Blend4Web is a free and open source framework for creating and displaying interactive 3D computer graphics in web browsers. == Overview == The Blend4Web framework leverages Blender to edit 3D scenes. Content rendering relies on WebGL, Web Audio, WebVR, and other web standards, without the use of plug-ins. It is dual-licensed. The framework is distributed under the free and open source GPLv3 and, a non-free license - with the source code being hosted on GitHub. A 3D scene can be prepared in Blender and then exported as a pair of JSON and binary files to load in a web application. It can also be exported as a single, self-contained HTML file, in which exported data, the web player GUI, and the engine itself are packed. The HTML option is considered to be the simplest way. The resulting file, which has a minimum size of 1 MB, can be embedded in a web page using a standard iframe HTML element. Blend4Web-powered web applications can be deployed on social networking websites such as Facebook. The Blend4Web toolchain consists of JavaScript libraries, the Blender add-on, and a set of tools for tweaking 3D scene parameters, debugging, and optimization. Developed by Moscow-based company Triumph in 2010, Blend4Web was publicly released on March 28, 2014. At the end of 2017, the project founders Yuri and Alex Kovelenov quit Triumph to start the development of a new WebGL framework Verge3D. In October 2019, an "Absolutely new Blend4Web" was announced, planned to make developing 3D apps easier and to add a new marketplace where people can offer their 3D models. == Features == The framework has a number of components typically found in game engines, including a positional audio system, physics engine (a fork of Bullet ported to JavaScript), animation system, and an abstraction layer for game logic programming. Up to 8 different types of animations can be assigned to a single object, including skeletal and per-vertex animation. The speed and the direction of animation (forward/backward play), as well as particle system parameters (size, initial velocity, and count), can be changed through the API. Among other supported features are: scene data dynamic loading and unloading, subsurface scattering simulation, and image-based lighting. Some out-of-box options exist for rendering extended outdoor environments, including foliage-wind interaction, water, atmosphere, and sunlight simulation. One example demonstrating these effects is "The Farm" tech demo, which also features multiple animated NPCs and the ability to walk, interact with objects and drive a vehicle in first-person mode. Being based on the cross-browser WebGL API, Blend4Web runs in the majority of web browsers, including mobile ones. There are some caveats for browsers with experimental WebGL support, such as Internet Explorer. There are also applications developed to run on Tizen-powered devices such as the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch. Other features include: draw call batching, hidden surface determination, threaded physics simulation and ocean simulation. In version 14.09, Blend4Web introduced the possibility of adding interactivity to 3D scenes using a visual programming tool. The tool is reminiscent of the BGE's logic editor as it uses logic blocks that are placed inside Blender. It plays back animation tracks authored by an artist when the user interacts with predefined 3D objects. Since version 15.03, Blend4Web has supported attaching HTML elements (such as information windows) to 3D objects ("annotations") and copying objects in run time ("instancing"). The following post-processing effects are supported: glow, bloom, depth of field, crepuscular rays, motion blur, and screen space ambient occlusion. == Virtual reality and augmented reality == Virtual reality devices have been supported since the end of 2015. Specifically, Oculus Rift head-mounted display works over experimental WebVR API. The software also now includes preliminary support for gamepads, based on the Gamepad API. In 2017, the option to author augmented reality content was added. The system is based on the open-source tracking library ARToolKit and uses the WebRTC protocols. Starting from version 17.08, finger tracking is supported through the Leap Motion device. == Blender integration == The Blender add-on is written in Python and C and can be compiled for the Linux x86/x64, OS X x64, and MS Windows x86/x64 platforms. A Blend4Web-specific profile can be activated in the add-on settings. When switching to this profile, the Blender interface changes so that it only reveals settings relevant to Blend4Web. Blend4Web supports a set of Blender-specific features such as the node material editor (a tool for visual shader programming) and the particle system. There is basic support for Blender's non-linear animation (NLA) editor for creating simple scenarios. Blend4Web is based on Blender's real-time GLSL rendering engine, which users are recommended to use in order to enable WYSIWYG editing. == Notable uses == NASA developed an interactive web application called Experience Curiosity to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the Curiosity rover landing on Mars. This Blend4Web-based app makes it possible to operate the rover, control its cameras and the robotic arm, and reproduce some of the prominent events of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. The application got presented at the beginning of the WebGL section at SIGGRAPH 2015. Experience Curiosity was ported to Verge3D for Blender in 2018 with several performance improvements and bug fixes. A General Motors authorized dealer in the United Arab Emirates has placed a functional Chevrolet Camaro 3D configurator on its website. Greenpeace created interactive 3D infographics to back Greenpeace's Detox campaign in Russia. Tallink featured an interactive 3D presentation of its MS Megastar vessel to allow visitors to browse details of the ship.
