InTechSpot  

Windows Media Photo is a new file format for continuous-tone still images that surpasses the limitations of existing image formats. Windows Media Photo supports a wide range of features including:
-Multiple color formats for display or print
-Fixed or floating point, high-dynamic-range image encoding
-Lossless or high-quality lossy compression
-Extremely efficient decoding for multiple resolutions and sub-regions
-Minimal overhead for format conversion or transformations during decoding
Windows Media Photo delivers a lightweight, high-performance algorithm with a small memory footprint that enables practical, in-device encoding and decoding.

Documentation and Tools
Windows Media Photo Specification
The specification for the Windows Media Photo file format contains complete documentation on the container format, metadata, pixel formats, and Windows APIs. The preliminary beta version of this specification is currently available in Microsoft Word format.
Get the Windows Media Photo Specification (544 KB .doc)
Windows Media Photo Device Porting Kit
The Windows Media Photo Device Porting Kit (DPK) contains the complete specification for the compressed bit stream, reference ANSI C source code for the encoder and decoder, and a variety of additional development tools, samples, and documentation. A license (described in the following section) is required to receive the DPK.

Windows Media Photo Licenses
There are no fees or costs to license Windows Media Photo for implementation as a component of the XML Paper Specification (XPS). For more information about XPS implementation and specifications, see Printing - Architecture and Driver Support. At present, Microsoft is only offering a license for Windows Media Photo as a component of XPS. Information on licensing Windows Media Photo for other applications will be provided in the future.
Windows Media Photo XPS Beta License Agreement
The Windows Media Photo XPS Beta License Agreement allows you to obtain the Device Porting Kit, including source code for the Windows Media Photo encoder and decoder for evaluation purposes only. There is no fee to access the source code under this Beta license agreement.
Steps to Obtain the Windows Media Photo XPS Component License
To obtain the Windows Media Photo XPS Component License, follow these steps:
1.To request the license application, send an e-mail message to wmla@microsoft.com with the following subject line: XPS WMPhoto License.
2.Complete and return the application electronically.
WMLA will draft the requested license agreement and send you an e-mail message that contains the draft agreement in PDF format for your review.
3.Review and approve the draft license that you received from WMLA.
4.Submit the draft license for approval using the instructions sent to you in the e-mail message with the draft agreement.
WMLA will send you an e-mail message that contains the approved license for your signature.
5.Print 2 copies of the license, and then complete, sign, and return the original to DMD Licensing via mail courier.
WMLA will review and countersign the agreement, and send you an e-mail message that confirms the executed agreement and provides instructions for downloading deliverables. WMLA will also mail you one original license agreement for your records.
6.After you receive confirmation of the executed agreement, follow the instructions provided by WMLA to download the deliverables, including the Windows Media Photo Device Porting Kit.
Note : WMLA will send a separate e-mail message with the passwords you will need to access the deliverables.