MPEG-4 is a collection of methods defining compression of audio and visual (AV) digital data. Video compression refers to reducing the quantity of Data used to represent video images and is a straightforward combination of Image compression and Motion It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) under the formal standard ISO/IEC 14496. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Standardization (or standardisation) is the process of developing and agreeing upon technical standards. Sound' is Vibration transmitted through a Solid, Liquid, or Gas; particularly sound means those vibrations composed of Frequencies Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images The International Electrotechnical Commission ( IEC) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental international Standards organization that prepares and publishes The Moving Picture Experts Group, commonly referred to as simply MPEG, is a Working group of ISO / IEC charged with the development of video and Uses of MPEG-4 include compression of AV data for web (streaming media) and CD distribution, voice (telephone, videophone) and broadcast television applications. Streaming multimedia is Multimedia that is constantly received by and normally presented to an end-user while it is being delivered by a streaming provider (the A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio Distribution (or place) is one of the four elements of Marketing mix. Basic principle A traditional landline telephone system also known as "plain old telephone service" (POTS, commonly handles both signaling and audio information A videophone, also known by the trademarked name Picturephone, is a Telephone which is capable of both audio and Video Duplex transmission For the band see Broadcast (band Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or Video signals which transmit Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic
MPEG-4 absorbs many of the features of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 and other related standards, adding new features such as (extended) VRML support for 3D rendering, object-oriented composite files (including audio, video and VRML objects), support for externally-specified Digital Rights Management and various types of interactivity. MPEG-1 was an early Standard for Lossy compression of Video and audio. MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information" VRML ( Virtual Reality Modeling Language, pronounced vermal or by its initials originally — before 1995 — known as the Virtual Reality Markup Language In its simplest embodiment an object is an allocated region of storage Digital rights management ( DRM) is a generic term that refers to Access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers publishers and Copyright holders AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) was standardized as an adjunct to MPEG-2 (as Part 7) before MPEG-4 was issued. Advanced Audio Coding ( AAC) is a standardized lossy compression and encoding scheme for Digital audio.
MPEG-4 is still a developing standard and is divided into a number of parts. The companies promoting MPEG-4 compatibility do not always clearly state which "part" level compatibility. The key parts to be aware of are MPEG-4 part 2 (MPEG-4 SP/ASP, used by codecs such as DivX, Xvid, Nero Digital and 3ivx and by Quicktime 6) and MPEG-4 part 10 (MPEG-4 AVC/H. MPEG-4 Part 2 is a Video compression technology developed by MPEG. A codec is a device or program capable of encoding and/or decoding a Digital Data stream or signal. DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX Inc (formerly DivXNetworks Inc Xvid (formerly " XviD " is a Video codec library following the MPEG-4 standard Nero Digital is a brand name applied to a suite of MPEG-4 -compatible video and audio compression Codecs developed by Nero AG of Germany and 3ivx is a Video codec created by 3ivx Technologies based in Sydney Australia QuickTime is a Multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc, capable of handling various formats of Digital video, Media clips sound text H264 is a standard for Video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding) 264, used by the x264 codec, by Nero Digital AVC, by Quicktime 7, and by next-gen DVD formats like HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc). x264 is a Free software library for encoding H264/MPEG-4 AVC video streams Nero Digital is a brand name applied to a suite of MPEG-4 -compatible video and audio compression Codecs developed by Nero AG of Germany and not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being
Most of the features included in MPEG-4 are left to individual developers to decide whether to implement them. A software developer is a person or organization concerned with facets of the software development process wider than design and coding a somewhat broader scope of This means that there are probably no complete implementations of the entire MPEG-4 set of standards. To deal with this, the standard includes the concept of "profiles" and "levels", allowing a specific set of capabilities to be defined in a manner appropriate for a subset of applications.
