Deep Zoom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Microsoft Deep Zoom Logo | |
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
| Stable release | 0.9.000.5 / 2008-10-13 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows(Media) |
| Type | Multimedia |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | MSDN Overview for Developers |
Deep Zoom is an implementation of the Seadragon technology for use in Microsoft Silverlight applications. It allows users to pan around and zoom in a large, high resolution image or a large collection of images. It reduces the time required for initial load by downloading only the region being viewed and/or only at the resolution it is displayed at. Subsequent regions are downloaded as the user pans to (or zooms into them); animations are used to hide any jerkiness in the transition.
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[edit] History
Seadragon Software, formerly Sand Codex, first created the Seadragon technology. This technology was then absorbed into the Microsoft Live Labs when Seadragon Software was acquired. Engineers from Seadragon now work with Microsoft to integrate their work into technology such as Silverlight and Photosynth[1].
[edit] Deep Zoom Examples
The most famous implementation of Deep Zoom was probably the first. It is the memorabilia collection at the Hard Rock website. Conceived and designed by Duncan/Channon and built by Vertigo, it was demonstrated for the first time in March 2008 at the Microsoft MIX convention in Las Vegas.
An example can be found at http://imagezoom.net: an application developed by TENTEO, a Danish Silverlight Microsoft Partner.
Another example is the Deep Earth project. It is described by its creators as "a community project focused on creating a rich interactive mapping control using Silverlight2 Deep Zoom. Concentrating on Microsoft Virtual Earth imagery and data the project offers team members the opportunity to learn and share while creating something cool and useful."
Blaise Aguera y Arcas gave a demonstration of Seadragon and Photosynth at the 2007 TED conference.
In November 2009, 352 Media Group, a Silverlight developer in the Microsoft Silverlight Partner Program, created an example of Deep Zoom using Microsoft Silverlight version 3[2]. It is online at 352 Media Group's Web site.
[edit] Deep Zoom Images
The file format used by Deep Zoom (as well as Photosynth and Seadragon Ajax) is XML based. You can specify a single large image (dzi)[3] or a collection of images (dzc)[4]. It also allows for "Sparse Images"; where some parts of the image have greater resolution than others, an example of which can be found on the Seadragon Ajax home page; The bike image displayed is a sparse image.[5] Though used in the proprietary Deep Zoom, the dzi format is open and able to be used by anyone.
[edit] Deep Zoom Image(dzi)
A DZI is comprised of two parts, a DZI file (with either a .dzi or .xml extension) and a subdirectory of image files. Each folder in the image subdirectory is labeled with its level of resolution. Higher numbers correspond to a higher resolution level[6]; inside each folder are the image tiles corresponding to that level of resolution.
[edit] Deep Zoom Collection(dzc)
A DZC is a collection of some number of DZIs linked and referenced by a DZC file (with either a .dzc or .xml extension). At a high level, a Collection is a number of image thumbnails whose location is kept track of by the .dzc/.xml file, as you zoom into an image, it accesses greater resolutions tiles. A DZC's structure is similar to that of a DZI; the .dzc/.xml file defines the collection and the subdirectory of folders maps to the DZI file structure, each with their set of .dzi/.xml and image tiles.
[edit] Sparse Images
Sparse Images (like the bike image above) are a sub-classification of the DZI file type. As in the bike image, a sparse image is normally a number of separate photographs with varying resolution levels that have been placed in a single DZI instead of a DZC. Sparse Images have no different file structure than that of a DZI and differ only in that there is not a single "highest resolution" level for the entire DZI.
[edit] iPhone/iPod Touch development
Microsoft Live Labs has created an application for the Apple AppStore called Seadragon Mobile.[7] It is run over the internet and includes Deep Zoom on the following categories; art, history, maps, photos, Photosynth which anybody can upload to, space and technology & web.
[edit] References
- ^ http://blogs.msdn.com/jaimer/archive/2008/03/31/a-deepzoom-primer-explained-and-coded.aspx Jaime Rodriguez: A deepzoom primer ( explained and coded)..
- ^ http://www.352media.com/Blog/post/2009/11/25/Turning-a-Blank-Wall-in-to-a-Microsoft-Silverlight-Deep-Zoom-Project.aspx
- ^ http://filext.com/file-extension/dzi File Extension for Deep Zoom Image
- ^ http://filext.com/file-extension/dzc File Extension For Deep Zoom Collection
- ^ http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645077(VS.95).aspx Deep Zoom File Format Overview
- ^ http://seadragon.com/developer/creating-content/file-formats/
- ^ http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/14/microsoft-releases-first-iphone-application-seadragon/ Microsoft releases first iPhone/iPod application, Seadragon
[edit] External links
- The Official Microsoft Silverlight Site
- A DeepZoom Primer
- MSDN Overview in Silverlight for Developers
- Download Deep Zoom Composer
- Demo of Photosynth and Seadragon at TED conference
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