The MPEG-4 Multimedia Coding Standard: Algorithms, Architectures and Applications

The upcoming MPEG-4 standard provides new possibilities for the compression and presentation of multimedia contents. The main characteristics of MPEG-4 are the object-based coding and representation of an audio-visual scene and the ability to code objects of natural or synthetic origin. These features will enhance existing applications with new functionalities and enable standardised solutions for new applications. This paper provides an overview of the three major parts Systems, Visual and Audio of the new MPEG-4 standard, highlights implementation aspects for some envisaged types of MPEG-4 terminals and describes possible future multimedia application scenarios using MPEG-4 functionalities.