Techniques and Standards for Image, Video, and Audio Coding
As audio and visual applications on CDs and on the Internet become more complex (videophones, multimedia books and videogames, video conferencing), coding and compression of these files is necessary for speed and size requirements. This book is the first to address the established and emerging international standards related to image/video/audio compression and coding. Covers all of the international standards for coding and compression, both approved and emerging, plus the latest coding and compression techniques, concepts, and principles. For engineers and software developers working in multimedia, communications, and networking.
Why Read This Book
You should read this book if you need a compact, standards-oriented view of how practical image, video, and audio codecs are built: it walks through the core coding building blocks (transforms, quantization, entropy coding, motion compensation) and ties them to international standards. It gives you the algorithmic principles and standards context needed to implement interoperable codecs or to evaluate codec tradeoffs in systems work.
Who Will Benefit
DSP engineers, multimedia software developers, and graduate students who are implementing or evaluating image/video/audio codecs and need a standards-aware, algorithmic reference.
Level: Intermediate — Prerequisites: Basic DSP and linear algebra (Fourier/DCT familiarity), elementary probability/entropy concepts, and some exposure to digital communications or codec implementation concepts.
Key Takeaways
- Explain the building blocks of transform-based coding (DCT/DWT), quantization, and entropy coding used in image/video/audio codecs.
- Implement the baseline JPEG image coding pipeline and understand profile/options in the standard.
- Describe MPEG video coding concepts including I/P/B frames, motion estimation/compensation, and macroblock-level coding.
- Compare and apply common audio coding approaches (PCM/ADPCM, subband and perceptual coding) and understand perceptual models used in standards.
- Apply rate–distortion principles and basic rate-control/error-resilience techniques used in practical codecs.
- Interpret standardization terminology, profiles, and interoperability considerations across image, video, and audio standards.
Topics Covered
- Introduction and motivation for compression and standards
- Fundamentals of source coding and rate–distortion basics
- Transform coding: DCT, block transforms and properties
- Quantization and scalar/vector quantization principles
- Entropy coding: Huffman, arithmetic, run-length and VLC
- Image coding standards: JPEG baseline and extensions
- Video coding fundamentals: motion estimation and compensation
- MPEG video standards (architecture, I/P/B-frame structure, profiles)
- Audio coding: PCM, ADPCM, subband and perceptual coding (MPEG audio)
- Error resilience, packetization and transmission considerations
- Implementation considerations, profiles and interoperability
- Emerging/previewed standards and future directions (as of 1996)
How It Compares
More standards-focused than general multimedia texts like Steinmetz & Nahrstedt's Multimedia Systems, and more standards/codec-centric than algorithm-focused texts such as Mark Nelson's The Data Compression Book, which emphasizes compression algorithms over formal standards detail.
