[OFFICIAL] IMatch 5.5 Sneak Preview II

[Mario]

In a recent post I explained a bit about the new printing module that will be part of IMatch 5.5. This module almost finished and is currently being tested by selected users and myself. Things go quite well and I'm sure this will be a welcome addition for many users.

Today I want to say a few sentences over the other major enhancement I will include in IMatch 5.5 : GPU-based image rendering..
'GPU' means Graphic Processing Unit, or in layman terms: your graphic card.

Modern graphic cards are extremely fast and I wanted to use that to improve the overall image load and display performance in IMatch. For the 5.5 release I thus have worked very hard to implement a new Quick View panel and a new Viewer. Both modules now 'run in hardware', using modern DirectX technology - the same technology that is also used by most games for blazing fast video output. I have also improved how IMatch loads images from the cache and smartened up the way IMatch predicts and pre-loads files in the background.

I have to admit that learning all this stuff took a while (I had to keep support as well of course).
But the results are amazing! We will have a truly 'fast picture viewer' in IMatch 5.5 

• I've made sure that everything runs even on older/cheaper graphic cards
• Works with DirectX 9 and later (included in Windows 7 and later editions)
• I regularly tested all this with 12-80 MP files (10,000 x 8,000 pixels!). Even panorama files with 15,000 x n pixels work fast. Only limited by the maximum buffer size in the graphic  card (16,384 pixels in either dimension, usually)
• Loading of files is a lot faster and smoother than before
• Dive zoom is instantaneous (no more 'processing...' messages or wait times)
• Instant zoom in and out between 10% and 800%
• Smooth pan zoom between 10% and 800% using the Alt+mouse move - you may know that from Photoshop
• Smooth panning even for very large files
• Crisp display using the top-notch high-quality scaling algorithms available in modern graphic cards
• Color management is also performed on the graphic card and super-fast

I'm pretty sure that the printing module will be welcome by many users. But the improved hard-ware based image display technology in IMatch 5.5 will be beneficial for all users.

So, back to work. Stuff to do 

[Dickel]

Excellent!  Looking forward to it.

[jelvers]

Sounds very exiting! Can't wait to see it!

Cheers, Juergen

[BanjoTom]

I can hardly wait for IMatch 5.5! 

[jch2103]

Excellent! I just ordered a new video card in anticipation!

[Aubrey]

Worth waiting for... We're getting close to the end of summer, the approximate time scale Mario suggested!

[Ferdinand]

Really looking forward to this.   

[Tallpics]

This sounds like an excellent upgrade. I'm first in line for V5.5 

Thanks for the continued development Mario.

[Carlo Didier]

Can I pre-order now?