What Are Those Other Weird QR Codes?

Ever wondered why some QR codes don't scan?

▼ Time Stamps: ▼
0:00 - Intro
0:52 - 1D vs 2D Barcodes
1:31 - Notable 2D Barcodes
2:38 - QR Codes Explained
4:28 - Decoding QR Codes
10:36 - Data Matrix Explained
12:22 - Decoding Data Matrix
13:10 - More 2D Barcodes

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[ThioJoe]

Guys the shiny mustache is chapstick reflecting the lights lol gimme a break

Edit: Apparently some of yall want a 5 paragraph essay explanation: Probably just accidentally rubbed my mouth and got some up there then the bright lights make it look way more exaggerated.

[MichaelP]

My favourite description of how error correction works is comparing it to a sudoku. Sudokus (with relatively few rules) can have most of the numbers missing, yet you can reconstruct the entire thing

[surfie]

Australia's largest supermarket chain is currently in the process of replacing all normal barcodes with data matrix codes on the packaging. This lets them store a whole bunch of things like the expiry date, batch number, etc. So if you try to scan something that's expired at the checkout it won't let you buy it

[Nugcon]

I can tell he had a lot of fun putting easter eggs in these qr codes

[JackMaslovCZLive]

1:56 : STOP SCANNING THE EXAMPLES >:O
That made me laugh so much! 🤣

LETS KEEP ON GOIN!
2:00 : oi mate i swear on me grave if you dun stop scannin these examples i'll give you a proper slap

[crisp.]

When Joe uploads exactly what we need.

[rednassie]

Someone had to do it:

0:03 Bunch of wiki links
0:14 "HEY THIS IS AN EXAMPLE, WHY YOU SCAN >:("
0:30 Bunch of Lorem ipsum text
1:03 Just the numbers and a wikilink on the right
1:36 "EPIC bruh moment" and the same as 0:14
1:46 Bruh why you scan this
1:57 STOP SCANNING THE EXAMPLES >:O
2:00 "oi mate i swear on me grave if you dun stop scannin these examples i'll give you a proper slap"
2:22 I can't scan any of these
1:36 "EPIC bruh moment"
2:45 "Ver1"
2:58
"Ver1", "Version 2", "Version 3 QR Code"
"VERSION 10 QR CODE, UP TO 174 CHAR AT H LEVEL, WITH 57X57 MODULES AND PLENTY OF ERROR CORRECTION TO GO AROUND. NOTE THAT THERE ARE ADDITIONAL TRACKING BOXES"

"Version 25 QR Code, up to 1853 characters at L level.
A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is designed to be read by smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, a URL, or other data.
Created by Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. The QR code was designed to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.
The technology has seen frequent use in Japan and South Korea; the United Kingdom is the seventh-largest national consumer of QR codes.
Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes now are used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (termed mobile tagging). QR codes may be used to display text to the user, to add a vCard contact to the user's device, to open a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), or to compose an e-mail or text message. Users can generate and print their own QR codes for others to scan and use by visiting one of several paid and free QR code generating sites or apps."

"Version 40 QR Code can contain up to 1852 chars.
A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is designed to be read by smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, a URL, or other data.
Created by Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. The QR code was designed to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.
The technology has seen frequent use in Japan and South Korea; the United Kingdom is the seventh-largest national consumer of QR codes.
Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes now are used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (termed mobile tagging). QR codes may be used to display text to the user, to add a vCard contact to the user's device, to open a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), or to compose an e-mail or text message. Users can generate and print their own QR codes for others to scan and use by visiting one of several paid and free QR code generating sites or apps."

3:18
"What in Davy Jones’ locker did ye just bark at me, ye scurvy bilgerat? I’ll have ye know I be the meanest cutthroat on the seven seas, and I’ve led numerous raids on fishing villages, and raped over 300 wenches. I be trained in hit-and-run pillaging and be the deadliest with a pistol of all the captains on the high seas. Ye be nothing to me but another source o’ swag. I’ll have yer guts for garters and keel haul ye like never been done before, hear me true. You think ye can hide behind your newfangled computing device? Think twice on that, scallywag. As we parley I be contacting my secret network o’ pirates across the sea and yer port is being tracked right now so ye better prepare for the typhoon, weevil. The kind o’ monsoon that’ll wipe ye off the map. You’re sharkbait, fool. I can sail anywhere, in any waters, and can kill ye in o’er seven hundred ways, and that be just with me hook and fist. Not only do I be top o’ the line with a cutlass, but I have an entire pirate fleet at my beck and call and I’ll damned sure use it all to wipe yer arse off o’ the world, ye dog. If only ye had had the foresight to know what devilish wrath your jibe was about to incur, ye might have belayed the comment. But ye couldn’t, ye didn’t, and now ye’ll pay the ultimate toll, you buffoon. I’ll shit fury all over ye and ye’ll drown in the depths o’ it. You’re fish food now."

