SHOCKING NEWS: The truth (maybe) about JPEG CODECS!!!

Hi guys…this article is dedicated to all the people who usually replace their jpeg codec, putting the jpeg codec file in C:/System/Data/
and say, ” WOW PIX ACTUALLY LOOK BETTER!!”

This news will be shocking, and I hope someone will reply with technical motivations saying that I am telling lies 🙂 Because otherwise, I just couldn’t be able to believe why so many people believed in all those stories…

The thing is:
Lot’s of people were saying JD1 codec works better, looks like pix are better, more definite and all that sort of stuff…
So I went into my firmware and said, well let’s do a comparison to see which is actually better…(I will post the comparison tomorrow)

1) my file was about 246kb…..
I went into JD1.rom.img , looked into C:/System/Data, took the jpeg codec out, and said: “well it actually is different, this one is only 209kb, so it must be different”
2) Then I said : Ok let’s do a comparison between more than two codecs, just to see which one is better…
so I went into XXJB1.rom.img , took out the file and said…”mmm wow, it’s 209kb, same weight as JD1’s codec…strange, but it could happen, but hey it’s not the same size as n2o2, which is supposed to have JB1 codec, well maybe it’s from another JB1″
Then I went into XXJA1.rom.img took out the file and said…”mmm wow, it’s 209kb, same weight as JD1’s codec…strange, but it could happen”
then into the JVJA1, took out the file and said…”mmm wow, it’s 209kb, same weight as JD1’s codec…strange, but it could happen”
then into DXJB2, took out the file and said…”mmm wow, it’s 209kb, same weight as JD1’s codec…strange, but it could happen”
at this point I was like “oh damn, it can’t be that mine is 246, and all those others are 209kb…”
so I extracted very old firmwares, like XXIF7, IG2….
and ….DAMN THE FILESIZE WAS THE SAME!!! 209KB!!!

Ok, I thought, this can be normal, maybe they just changed values inside the file, keeping the size always the same…

Here is when the H4X hex editor came in…”Let’s see what the hex editor thinks of those file” I thought….
well, you know what…

THE HEX EDITOR CONFIRMED THAT ALL THE JPEG CODECS FROM JD1,JB1,JC1,JA1,IF7,IG2, WERE ALL THE SAME FUCKING FILE!!!!!!!!!! (sorry for the rude word)
IDENTICAL!!!
THE JPEG CODEC HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME!!!!! NO CHANGE AT ALL SINCE AUGUST 2009!!!!

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

What about all the jpec codec importing in our firmwares!?!?
“OH LET’S PUT THIS CODEC, THIS ONE IS BETTER, PUT IT IN C:/SYSTEM/DATA” —-> THIS NEVER CHANGED ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!

I read so many posts about changing the jpec codecs….SOOOO MANY!!! AND NOW I’VE JUST FOUND OUT THEY WERE ALL BULLSHIT!!! (no offence to anyone of course, it’s just that I am shocked 🙂 )

At the same time I discovered that the JB1 codec that ipmart guys sent me, to be imported into n2o2, is ACTUALLY THE VIVAZ CODEC!!!
THAT’S WHY IT HAS GOT A DIFFERENT SIZE FROM ALL THE OTHER SAMSUNG CODECS!!! BECAUSE IT IS NOT A SAMSUNG ONE!!!

At this moment I was so excited/sad at the same time…excited because I had just discovered this (trivial) thing…sad because I have always believed codecs were actually different in every rom…

But my research didn’t end up here…
I took the Satio Z Drive Dump, and looked for its jpeg codec, and you know what?!?!?
IT IS THE SAME AS VIVAZ!!!!

Well now everything is clear to me….
1) THERE ARE NO JB1, JD1, JA1, IF1, WTFUCK1, WTFUCK2 CODECS, THEY’RE ALL THE SAME JPEG CODEC FROM SAMSUNG!!!!!!
2) Sony Ericsson has its own codec as well, in fact VIVAZ AND SATIO USE THE SAME JPEG CODEC…
3) ALL THE “BETTER PIX” Which people saw when they changed codecs in their phone with a codec from another rom (because told them it was better) WERE ONLY BETTER BECAUSE OF CASUAL EVENTS!!!

So, if you still didn’t get the point, here is a sumup:
1) ALL THE CODECS FROM ALL THE i8910 ROMS ARE THE SAME FILE!! THERE IS NO BETTER JD1!!! NO BETTER JA1!! THEY’RE ALL THE SAME!!! IDENTICAL!!!
2) There are only two jpeg codecs : SAMSUNG codec, and SONY ERICSSON CODEC, these are the only codecs you have to choose between.
3) THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IN TAKING PHOTOS IS THE CAMERA ENGINE, WHICH CAN’T BE CHANGED IN CUSTOM FIRMWARE, SO IF YOUR FIRMWARE WILL HAVE JC1 base (like all the latest firmware), IT WILL HAVE JC1 ENGINE (yes, I’m saying that all cfw with FIXED JAVA, HAVE THE SAME CAMERA ENGINE), the only thing you can choose is to use Samsung Codec, or Sony codec, I REPEAT, ALL THE CODECS FROM SAMSUNG FIRMWARES ARE THE SAME!!!
4) I WILL BE RELEASING A COMPARISON BETWEEN SONY AND SAMSUNG CODEC TOMORROW (they’re very similar, don’t expect any big difference)
5) n2o2 ACTUALLY USES SONY CODEC, NOT SAMSUNG (JB1) ONE!!!
6) I hope someone will show me that all the things written in this post are lies…otherwise…HOW COULD WE ALL (from the most famous cookers to the newbie) BELIEVE THAT THOSE CODECS WERE DIFFERENT?!??!