Initially, MPEG-4 was aimed primarily at low bit-rate video communications; however, its scope was later expanded to be much more of a multimedia coding standard. In Telecommunications and Computing, bitrate (sometimes written bit rate, data rate or as a Variable R or f b Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images MPEG-4 is efficient across a variety of bit-rates ranging from a few kilobits per second to tens of megabits per second. MPEG-4 provides the following functionalities:
- Improved coding efficiency
- Ability to encode mixed media data (video, audio, speech)
- Error resilience to enable robust transmission
- Ability to interact with the audio-visual scene generated at the receiver
Contents |
Overview
MPEG-4 provides a series of technologies for developers, for various service-providers and for end users. ENCODE (the ENC yclopedia O f D NA E lements is a public research consortium launched by the US National Human Genome Research Institute ( NHGRI Video is the technology of electronically capturing, Recording, processing storing transmitting and reconstructing a sequence of Still images Speech refers to the processes associated with the production and perception of Sounds used in Spoken language. The term audio-visual ( AV) may refer to works with both a Sound and a Visual component the production or use of such works or the equipment involved in
- MPEG-4 enables different developers to create objects possessing better abilities of adaptability and flexibility to improve the quality of such services and technologies as digital television, animation graphics, World Wide Web and their extensions. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames This standard enables developers to control their content better and to fight more effectively against copyright violations. 'Copyright infringement' (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material that is covered by Copyright law in a manner that violates
- Various network providers can use MPEG-4 for data transparency. With the help of standard procedures such data can be interpreted and transformed into various signals compatible with any available network.
- The MPEG-4 format provides the end users with a wide range of interaction with various animated objects.
- Standardized Digital Rights Management signaling, otherwise known in the MPEG community as Intellectual Property Management and Protection (IPMP). Digital rights management ( DRM) is a generic term that refers to Access control technologies used by hardware manufacturers publishers and Copyright holders
The MPEG-4 format can perform various functions, among which might be the following:
- Multiplexes and synchronizes data, associated with media objects, in such a way that they could be transported further via network channels. For multiplexing in electronics and signal processing see Multiplexer.
- Interaction with the audio-visual scene, which is formed on the side of the receiver.
MPEG-4 parts
MPEG-4 consists of several standards—termed "parts"—including the following:
| Part | Number | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | ISO/IEC 14496-1 | Systems | Describes synchronization and multiplexing of video and audio. For example Transport stream. Transport stream ( TS, TP, MPEG-TS, or M2T) is a Communications protocol for audio, video, and data |
| Part 2 | ISO/IEC 14496-2 | Visual | A compression codec for visual data (video, still textures, synthetic images, etc. MPEG-4 Part 2 is a Video compression technology developed by MPEG. A codec is a device or program capable of encoding and/or decoding a Digital Data stream or signal. ). One of the many "profiles" in Part 2 is the Advanced Simple Profile (ASP). |
| Part 3 | ISO/IEC 14496-3 | Audio | A set of compression codecs for perceptual coding of audio signals, including some variations of Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) as well as other audio/speech coding tools. MPEG-4 is a suite of standards which has many "parts" where each part standardizes various entities related to multimedia such as audio Advanced Audio Coding ( AAC) is a standardized lossy compression and encoding scheme for Digital audio. |
| Part 4 | ISO/IEC 14496-4 | Conformance | Describes procedures for testing conformance to other parts of the standard. |
| Part 5 | ISO/IEC 14496-5 | Reference Software | Provides software for demonstrating and clarifying the other parts of the standard. |
| Part 6 | ISO/IEC 14496-6 | Delivery Multimedia Integration Framework (DMIF). DMIF, or Delivery Multimedia Integration Framework, is an interface between the application and the transport that allows the MPEG-4 application developer to stop | |
| Part 7 | ISO/IEC 14496-7 | Optimized Reference Software | Provides examples of how to make improved implementations (e. g. , in relation to Part 5). |
| Part 8 | ISO/IEC 14496-8 | Carriage on IP networks | Specifies a method to carry MPEG-4 content on IP networks. |
| Part 9 | ISO/IEC 14496-9 | Reference Hardware | Provides hardware designs for demonstrating how to implement the other parts of the standard. |
