MPEG

What does MPEG mean?

MPEG, short for Moving Picture Experts Group, is a set of standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) that specify how audio and video signals should be encoded and decoded to allow the storage and transmission of digital media.

MPEG standards are designed to optimize the quality of audio and video content while minimizing the file size and bandwidth requirements. They achieve this through a series of compression techniques, such as lossy compression, which removes redundant information from the original signal, and lossless compression, which does not remove any information.

MPEG standards are widely used in various applications, including:

• Digital video broadcasting (DVB)
• Video Streaming over the internet (YouTube, Netflix)
• Blu-ray and DVD discs
• Digital cameras and camcorders
• Video editing software

MPEG’s importance in technology stems from its ability to create high-quality audio and video content with relatively small file sizes. This has made it possible to store and transmit multimedia content over limited bandwidth connections, such as those used by mobile devices and internet service providers.

Applications

MPEG standards find applications in various areas:

• Digital video broadcasting (DVB): MPEG-2 is used for digital television broadcasts, including standard-definition (SD), high-definition (HD), and ultra-high-definition (UHD) formats.
• Video streaming: MPEG-4 Part 10 (AVC/H.264) is widely used for streaming video over the internet, as it provides good video quality with low bandwidth requirements. MPEG-DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) is also used for adaptive streaming, which allows the bitrate of the video to be adjusted based on the available bandwidth.
• Optical media: MPEG-2 is used for encoding DVDs, while MPEG-4 Part 2 (AVC/H.264) is used for Blu-ray discs. These standards allow for high-quality video storage on optical media.
• Digital cameras and camcorders: MPEG-4 Part 2 (AVC/H.264) and MPEG-H Part 2 (HEVC) are used for video encoding in digital cameras and camcorders. These standards allow for compact file sizes and high video quality.
• Video editing software: MPEG standards, such as MPEG-4 Part 2 (AVC/H.264) and MPEG-H Part 2 (HEVC), are supported by many video editing software applications. This allows users to Import, edit, and Export video content in these formats.

History

The MPEG standards were developed by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group, which was established in 1988. The group’s goal was to create international standards for the Coding of moving pictures and associated audio.

MPEG standards have evolved over time, with new versions being released to address the increasing demands of multimedia technology. The major versions of MPEG standards include:

• MPEG-1 (1993): The first MPEG standard, designed for encoding video and audio for storage on CDs and video CDs.
• MPEG-2 (1995): An extension of MPEG-1, designed for higher-quality video and audio, used in DVDs and digital television broadcasting.
• MPEG-4 (1999): A major revision that introduced support for Object-based coding, streaming media, and synthetic media.
• MPEG-7 (2001): A standard for describing multimedia content, enabling efficient search and retrieval.
• MPEG-21 (2001): A framework for multimedia delivery and interactivity, defining a set of tools and technologies for creating, distributing, and consuming multimedia content.
• MPEG-H (2013): The latest generation of MPEG standards, designed for high-efficiency video coding (HEVC) and high-efficiency audio coding (HEAC).