No. You don't seem to understand how the DNG converter actually operates any more than you do what raw data really is.
The DNG converter does convert proprietary raw to DNG and that sensor data isn't touched at all, it's just as raw. FWIW, what's really being converted is the metadata! Not the sensor data.
The DNG converter can convert a TIFF or PSD or JPEG into a DNG. It's still rendered data. It isn't raw data. You can convert a JPEG to a TIFF. That's a container. The data is as JPEGy as it was prior to the conversion. What results after saving that TIFF again is a different story. A story I shouldn’t have to explain to you if you understand more about what JPEG data is and what happens when re-saving it than your understanding of what raw data really is.
The DNG format is just a container. What's placed (image data) into that container is what it was prior to conversion!
So, is Topaz correct (convert JPEG to raw data)? No, it's a massive lie.
Jules: If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.
Really?
Topaz claim:
"An 8-bit JPEG only has 256 values per channel. Running that JPEG through JPEG to RAW AI will expand it to 65,532 values per channel. This will prevent posterization and banding when you adjust the contrast in your images."
So the DNG or TIFF is a 16 bit image which JPEGs definitely are not.
Can you PROVE them wrong?
Not what you claim but what you can prove?
Incidentally DXOmark says in relation to portrait colour depth and their tests:
"For our DxOMark camera sensor reviews, we measure the image quality performance only of camera sensors that are capable of capturing images in RAW format, and we do this before demosaicing or any JPG processing has taken place. You can read more about the DxOMark approach to image quality measurement and why we base our testing on RAW image files here.
Maximum color sensitivity reports in bits the number of colors that the sensor is able to distinguish.
The higher the color sensitivity, the more color nuances can be distinguished. As with dynamic range, color sensitivity is greatest when ISO speed is minimal, and tends to decrease rapidly with rising ISO settings. In DxOMark testing we measure only the maximum color sensitivity. A color sensitivity of 22bits is excellent, and differences below 1 bit are barely noticeable."
A JPEG has 24 bits, more than the 22 bits of colour information that DXOMark considers excellent.
What am I missing?