Aphelion (software)
The Aphelion Imaging Software Suite is a software suite that includes three base products - Aphelion Lab, Aphelion Dev, and Aphelion SDK for addressing image processing and image analysis applications. The suite also includes a set of extension programs to implement specific vertical applications that benefit from imaging techniques. The Aphelion software products can be used to prototype and deploy applications, or can be integrated, in whole or in part, into a user's system as processing and visualization libraries whose components are available as both DLLs or .Net components. == History and evolution == The development of Aphelion started in 1995 as a joint project of a French company, ADCIS S.A., and an American company, Amerinex Applied Imaging, Inc. (AAI) Aphelion's image processing and analysis functions were made from operators available from the KBVision software developed and sold by Amerinex's predecessor, Amerinex Artificial Intelligence Inc. In the 1990s, the XLim software library was developed at the Center of Mathematical Morphology of Mines ParisTech, and both companies carried out its development tasks. The first version of Aphelion was completed and released in April 1996. Successive versions were released before the first official stable release in December 1996 at the Photonics East conference in Boston and the Solutions Vision show in Paris in January 1997, where at the latter it competed with Stemmer Imaging's CVB imaging toolbox. In 1998, version 2.3 of Aphelion for Windows 98 was released, and its user base was growing in both France and the United States. Version 3.0, totally rewritten to take advantage of Microsoft's then-recent ActiveX technology, was officially released in 2000. It also became available as a « Developer » version, for rapid prototyping of applications using its intuitive GUI and the macro recording capability, and a « Core » version, including the full library as a set of ActiveX components to be used by software developers, integrators and original equipment manufacturers (OEM). As AAI turned its focus to security, in 2001, ADCIS took the lead on developing Aphelion. AAI focused on millimeter wave scanners for concealed weapon detection at airports, and eventually merged with Millimetrics to become Millivision. In 2004, ADCIS specified version 4.0 of Aphelion. The set of image processing/analysis functions was rewritten one more time to be compatible with the .NET technology and the emergence of 64 bit architecture PCs. In addition, the GUI was redesigned to address two usage types: a semi-automatic use where the user is guided through the different steps of functions, and a fully automatic use where the expert user can quickly invoke imaging functions. Its first release was presented at the IPOT exhibition in Birmingham, UK the same year. During the Vision Show in Paris in October 2008, the new Aphelion Lab product was launched for users that are not specialists in image processing. It is easier to use, and only includes fewer image processing functions. It was then included in the Aphelion Image Processing Suite, consisting of Aphelion Dev (replacing Aphelion Developer), Aphelion Lab, Aphelion SDK (replacing Aphelion Core), and a set of extensions. Nowadays, ADCIS is still working on the suite, and updated versions with new extensions and functionalities continually become available from the websites of both companies. In 2015, support was added for very large images and scan microscope images (virtual slides compound into a very large JPEG 2000 image) for high throughput imaging, and new specific extensions were also added. In late 2015, ADCIS announced Aphelion's port for tablets and smartphones, for vertical applications. The name "Aphelion" comes from the astronomical term of the same name, meaning the point on a planet rotating around the Sun where it lies farthest from it, applying the term in a metaphorical sense. Unix was the operating system used on scientific workstations in the 1990s, such as on the workstations manufactured by market leader Sun Microsystems, which Windows suite Aphelion was quite removed from. == Description == Aphelion is a software suite to be used for image processing and image analysis. It supports 2D and 3D, monochrome, color, and multi-band images. It is developed by ADCIS, a French software house located in Saint-Contest, Calvados, Normandy. Aphelion is widely used in the scientific/industry community to solve basic and complex imaging applications. First, the imaging application is quickly developed from the Graphical User Interface, involving a set of functions that can be automatically recorded into a macro command. The macro languages available in Aphelion (i.e. BasicScript, Python, and C#) help to process batch of images, and prompt the user if needed for specific parameters that are applied to the imaging functions. All Aphelion image processing functions are written in C++, and the Aphelion user interface is written in C#. C++ functions can be called from the C# language thanks the use of dedicated wrappers. The main principle of image processing is to automatically process pixels of a digital image, then extract one or more objects of interest (i.e. cells in the field of biology, inclusions in the field of material science) and compute one or more measurements on those objects to quantify the image and generate a verdict (good image, image with defects, cancerous cells). In other words, starting from an image, pixels are processed by a set of successive functions or operators until only measurements are computed and used as the input of a 3rd party system or a classification software that will classify objects of interest that have been extracted during the imaging process. An acquisition system such as a digital camera, a video camera, an optical or electron microscope, a medical scanner, or a smartphone can be used to capture images. The set of values or pixels can be processed as a 1D image (1D signal), a 2D image (array of pixel values corresponding to a monochrome or color image), or a 3D image displayed using volume rendering (array of voxels in the 3D space) or displaying surfaces by using 3D rendering. A 2D color image is made of 3 value pixels (typically Red, Green, and Blue information or another color space), and a 3D image is made of monochrome, color (indexed color are often used), multispectral, or hyperspectral data. When dealing with videos, an additional band is added corresponding to temporal information. The Aphelion Software Suite includes three base products, and a set of optional extensions for specific applications: Aphelion Lab: Entry-level package for non-experts in