| Part 10 | ISO/IEC 14496-10 | Advanced Video Coding (AVC) | A codec for video signals which is technically identical to the ITU-T H.264 standard. H264 is a standard for Video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding) H264 is a standard for Video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding) The ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector ( ITU-T) coordinates standards for telecommunications on behalf of the International Telecommunication H264 is a standard for Video compression. It is also known as MPEG-4 Part 10, or MPEG-4 AVC (for Advanced Video Coding) |
| Part 11 | ISO/IEC 14496-11 | Scene description and Application engine("BIFS") | Can be used for rich, interactive content with multiple profiles, including 2D and 3D versions. MPEG-4 is a suite of standards which has many "parts" where each part standardizes various entities related to multimedia such as audio |
| Part 12 | ISO/IEC 14496-12 | ISO Base Media File Format | A file format for storing media content. |
| Part 13 | ISO/IEC 14496-13 | Intellectual Property Management and Protection (IPMP) Extensions. | |
| Part 14 | ISO/IEC 14496-14 | MPEG-4 File Format | The designated container file format for MPEG-4 content, which is based on Part 12. MPEG-4 Part 14, formally ISO / IEC 14496-142003, is a Multimedia Container format standard specified as a part of MPEG-4 |
| Part 15 | ISO/IEC 14496-15 | AVC File Format | For storage of Part 10 video based on Part 12. |
| Part 16 | ISO/IEC 14496-16 | Animation Framework eXtension (AFX). | |
| Part 17 | ISO/IEC 14496-17 | Timed Text subtitle format. MPEG-4 is a suite of standards which has many "parts" where each part standardizes various entities related to multimedia such as audio video | |
| Part 18 | ISO/IEC 14496-18 | Font Compression and Streaming (for OpenType fonts). | |
| Part 19 | ISO/IEC 14496-19 | Synthesized Texture Stream. | |
| Part 20 | ISO/IEC 14496-20 | Lightweight Application Scene Representation (LASeR). MPEG-4 Part 20, or MPEG-4 Lightweight Application Scene Representation ( LASeR) is the new Rich media standard dedicated to the mobile embedded and | |
| Part 21 | ISO/IEC 14496-21 | MPEG-J Graphical Framework eXtension (GFX) | (not yet finished - at "FCD" stage in July 2005, FDIS January 2006). |
| Part 22 | ISO/IEC 14496-22 | Open Font Format Specification (OFFS) based on OpenType | (not yet finished - reached "CD" stage in July 2005) |
| Part 23 | ISO/IEC 14496-23 | Symbolic Music Representation (SMR) | (not yet finished - reached "FCD" stage in October 2006) |
Profiles are also defined within the individual "parts", so an implementation of a part is ordinarily not an implementation of an entire part.
MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-7 and MPEG-21 are other suites of MPEG standards. MPEG-1 was an early Standard for Lossy compression of Video and audio. MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information" MPEG-7 is a Multimedia Content description standard. This description will be associated with the content itself to allow fast and efficient searching The MPEG-21 standard from the Moving Picture Experts Group aims at defining an open framework for Multimedia applications
Licensing
MPEG-4 contains patented technologies that require licensing in countries that acknowledge software patents. Software patent does not have a universally accepted definition Patents covering MPEG-4 are claimed by over two dozen companies. The MPEG Licensing Authority[1] licenses patents required for MPEG-4 Part 2 Visual from a wide range of companies (audio is licensed separately) and lists all of its licensors and licensees on the site. MPEG LA LLC, is a firm which licenses Patent pools required for use of the MPEG-2, MPEG-4 Visual (Part 2 IEEE 1394, VC-1 New licenses for MPEG-4 System patents are under development[2] and no new licenses are being offered while holders of its old MPEG-4 Systems license are still covered under the terms of that license for the patents listed (MPEG LA – Patent List).
AT&T is trying to sue companies such as Apple Inc. over alleged MPEG-4 patent infringement. [3] The terms of Apple's Quicktime 7 license for users describes in paragraph 14 the terms under Apple's existing MPEG-4 System Patent Portfolio license from MPEGLA.
See also
References
- ^ MPEG Licensing Authority – MPEG-4 Visual: Introduction
- ^ MPEG Licensing Authority – MPEG-4 Systems: Introduction
- ^ "AT&T Warns Apple, Others, Of Patent Infringement", PC Magazine, February 9, 2006. The Moving Picture Experts Group, commonly referred to as simply MPEG, is a Working group of ISO / IEC charged with the development of video and MPEG-4 Structured Audio is an ISO/IEC standard for describing sound MPEG-4 SLS, also known as as MPEG-4 Scalable to Lossless as per ISO/IEC 14496-32005/Amd 32006 (Scalable Lossless Coding is an extension to the MPEG-4 audio standard to allow Retrieved on 2007-08-10. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 612 BC - Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire
External links
- MPEG-4: The Next Generation
- MPEG-4 Audio: AAC
- MPEG Industry Forum (MPEGIF) MPEG-4 page
- MPEG Industry Forum (MPEGIF) MPEG-4 White Paper
- Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) Official Website
- JM MPEG-4 AVC /H.264 Reference Code
- OpenIPMP: Open Source DRM Project for MPEG-4
- Streamable Mpeg-4 Conversion guide
- MPEG-4 part 20: LASeR
- MPEG-4 – Information on MPEG-4 for beginners.
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