Article 11342 (4 more) in alt.cd-rom: Path: agate!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!news.ans.net!rpi!newsserver.pixel.kodak.com!kodak!eastman!wosuch.kodak.com!user From: osuch@kodak.com (Bill O'Such) Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom Subject: Photo CD factoids Message-ID: Date: 8 Jun 93 21:16:16 GMT Sender: usenet@eastman.UUCP Followup-To: alt.cd-rom, rec.photo Organization: Eastman Kodak Company Lines: 528 Nntp-Posting-Host: 150.220.67.55 Though there is some marketing aspects to the following information, I think some of it will help some of the questions that have been raised on these forums. Would whoever manages the ftp sites, please store this in the Photo CD subdirectory ? Also, please send any questions to johnkcac@park.kodak.com. Thanks. Eastman Kodak Company, 343 State Street, Rochester, NY 14650 May 1993 PHOTO CD PRODUCTS AND FEATURES Sharing Special Moments, and More: The Kodak Photo CD System In 1990, Kodak announced a new product that is beginning to revolutionize the world of consumer photography and desktop computing. Launched on schedule in August of 1992, the Kodak Photo CD system promises to do for amateur photographers what audio CDs did for music lovers: it allows consumers to enjoy their pictures in a new way. They take standard 35 mm photographs and have them scanned onto special compact discs by a photofinisher. The discs allow them to view their pictures on television using special players that also play audio CDs. As thousands of consumers have discovered, the Photo CD system is a great new way to share special moments. But that is only one part of its promise. The ability to convert photographic images to a digital format has broad commercial applications as well: --Consumers can use Photo CD Master discs for commercial applications. For example, a real estate agent in Philadelphia with a hot prospect moving from Boston can send the client a disc containing photographs of available housing. --Photo enthusiasts, who are high-volume film users, will find that Photo CD discs make image storage less cumbersome and retrieval less time-consuming. In addition, Photo CD discs are ideal for creating disc "albums" made up of selected images from a photographer's personal archive. These albums offer exceptionally safe and stable long-term storage, while in the process improving the photographer's access to his or her favorite pictures. --Photo CD-compatible CD-ROM drives can read Photo CD discs when used with Photo CD-enabled software, thus giving desktop publishers a new, low-cost way to input photographs into their computers. More than 25 currently available CD-ROM drive models are Photo CD-compatible. --The format developed for storing 35 mm photographs at full resolution can be extended to other types of images for other applications--including professional photography, catalog publishing, and medicine. --Photo CD image files simplify the creation of "image databases," giving computer users access to images stored on-site or across national or international networks. --The technology photofinishers use to scan photographs onto Photo CD discs has changed the economics of CD publishing-- making it cost-effective for many other businesses to write, distribute, and retrieve data on CDs. Because Kodak developed Photo CD technology for both consumer and commercial applications, both types of users receive two key benefits. Affordability is one: mass production of Photo CD media leads to lower prices for all users. Cross-platform accessibility is another: using an inexpensive CD-ROM drive in combination with Photo CD-enabled software, computers read the Photo CD discs; and users can view the same discs used in computing applications on TV with an inexpensive home player. In essence, the Kodak Photo CD system gives both consumers and commercial customers the best of two technologies. It provides the convenience, low cost, and image quality of traditional photography. Then it adds the benefits of digital technology--the ability to display, enhance, and transmit images electronically. AWARD-WINNING TECHNOLOGY One of the keys to the Photo CD system's success is the way it makes complex technology seem simple. Kodak developed a number of significant advances in film scanning, image compression, software, media formulation, and CD recording to make the system work. But for consumers, it's as simple to use as watching TV. Kodak has achieved worldwide recognition for its technology innovations. In 1990, the system received a "Best of What's New" award from Popular Science magazine. In 1991, a panel of editors of photographic journals from 13 countries named the Photo CD system "European Innovation of the Year 1991-1992." Kodak also received the "Best Design Technology" award from the Technical Image Press Association and a "Top 10 Products" award at PhotoExpo '91. In 1992, the system's developers received the Eduard-Rhein Foundation's annual Technology Award, one of Europe's most celebrated technology prizes. The International Press Association (IPA) also chose the system for its President's Award. INDUSTRY SUPPORT Besides these numerous accolades, many major participants in the photography and computer industries have embraced the Photo CD system. Both Fuji Photo Film Company and Konica, for example, have licensed the technology for consumer photography applications. Computer giants, such as Apple, have announced that they will build Photo CD compatibility into their hardware and software products. Leading CD-ROM drive manufacturers-- including Philips, Pioneer, Sony, and Toshiba--are already offering Photo CD-compatible drives. PHOTO CD PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS What follows is a Photo CD compendium--a list with some discussion of the various technologies comprising the complete Kodak Photo CD system, including media, software, players, and authoring systems. It also describes the Kodak writable CD system, a direct outgrowth of Photo CD technology. DISC FORMATS Kodak has applied the core technology of its Kodak Photo CD system to a variety of disc formats for specialized applications. Any disc carrying the Photo CD logo, including a mass-replicated disc made by a licensed manufacturer, can be played on a Photo CD player, a Philips CD-I player, or, with appropriate software, a compatible CD-ROM drive. 