image processing. It helps to quickly segment an image in a semi-automatic or manual ways, and compute a set of measurements computed on objects of interest that have been extracted during the segmentation process. A set of wizards guides the user from image acquisition to report generation. Aphelion Dev: Full imaging environment including over 450 functions to develop and deploy an application that involves image processing and analysis. It also includes a set of macro-command languages to automate any application to be invoked from the user interface. It also helps to run the imaging algorithm on more than one image that are stored on disk, available on the network, or captured by an acquisition device. Aphelion libraries for image processing and visualization are provided in Aphelion Dev as DLLs and .Net components. Aphelion SDK: A set of libraries to develop a stand-alone application with a custom interface based on the Aphelion libraries. This software development kit including display, processing and analysis functions that can be used by software developers and OEMs. It is provided as DLLs and .Net components. The stand-alone application is typically developed in C# on one computer, and then deployed on multiple PCs and systems. A set of optional extensions can be added to the « Aphelion Dev » product, depending on the application. An evaluation version of Aphelion can be run on a PC for 30 days. A permanent version of Aphelion is available based on a perpetual license. Upgrades are available through a maintenance agreement based on a yearly fee. Technical support is provided by the engineers who are developing the product. The goal of image processing is usually to extract object(s) of interest in an image, and then to classify them based on some characteristics such as shape, density, position, etc. Using Aphelion, this goal is achieved by performing the following tasks: Load an image from disk or acquire an image using an acquisition device. Enhance the image removing noise or modifying its contrast. Segment the image extracting objects of interest to be measured and analyzed. Typically, for simple applications, a threshold is performed to generate a binary image. Then, morphological operators are applied to clean the image and only keep obj
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder (DVR), also referred to as a personal video recorder (PVR) particularly in Canadian and British English, is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes (STB) with direct to disk recording, portable media players and TV gateways with recording capability, and digital camcorders. Personal computers can be connected to video capture devices and used as DVRs; in such cases the application software used to record video is an integral part of the DVR. Many DVRs are classified as consumer electronic devices. Similar small devices with built-in (~5 inch diagonal) displays and SSD support may be used for professional film or video production, as these recorders often do not have the limitations that built-in recorders in cameras have, offering wider codec support, the removal of recording time limitations and higher bitrates. == History == In the 1980s, prototype high-definition (HD) digital video recorders were developed by Fujitsu, Hitachi, Sanyo and Canon Inc. In 1985, Hitachi demonstrated a prototype digital video tape recorder (VTR) that used digital recording video tape as storage media to record digital HD video content. In 1987, the first commercial digital video recorder was the Sony DVR-1000, a digital video cassette recorder (VCR) that recorded digital video content on D-1 (Sony) digital video cassettes. === Hard-disk-based DVR === In early 1995, Tektronix introduced the "Profile" series PDR100 Video Disk Recorder, which recorded and played back video stored on hard disk as motion JPEG. In 1996, Sweden's TV4 used the PDR100 extensively in building a new facility in Stockholm, and NBC used PDR100s at the Olympic games in Atlanta Georgia. The Tektronix Profile disk recorder won an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development" at the 1996 Primetime Emmy Awards. In 1997 the U.S. Patent Office granted Tektronix patent 5,642,497 for two claims key to Profile. In 1998, Tektronix introduced two Profile models which were combined VDRs and file servers: the PDR200 and PDR300. The PDR300 stored its compressed video as MPEG-2 (ISO/IEC 13818-2) A working disk-based DVR prototype was developed in 1998 at Stanford University Computer Science department. The DVR design was a chapter of Edward Y. Chang's PhD dissertation, supervised by Professors Hector Garcia-Molina and Jennifer Widom. Two design papers were published at the 1998 VLDB conference, and the 1999 ICDE conference. The prototype was developed in 1998 at Pat Hanrahan's CS488 class: Experiments in Digital Television, and the prototype was demoed to industrial partners including Sony, Intel, and Apple. Consumer digital video recorders ReplayTV and TiVo were launched at the 1999 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Microsoft also demonstrated a unit with DVR capability, but this did not become available until the end of 1999 for full DVR features in Dish Network's DISHplayer receivers. TiVo shipped their first units on March 31, 1999. ReplayTV won the "Best of Show" award in the video category with Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen as an early investor and board member, but TiVo was more successful commercially. Ad Age cited Forrester Research as saying that market penetration by the end of 1999 was "less than 100,000". In 2001, Toshiba introduced a combination DVR that allows video recording on both DVD recordable and hard disk drive. Legal action by media companies forced ReplayTV to remove many features such as automatic commercial skip and the sharing of recordings over the Internet, but newer devices have steadily regained these functions while adding complementary abilities, such as recording onto DVDs and programming and remote control facilities using PDAs, networked PCs, and Web browsers. In contrast to VCRs, hard-disk based digital video recorders make "time shifting" more convenient and also allow for functions such as pausing live TV, instant replay, chasing playback (viewing a recording before it has been completed) and skipping over advertising during playback. Many DVRs use the MPEG format for compressing the digital video. Video recording capabilities have become an essential part of the modern set-top box, as TV viewers have wanted to take control of their viewing experiences. As consumers have been able to converge increasing amounts of video content on their set-tops, delivered