hpdz.net

High-Precision Deep Zoom

Animations

$Metaphase fractal video frame$

This animation is based on an image from a FractInt PAR file dated 14 Mar 1996 by Paul Derbyshire. It's a very clever deep zoom; the title is his. I only have the PAR file printed on a sheet of paper, and I have not been able to locate it again for download. The site I originally downloaded it from seems not to be online anymore.

This video is not at the exact same endpoint as the original PAR file, but it is an essentially identical structure with nearly identical coordinates.

Some high-resolution still images are in the Still Image gallery.

Updates Jan 2011

Archive Derbyshire Pages

Robert Munafo kindly provided the following links to archives of some of Paul Derbyshire's old web pages:

The last link there, to deepzoom.html, is where the Metaphase iamge is presented, and several others. There's also a link to a FractInt PAR file.

Extension of the Metaphase concept

Stardust4Ever has extended the Metaphase concept and created some very nice multi-XX deep-zoom images on his DeviantArt page, as well as a cool deep-zoom animation on YouTube.

HPDZ has a similar video, MultiX, that pauses at the important points in the progression of X's so it is easier to see how this is done.

Download Options
MP4	68.6 MB MP4 (640x480 30 fps) 8.6 MB MP4 (320x240 15 fps)
WMV	66.1 MB WMV (640x480 30 fps)

Vital Statistics
Date Generated:	Jul 07
Final Image Size:	5.0e-50
Resolution:	640x480
Video Length:	2:41 minutes
Frames:	3840
Rendering Time:	unknown
Method:	Escape counts
Audio:	Custom composition with Acid Pro 6

Video Formats

This is the first head-to-head comparison of MP4 and WMV I've published. Both were encoded specifying 4 Mbps CBR. The WMV file came out a little smaller than the MP4, but the MP4 file, to my eye, has superior quality. There is less block artifact and less streaming off sharp edges. The QuickTime player seems to play the MP4 file more smoothly than Windows Media Player can play the WMV file.