1) Kodak Photo CD Master Designed for 35 mm consumer photography, the original Kodak Photo CD Master disc can hold about 100 high-resolution images, or four 24-exposure rolls of film. The discs offer image resolution as high as 2048 x 3072 pixels--16 times as great as today's TV standards, and four times the standards currently being considered for HDTV. The Kodak Photo CD Master disc can also function as a "digital negative," which means consumers can take the disc to a photofinisher to have prints made. This disc supports the following formats: Content: 35 mm film. Identifier: "Photographic quality." Playback: Photo CD player, CD-I player, Photo CD-compatible CD-ROM drive with Photo CD software. Authoring system: PIW 2200 or 2400. Maximum number of images: 100. 2) Kodak Pro Photo CD Master Professional photographers use the Kodak Pro Photo CD Master disc. These discs store images from the larger film formats favored by professionals. Depending on the film format, the discs can hold from 25 to 100 images. The Kodak Pro Photo CD Master disc supports the following formats: Content: 35 mm, 120, 70 mm, 4x5" film. Identifier: "Professional Photographic quality." Playback: Photo CD player, CD-I player, Photo CD-compatible CD-ROM drive with Photo CD software. Authoring system: PIW 2200 or 2400. Maximum number of images: 100 - 25 - 6, depending on film format. 3) Kodak Photo CD Portfolio Designed to become a major publishing medium, the Kodak Photo CD Portfolio disc lets people create discs that contain combinations of photographic images, stereo audio, graphics, text, and programmed access. Applications include publishing of consumer "picture stories" (such as wedding discs or family trees), business presentations, or commercial titles. Image professionals also will use the format to make custom Photo CD discs with copied or edited Photo CD images. Because the highest resolutions are not required on this format, users have more space available for other content, such as audio and graphics. The Kodak Photo CD Portfolio disc supports the following formats: Content: PCD or electronic image files. Identifier: None. Playback: Photo CD player, CD-I player, Photo CD-compatible CD-ROM drive with Photo CD software. Authoring system: Portfolio authoring software. Maximum number of images: 800. Optional features: audio, programmed access (branching), text and graphics with TV resolution or higher, and pixel-edited image. 4) Kodak Photo CD Catalog The Kodak Photo CD Catalog format is designed for organizations that want to store large numbers of images on a disc and distribute these images widely--such as mail-order retailers, tourism associations, or art galleries. As many as 16,000 images can be stored at video resolution on Kodak Photo CD Catalog discs for soft display on TV sets or computer monitors. (The images are of lower resolution than standard Kodak Photo CD Master discs or Kodak Pro Photo CD Master discs and can't be used to make photo- quality prints.) The Kodak Photo CD Catalog disc supports the following formats: Content: PCD or electronic image files. Identifier: None. Playback: Photo CD player, CD-I player, Photo CD-compatible CD-ROM drive with Photo CD software. Authoring system: catalog authorizing software. Maximum number of images: 400 - 2,000 - 4,000 - 6,000, depending on resolution. Optional features: audio, programmed access (branching), text and graphics, and pixel-edited image. PLAYERS Consumers display their pictures by inserting the discs into a Photo CD player that they operate with a simple remote control. The viewer can select specific images, program them to appear in a particular order, rotate an image, choose to keep or skip selected pictures, or (using most players) zoom in on part of a picture for a close-up. Kodak offers four Photo CD player models, each of which has high-end audio capability, besides a unique set of picture-viewing features: 1) The PCD 270 is a low-priced player with basic picture viewing and audio CD features. It allows the viewer to delete some pictures from the playback sequence and to keep others. It also can remember the changes, which eliminates the need to program a disc each time it is viewed. An "autoplay" feature allows the players to automatically sequence through selected images at intervals of two seconds. (Suggested retail price: $379.) Key features include: Audio & Photo: --direct access --repeat --keep/skip Photo Only: --autoplay --RF, composite video, S-video output --rotate --panning --FPS (Favorite Picture Selection) --reverse play Audio Only: --scan --shuffle --1-bit technology (D/A conversion) 2) The deluxe PCD 870 player offers a variety of more advanced viewing options. Users can view close-ups of their images, selecting a portion for magnification with the "2X tele" feature. Another feature, "expanded favorite picture selection," provides additional memory for recalling the individual picture edits and viewing order selections of more discs. The PCD 870 also offers counterclockwise rotation and