by traditional 'broadcast' cable, satellite and terrestrial as well as IP networks, the ability to capture programming and view it whenever they want has become a must-have function for many consumers. === DVR tied to video service === At the 1999 CES, Dish Network demonstrated the hardware that would later have DVR capability with the assistance of Microsoft software, which also included access to the WebTV service. By the end of 1999 the Dishplayer had full DVR capabilities and within a year, over 200,000 units were sold. In the UK, digital video recorders are often referred to as "plus boxes" (such as BSKYB's Sky+ and Virgin Media's V+ which integrates an HD capability, and the subscription free Freesat+ and Freeview+). Freeview+ have been around in the UK since the late 2000s, although the platform's first DVR, the Pace Twin, dates to 2002. British Sky Broadcasting marketed a popular combined receiver and DVR as Sky+, now replaced by the Sky Q box. TiVo launched a UK model in 2000, and is no longer supported, except for third party services, and the continuation of TiVo through Virgin Media in 2010. South African based Africa Satellite TV beamer Multichoice recently launched their DVR which is available on their DStv platform. In addition to ReplayTV and TiVo, there are a number of other suppliers of digital terrestrial (DTT) DVRs, including Technicolor SA, Topfield, Fusion, Commscope, Humax, VBox Communications, AC Ryan Playon and Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB). Many satellite, cable and IPTV companies are incorporating digital video recording functions into their set-top box, such as with DirecTiVo, DISHPlayer/DishDVR, Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8xxx from Time Warner, Total Home DVR from AT&T U-verse, Motorola DCT6412 from Comcast and others, Moxi Media Center by Digeo (available through Charter, Adelphia, Sunflower, Bend Broadband, and soon Comcast and other cable companies), or Sky+. Astro introduced their DVR system, called Astro MAX, which was the first PVR in Malaysia but was phased out two years after its introduction. In the case of digital television, there is no encoding necessary in the DVR since the signal is already a digitally encoded MPEG stream. The digital video recorder simply stores the digital stream directly to disk. Having the broadcaster involved with, and sometimes subsidizing, the design of the DVR can lead to features such as the ability to use interactive TV on recorded shows, pre-loading of programs, or directly recording encrypted digital streams. It can, however, also force the manufacturer to implement non-skippable advertisements and automatically expiring recordings. In the United States, the FCC has ruled that starting on July 1, 2007, consumers will be able to purchase a set-top box from a third-party company, rather than being forced to purchase or rent the set-top box from their cable company. This ruling only applies to "navigation devices", otherwise known as a cable television set-top box, and not to the security functions that control the user's access to the content of the cable operator. The overall net effect on digital video recorders and related technology is unlikely to be substantial as standalone DVRs are currently readily available on the open market. In Europe Free-To-Air and Pay TV TV gateways with multiple tuners have whole house recording capabilities allowing recording of TV programs to Network Attached Storage or attached USB storage, recorded programs are then shared across the home network to tablet, smartphone, PC, Mac, Smart TV. === Introduction of dual tuners === In 2003 many Satellite and Cable providers introduced dual-tuner digital video recorders. In the UK, BSkyB introduced their first PVR Sky+ with dual tuner support in 2001. These machines have two independent tuners within the same receiver. The main use for this feature is the capability to record a live program while watching another live program simultaneously or to record two programs at the same time, possibly while watching a previously recorded one. Kogan.com introduced a dual-tuner PVR in the Australian market allowing free-to-air television to be recorded on a removable hard drive. Some dual-tuner DVRs also have the ability to output to two separate television sets at the same time. The PVR manufactured by UEC (Durban, South Africa) and used by Multichoice and Scientific Atlanta 8300DVB PVR have the ability to view two
Abjjad
Abjjad is an Arabic reading application that was launched in June 2012 by Eman Hylooz. Abjjad offers users the ability to download and read thousands of books offline through its iOS and Android applications. In December of 2020, Abjjad had more than 1.5 million registered accounts. == About Abjjad == Abjjad was founded in June 2012 by Eman Hylooz as a reader community dedicated to Arab readers, authors, and book lovers. Abjjad developed into a smart electronic platform to provide Arabic electronic books with ease to Arab readers everywhere after discovering a large gap in the world of Arab publishing, which is the legal electronic publishing, by forming strategic partnership with Arab publishers such as Dar Al-Shorouk, Dar Al Tanweer, Dar Al Adab, and Dar Al Saqi. == History == In May 2012, Oasis500 provided Abjjad with the seed funding to launch the website. In June 2012, Abjjad was launched with a budget of 15 thousand dollars. Within the first three months more than 10 thousand members were registered in Abjjad. Abjjad has participated in different local and international forums to meet several investors and entrepreneurs. In October 2012 Abjjad participated in Global thinkers forum in Amman, Jordan where Eman Hylooz, founder & CEO, presented the concept of Abjjad, its vision and future plans In mid-December 2012 Abjjad participated in Global Entrepreneurship in Dubai where it was presented to investors as a start-up and a new project in the Middle East. In February 2013 Abjjad was one of ten startups MENA apps has nominated from Jordan and Palestine to participate in startup Turkey. In May 2013 Abjjad participated in World Economic Forum in Amman, Jordan and later in June 2013 participated in Arab Net in Dubai. By the end of 2013, Abjjad won the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Best Arab Start-Up Business Award for 2013. During 29 October 2013 till January 2014 Abjjad has launched their campaign for crowd funding through Eureeca Abjjad managed to raise US$161,000 in 88 days from 43 regional donors, over US$40,000 over its initial target. By the end of 2020. Abjjad had raised a $1 million investment round led by Jordan Entrepreneurship Fund, Ramal Capital Fund, and JordInvest