MPEG-2 and Alternative Video Compression Standards and Techniques

Three-day course

Course Objectives

Focus

Who Should Attend

Course Outline

Digital TV (DTV) and Compression Techniques

Three-day course

Course Summary

There has been a quantum shift, imperceptible to the viewer, in the technology used to bring television into the home: the winning choice is digital technology. Digital TV (DTV) is the umbrella term used to describe the new digital television system adopted by the FCC in December 1996; DTV is a technology, and HDTV is just one subset of the DTV.

The objective of the course is to bring the participants gracefully through all the DTV structure, features, and theory...then give them more practical information on subjects such as decoding issues, display problems, conversion, baseband data stream handling, etc. The course will also provide an in depth and structured introduction to the technology, its uses, opportunities/possibilities, and limitations. Digital TV is not simply the numerical equivalent to traditional analog television: the issues of becoming digital are covered, as well as the relevant compression technologies.

Participants will enhance there knowledge on the principles of transmission, as well as problems and opportunities of data delivery through terrestrial, sattellite and cable networks. Insight is also provided on the receiver issues and how they will handle the format conversion as well as conditional access. Participants will gain a point-by-point understanding of the DTV layered architecture, DTV transmission requirements, multiplexing, MPEG switching, audio components, compatibility with today’s analog TV, and more.

Course Objectives

Who Should Attend

Course Outline

Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) Technology

Three day course

Called Digital Versatile Disc because of its ability to be used across a number of applications areas - audio, video, computer, multimedia - DVD can truly be called a convergence medium because it meets the needs of both the consumer entertainment and computer industries. DVD represents a quantum leap forward in digital media. Not only does it offer business users many times more capacity than CD-ROM, it also brings spectacular interactive audio and visual entertainment to the home. DVD looks like a conventional CD, but hidden in its structure is the capacity to hold up to 26 times more information. DVD will run at a much faster data rate, enabling stunning graphics, widescreen video, surround sound, interactivity, multiple language subtitles; the list goes on.

Physical and engineering principles used in the construction of DVD are introduced. This course will review fundamentals of optical recording techniques and present the state-of-the-art technology integrated in optical data storage including: read only, recordable - write once, and re-writable technologies. Participants will leave with a solid understanding of how this exciting technology functions - from the how the data is stored on the disc through how the DVD-ROM drive recovers data, from the various standard formats used in organizing the data to the computer interfaces, commands, and drivers used to access the data and control the drive. The class also covers the extension to the basic DVD-ROM technology: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, etc. It concludes with a discussion of the opportunities and obstacles, and future directions.

Course Objectives

Who Should Attend

Course Outline

MPEG-4 Course Outline
Note: This is a course outline for the One-Day MPEG-4 course which follows either MPEG-2 or DTV course. For the two days “MPEG-4/H.264 & MPEG-7 Multimedia Standards” click here, and for the three days MPEG-4 Part 2 and Part 10/AVC/H.264 course (reasonable understanding of MPEG-1-2 is assumed) see “MPEG-4 Video Coding” course outline below. For the thre-day “Advanced Video Coding” (AVC/H.264) course click here.

MPEG-4 Standard Overview
Version 1, Version 2

• Theoretical Base: tools, concepts, principles
  • Summary - MPEAG-1-2 bases
  • Arithmetic coding
  • Shape representation: binary and gray-scale (alpha) planes
  • Mash (object plane) based presentation
  • Shape-adaptive DCT and DWT
  • Global and local motion compensation
  • RVLC, etc.
• MPEG-4 Video
  • Natural video coding
  • Texture coding
  • Synthetic video
• MPEG-4 Systems
  • System Decoder Model
  • Scene Description
  • Multiplexing; TransMux, FlexMux
  • IPMP
• MPEG-4 Audio
• SNHC audio
• Delivery Multimedia Integration Framework (DMIF)
• Future extensions
• Applications
  

DAY TWO

MPEG-4 Standard Overview: Version 1, Version 2
Theoretical Base: tools, concepts, principles
Summary - MPEAG-1-2 bases
Arithmetic coding
Shape representation: binary and gray-scale (alpha) planes
Mash (object plane) based presentation
Shape-adaptive DCT and DWT
Global and local motion compensation
RVLC, etc.

