JPEG is a technical committee that develops image standards, including the widely used JPEG compression for images on websites. The committee was formed in 1986 and has since created several standards for encoding and compressing still images. The related committee, JBIG, focuses on binary images. The full JPEG standard includes lossless compression, but it is rarely implemented in web applications. Several standards have been released since the early 1990s, including JPEG-LS, JPEG 2000, and JPEG XR. The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) develops standards for compressing video and audio.
The Joint Photographic Experts Group, also known by the acronym JPEG, is a technical committee that develops image standards. JPEG is also the name of the group’s primary standard for image compression: JPEG compression is widely used for images on websites and is supported by most image editors, browsers, and viewers. This standard is also used to compress and archive images created by most scanners and digital cameras.
In the early 1980s, graphics-capable terminals and computers weren’t very common. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has created working groups to develop standards for photographic quality displays. By the mid-1980s, ISO and the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT) had released image coding standards. In 1986, the Joint Photographic Experts Group was formed from participants within ISO and CCITT. This committee went on to create several JPEG standards for encoding and compressing still images.
A related committee was formed in 1988 by the same ISO working group that created the Joint Photographic Experts Group. Known as the Joint Bi-Level Image Experts Group (JBIG), this committee focuses entirely on binary images. An image that contains only two colors, such as black and white, is called a binary image. The JBIG committee is responsible for at least two standards regarding lossless compression of binary images.
Most implementations of the original Joint Photographic Experts Group standards involve some degree of image quality loss. Generally, the more compressed an image is, the greater the loss of quality. This is known as lossy compression for this reason. Using a graphics editor to manipulate a JPEG image usually causes an additional loss of quality each time it is edited. The full JPEG standard also includes lossless compression, but it is rarely implemented in web applications.
Several standards have been released by the Joint Photographic Experts Group since their original publications in the early 1990s. A standard called JPEG-LS was introduced in the late 1990s to improve upon the original lossless compression method. It also includes a standard for compression that falls between lossy and lossless. The JPEG 2000 standard redesigned the original compression method, increasing performance and flexibility. Introduced in 2009, the JPEG XR standard includes improvements to compression, color accuracy, and transparency.
The Joint Photographic Experts Group standards are designed specifically for still images. In 1988, another ISO working group began developing standards for compressing video and audio. This committee became known as the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). Its standards are widely used for Internet video streaming, digital high-definition television, and Digital Video Disc (DVD) technology.
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