Fund. Because the funds will be used to acquire users and e-books, Abjjad hopes to become the largest Arab electronic library as well as the largest income-generating platform for Arab authors and publishers, while also providing readers with a unique digital reading experience. == Features == The ability to read an unlimited number of books from an electronic library containing thousands of Arabic and translated books. Abjjad ebook library is constantly expanding and cooperating with new publishing houses to add more books. Reading offline without an internet connection. The application allows the user to download books in seconds and read them anywhere. Intuitive feature which include the ability to flip the pages of the book, highlight the reader's favorite quotes, and add notes, in addition to night reading mode and the option to modify the style and size of the front. The ability to interact with other readers and read their book reviews. More than 1.5 million Arabic readers make up the Abjjad reader community, and the user can read and connect with their reviews, book ratings, and favorite quotes. A virtual personal library that enables the user to rate and organize books by placing them on one of the three shelves: I will read it, currently readings, and/or read it. Abjjad's library includes various genres and literary fields, such as: reference books, novels, stories, literature, psychological books, philosophy, biography, politics, history, religion, self-improvement and human development books, as well as international books translated into Arabic. The library includes the most famous works of Arab authors such as: Naguib Mahfouz, Mahmoud Darwish, Radwa Ashour, Tayeb Salih. Aside from Arabic translation of works by well-known worldwide authors including: Elif Shafak, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mark Manson, and others. == Statistics == In December of 2020, Abjjad had more than 1.5 million registered accounts. == Awards and honors == 2013: Won the Mohammad Bin Rashid Award for Best Arabic Startup 2014: Won the Golden Award for Jawa's "Best Online Community" 2015: Won the Business Women of the Year Award by Bank al Etihad 2016: Won the Said Khoury Award for Entrepreneurs and Innovators 2016: Won the Best Application in the Arabic Region Award by His Highness Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah in Kuwait. 2019: Won the Mohammad Bin Rashid Award for Arabic Language for the best artistic, cultural or intellectual world to serve the Arabic language. == Abjjad in the media == Abjjad has taken a huge interest in the Middle Eastern and western media; the author of Startup Rising: The Entrepreneurial Revolution Remaking the Middle East, Christopher M. Schroeder, has interviewed Eman Hylooz and wrote about her experience with Abjjad in his book. In addition, France24-Monte Carlo Doualiya has interviewed Ms. Hylooz on Retweet program to discuss Abjjad idea and provide the latest statistics of the website. Moreover, Sky News Arabia interviewed Hylooz to relate her experience with Oasis500 and Eureeca in Abjjad's crowdinvestment campaignPage text. furthermore, Al-Aan TV interviewed Ms.Hylooz in ArabNet in Dubai, 2013. Abjjad has been mentioned on Oasis500 website as one of the five startups which the company funded and gained different prizes. Wamda, Mediame and crowdfundinsider have discussed Abjjad's experience in the crowd investment on Eureeca. And the expert in the Arabic literature in English, M. Lynx Qualey, has interviewed Eman Hylooz in March 2013 to talk about Abjjad's story of success, how it differs from other social networks and what are its future plans. Abjjad was also featured in "Hashtag Arabi" website when it launched its premium subscription called "Abjjad Unlimited" in 2017 with the support of the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation. In her interview with the Jordan Times, Eman also discussed her background in computer science and software development, which helped her found Abjjad.
VHS
VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Magnetic tape video recording was adopted by the television industry in the 1950s in the form of the first commercialized video tape recorders (VTRs), but the devices were expensive and used only in professional environments. In the 1970s, videotape technology became affordable for home use, and widespread adoption of videocassette recorders (VCRs) began; the VHS became the most popular media format for VCRs as it would win the "format war" against Betamax (backed by Sony) and a number of other competing tape standards. The cassettes themselves use a 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) magnetic tape between two spools and typically offer a capacity of at least two hours. The popularity of VHS was intertwined with the rise of the video rental market, when films were released on pre-recorded videotapes for home viewing. Newer improved tape formats such as S-VHS were later developed, as well as the earliest optical disc format, LaserDisc; the lack of global adoption of these formats increased VHS's lifetime, which eventually peaked and started to decline in the late 1990s after the introduction of DVD, a digital optical disc format. VHS rentals were surpassed by DVD in the United States in 2003, which eventually became the preferred low-end method of movie distribution. For home recording purposes, VHS and VCRs were surpassed by (typically hard disk–based) digital video recorders (DVR) in the 2000s. Production of all VHS equipment ceased by 2016, although the format has since gained some popularity amongst collectors. A niche revival of VHS has taken place with This Is How The World Ends becoming the first straight-to-VHS release in 20 years. == History == === Before VHS === In 1956, after several attempts by other companies, the first commercially successful VTR, the Ampex VRX-1000, was introduced by Ampex Corporation. At a price of US$50,000 in 1956 (equivalent to $592,000 in 2025) and US$300 (equivalent to $3,600 in 2025) for a 90-minute reel of tape, it was intended only for the professional market. Kenjiro Takayanagi, a television broadcasting pioneer then working for JVC as its vice president, saw the need for his company to produce VTRs for the Japanese market at a more affordable price. In 1959, JVC developed a two-head video tape recorder and, by 1960, a color version for professional broadcasting. In 1964, JVC released the DV220, which would be the company's standard VTR until the mid-1970s. In 1969, JVC collaborated with Sony and Matsushita Electric (Matsushita was the majority stockholder of JVC until 2011) to build a video recording standard for the Japanese