Mozilla Releases Improved JPEG Encoder

Mozilla has released a new version of the JPEG encoder for mozjpeg . The new version is already being tested on facebook.com, and Facebook donated $ 60,000 to Mozilla to continue working on this project, writes TechCrunch.

Mozilla promises that version 2.0 of its encoder reduces the size of JPEG files by an average of 5%. Depending on the image, the percentage can be much higher (up to 15%) or slightly lower. Unlike the first version, the effect of which was visible only on progressive (progressive) JPEG, the new version also improves images saved in the baseline format.

When it comes to image formats on the Internet, PNG and JPEG are pretty much the only two options. For many years, companies such as Microsoft and Google have developed their own formats, but none of them have taken root. Google uses its WebP format on its own sites for Chrome users, but it has received little distribution outside of Mountain View.
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According to Andreas Gal, technical director of Mozilla, the organization has found that WebP, Microsoft's JPEG XR and similar royalty-free formats do not offer enough improvements over JPEG to justify the costs and effort of promoting the Internet. Therefore, Mozilla decided to focus on improving the format encoder, which is already the most popular on the Internet.

For Facebook — and other sites with multiple images — smaller file sizes mean that they can make their sites faster and save a few dollars on the internet bill, so it’s not surprising that the company is interested in this project. “Facebook supports Mozilla’s efforts to develop a JPEG encoder, which can create smaller JPEG images without compromising the visual quality of photos,” said Stacy Kerkela, Facebook development manager.

As Mozilla promised, when it released the first version of mozjpeg at the beginning of this year, the new version allows the use of trellis quantization, a compression algorithm traditionally used in video encoders. Other improvements include support for JPEG input, which facilitates the transcoding of existing images, and a number of smaller changes that improve compatibility with existing JPEG decoders.

Andreas Gal admits that formats such as WebP offer a number of features that are not available in JPEG (for example, animation), but this is not enough for Mozilla to support them. However, he believes that some of the new formats will be able to offer significant improvements. The problem with many of them is that they are burdened with patents, which may take time for them to be supported by Mozilla. Instead, the format that has the greatest potential for inclusion in Firefox, according to Gala, is Daala, a new video compression technology that Mozilla is working on in partnership with Xiph.Org.