High-Fidelity Picture Compression/Decompression
===============================================

PicCoDec 3.1

Welcome to the latest technology in image compression.  No, this is
not another JPEG or FRACTAL lossy type compression program.  This
technology is the result of about 6 months intensive R & D.  The result
is excellent quality (in fact it is being used by broadcast TV) and
super fast decompression.

This compression software is designed to compress/decompress 24 bit
true color images.  Sorry, I don't directly support 8 bit color images
because there is too much image degradation when color quantizing the
picture.  In other words- this is for high fidelity images only.

The average picture will compress to 1/10th the original image.  Of
course images with lots of detail will be slightly larger and images
with little detail (lots of blue sky, etc.) will compress better.  In
tests the quality of the image is so good that you can't tell from the
original.  In fact several companies that are currently using this
technology don't store the original bitmaps on their hard drive any more.
Why bother? - The compressed images are 1/10th the size and even load
faster than the original uncompressed images.

How can I decompress these images so fast?  The answer is tight, tight,
tight 32 bit MASM code.  I spent two months fine tuning and squeezing out
the last cycle of inefficient code.  The entire code and workspace arrays
neatly fit in 256K CPU cache memory.  The code will run on a 386 but
is specifically fine tuned for the 486.  Timing tests show that a 768 x
512 image will decompress in 710 milliseconds on a 486DX2 66Mhz with
256K of cache.  Oh, don't worry, code is also available in 'C' so you
can port this technology to other platforms.

With Speed and Quality this technology out performs any JPEG or FRACTAL
technology today.

Using the demo program
======================

The demonstration program, HKF_EVAL.EXE, is a windows program that will
load and save 24 bit Windows BMP files and HKF compressed images.  This
program requires a 24 bit true color graphics card in order to work.

1- To compress an image

Load the BMP image using the File/Open command.  Select BMP as the file
type in the Open File Dialog box.  Next, use the File/Save As command and
select HKF as the file type in the File Save Dialog box.  The program
will compress the image and save it on your hard disk.  After it's done
the program will prompt you to load the new compressed image.

2- To load a HKF compressed image

Load the HKF image using the File/Open command.  Select HKF as the file
type in the Open File Dialog box.


Programs and LIBs available
===========================

This demonstration program, HKF_EVAL.EXE, is free.  Feel free to distribute
this program (with this accompaning READ.ME file).  Also available-
(All prices in canadian funds)

$25 Stand Alone .EXE package
===============================
-contains a more sophisticated windows version that allows drag n drop
 archiving, multiple images in one file, image previewer, clipboard cut
 and paste, OLE 2.0, image resizing, conversion to 8 bit RGB images.
-4 DOS programs HKF2BMP.EXE, HKF2TGA.EXE, BMP2HKF.EXE, TGA2HKF.EXE that
 can be used in a batch file to convert HKF to/from Targa/Windows BMP
 files.

$150 Small Developer Library Kit (16 bit version)
=================================================
-contains the stand alone .EXE package
-contains LIB files that you can use to link with your C/C++ code to
 incorporate into your own graphics program.  Sample C source for
 interface to LIB.
-This kit is designed for private individuals who might find the
 professional/corporate version too pricy.  Included is a limited
 distribution license.
-NOTE: THIS KIT DOES NOT USE THE MASM CODE AND THEREFORE IS A BIT SLOWER
 AT DECOMPRESSION (about 2.5 times longer to decompress).

$995 Professional/Corporate Developer Kit
=========================================
-contains the stand alone .EXE package and small developer library kit
-32 bit MASM DLL's (for windows), and LIBs (for windows/dos)
-C source code for porting to other CPU platforms
-No royalty distribution license to distribute DLL's LIB's with your
 application


Products soon to be available
=============================
Please inquire about availability (prices subject to change)

$100 - CD Rom Picture Gallery - 100's of compressed, copyright free images
                                in various sizes.

$100 - Visual Basic Control - Designed for easy implementation of HKF
                              compressed images in Visual Basic 3.0

$??? - Multimedia Driver - incorporates full motion/with sound compression
                           technology for dazzling 24 bit true color AVI.


***************************************************************************
*  For more information contact-                                          *
*                                                                         *
* On compuserve                                                           *
* --------------                                                          *
* Hagen Kornberger                                                        *
* 73531,1132                                                              *
*                                                                         *
* Regular Post                                                            *
* ------------                                                            *
*  Hagen Kornberger          Note: To order send money order in canadian  *
*  2121 Roche Court #121     funds (I think it's possible in USA to do it)*
*  Mississauga, Ontario      Ontario Residents only add applicable taxes. *
*  Canada, L5K 2C7                                                        *
***************************************************************************