05/09/05

Mpeg Compression and Decorrelation

Video Codec Standards

                                  Moving Picture Expert Group (MPEG)

Different from other architectures, MPEG come in many standards. Unlike AVI or QuickTime formats, MPEG does not need the same codec for playback. Because of video standards set in 1992, MPEG will work on any MPEG decoder. Surpassed by other codec’s in quality and compression, MPEG1 is ancient history. Offering close to universal playback, MPEG1 plays on virtually every PC, Mac, and Linux box. At moderate and high bit rates, MPEG1 quality is good at 352x240 NTSC, 352x288 PAL which becomes poor at lower bit rates. Not used as format for digital distribution over the web, MPEG2 encodes all video content for DVD technology. Used for some specialty purposes, Tivo Digital Recorders or kiosk installations encode with MPEG2. Making any device that encodes or plays MPEG2 technology, a manufacturer must pay a licensing fee in such cases. Without DVD player software installed, most PCs cannot play MPEG-2 files at all. Complicated and rather a black art, MPEG2 encoding can vary quite a bit. However, conforming to strict DVD standards, MPEG2 offers the potential of excellent quality.

http://graphics.csail.mit.edu/~tbuehler/video/codecs/avi.html