Microsoft Pix

#1

Post by plurby » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 7:49 PM UTC

Re: Microsoft Pix

#2

Post by cmiller1 » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 8:32 PM UTC

Only for iOS? Surprised they didn't make a version for windows phone... or is this software already built into the camera functionality on WP?

Re: Microsoft Pix

#3

Post by mattnewton » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 8:37 PM UTC

My untrained eye can't really notice a difference except that the pix version looks brighter (even washed out), the live photo version looks really uncanny valley (where the faces don't move but the world does around them is an unsettling effect).

Re: Microsoft Pix

#4

Post by mtgx » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 8:38 PM UTC

> Better mobile photos are just a tap away. Enter your mobile phone number and we'll text you a link to download Microsoft Pix.

Stop teaching people to click on links from SMS texts damn it!

Re: Microsoft Pix

#5

Post by xd1936 » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 8:38 PM UTC

Does this have Photosynth built-in? :P

Re: Microsoft Pix

#6

Post by ascagnel_ » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 8:39 PM UTC

mattnewton wrote: post #3

My untrained eye can't really notice a difference except that the pix version looks brighter (even washed out), the live photo version looks really uncanny valley (where the faces don't move but the world does around them is an unsettling effect).

It's not even that the Pix version looks brighter -- it looks washed-out, like the evergreen trees are more of a blue-green color.

Re: Microsoft Pix

#7

Post by tdkl » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 8:39 PM UTC

mtgx wrote: post #4

> Better mobile photos are just a tap away. Enter your mobile phone number and we'll text you a link to download Microsoft Pix. Stop teaching people to click on links from SMS texts damn it!

Nice way to gather mobile numbers, not even needed to build a social network first.

Re: Microsoft Pix

#8

Post by notyourwork » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 8:40 PM UTC

Does anyone else think of Harry Potter when looking at the last section, Live Image/Live Photo?

Re: Microsoft Pix

#9

Post by danso » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 8:40 PM UTC

There's an interesting example they use to show the ostensible improvement of Pix over the Apple's Live Photo:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/...

The Pix-enhanced version:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/...

Sure, the Live Photo version has distracting movement, but it also has much more natural motion in terms of hair flow. And I feel that the camera instability helps give context to the video, that it's some kind of impromptu selfie on a windy day.

The Pix version offers a clearer image at what I feel is a large cost to the image's integrity. It looks a bit creepy. That said, there are probably lots of good situations for Pix's stabilization tech, but that example didn't seem optimal as a landing page demo.

Re: Microsoft Pix

#10

Post by Analemma_ » Mon, Sep 12, 2016, 8:41 PM UTC

This feels sort of redundant... that feature list (multiple face detection with auto exposure/white balance, burst mode with an algorithm to guess which one is "best") is all stuff the built-in camera app on iOS does already.

Okay, the color and white balance look a little better for Pix in the example shots, but everyone's RAW processing is better in some situations and worse in others. I'm sure Apple could come back with just as many example shots where their own settings were better than Pix's, and we could go round and round like that forever.

There's nothing wrong with this app, but I'm having trouble understanding why it exists. What does this do for users or Microsoft?