.org
www.infai.org

Abstract:

The most successful electronic image format JPEG becomes 25: anniversary conference at the University of Leipzig.