The Awesome New Images Transcoder In Dolphin 8 (VIDEO)

We had quote a few troubles with images both at BoonEx.com and in Dolphin. The catch with images is that you just can't plan everything in advance and determine a hard-rule for the sizes and effects you may need to use. For example, when we decided to use larger profile photos here at BoonEx a few years ago, we had to ask everyone to re-upload their photos or live with smallish (or blurry) thumbs. Another example is when we changed default sizes for profile thumbnails in Dolphin we had to ask everyone to reconvert their databases. Now, with more and more high-resolution displays coming out and with imagination of web-masters going berserk we just have to have a universal solution.

The new Images Transcoder is our hero. It allows you to keep originals safely and serve images with whatever filters you want, transcoding them on "first-call". Thus, you can play with effects, add watermarks or layers, resize, crop, etc. (for now we only enabled "greyscale" and "resize", but will add more gradually). You can store your "versions" on a cost-effective remote storage, since you won't need a 100% failover and redundancy - if they ever get lost, you'll have them generated again, no drama.

To show it in action we've integrated it into our demo "contact form" with images uploader. Naturally, it is to be used elsewhere and in great many places. So, watch the demo and shoot some crazy ideas here… like "adding some snowflakes on all photos on Christmas day".

1. Don't forget that Dolphin 7 is still alive and kicking and there's no need to worry about it. Instead, use it now and thus get ready for Dolphin 8.

2. If you're a developer, read the Dolphin 8: Images Transcoder note from AlexT and familiarazie yourself with how you will be able to use it in your modules for Dolphin 8.