What are the merits of data compression?
Computer data is compressed from online banking to text messages.
When a single quote compresses a lot in a single line —
‘The essence of a quote is the compression of a mass of thought and observation into a single saying.’
The essence of this article is the essence of the quote itself.
There has been significant growth in the volume of data stored on the Internet. The credit goes to the heightened use of computers in homes as well as in the technology industry. What is worth noting is that this expansion has necessitated the use of “data compression.”
Online transmission of information is critical to all levels of the economy. The need for faster, accurate information and data exchange is beneficial to corporates in their networking events.
As technology advances, so should the rate of data transfer. There are two ways to do this. One, by improving the compression application through which data is transferred. Two, by changing the format of the data such that it can be transmitted at the lowest possible cost, with the fastest possible speed.
Have you ever heard the contrasts between an MP3 and a WAV file? Take a moment to review how lossy audio data compression works and recognise the telltale signs it leaves behind.
MP3 was the first consumer format of its kind. Many MP3 players are still in use, and they will remain so for some time. Most people have grown up listening to the lower quality 128 kbps files. This is why, even though Amazon and iTunes now offer 256 kbps VBR MP3s and AAC versions, they accept the limitations of the format now, as the norm.
Sadly, most people will probably continue to do this. Why? Simply because it does not pay to upgrade to a bit rate higher than the music they already have.
Remember, these items are not only experienced via music downloads. When you go to a karaoke bar, follow news on a broadcaster’s website, or the next time the D.J. ‘spins’ from a computer-based system — listen closely.
MP3 players, iPods, iTunes, and various other download formats are now a part of the listeners’ experience. Other than these, many people stream music and multimedia on platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and SoundCloud. All these sources use audio formats that are ‘lossy’ compressed.
The repercussions of data compression, however, are relevant for more than just music.
Nowadays, we only meditate on the physical aspects of a building. Dimensions, materials, and textures are the only things we discuss when we talk of buildings and their design. It is because of the current data-heavy format of the software. AutoCAD, which we use everyday is not programmed efficiently. In fact, it wastes bits.
The use of as few bits as possible retains energy which means less computing power. An AutoCAD renderer necessarily needs a cutting-edge computer. Many more apps that produce equivalent renderings appear on our mobile phones on a daily basis.
This data compression and energy efficiency allow for proper storage and display of the information per inch square. This too varies from one medium to another. Smaller telephone displays, for instance, mean fewer pixels and less data for general storage.
AutoCAD may be heavy but, it is also necessary because it works on a large screen and provides countless functions. Phone apps cannot be fathomed to do the same in the near future. That is not to say they never will.
When you hit ‘Save As’ on Photoshop, the dialogue box asks you to choose among various formats. One among these is JPEG. JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It is named after the group that created the standard. It is the most popular picture format in digital cameras and on the World Wide Web. The extension is JPG and JPEG.
For digital images, this is a loss compression type. Lossy image compression reduces the size of your file and removes redundancies. In the case of storage size and quality, the user decides how much loss is to be introduced. The compression quality, for example, varies between 1 and 100. A lesser value compresses but reduces the quality of a raster image.
The latest version of JPEG is JPEG 2000 (JP2). Using two distinct wavelet transformations, JP2 improves image compression performance over JPEG. Users can select compression levels at low to high levels.
So, when instead of AutoCAD, Photoshop or a mobile app, you opt for a cloud design and render farm, the quality and time taken to achieve your product does not only depend on the power of your machine or the cloud rendering farm. It also depends on your internet speed. This introduces us to a new concept called “bandwidth.”
Bandwidth is the measurement of bits that are transmitted to the given channel per second. 2G, 3G, 4G, VoLTE, and 5G all refer to bandwidths. So do Bluetooth and your Internet connection.
Imagine a dam (the cloud). Now, imagine the tap in your kitchen sink (your device). The distance between these two, is a channel. Consider your wireless Internet, broadband, local transmission tour, and satellite. The dam distributes the water to a canal that pours it into a large storage tank, onto the tank atop your house and finally, down your tap. The bandwidth of your water connection is the average water flow from the dam to the tap.
The flow is one way in the case of water. Digital information, however, flows two-way. The data that your phone sends to the cloud will be called ‘upload’ and vice versa will be called ‘download.’ The bandwidth will be called the transmission speed between the two.
So, one way to improve efficiency is to increase the power of your computer and the cloud rendering farm. Another way is to increase the bandwidth of your network to support faster and larger data transmission. However, both require significant infrastructural upgrades and technological innovation. Based on the principle of energy conservation, the cheapest and most appropriate option is to simply compress the data itself, making it leaner for processing, storage, and transmission, while also reducing potential errors and redundancies.
Reductions in storage devices, transmission time, and communication bandwidth, are the key advantages of compression. These can lead to considerable cost savings.
Compressed files have a lower storage capacity than uncompressed files. This means that the storage costs decrease significantly. A compressed file also has a shorter transfer time and consumes less bandwidth for a network. This too contributes to cost reductions and increases productivity.
In the last few years, we have made considerable leaps in data compression. In fact, customers now can see the true visualisation of their house, even two decades in the past, before it was constructed, a concept that was deemed absurd by professionals.
For many applications, data compression is a very important topic. In the last 40 years, numerous compression methods have been studied.
Although algorithms have evolved, they play an important role in the computer business and computer science as a whole. The need for data compression grows every day as we still use computers for almost all our activities. Backup services to personal computer users have risen in recent times.
Data compression is used to store data of all customers by the online backup service. I have about 400 GB of data alone, which I have saved on a hard disc backup that I do not want to lose. Imagine a 100 customers who want to back up 400 GB of information and store it online. It is a lot of space in the standard storage form.
Computer data is compressed from online banking to text messages. None of this would be possible without the technology of data compression. Because data compression has made some strong advances, this service is possible without using a lot of hard drive disk space.
Remember, the next time when you email your resumé to an H.R. manager, or craft a beautiful email for someone, or use Google Photos to backup images from your gallery — you are using a form of data compression which helps you communicate, work, and save those glossy moments of life in the depths of the digi-cloud.
About the Writer
Sana Paul is an undergraduate architecture student and writer at the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, hailing from the cozy streets of Punjab. She has experience working at the India Lost and Found (ILF) by Amit Pasricha, and Rethinking The Future (RTF).
About the Editor
Nishtha Singh is an editor, writer and researcher in the fields of Philosophy of Language, Ethics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). She has trained as an editor at the Seagull School of Publishing, Calcutta and is a graduate of the Department of Philosophy, and the Hansraj College, University of Delhi (DU), India.
About the Illustrator
Diksha Garg is an undergraduate architecture student at the School of Planning and Architecture Bhopal, hailing from Chandigarh. She is an illustrator, graphic designer and writer. She has received a citation for G-Sen Trophy and a Juror’s Choice Award for Journalism Trophy by the National Association of Students of Architecture (NASA), India.
