MMS-technology: "Sweetie" does not work, but the cards will come down

We continue to talk about the MMS-delights. Already thought of and continue to think about many interesting services and applications for multimedia communications, "Postcard to MMS" has gained popularity overseas, and the service is implemented and we Megaphone. It suffices to take a picture, write the address, the text and send it all as MMS to a special service number. The photo will be printed and sent by regular mail to the address provided. In France, the second largest operator (SFR) used to prepare MMS-postcard special technologies for optimized image quality, the results are clearly visible to the naked eye. Not very well versed in digital photography people not particularly impressed, but the specialist will appreciate in full measure - especially given the fact that the correction is performed automatically, without human rights in general.



Technical obstacles and financial constraints while overcome with great difficulty. Advantages of a built-in phone camera in the long run only two:

1. In contrast to the camera tube is always at hand and ready to shoot, it does not even need to include (already included). Again, do not need to spend money on a separate device, and then the device is still with me and wear.
2. Mobile phone "in combination" is also a convenient way to send the captured image, including through the MMS to address e-mail.

But on the solid start disadvantages.

1. Optical quality built-in camera is poor, which is quite natural: the price of the unit must remain competitive.
2. Optical zoom (zoom) is unlikely to appear in the cells of mobile phones an average price of the same price due plus the need to "fit" in the dimensions of the camera phone, and the results of shooting with digital zoom - yet not for the faint of heart.
3. Low resolution image. Megapixel cameras in phones are already emerging, but most users photo phones for a long time will have to settle for at best a VGA-resolution (640x480 pixels).
4. Unimportant (to put it mildly) jpeg-compression algorithms spoils the picture. We can hope for some improvements in this area by increasing the power of phone processors, but the quality jpeg-compression will still be clearly worse than those obtained even in the most basic image editing program.
5. Restrictions on the amount of sent file. Modern processing MMS-messages allow you to send MMS from your phone up to 100 kb, and it's already a lot of: sending a MMS takes sometimes a minute or more, which is unacceptable from the viewpoint of the concept of "messages". Ie images megapixel integrated camera will send as e-mail attachments, which is not very great.

A list of deficiencies can be continued. With all this in front of equipment manufacturers and operators have an important task: to convince users of the practical utility of built-in camera, to break the stereotype has to do with it as an almost useless toy. The company DO Labs unsuccessfully to address the issue from the other side: instead of waiting for new hardware and technical solutions "tomorrow" to use already existing, but improve the quality of the result of program optimization. Finally appeared a software package, "sharpened" by multistage correction taken with a mobile phone images. Dedicated server integrates with MMS treatment system operator, and obtained as a result of a snapshot is used for printing, creating MMS-cards and even "transparent" transmission of MMS-message with a photo to another phone. Below - some of the important stages of the auto-processing.

DxO Jpeg.Cleaner. The software module intellectual jpeg-decompression automatically removes jpeg-artefacts, smooths the step, and the software creates a smooth color transitions on the site of large monochrome jpeg-squares. As a result, is born a certain image-blank, suitable for the next steps over the image.

DxO-Distor. Short-focus lens built-in cameras provide a wide coverage and can refuse expensive AF systems, but in combination with cheap lenses will inevitably bring to appreciable geometric distortion. There are so-called effect of "fish eye", which is not very noticeable on portraiture as distortion manifested to a greater extent at the edges of the image. However, when photographing objects with straight lines (home, streets) distortion becomes noticeable and annoying. DxO-Distor "straighten" such curves, restoring the normal geometry of the image.

DxO-Vignet. According to the developers DO Labs about half of today's built-in cameras are severely affected syndrome "vignettes" - darken on the edges of the image. The software module DxO-Vignet like restoring the original level of illumination at the edges of the image, without changing the brightness / contrast of the central part.

DxO-Deblur. Very interesting module intellectual sharpening the image. Due to imperfections in optics, built-in camera and the low quality original image matrix sharpness varies widely: from a relatively sharp in the center to a very loose near the edges. In addition, for "work" module jpeg-decompression adds subjective blur images due to the effect of smoothing the transitions between the neighboring blocks. Module DxO-Deblur increases the sharpness over the entire field, and does it intelligently, individually bringing the sharpness in each area to a certain limit, after which the eye began to see the distortion. The result - a uniformly sharp image, well regarded, even at five-eight-fold increase.

DxO-LocalContrast. Another "smart" module, correcting obviously bad shots. Photographing shaded objects on a bright (bright) background - an eternal problem, especially in portrait photography. Traditional "cheap" solution - artificial increase in aperture / shutter speed, but in this case, the light background turns into a solid whitish haze. Educated people prefer forced "highlighting" the foreground flash, but such technological refinements while clearly not up to the built-in phone camera. DxO-LocalContrast somehow miraculously just Slave developers can isolate the under-lit central subject and add a brightness to it precisely, without touching at the edges of the image.

DxO-LocalDisplay. Finally, obviously, "cameraman" solution. Value of all the DxO-correction in the fact that in image processing is used DxO - Profile - the individual characteristics of a particular phone model, taken into account when processing the image."Normal" mode - image correction, taking into account the particular model features the camera phone (for printing), and it's not too bad. However, aerobatics - correction of the image, taking into account the features of the receiving apparatus, DxO is able and it is. For example, SE T68i by virtue of features / shortcomings of its display strongly emphasizes the red / yellow tones and program this into account: when sending an MMS with the picture on this unit is the color balance is automatically adjusted (garbled) and the recipient will see on the screen is quite decent photos. True, when you save photos from phone to computer, it will have to be reprocessed, but the number of such "advanced" users is negligible.

Below - the results of processing of images obtained with different models of phones from different manufacturers.

Nokia 7250

Nokia 7650

SE P800

Results of familiarity with DxO software solutions are ambiguous. The first thing that catches your eye - technology ahead of its time. Still, VGA-resolution camera built explicitly allows intelligent software somewhere to realize its full potential, the result is relatively modest. But megapixel camera - this is yes. There simply is "no" image will be automatically extended to a very respectable level, and a good photo can quite take its place in the family album. Let us not forget that all corrections are made automatically on the fly and "live", ie software still needs to process to evaluate the feasibility of adjustments on the principle of "do no harm." Hence the comparative "restraint" in the use of a decision. But in general - the direction is extremely promising for far, far not every user of your phone with a camera morally ready to suffer with all sorts of Photoshop. Especially because some manufacturers of terminals simply not give him this opportunity.