Server-side use of ECW technology requires a valid, paid license that is issued by ERDAS.
This is true of any type of server product, whether it be commercial, proprietary or "open source".
Typically, the software company that made the product would have purchased a "Software Development Toolkit" from us to allow them to use ECW in their server.
If you have a paid license, you are able, from a legal and licensing stand point, use ECW files and technology on your third-party server application.
However, it is up to third-party server to ensure that ECW files do work with their server. Unless the third-party company has a business agreement with ERDAS, we wouldn't have been involved with their development, so are unable to guarantee their software, etc.
Note: We have found that Image Web Server is many times (10 or more) faster at serving ECW files than other server technologies that have used the format.
Can I use ECW in my ESRI Server?
ESRI isn't one of the companies that has paid for the rights to use ECW in their server products. You can elect to purchase a license of the ECW Software development kit yourselves. This will then give you the legal license to use ECW on a server. It would then be up to ESRI to ensure that ECW works with their servers. On the ESRI website is lists ArcGIS 9.3 and above as supporting ECW - providing you have a valid, legal license.
I thought it was free or that there was a free plug-in?
We make quite a few free-plug-ins available for *desktop applications*, such as ArcGIS(r) Desktop and AutoCAD(r). This fills the gap left by some companies that have not yet provided support for ECW and ECWP high-speed streaming technology.
We also provide a very generous agreement for "free use" of ECW technology in desktop software.
However, all server-side use of ECW requires a paid license.
Why do I have to pay?
Some companies have chosen not to license the ECW technology directly. Instead, they choose to pass the cost of this technology on to you. Companies can and do choose to license the technology with us directly, but in other cases, they choose to let their customers pay for it directly.
We expend a lot of resources on the ECW technology. The technology within ECW is very specialized. ECW is very fast. Just by opening up an ECW file, you can see how fast it is compared to other formats.
We have a team of developers that work on this technology. And, we want to continue to develop and improve it. To do this, we must be able to fund the future development.
We actively support the geospatial community in many different way:
- We provide many FREE plug-ins for desktop applications. These plug-ins have received hundreds of thousands of downloads.
- For companies making desktop applications, we also provide FREE “reading” and limited compression of the ECW technology for desktop applications.
However, we must charge for server-side use.
How much is the license / how do I get a license to use ECW on my server?
By far, the most cost effective way for you to get a license to use ECW technology on a third party server is to purchase ERDAS Image Web Server. A license of Image Web Server allows you to use ECW files on one other server application (or, the number of Image Web Server’s you have purchased).
With this option, you are then able to:
- use ECW on your third-party server; and
- experience Image Web Server – an application that was made by the same team that made and develops the ECW technology. It is optimized to read ECW files, and does so much faster than other products.
How fast will ECW be on my third-party server?
ECW is a fast file format, but there are different ways to “use” the format in a software application. Whilst ERDAS Image Web Server has been optimized for using ECW format files, a different methodology may have been used with your third-party server.
By purchasing a license of ERDAS Image Web Server, you will be able to use ECW on your third-party server, as well as see how fast ECW files can be, regardless of their size and the number of people accessing them. Many of our customers have muti-terabyte datasets that are accessed by thousands of people, on very modest hardware.
How do I get my third-party server to read ECW files?
This is really a question for the makers of your third-party server. We can really only provide the legal license – it is up to the other company in how they support the ECW format.
Once you have your license to access ECW files on your server application, you would need to contact the third-party companies support team for directions on how to activate ECW technology.
Buy I don't want to pay!
In this case, you will not be able to use fast ECW files on your third-party server application.