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Microsoft Brings Native HEIF Support to Windows 10 (thurrott.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Microsoft is bringing support for the new HEIF image format to Windows 10. First popularized by Apple with iOS 11, HEIF is a new image format that uses less storage space while preserving image quality. The new image format is used by default on Apple's iPhone X and other devices running iOS 11. While Microsoft's online services like OneDrive already supported HEIF since the release of iOS 11, Windows 10 didn't natively support the new format as of yet. But with the upcoming Redstone 4 update -- possibly called the Spring Creators Update -- the Microsoft Photos app in Windows 10 will support HEIF by default. Further reading: CNET.
The HEIF image format uses the HEVC video codec to encode an image. The fact that HEVC is a patent encumbered mess has been discussed on /. before, so I won't go into that.
Apparently some people are trying to see if AV1 can be used in the same way patent-encumbered HEVC is used here, too. If that happens, this is a solution in search of a problem, because AV1 is supposed to be as good or better than the HEVC codec, without the patents.
I hope HEVC never gets a foothold, but instead fades into obsolesence. The greed of a few has, thankfully, nearly killed the HEVC codec[1], but this could unfortunately cause HEVC to come back.
[1] - For HEVC, unlike its predecessor AVC, there are actually multiple patent pools and independent companies you will have to negotiate with for a license. Because of this, some corporations have decided they don't have to deal with this licensing extortion idiocy, and have banded together to make the AV1 codec, and are sticking with patent-free VP9 right now. Unlike AVC, uptake of HEVC has been very slow and it doesn't see very much use.