3:41 Can't scan that one, it won't recognize
3:54 "ah yes hello good day this is a very good thing of text that will be still readable despite covering up lots of the actual code"
4:17 "wow incredible example i blocked off the middle and yet it is still readable"
4:40 "Ver1"
9:32 Same as the Version 10 QR at 2:58
10:39 Same as 0:14
11:10 "YES HELLO GOOD DAY" and "YES HELLO GOOD DAY TO YOU I SAY"
11:16 Some info about the HP laptop (as seen at 12:05)
11:21 MSI Plessey
13:18 Same as 1:46
15:07 Same as 1:57

[oleurgast]

Actually there is one 2d code missing, a code most of us had heard from (but maybe not about): Dolby Digital Code. This was one of the digital sound recording methods on analog films, between the perforation, was scanned by a little camera, decoded and given to the amplifier. About 15 years ago this code went pacticly away with digital projection coming up - but till then it was one of the most used 2d codes (4 codes per picture, 24 pictures a second), so anyone watching a DD movie in cinema heard 345600 2d-codes per hour (of course there was much redundancy in encoding, as parts of the perforation might get damaged).

[murtileyto]

I'm scanning all of those qr codes and some of them are actually pretty funny.

[PChelpism]

Bro I still remember the “how to increase your WiFi “ video like it was yesterday

[chibisuke]

8:52 actually for RS-Code you always need 1 EC block to verify that the data is valid and then 1 additional block for each corrupted block in the data segment. so to replace 1 corrupted/missing data block you need 2 EC blocks. To replace 3 corrupted/missing data blocks you need 4 EC blocks and so on.

[upstagedbyadog]

The "Mask" that flips the blocks in the QR code is a process that is also used in digital signal transmission, called "Alternate Mark Inversion" so instead of having a digital signal that has a long string of 1's or 0's, these are broken up. This also helps with basic error detection in digital signals. If part of the transmission system receives no signal input, it creates an alarm signal to signify loss of signal at that point, and then injects a string of all 1's to transmit forward. This is an "Alarm Inhibit Signal", so the system recognises the point where the signal is broken, but prevents parts of the system further up the chain from creating their own alarm signal. This means the first place where the signal failed can be identified. Further up the system the all 1's signal registers as a "valid" signal, but displays a warning there is an all 1's input being received, so you can tell that there is a problem somewhere back from that point.

[gentuxable]

Some years ago we had unexpected crashes with our imaging software because one of the forms had square boxes one could tick exactly in the pattern of the finder squares the software thought to be able to read a QR code in between but actually it was human readable text. Was hilariously funny once we figured that one out.

[Shermanbay]

Excellent show, Joe! As someone who was involved in building and programming barcode readers years ago, I understood most of what you were illustrating. It is fascinating how the relatively simple, one-dimensional designs have developed and expanded, using most of the same original principles and concepts.

[Bolsonaro_em_Haia]

This is a fascinating subject matter.

Aztec codes, I have read somewhere, are better for use in mobile device displays than QR Codes. I would guess that their appearance makes them somewhat faster and more resilient for that purpose. Also, since they spread from the central pattern, I would also guess that they make it possible to emphasize certain parts of the encoded information (that closer to the core) and make partial readings possible.

[TETNTM]

The biggest qr code is the entire "never gonna give you up" lyrics

[aarushdeshpande]

9 years ago(I am 14 now), I used to think that a computer, like a billing machine would search for words hidden in those patterns. And I used go spend a hell Lotta time actually finding any letters or words hidden in the pattern of the qr and bar code 😅😅

[DerMarkus]

Playing around with Scandit. It just recognized a small area of wood grain on my desk as Interleaved-2-of-5!

[bagnome]

13:30 All it really needs to store is the tracking number, then it can use that as a reference to look up all the rest of the shipping information from their database.

[deldarel]

"So did you deliver the sales reports to the higher ups?"
"O, I thought you said 'drop a ton of LSD in the insane asylum.' Anyway, look at what they made. I call it Data Matrix"