consumer. The effort produced the U-matic format in 1971, which was the first cassette format to become a unified standard for different companies. It was preceded by the reel-to-reel 1⁄2-inch EIAJ format. The U-matic format was successful in businesses and some broadcast television applications, such as electronic news-gathering, and was produced by all three companies until the late 1980s, but because of cost and limited recording time, very few of the machines were sold for home use. Therefore, soon after the U-Matic release, all three companies started working on new consumer-grade video recording formats of their own. Sony started working on Betamax, Matsushita started working on VX, and JVC released the CR-6060 in 1975, based on the U-matic format. === VHS development === In 1971, JVC engineers Yuma Shiraishi and Shizuo Takano put together a team to develop a VTR for consumers. By the end of 1971, they created an internal diagram, "VHS Development Matrix", which established twelve objectives for JVC's new VTR; among them: The system must be compatible with any ordinary television set. Picture quality must be similar to a normal air broadcast. The tape must have at least a two-hour recording capacity. Tapes must be interchangeable between machines. The overall system should be versatile, meaning it can be scaled and expanded, such as connecting a video camera, or dubbing between two recorders. Recorders should be affordable, easy to operate, and have low maintenance costs. Recorders must be capable of being produced in high volume, their parts must be interchangeable, and they must be easy to service. In early 1972, the commercial video recording industry in Japan took a financial hit. JVC cut its budgets and restructured its video division, shelving the VHS project. However, despite the lack of funding, Takano and Shiraishi continued to work on the project in secret. By 1973, the two engineers had produced a functional prototype. === Competition with Betamax === In 1974, the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), desiring to avoid consumer confusion, attempted to force the Japanese video industry to standardize on just one home video recording format. Later, Sony had a functional prototype of the Betamax format, and was very close to releasing a finished product. With this prototype, Sony persuaded the MITI to adopt Betamax as the standard, and allow it to license the technology to other companies. JVC believed that an open standard, with the format shared among competitors without licensing the technology, was better for the consumer. To prevent the MITI from adopting Betamax, JVC worked to convince other companies, in particular Matsushita (Japan's largest electronics manufacturer at the time, marketing its products under the National brand in most territories and the Panasonic brand in North America, and JVC's majority stockholder), to accept VHS, and thereby work against Sony and the MITI. Matsushita agreed, fearing Sony would dominate the market with a Betamax monopoly. Matsushita also regarded Betamax's one-hour recording time limit as a disadvantage. Matsushita's backing of JVC persuaded Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and Sharp to back the VHS standard as well. Sony's release of its Betamax unit to the Japanese market in 1975 placed further pressure on the MITI to side with the company. However, the collaboration of JVC and its partners was much stronger, which eventually led the MITI to drop its push for an industry standard. JVC released the first VHS machines in Japan in late 1976, and in the United States in mid-1977. Sony's Betamax competed with VHS throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s (see Videotape format war). Betamax's major advantages were its smaller cassette size, theoretical higher video quality, and earlier availability, but its shorter recording time proved to be a major shortcoming. Originally, Beta I machines using the NTSC television standard were able to record one hour of programming at their standard tape speed of 1.5 inches per second (ips). The first VHS machines could record for two hours, due to both a slightly slower tape speed (1.31 ips) and significantly longer tape. Betamax's smaller cassette limited the size of the reel of tape, and could not compete with VHS's two-hour capability by extending the tape length. Instead, Sony had to slow the tape down to 0.787 ips (Beta II) in order to achieve two hours of recording in the same cassette size. Sony eventually created a Beta III speed of 0.524 ips, which allowed NTSC Betamax to break the two-hour limit, but by then VHS had already won the format battle. Additionally, VHS had a "far less complex tape transport mechanism" than Betamax, and VHS machines were faster at rewinding and fast-forwarding than their Sony counterparts. VHS eventually won the war, gaining 60% of the North American market by 1980. == Initial releases of VHS-based devices == The first VCR to use VHS was the Victor HR-3300, and was introduced by the president of JVC in Japan on September 9, 1976. JVC started selling the HR-3300 in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan, on October 31, 1976. Region-specific versions of the JVC HR-3300 were also distributed later on, such as the HR-3300U in the United States, and the HR-3300EK in the United Kingdom. The United States received its first VHS-based VCR, the RCA VBT200, on August 23, 1977. The RCA unit was designed by Matsushita and was the first VHS-based VCR manufactured by a company other than JVC. It was also capable of recording four hours in LP (long play) mode. The UK received its first VHS-based VCR, the Victor HR-3300EK, in 1978. Quasar and General Electric followed-up with VHS-based VCRs – all designed by Matsushita. By 1999, Matsushita alone produced just over half of all Japanese VCRs. TV/VCR combos, combining a TV set with a VHS mechanism, were also once available for purchase. Combo units containing both a VHS mechanism and a DVD player were introduced in the late 1990s, and at least one combo unit, the Panasonic DMP-BD70V, included a Blu-ray player. == Technical details == VHS has been standardized in IEC 60774–1. === Cassette and
Order-independent transparency
