SafekipediaMoving Picture Experts Group
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The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is a team created by two big organizations, ISO and IEC, to make rules for how to store and send audio, video, and other kinds of data. These rules help computers and devices understand each other when sharing pictures, music, and movies. MPEG works together with another group called JPEG under a bigger team known as ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29.
MPEG created many important formats that we use every day. Older systems often used formats like MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 AVC. Today, many new systems use a special file format and a method called dynamic streaming, also known as MPEG-DASH. These formats make it possible to watch videos, listen to music, and enjoy other content quickly and efficiently on all kinds of devices.
History
The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) was created in 1988 by Dr. Hiroshi Yasuda and Dr. Leonardo Chiariglione. Its first meeting took place in May 1988 in Ottawa, Canada. Over time, MPEG grew to include hundreds of members from many industries and universities.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, MPEG changed its meeting style in 2020, moving from in-person meetings to online ones. In June 2020, Chiariglione stepped down as the group's leader. New leaders and working groups were set up to continue MPEG's important work in creating standards for audio and video technology. Meetings continued online and then returned to in-person meetings in 2022.
Cooperation with other groups
MPEG works closely with other groups to create better video and audio standards. One important project was MPEG-2, developed together with ITU-T Study Group 15. This led to standards for how video and audio are organized and sent.
Another team, called the Joint Video Team, was formed in 2001 to make video files smaller without losing quality. They created H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, which uses half the data of the older MPEG-2 standard. Later teams continued this work, creating even more efficient standards like High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) and Versatile Video Coding (VVC). These improvements help make videos load faster and look better on all kinds of devices.
Standards
The MPEG standards include different Parts, each covering a specific area of the specification. These standards also define profiles and levels; profiles describe available tools, while levels set limits for certain properties.
Early important MPEG formats include:
- MPEG-1 (1993): A format for storing video and audio digitally, commonly used for low-quality video and the popular MP3 audio format.
- MPEG-2 (1996): Used for broadcast television, including digital TV and DVD videos.
- MPEG-4 (1998): Supports more advanced features and higher compression, used in modern video services.
Other standards like MPEG-7 for describing multimedia content and MPEG-21 for managing digital rights have also been developed. More recent standards include MPEG-H for efficient video coding and MPEG-I for immersive media formats.
| Abbreviation for group of standards | Title | ISO/IEC standard series number | First public release date (First edition) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPEG-1 | Coding of Moving Pictures and Associated Audio for Digital Storage Media at up to about 1.5 Mbit/s | ISO/IEC 11172 | 1993 | Although the title focuses on bit rates of 1.5 Mbit/s and lower, the standard is also capable of higher bit rates. |
| MPEG-2 | Generic Coding of Moving Pictures and Associated Audio Information | ISO/IEC 13818 | 1995 | |
| MPEG-3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Abandoned as unnecessary; requirements incorporated into MPEG-2 |
| MPEG-4 | Coding of Audio-Visual Objects | ISO/IEC 14496 | 1999 | |
| MPEG-7 | Multimedia Content Description Interface | ISO/IEC 15938 | 2002 | |
| MPEG-21 | Multimedia Framework | ISO/IEC 21000 | 2001 | |
| MPEG-A | Multimedia Application Format | ISO/IEC 23000 | 2007 | |
| MPEG-B | MPEG Systems Technologies | ISO/IEC 23001 | 2006 | |
| MPEG-C | MPEG Video Technologies | ISO/IEC 23002 | 2006 | |
| MPEG-D | MPEG Audio Technologies | ISO/IEC 23003 | 2007 | |
| MPEG-E | Multimedia Middleware | ISO/IEC 23004 | 2007 | |
| MPEG-V | Media Context and Control | ISO/IEC 23005 | 2011 | |
| MPEG-M | MPEG eXtensible Middleware (MXM) | ISO/IEC 23006 | 2010 | |
| MPEG-U | Rich Media User Interfaces | ISO/IEC 23007 | 2010 | |
| MPEG-H | High Efficiency Coding and Media Delivery in Heterogeneous Environments | ISO/IEC 23008 | 2013 | |
| MPEG-DASH | Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP | ISO/IEC 23009 | 2012 | |
| MPEG-I | Coded Representation of Immersive Media | ISO/IEC 23090 | 2020 | |
| MPEG-CICP | Coding-Independent Code Points | ISO/IEC 23091 | 2018 | Originally part of MPEG-B |
| MPEG-G | Genomic Information Representation | ISO/IEC 23092 | 2019 | |
| MPEG-IoMT | Internet of Media Things | ISO/IEC 23093 | 2019 | |
| MPEG-5 | General Video Coding | ISO/IEC 23094 | 2020 | Essential Video Coding (EVC) and Low-Complexity Enhancement Video Coding (LCEVC) |
| (none) | Supplemental Media Technologies | ISO/IEC 29116 | 2008 | Withdrawn and replaced by MPEG-M Part 4 – MPEG extensible middleware (MXM) protocols |
Standardization process
Main article: International Organization for Standardization § Standardization process
Creating a new standard, like those used for videos and music, follows several steps. It starts with a proposal for new work, which then moves through stages such as drafts and reviews. After enough reviews and approvals, the standard is officially made and shared worldwide. This careful process helps make sure the standards work well for everyone.
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Moving Picture Experts Group, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.