Source:
Convener of MPEG
Status:
Approved by WG11
Subject:
MPEG Press Release
Date:
2008 May 2
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11 N9742
May 2008 – Archamps, FR
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Source: |
Convener of MPEG |
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Status: |
Approved by WG11 |
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Subject: |
MPEG Press Release |
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Date: |
2008 May 2 |
Archamps, FR – The 84th MPEG meeting was held in Archamps, France from 28 April to 2 May 2008.
Call for Proposals Issued for Representation of Sensory Effects (ROSE)
In a move to realistically represent experiences such as the shifting of ground, the presence of scent, and other effects to arouse emotions (for example - fear, suspense, or affection), MPEG has issued a Call for Proposals for the Representation of Sensory Effects, or ROSE. This standardization effort endeavors to augment the experiences of audio and video users, whose real-time sensory experiences have until recently been limited to those achieved by 3-D audio and video devices. By representing sensory effects for use by other devices such as fog generators for the creation of fog, or strobe lights for the flash of lightening, the ROSE standard will lay the foundation for users to experience more realistic stimuli from otherwise ordinary audiovisual content. The new MPEG Call for Proposals for ROSE (and associated Requirements document) can also be found at http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/hot_news.htm.
Extended Call for Requirements Issued for Information Exchange with Virtual Worlds (MPEG-V)
By its recent issue of an extended call for requirements, MPEG seeks to refine its definition for its new project - Information Exchange with Virtual Worlds, also known as MPEG-V. This project will standardize a global framework, with associated interface and intermediate format definitions, to enable the interoperability both between virtual world applications and between the real world and virtual world applications.
Interoperability between virtual world applications includes the exchange of information defining user identities and profiles, characteristics of assets (such as avatars and objects), and dynamic attributes. Information regarding ownership, rights and obligations associated with virtual goods may also be exchanged. The transfer of (virtual) currencies is also addressed.
Real world devices with potential interfaces in the new standard include sensors, actuators, and robots, while potential applications include social and welfare systems, banking, insurance, travel, real estate, and digital rights management, among many others.
The Extended Call for Requirements for Information Exchange with Virtual Worlds can be found at http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/hot_news.htm
Call for Proposals Issued for MPEG eXtensible Middleware (MXM)
At its 84th meeting, MPEG has issued a Call for Proposals for MPEG eXtensible Middleware (MXM) to launch the standardization of new technologies for enabling the easy design and implementation of media-handling value chains. Specifically, the targeted value chains are those whose devices interoperate either because they are all based on the same set of technologies (especially MPEG technologies) or are accessible from the MXM middleware. More information is available at the MPEG web site at http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/hot_news.htm.
Call for Proposals Issued for Media Value Chain Ontology
In its continuing effort to define and support digital rights management, MPEG has issued a Call for Proposals to standardize a Media Value Chain Ontology focusing on the aspects of the management of rights. An ontology can be regarded as a representation of the terms in a vocabulary and their corresponding relationships. Examples of applicable value chains are personal and commercial movies that include not only the movie itself but also related information like movie producer, movie owner, rights and limitations to modify the movie as well as personal notes available to a certain user group. An applicable example usage of a value chain ontology is the automatic checking of rights of a performer. The new ontology will initially focus on the areas of Intellectual Property, Authorization Models, User Role Description, Context Description, and Social Tagging. More information for both the requirements and Call for Proposals can be obtained at http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/hot_news.htm
MPEG Wraps Up Query Format
At its 84th meeting, MPEG completed the standardization of the ISO/IEC 15938-12 “MPEG Query Format”. Essentially, the MPEG Query Format (MPQF) defines an XML-based query language for the format of queries and replies exchanged between clients and repositories in a distributed multimedia search and retrieval environment. Extended functionalities for service discovery, selection and capability description are also key features of this standard.
Another feature is its ability to define multimedia queries through a combination of expressive information (e.g., query-by-example, query-by-feature-range, query-by-spatial-relationships, query-by-temporal-relationships, etc.) and XML data retrieval. This new query format is decoupled from other metadata standards and provides support for any XML based multimedia metadata description.
MPEG Completes Reference Software for AVC Professional Profiles
MPEG has a longstanding and strong tradition of providing users of its standards with example software implementations to aid in illustrating the effective use of its standards, to serve as a reference for the testing of products, and to provide implementers with a "head start" basis for product development. At its 84th meeting, MPEG continued this tradition by completing the development of reference software for the new "professional" profiles of the state-of-the-art AVC video coding standard (ITU-T Rec. H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10). These new profiles, which were standardized within the AVC standard in 2007, expand the application range of the AVC standard for the most demanding high-quality applications such as source video acquisition, video production and post-production, and studio-based video editing. (Specifically, the new professional profiles consist of the High 4:4:4 Predictive, High 10 Intra, High 4:2:2 Intra, High 4:4:4 Intra and CAVLC 4:4:4 Intra profiles.) These profiles support high-precision video with sample precisions ranging from 8 to 14 bits per sample. They also support enhanced color sampling structures such as 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 sampling as well as the more commonly-used 4:2:0 sampling, depending on the specific profile. The new software will soon be made publicly available for free as a downloadable addition to the MPEG-4 Reference Software standard ISO/IEC 14496-5.
Other Notable Accomplishments of the 84th Meeting
Spatial Audio Object Coding progresses to Committee Draft
At the 84th MPEG meeting, ISO/IEC 23002-2 Spatial Audio Object Coding (SAOC) progressed to Committee Draft. This technology enables the highly efficient storage and transport of individual audio objects (e.g. voices, instruments, ambience, etc.) as a single mono or stereo audio signal with a minimal data rate of side information. This format permits the listener to adjust the audio mix based on his or her personal taste, for example, by changing the level or position of audio objects within the audio scene. This new standard is applicable to personalized music, including Karaoke, and to highly flexible and efficient teleconferencing solutions.
Contact MPEG
Digging Deeper Once Again
Communicating the large and sometimes complex array of technology that the MPEG Committee has developed is not a simple task. The experts past and present have contributed a series of white-papers that explain each of these standards individually. The repository is growing with each meeting, so if something in which you are interested is not there yet, it may appear there shortly - but do not hesitate to request it as well. You can start your MPEG adventure at: http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/mpeg-tech.htm
Further Information
Future MPEG meetings are planned as follows:
No. 85, Hannover, DE, 21-25 July, 2008
No. 86, Busan, KR, 13-17 October, 2008
No. 87, Archamps, FR, 26-30 January, 2009
No. 88, Maui, Hawaii, USA, 20-24 April, 2009
For further information about MPEG, please contact:
Dr. Leonardo Chiariglione (Convener of MPEG, Italy)
Via Borgionera, 103
10040 Villar Dora (TO), Italy
Tel +39 011 935 04 61
Email: mailto:leonardo@chiariglione.org
or
Arianne T. Hinds
Ricoh | IBM InfoPrint Solutions Company
6300 Diagonal Highway, MS 04N
Boulder, CO 80301, USA
Tel +1 303 924 6984
Email: arianne@us.ibm.com
This press release and other MPEG-related information can be found on the MPEG homepage:
http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg
The text and details related to the Call mentioned above (together with other current Calls) are in the Hot News section, http://www.chiariglione.org/mpeg/hot_news.htm. These documents include information on how to respond the Calls.
The MPEG homepage also has links to other MPEG pages which are maintained by the MPEG subgroups. It also contains links to public documents that are freely available for download by non-MPEG members.
Journalists that wish to receive MPEG Press Releases by email can contact Arianne Hinds using the contact information provided above.