Order-independent transparency (OIT) is a class of techniques in rasterisational computer graphics for rendering transparency in a 3D scene, which do not require rendering geometry in sorted order for alpha compositing. == Description == Commonly, 3D geometry with transparency is rendered by blending (using alpha compositing) all surfaces into a single buffer (think of this as a canvas). Each surface occludes existing color and adds some of its own color depending on its alpha value, a ratio of light transmittance. The order in which surfaces are blended affects the total occlusion or visibility of each surface. For a correct result, surfaces must be blended from farthest to nearest or nearest to farthest, depending on the alpha compositing operation, over or under. Ordering may be achieved by rendering the geometry in sorted order, for example sorting triangles by depth, but can take a significant amount of time, not always produce a solution (in the case of intersecting or circularly overlapping geometry) and the implementation is complex. Instead, order-independent transparency sorts geometry per-pixel, after rasterisation. For exact results this requires storing all fragments before sorting and compositing. == History == The A-buffer is a computer graphics technique introduced in 1984 which stores per-pixel lists of fragment data (including micro-polygon information) in a software rasteriser, REYES, originally designed for anti-aliasing but also supporting transparency. More recently, depth peeling in 2001 described a hardware accelerated OIT technique. With limitations in graphics hardware the scene's geometry had to be rendered many times. A number of techniques have followed, to improve on the performance of depth peeling, still with the many-pass rendering limitation. For example, Dual Depth Peeling (2008). In 2009, two significant features were introduced in GPU hardware/drivers/Graphics APIs that allowed capturing and storing fragment data in a single rendering pass of the scene, something not previously possible. These are, the ability to write to arbitrary GPU memory from shaders and atomic operations. With these features a new class of OIT techniques became possible that do not require many rendering passes of the scene's geometry. The first was storing the fragment data in a 3D array, where fragments are stored along the z dimension for each pixel x/y. In practice, most of the 3D array is unused or overflows, as a scene's depth complexity is typically uneven. To avoid overflow the 3D array requires large amounts of memory, which in many cases is impractical. Two approaches to reducing this memory overhead exist. Packing the 3D array with a prefix sum scan, or linearizing, removed the unused memory issue but requires an additional depth complexity computation rendering pass of the geometry. The "Sparsity-aware" S-Buffer, Dynamic Fragment Buffer, "deque" D-Buffer, Linearized Layered Fragment Buffer all pack fragment data with a prefix sum scan and are demonstrated with OIT. Storing fragments in per-pixel linked lists provides tight packing of this data and in late 2011, driver improvements reduced the atomic operation contention overhead making the technique very competitive. == Exact OIT == Exact, as opposed to approximate, OIT accurately computes the final color, for which all fragments must be sorted. For high depth complexity scenes, sorting becomes the bottleneck. One issue with the sorting stage is local memory limited occupancy, in this case a SIMT attribute relating to the throughput and operation latency hiding of GPUs. Backwards memory allocation (BMA) groups pixels by their depth complexity and sorts them in batches to improve the occupancy and hence performance of low depth complexity pixels in the context of a potentially high depth complexity scene. Up to a 3× overall OIT performance increase is reported. Sorting is typically performed in a local array, however performance can be improved further by making use of the GPU's memory hierarchy and sorting in registers, similarly to an external merge sort, especially in conjunction with BMA. == Approximate OIT == Approximate OIT techniques relax the constraint of exact rendering to provide faster results. Higher performance can be gained from not having to store all fragments or only partially sorting the geometry. A number of techniques also compress, or reduce, the fragment data. These include: Stochastic Transparency: draw in a higher resolution in full opacity but discard some fragments. Downsampling will then yield transparency. Adaptive Transparency, a two-pass technique where the first constructs a visibility function which compresses on the fly (this compression avoids having to fully sort the fragments) and the second uses this data to composite unordered fragments. Intel's pixel synchronization avoids the need to store all fragments, removing the unbounded memory requirement of many other OIT techniques. Weighted Blended Order-Independent Transparency replaced the over operator with a commutative approximation. Feeding depth information into the weight produces visually-acceptable occlusion. == OIT in Hardware == The Sega Dreamcast games console included hardware support for automatic OIT.
GlTF
glTF (Graphics Library Transmission Format or GL Transmission Format and formerly known as WebGL Transmissions Format or WebGL TF) is a standard file format for three-dimensional scenes and models. A glTF file uses one of two possible file extensions: .gltf (JSON/ASCII) or .glb (binary). Both .gltf and .glb files may reference external binary and texture resources. Alternatively, both formats may be self-contained by directly embedding binary data buffers (as base64-encoded strings in .gltf files or as raw byte arrays in .glb files). An open standard developed and maintained by the Khronos Group, it supports 3D model geometry, appearance, scene graph hierarchy, and animation. It is intended to be a streamlined, interoperable format for the delivery of 3D assets, while minimizing file size and runtime processing by apps. As such, its creators have described it as the "JPEG of 3D". == Overview == The glTF format stores data primarily in JSON. The JSON may also contain blobs of binary data known as buffers, and refer to external files, for storing mesh data, images, etc. The binary .glb format also contains JSON text, but serialized with binary chunk headers to allow blobs to be directly appended to the file. The fundamental building blocks of a glTF scene are nodes. Nodes are organized into a hierarchy, such that a node may have other nodes defined as children. Nodes may have transforms relative to their parent. Nodes may refer to resources, such as meshes, skins, and cameras. Meshes may refer to materials, which refer to textures, which refer to images. Scenes are defined using an array of root nodes. Most of the top-level glTF properties use a flat hierarchy for storage. Nodes are saved in an array and are referred to by index, including by other nodes. A glTF scene refers to its root nodes by index. Furthermore, nodes refer to meshes by index, which refer to materials by index, which refer to