High Capacity Color Barcode technology, developed within Microsoft Research, assists in identifying commercial audiovisual works such as motion pictures and video games. By scanning the multicolor bar code with a webcam or suitable cell phone camera, consumers can obtain information such as ratings identification, promotions and pricing. Learn more...
About the inventor
Gavin Jancke, director of engineering for Microsoft Research and inventor of the High Capacity Color Barcode format.
About the technology
The High Capacity Color Barcode format enables higher density storage of data on analog printed media.
In the spotlight
Microsoft Researchers at Intersection of Science and Art
Three members of Microsoft Research have their work displayed as part of an exhibit organized by New York’s Museum of Modern Art. More...
Now available
Microsoft Tag, which started out as High Capacity Color Barcode technology and developed in Microsoft Research, is a new kind of bar code that connects almost anything in the real world to information, entertainment, and interactive experiences on your mobile phone. Tags are free to create and use. You can add them to your ads, posters, product packages, display it on your website, billboards, clothing—the list is endless. When you scan a Tag by using the free Tag Reader app on your mobile phone, it will automatically open a webpage, add a contact to your address book, display a message, or dial a number—there are no long URLs to type or SMS messages to send. And unlike other kinds of bar codes, Tags are fully customizable. You can create your Tags in black and white or colorful Tags that visually represent your business or personal brand in a spectacular manner.
Related links
For the press
- International Organization Licenses Microsoft’s New Multicolor Bar Code Technology for Identifying Audiovisual Works
- Press Resources
In the news
- International Organization Licenses Microsoft’s New Multicolor Bar Code Technology for Identifying Audiovisual Works
- Software Notebook: Color is key to Microsoft's next-generation bar code
- Microsoft gives bar codes a splash of color
- Microsoft Breaks the Color Barrier for Barcode
- Color Bar Codes: More Than Just a Pretty Face
- Barcodes Evolve With a Splash of Color
- Microsoft whips palette out; creates barcodes
- Microsoft turns to colour for data-rich barcodes
- Colour barcode system to hit DVDs
