Digital Video offers comprehensive coverage of the MPEG-2 audio/visual digital compression standard. The treatment includes the specifics needed to implement an MPEG-2 Decoder, including the syntax and semantics of the coded bitstreams. Since the MPEG-2 Encoders are not specified by the standard, and are actually closely held secrets of many vendors, the book only outlines the fundamentals of encoder design and algorithm optimization.

Data compression is now indispensable to products and services of many industries including computers, communications, healthcare, publishing and entertainment. This invaluable resource introduces this area to information system managers and others who need to understand how it is changing the world of digital systems. For those who know the technology well, it reveals what happens when data compression is used in real-world applications and provides guidance for future technology development.

This book initiates a new digital multimedia standards series. The purpose of the series is to make information about digital multimedia standards readilyavailable. Both tutorial and advanced topics will be covered in the series, often in one book. Our hope is that users will find the series helpful in deciding what standards to support and use while implementors will d- cover a wealth of technical details that help them implement those standards correctly. In today's global economy standards are increasingly important. Yet until a standard is widely used, most of the benefits of...