textures by index, which refer to images by index. All glTF data structures support being extended using a JSON property, allowing arbitrary JSON data to be added. == Releases == === glTF 1.0 === Members of the COLLADA working group conceived the file format in 2012. At SIGGRAPH 2012, Khronos presented a demo of glTF, which was then called WebGL Transmissions Format (WebGL TF). On October 19, 2015, Khronos released the glTF 1.0 specification. ==== Adoption of glTF 1.0 ==== At SIGGRAPH 2016, Oculus announced their adoption of glTF citing the similarities to their ovrscene format. In October 2016, Microsoft joined the 3D Formats working group at Khronos to collaborate on glTF. === glTF 2.0 === The second version, glTF 2.0, was released in June 2017, and is a complete overhaul of the file format from version 1.0, with most tools adopting the 2.0 version. Based on a proposal by Fraunhofer originally presented at SIGGRAPH 2016, physically based rendering (PBR) was added, replacing WebGL shaders used in glTF 1.0. glTF 2.0 added the GLB binary format into the base specification. Other upgrades include sparse accessors and morph targets for techniques such as facial animation, and schema tweaks and breaking changes for corner cases or performance such as replacing top-level glTF object properties with arrays for faster index-based access. There is ongoing work towards import and export in Unity and an integrated multi-engine viewer and validator. ==== Adoption of glTF 2.0 ==== On March 3, 2017, Microsoft announced that they would be using glTF 2.0 as the 3D asset format across their product line, including Paint 3D, 3D Viewer, Remix 3D, Babylon.js, and Microsoft Office. Sketchfab also announced support for glTF 2.0. The glTF and GLB formats are used on and supported by companies including DGG, UX3D, Sketchfab, Facebook, Microsoft, Meta, Google, Adobe, Box, TurboSquid, Unreal Engine, Unity, and Qt Quick 3D. The format has been noted as an important standard for augmented reality, integrating with modeling software such as Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max, and Poly. In February 2020, the Smithsonian Institution launched their Open Access Initiative, releasing approximately 2.8 million 2D images and 3D models into the public domain, using glTF for the 3D models. In July 2022, glTF 2.0 was released as the ISO/IEC 12113:2022 International Standard. Khronos stated they would make regular submissions to bring updates and new widely adopted glTF functionality into refreshed versions of ISO/IEC 12113 to ensure that there is no long-term divergence between the ISO/IEC and Khronos specifications. The open-source game engine Godot supports importing glTF 2.0 files since version 3.0 and export since version 4.0. === Extensions === The glTF format can be extended with arbitrary JSON to add new data and functionality. Extensions can be placed on any part of a glTF, including nodes, animations, materials, textures, and on the entire document. Khronos keeps a non-comprehensive registry of glTF extensions on GitHub, including all official Khronos extensions and a few third-party extensions. PBR extensions model the physical appearance of real-world objects, allowing developers to create realistic 3D assets that have the correct appearance. As new PBR extensions are released, they continue to expand PBR capabilities within the glTF framework, allowing a wider range of scenes and objects to be realistically rendered as 3D assets. The KTX 2.0 extension for universal texture compression enables 3D models in the glTF format to be highly compressed and to use natively supported texture formats, reducing file size and boosting rendering speed. Draco is a glTF extension for mesh compression, to compress and decompress 3D meshes, to help reduce the size of 3D files. It compresses vertex attributes, normals, colors, and texture coordinates. Various glTF extensions for game engine interoperability have been developed by OMI group. This includes extensions for physics shapes, physics bodies, physics joints, audio playback, seats, spawn points, and more. The VRM consortium has developed glTF extensions for advanced humanoid 3D avatars including dynamic spring bones and toon materials. == Derivative formats == 3D Tiles, an OGC Community Standard, builds on glTF to add a spatial data structure, metadata, and declarative styling for streaming massive heterogeneous 3D geospatial datasets. VRM, a model format for VR, is built on the .glb format. It is a 3D humanoid avatar specification and file format. == Software ecosystem == Khronos maintains the glTF Sample Viewer for viewing glTF assets. Khronos also maintains the glTF Validator for validating if 3D models conform to the glTF specification. Khronos maintains a glTF Compressor tool to interactively optimize and fine-tune compression settings for glTF assets using KTX 2.0 textures. glTF loaders are in open-source WebGL engines including PlayCanvas, Three.js, Babylon.js, Cesium, PEX, xeogl, and A-Frame. The Godot game engine supports and recommends the glTF format, with both import and export support. Open-source glTF converters are available from COLLADA, FBX, and OBJ. Assimp can import and export glTF. glTF files can also be directly exported from a variety of 3D editors, such as Blender, Unity (using the glTFast importer/exporter), Freecad, Vectary, Autodesk 3ds Max (natively or using Verge3D exporter), Autodesk Maya (using babylon.js exporter), Autodesk Inventor, Modo, Houdini, Paint 3D, Godot, and Substance Painter. Open-source glTF utility libraries are available for programming languages including JavaScript, Node.js, C++, C#, Python, Haskell, Java, Go, Rust, Haxe, Ada, and TypeScript. Khronos keeps a list of these libraries and other related applications on their ecosystem site. The Khronos 3D Commerce Working Group released Asset Creation Guidelines in 2020 outlining best practices for use of the glTF file format in 3D Commerce. In 2025, the Working Group launched Asset Creation Guidelines 2.0, a continuously updated resource with additional guidance for geometry, mesh optimization, UV maps, textures, materials/PBR performance, and web optimization. The Khronos PBR Neutral Tone Mappers specification is a tone mapper designed to faithfully reproduce an object's base color, hue, and saturation when using PBR rendering under grayscale lighting, supporting brand- and product-accurate color representation. Khronos maintains the glTF Asset Auditor to allow retailers and advertising technology platforms to validate 3D assets against either a default Audit Profile modelled on the 2020 3D Commerce Asset Creation Guidelines or a custom profile defined by the target application.