JPEG

Definition: Joint Photographic Expert Group: (1) Acronym referring to a data compression technique that can reduce file sizes to as little as 10% of original with only a slight loss of image quality and to less than 5% by sacrificing a bit more quality. * JPEG compression has the following characteristics: (a) it is lossy: i.e. compression loses data that cannot afterwards be recovered; (b) its degree of lossiness can be varied to balance reduction of file size against loss of image quality (mainly seen as loss of resolution); (c) JPEG compressed files do not need to be decompressed before use. (2) Name of committee sanctioned by CCITT and ISO (hence 'Joint' in name) that researched and set up the standards.

Related Terms: compression

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