...well, I hope you do not see it this way.

I have written a little software tool called IC, that might come in 
handy, especially if you are using POV-Ray 3.7 beta.

IC combines the features of common image viewers but with full 
read/write support for HDRI formats (as you know it from HDRShop)
and it supports a lot more HDR formats than HDRShop does.
E.g. OpenEXR from ILM, a nifty file format that is also supported for 
read/write by POV-Ray 3.7. So you can use IC to open the famous
Kitchen-Probe, remap it from angular to latitude/longitude (as
needed for POV 3.7 with map_tape 1) and save it as OpenEXR file.

POV-Ray 3.7 OpenEXR output can be enabled with 'E' option, as I did, by 
writing Output_File_Type=E into povray.ini.

OpenEXR files provide a 'higher' dynamic range and higher precession 
than the usual (and quite old) Radiance format - and it supports alpha 
channels.

IC can also help you in avoiding color banding as it uses a dithering 
method when it converts to simple 8bps formats like e.g.jpeg.

I've been told that IC works with VISTA but I had no chance to test this 
by myself. I would also be interested if it works by using WINE. Yes, 
sorry, no Linux version yet.

I did quickly put up a web page (somehow functional, I hope, but 
unfinished) where you can read the related documentation and download 
IC. I just wanted to make it available before easter because I'm quite 
in a hurry in the moment and I know that I will have no time for working 
on IC during the next few weeks. RL, you know.

But feel free to email me directly if you have any trouble with IC.


happy easter everybody
-Ive

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