A multimedia system needs a mechanism to communicate with its environment, the Internet, clients, and applications. MPEG-7 provides a standard metadata format for global communication, but lacks the framework to let the various players in a system interact. MPEG-21 closes this gap by establishing an infrastructure for a distributed multimedia framework, allowing for the creation, modification, viewing, and communication of digital items among all participants within an MPEG-21 agreement.

Now you have a guide that examines the structure and potential usage of these emerging standards....