Press Information:
Karen Hurlbut, Esri
Tel.: 909-793-2853, extension 1-1582
E-mail (press only): press@Esri.com

Susan Graham
Marketing Communications Manager
LizardTech, Inc.
Tel.: 206-320-9969

General Information: info@Esri.com

Manipulating Massive Images Is No Longer an Obstacle with the
New MrSID Extension to ArcView GIS

Redlands, California--Esri, and LizardTech, Inc., of Seattle, Washington, today announced a joint effort to incorporate the viewing component of LizardTech's MrSID raster image compression technology into select Esri software starting with a new core extension for ArcView GIS Version 3.1 to be included with the new release.

This new extension interfaces Esri's ArcView GIS software with LizardTech's patented, wavelet-based compression and display technology, MrSID (Multi-Resolution Seamless Image Database). In addition to the joint development effort for ArcView GIS, both companies have identified strategic areas and customers for further cooperation to adapt and integrate aspects of their respective software technologies.

ArcView GIS is Esri's powerful desktop GIS software used by more than 200,000 people worldwide. The addition of MrSID raster image file viewing capabilities to the ArcView GIS environment further extends and optimizes the imagery viewing power of ArcView GIS. The MrSID ArcView GIS extension gives users the opportunity to rapidly decompress and view massive raster images within ArcView GIS that have been compressed with MrSID.

The extension takes advantage of MrSID's patented Selective Decompression feature that allows users to decompress only the imagery required for the current ArcView GIS display at the appropriate resolution, therefore saving space and dramatically increasing speed. This eliminates many of the challenges of working with large images in ArcView GIS today, giving users instantaneous, seamless, multiresolution browsing capabilities for virtually any size raster image inside ArcView GIS. As the amount of digital raster geospatial data grows, ArcView GIS users can now employ this detailed imagery as realistic backdrops using the MrSID ArcView GIS extension.

With a MrSID compressor, individual images or image sets of practically any size can be compressed with complete geometric and geospatial integrity. MrSID's patented Seamless Image compression feature can automatically mosaic multiple image tiles seamlessly into a single, high-resolution MrSID image that can be panned and zoomed at lightning speed locally and over the Internet.

According to LizardTech President John R. Grizz Deal, "Esri is clearly one of the world's leading providers of geographic information system (GIS) software with a significant number of users who have been looking for an evolution in raster image technology. For them, the MrSID ArcView GIS extension is revolutionary. This new technology opens up a whole new world of image access and viewing within the ArcView GIS desktop."

"The integration of MrSID image support in ArcView GIS provides an exceptional opportunity for ArcView GIS users to leverage this incredibly efficient technology for viewing high-resolution imagery," says Rich Turner, ArcView GIS product manager. "Image data that were previously too large to manage practically from a desktop system can now be easily integrated, in MrSID format, into any desktop GIS application. And the clarity of the imagery and the display performance are absolutely stunning."

Roger Adams, GIS project manager for the U.S. Army's Integrated Training Area Management Program, at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California comments on MrSID and the new ArcView GIS extension: "We now require that all imagery be delivered in MrSID format because we can compress data at very high ratios, even as high as 80:1. Recently we compressed over 250 150 MB files (37 GB of imagery) into one single 522 MB file, that saved disk space and made the image file more usable and accessible over the network. MrSID, coupled with ArcView GIS, has completely changed the scope of what we can accomplish when combining raster imagery with our GIS. What was once nearly impossible is now easily accomplished using MrSID."

MrSID utilizes powerful wavelet-based compression technology for digital raster images. MrSID can compress any image of practically any size while meticulously preserving image quality and detail, resulting in little or no degradation of the image even at very high compression ratios. The actual compression ratio achieved varies depending on image content and color depth but is generally around 15-20:1 for gray scale and 30-50:1 for full color.

About LizardTech
An Esri business partner based in Seattle, Washington, LizardTech, Inc., is a private high-technology company spun off from Los Alamos National Laboratory. LizardTech, Inc.,
specializes in providing next generation image processing software for a wide range of industries including digital image libraries, mapping/GIS (e.g., aerial photos, maps, terrain models, satellite data), medical imagery, three-dimensional game development, and Internet-based image distribution.