interval features. (Suggested retail price: $449.) Key features include: Audio & Photo: --direct access --repeat --keep/skip Photo Only: --autoplay --RF, composite video, S-video output --rotate --panning --FPS (Favorite Picture Selection) --expanded FPS --picture scan --full view --2x tele (crop and enlarge) --insert --frame on/off --reverse play Audio Only: --scan --shuffle --1-bit technology (D/A conversion) --FTS (Favorite Track Selection) --time edit --A to B 3) The PCD 5870 offers all the advanced features of the deluxe version with the addition of a five-disc carousel. This player also provides on-screen display of the selected image number and other information for easy indexing and fast photo identification. (Suggested retail price: $549.) Key features include: Audio & Photo: --direct access --repeat --keep/skip --multi-disc capability Photo Only: --autoplay --RF, composite video, S-video output --rotate --panning --FPS (Favorite Picture Selection) --expanded FPS --picture scan --full view --2x tele (crop and enlarge) --insert --frame on/off --on-screen display --reverse play Audio Only: --scan --shuffle --1-bit technology (D/A conversion) --FTS (Favorite Track Selection) --time edit --A to B 4) The PCD 970 is a portable player--roughly the same size and weight as a VHS videocassette--that provides most of the advanced viewing features found in Kodak's deluxe console players, including a full-function remote control. In seconds, users can connect the PCD 970 to any standard television to play Photo CD discs. It comes with stereo headphones, a range of video connection options, and can be powered from a standard wall outlet or using four AA batteries. In addition, it is the world's first Photo CD player to support adaptive delta pulse code modulation (ADPCM) sound, providing continuous audio even as pictures are changing. Staring in July, when software for authoring Kodak Portfolio Photo CD discs becomes available, people will be able to create their own on-disc programs that can incorporate continuous sound. (Suggested retail price: $449.) Key features include: Audio & Photo: --direct access --repeat --keep/skip --portability Photo Only: --autoplay --RF, composite video, S-video output --rotate --panning --FPS (Favorite Picture Selection) --picture scan --full view --2x tele (crop and enlarge) --insert --frame on/off --reverse play Audio Only: --shuffle --time edit Between March 15, 1993, and September 30, 1993, Kodak is offering a free coupon book worth up to $50 in Photo CD transfers to consumers who buy a Kodak Photo CD player from participating retailers. PHOTO CD AUTHORING SYSTEMS AND SOFTWARE Before Kodak could offer Photo CD technology to consumers, it had to develop an authoring system that would allow photofinishers to produce Photo CD discs quickly and cost- effectively. The Kodak Photo CD Imaging Workstation (PIW) 2200, the original system used by photofinishers, included a Kodak scanner, data manager (workstation), disc writer, thermal printer, and software. Today, Kodak offers two additional PIW models. 1) Kodak PIW 2400 processes consumer Photo CD orders. It includes the Kodak scanner, data manager, printer, two PCD writers, and upgraded software which gives it over three times the productivity of the PIW 2200. An Auto Gate accessory allows complete rolls of film to be scanned automatically, instead of manually advancing each frame. 2) Kodak Pro PIW 4200 processes orders from professional photographers or consumers. It scans large-format professional films, with features that answer professional photographers' unique needs, such as the ability to emulate the "look" professionals achieve by choosing different films. The PIW 4200 includes the Kodak Professional PCD film scanner 4045, for professional-quality image scanning. Kodak will provide Photo CD Portfolio authoring software for photofinishers, service bureaus, or individuals who want to produce Photo CD Portfolio discs. Users can do the following: --Copy Photo CD Master and Pro Photo CD Master discs to Kodak Photo CD Portfolio discs for low- to medium-volume distribution; --Merge images from an assortment of Photo CD Master and Pro Photo CD Master discs to new Photo CD Portfolio discs; --Produce interactive multimedia-style discs directly on the desktop in the Photo CD Portfolio format, combining photos, audio, graphics, text, and programmed access; --Edit images from Photo CD Master or Pro Photo CD Master discs using off-the-shelf image editing software and write the edited files to Photo CD Portfolio discs for storage or distribution; and --Combine photographic-quality images from Photo CD Master and Pro Photo CD Master discs with other digital images to create Photo CD Portfolio discs for presentations, storage, or distribution. SOFTWARE FOR WORKING WITH PHOTO CD IMAGES To accommodate a wide range of desktop applications, Kodak developed a family of software products designed for all types of users. Two of them, Kodak Browser and Kodak Shoebox, provide easy search and retrieval of images stored in databases; the others allow users to work with individual Photo CD images in different ways. The entire family of software packages is designed to have the same intuitive feel, with easily identifiable icons and convenient pull-down menus. The software products also provide an easy transition between simple and more advanced functions. Below is a list of their features. Kodak Browser: --User: casual users of Photo CD images. --Description: a basic image (on the Catalog disc) database package that allows easy key word search and retrieval. --Platforms supported: Browser can be used to search discs on TV, using a Photo CD or CD-I player, or on any