After reading the assigned article, I found it interesting how compression is used as a utility to help save time, energy, money, etc. I had always figured that there were different types of compression, but was never sure what had differentiated multiple forms of compression. I saw the the first type "Lossless", as a computer given multiple pieces to a table or some other piece of furniture that has not yet been assembled. Your computer then reads instructions on how to assemble the table and renders the object. You are not short changed any pieces to the table and they all fit neatly into a little box that is clearly smaller than the end product.
The second type of compression, "Lossy" confused me a little bit with all of the equations and such but from what I understood, Lossy compression involves making the important areas of an image more important, or visible. It also involves making the less important areas of an image less visible because the data required to render that part of the image is unneeded.
One other point that Cory Arcangel made was that "Lossy" compression is also used for compressing audio files, which is something that I have experience with. The same concept of making the important areas more noticeable applies to audio compression as well. The difference between compressing JPEGs and compressing audio is that JPEGs are compressed so that they are easier to transport and move. When compressing music, the reasoning behind it is to make certain sounds louder and other quieter. Areas such as the high or low end of song. It is meant to increase the quality of the track rather than distort. This is because the amount of data or space that a song requires is hardly put into question, unlike a JPEG.
No comments:
Post a Comment