UPDATE: SOME OF YOU ARE NOT GETTING THE POINT OF THIS ARTICLE…
OF COURSE THERE ARE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FIRMWARES BECAUSE THE CAMERA ENGINE IS DIFFERENT!! BUT WHAT I AM SAYING IS, IF ON THE SAME FIRMWARE YOU CHANGE THE CODEC WITH ANOTHER ONE FROM ANOTHER i8910 FIRMWARE, NOTHING WILL CHANGE, BECAUSE CODEC FILES ARE THE SAME!!!
Hope it is clear now 🙂

I hope that all of you guys are still alive, and reached the end of the article hurtless…

Cheers

faenil

18 thoughts on “SHOCKING NEWS: The truth (maybe) about JPEG CODECS!!!”

  3. Faenil amico mio, posta le prove perchè altrimenti arriveranno una pioggia di rotture di scatole a non finire.
    …a proposito Bravo!

    P.S. io sono un pò più sollevato perchè in tutte le discussioni foto, mentre tutti parlavano e teorizzavano dicevo tra me e me: NON CAPISCO UN CAZZO DI FOTO!! IO LE VEDO TUTTE UGUALI!

    se posto le prove cosa cambia? potrebbero dire che ho rinominato il file… e quelli che ho comparato sono lo stesso file rinominato più volte

  4. damn i read all… now thats shocking… but i hav never used a firmware having better camera than n202.. its because of vivaz codec.. anyhow thats really bullshit that all codecs are same..

  5. esattamente come ghidda,anche io ho sempre visto le foto piu’ o meno simili da mesi…e di foto ne capisco abbastanza…
    l’unica cosa che spero e’che un giorno si possa migliorare il famoso discorso della velocita’ di salvataggio per evitare il mosso oppure ridurlo..jined disse qualcosa su ipmart,ma poi e’ svanito..voi 2 insieme avreste risolto al 100% ne sono sicuro..

    quando ho chiesto a jined di dirmi come si faceva su quel post…non ha più risposto..dici che non lo hai mai letto? …

  7. [quote]se posto le prove cosa cambia? potrebbero dire che ho rinominato il file… e quelli che ho comparato sono lo stesso file rinominato più volte[/quote]

    lo so e ti capisco, ma almeno qualcuno potrà farsi venire almeno un ragionevole dubbio che tu abbia ragione in merito :mrgreen:

    so di chi parli 😛

  8. Since I have had my i8910 I have installed over 50 firmwares on it. The only reason I would change a firmware would be to get more features or less bugs. I have never changed a firmware just to get better pics, because they always looked about the same to me. It depended more on the settings on the camera or pot luck. So I can quite believe your findings.

  9. without any proof I always notice that every time you change, brightness and color contrast so that sometimes there is a noticeable sharpness with less light, but never noticed anything extraordinary. I think you are quite right.

    glad you agree 🙂

  11. Faenil my friend, you just kill a urban myth.
    well less one problem to worry about.
    I’m very happy to know that i’ve two phones in one, Samsung hardware with Vivaz Software.
    Good work.

  13. hi faenil
    thanks for your efforts but now the big qus? witch is the best FW eng for foto???? thanks in advance

    man that is a difficult question to answer…

  14. hi faenil
    so we have to try JB1 samsung codec with your FW n202???? am i right?????

    yes I want to change codec…any samsung codec, JB1 is the same as JD1, JA1,…

  17. Thank you very much for finding out, faenil !
    This explains why the “CamTune” menu still shows the same F/W version even after doing an update.
    But it’s no big surprise: Samsung always delivers perfect hardware together with faulty software – and never ever corrects any mistakes. Had been the same with the i8510 which I also own.

    But tell us about the other tweaks possible – not long ago, you mentioned different JPEG compression settings.
    In fact, I saw that pictures of the same motif showed more or less details (especially in areas with green colors like grass, foliage, forests, and so on). Sometimes details are blurred, sometimes details are ok.
    This might happen because you never have a chance of taking two photos with absolutely identical lighting conditions – after flashing a new F/W, outdoor conditions changed.

    Again to all those who want to do a REAL comparison:
    – You need photos in FULL resolution: You won’t notice any difference with pictures of a lower resolution; the difference is detail. Compare small details at your PC, using FULL (native) zoom. If you don’t zoom in fully, you won’t notice any difference.
    You often find pictures uploaded by users, using a lower resolution, accompanied by some comments like “See the quality”. You CAN’T judge the quality with small pictures: If there’s enough light, even 5 MP cameras deliver the same results as 8 or 12 MP cameras if you don’t zoom in to 100 %.
    – Take photos of green things; grass, meadows, flowers, foliage, forests – especially photos taken inside forests always look horrible: Wrong colors, overexposed areas, big loss of details.
    – As long as there’s unknown factors like different JPEG compression while SAVING (!), you can’t compare the camera engines, because it might be the JPEG compression causing loss of details, NOT the engine. So uncompressed photos would be the real deal for comparing the quality.

    faenil: Possible to switch off JPEG compression completely ? – This would deliver photos as the camera engine produces them, not the compression algorithms. This would allow for a real comparison between Vivaz and Samsung engines.
    By the way: The higher the degree of compression, the lower the picture quality. So 100 % compression means full JPEG processing, leading to blurred pictures and lack of details.

    actually the parameter we can change is CompressionQuality, that is why I set to 100… 🙂

  18. Ah, I see, faenil. 🙂 – No other parameters left to change ?
    As I pray again and again: Real differences show with photos of green things, nature. Everything else with hard contrasts just looks fine; it’s the green our phone seems to hate big times. :/

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