computer platform with a Photo CD-compatible drive. --Suggested retail price: included on Catalog disc. Kodak Shoebox: --User: users who need to search through large numbers of stored images. --Description: helps automate the storage and retrieval of images for anyone maintaining a Photo CD image archive. Users store lower-resolution thumbnail images in a database residing on their computer hard drive or similar media; images can be searched very rapidly using key words. --Platforms supported: Windows and Macintosh. --Suggested retail price: $345. Kodak Photo CD Access: --User: casual users of Photo CD images. --Description: a popular, low-cost tool that makes it easy for computer users to view Photo CD images and import them into current applications. Users can read and display Photo CD images and can crop, zoom, and rotate them. --Platforms supported: Windows, Macintosh, and DOS. --Suggested retail price: $39.95. Kodak Photo CD Acquire Module for Adobe PhotoShop: --User: users of Photo CD images in Adobe PhotoShop software wanting to control color for printing or reproduction. --Description: a low-cost plug-in module for Adobe PhotoShop software that increases control over color when opening Photo CD images. --Platform supported: Macintosh. --Suggested retail price: $59.95. Kodak PhotoEdge: --User: business presenters. --Description: an image enhancement package that lets users do more advanced image correction and improvement than Access software. --Platforms supported: Windows and Macintosh. --Suggested retail price: $139. Kodak Renaissance: --User: graphic designers. --Description: an intuitive page-layout package that has been upgraded to allow direct input of Photo CD images. --Platform supported: Macintosh. --Suggested retail price: $695. KODAK PROFESSIONAL IMAGE LIBRARY/KODAK PICTURE EXCHANGE Besides these software packages, Kodak will provide an automated disc library, or "jukebox," that holds as many as 100 Photo CD discs. The library can store thousands or hundreds of thousands of images, depending on the type of Photo CD discs it contains. Along with the library, which will give individual customers easy access to images internally, Kodak has also announced its intent to create an on-line imaging network that will use telephone lines to link distributors of images worldwide. This service will be called the Kodak Picture Exchange. The Kodak Picture Exchange is a Kodak business that will give users access to a huge database of images, just as networks such as CompuServe provide access to text and data. With a desktop computer and a modem, users will be able to search the Kodak Picture Exchange database and request hard copies of images electronically. Kodak Picture Exchange will alert the image providers immediately, allowing them to fulfill requests promptly by air express. In the future, as the data-carrying capacity of telephone lines expands, requests may be fulfilled instantly by modem. KODAK WRITABLE CD SYSTEM The research that made it possible to produce photographic compact discs economically for consumers has made low-volume commercial production of data CDs viable as well. The Kodak writable CD system is a complete compact disc publishing system that allows users to master CD-ROM discs from their desktop computers. All standard hardware devices, including CD-ROM, CD-ROM XA, CD-I, and CD audio players can read properly authored, writable CDs. With a suggested retail price of $25 for each disc, the new media provides a cost-effective alternative to other types of removable computer storage. Each writable CD stores 550-650 MB of data, text, images, and/or digital audio, depending on the format, at a cost of only 4 cents per megabyte. That's the equivalent of 240,000 pages of ASCII text, 550 floppy discs, or three reels of nine-track tape--all on a single, individually published disc, and all digitally accessible. The system consists of three parts: 1) The Kodak PCD writer 200 writes and reads data to and from discs at twice the speed of conventional CD writers. 2) Kodak writable CD media with the InfoGuard protection system is a write-once medium that can be read in standard CD hardware devices. The InfoGuard protection system offers a carefully selected dye chemistry that resists fading from light, heat, and humidity; a protective coating that prevents scratches, dirt, rough handling, or other common mishaps from damaging the disc's readability; and a unique identification number--printed in human readable form along with a corresponding machine- readable bar code--that provides tracking, indexing, and security advantages. 3) Kodak CD publishing software allows users to publish data to writable CDs with a point-and-click of the mouse, as easily as they might copy files to a floppy disc today. Kodak software is now available to users in MS-DOS and Windows environments; Macintosh computer and Sun/UNIX versions will be available soon. The Kodak disc writers and media both support multisession recording. This means users can add data to a disc in different recording sessions. Kodak said it plans to offer multisession authoring software later this year. Kodak writable CD products are designed to offer customers the most productive and convenient system available for low- volume CD publishing, with the added benefit of one-stop shopping from a single vendor. The system is completely open, however, Kodak media are compatible with disc writers from other manufacturers, and the Kodak PCD writer 200 works with other media. ### (Note: Kodak, Browser, InfoGuard, and Shoebox are trademarks.) Bill O'Such Eastman Kodak Company DISCLAIMER: Kodak provides me access to this Net, and are not responsible for my postings.