MPEG-4 Video
Natural video coding
Texture coding
Synthetic video

Advanced Video Coding (AVC) - H.264
Overview

DAY THREE

Advanced Video Coding (AVC) - H.264
Compression tools
Prediction:
Prediction of Intra Macroblocks
Prediction of Inter Macroblocks
Transform and Quantization
Reconstruction filter
Interlaced Video
Flexible Macroblock Ordering (FMO)
ENTROPY CODING
(Universal) Variable Length Coding
Content-Based Adaptive Arithmetic Coding (CABAC)
Switching P and I slices

Applications and Strategies
Future extensions

SPECIAL Topics:
- Motion Compensation & Estimation
- Color management

Applications: Opportunities and obstacles
Markets, Patent obligations, Testing tools

DIGITAL CINEMA Course

Technological advancements have begun that will change the way we master and display theatrical features. With these advancements come challenges as well. Following are some common expectations:

• QUALITY - The picture and sound quality of digital cinema should represent as accurately as possible the creative intent of the filmmaker. To that end, the quality must exceed the quality of a projected 35mm "answer print" shown under optimum studio screening theater conditions. Any image compression that is used should be visually lossless.
• WORLDWIDE COMPATIBILITY - The system should be based around global standards so that content can be distributed and played anywhere in the world as can be done today with a 35mm film print.
• SINGLE INVENTORY - Once a consensus on digital cinema standards is reached and implemented, upgrades to the system should be designed so that a single inventory of content can be distributed and compatibly played on all equipment installations.
• ALTERNATIVE CONTENT - Digital cinema hardware will allow cinema operators to display new non-theatrical content to the public. This can change the operating model of a movie theatre from a venue for feature films to a multi-purpose entertainment, education and business center.

• Introduction: What is Digital Cinema?
• Digital Cinema standards; standards development
  • DC Requirements
• Testing and evaluations in Digital Cinema
  • ITU- BT.500-10
  • Expert Viewers Testing Methodology
  • Limitations of the present testing and evaluation methods
• Technical foundations of MPEG and general Video compression
  • Methods and Tools in:
    • MPEG
    • Other video compression Standards
  • RGB vs YCrCb; 4:4:4 vs 4:2:2 vs 4:2:0
• Intellectual Property Management and Protection (IPMP)
• Business models; Benefits
• Future directions: Opportunities and Obstacles

• Archive and Distribution
• DC System Architecture
• The Concept of Resolution
• Content Mastering (How does the spatial resolution compare to film?)
• Projections and Image Quality Assessment
• Conditional Access/Encryption and Traceability
• Distribution: Transport, Packaging
• DC Systems; Servers
• DC Audio
• Captioning and Subtitling
• Metadata

Dr. Jordan Isailovic, scientist, JRI Technology and California State University Long Beach, is author of Videodisc and Optical Memory Technologies  and Videodisc Systems: Theory and Applications.   He has authored numerous technical articles and holds several patents on digital information storage techniques -- including Jordan code, channel code named after him -- and video signal processing. He presented the world’s first public engineering course on videodisc technology (January 1982) and taught the world's first graduate courses on videodisc and optical memories (CD, CD-ROM, etc.).

His research projects include the following areas: three-dimensional optical memories, optical recording, machine vision, image processing, artificial neural networks, etc. For the lectures, he wrote four manuscripts: Optical Compact Systems (including CDs and CD-ROMs) , Advanced Digital Systems Design, Guide to Frame Grabber Design, and Multimedia PC Architecture and Design.

Dr. Isailovic's current research primarily focuses on video compression - a subject closely related to his Ph.D. thesis in which, among other things, he established the theoretical limits for TV signal compression based on 3D predictive coding. As a consultant, he has evaluated a great number of MPEG-2 encoders and decoders. For Advanced Interactive Inc. he designed the Non-Peg Interactive TV set-top Box. He represented Packard Bell-NEC in the DVD Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG), represented Lucas Film and Technicolor in MPEG, and is still active on the MPEG committee and CPTWG. He co-chaired MPEG Digital Cinema AHG and still co-chairs SMPTE working group on DVD Authoring.

Currently, Dr. Isailovic is consulting in the fields of video compression and digital cinema: evaluating/testing compression techniques, proposing system designs, participating in Standard comities on digital cinema and DVD, etc. Also, he serves as an expert witness in patent litigation: he assesses and evaluates patents and patent portfolio.