Introduction In How does MPEG actually work? I described the way MPEG develops its standards, an implementation of the ISO/IEC Directives for technical work. This article describes the life of one of MPEG most prestigious standards: MPEG-2 Systems, which has turned 26 in November 2018 and has played a major role in creating the digital world that we know. What is MPEG-2 Systems? When MPEG started, standards for compressed video and later audio was the immediate goal. But it was…

Introduction The well-known double helix carries the DNA of living beings. The human DNA contains about 3.2 billion nucleotide base pairs represented by the quaternary symbols (A, G, C, T). With high-speed sequencing machines today it is possible to "read" the DNA. The resulting file contains millions of “reads”, short segments of symbols, typically all of the same length, and weighs an unwieldy few Terabytes. The upcoming MPEG-G standards, developed jointly by MPEG and ISO TC 276 Biotechnology, will reduce the…

Introduction When I described the MPEG workflow in How does MPEG actually work? I highlighted the role of quality assessment across the entire MPEG standard life cycle: at the time of issuing a Call for Evidence (CfE) or a Call for Proposals (CfP), carrying out Core Experiments (CE) or executing Verification Tests. We should consider, however, that in 30 years the coverage of the word “media” has changed substantially. Originally (1989-90) the media types tested were Standard Definition (SD) 2D rectangular…

Introduction In How does MPEG actually work? I described the “MPEG standards work flow” from a proposed an idea to the release of the corresponding standard and its verification. I also highlighted the key roleplayed by MPEG experts as the real makers of MPEG standards. In this article I would like to introduce the role played by the peculiar MPEG organisation and some of its members in facilitating the work of MPEG experts. The MPEG membership MPEG operates in the framework…

Introduction MPEG standards are great communication tools and MPEG itself is – or tries to be – a good communicator, of course using all available media. This article is for those who want to be informed about MPEG, without having to digest one of its handy 500-page standards ? MPEG web site Almost everything that will be mentioned in this post can be found, not necessarily in an easy way, in the MPEG web page: press releases, MPEG column, video…

Introduction In Life inside MPEG I have described the breadth, complexity and interdependence of the  work program managed by the MPEG ecosystem that has fed the digital media industry for the last 30 years. I did not mention, however, the actual amount of work developed by MPEG experts during an MPEG meeting. Indeed, at every meeting, the majority of work items listed in the post undergo a review prompted by member submissions. At the Macau meeting in October 2018, there were…