MPEG-2 video compression

This chapter focuses on the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG-2) video compression. MPEG-2 refers to a suite of standards, promulgated jointly by International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication (ITU-T). MPEG-2 specifies exactly what constitutes a legal bitstream. A legal “conformant” encoder generates only legal bitstreams. MPEG-2 does not standardize the way in which an encoder accomplishes compression. The MPEG-2 standard implicitly defines the way in which a decoder reconstructs pictures data from a coded bitstream, without dictating the implementation of the decoder. Most MPEG-2 decoder implementations have flexible output formats; however, MPEG-2 decoder equipment is ordinarily designed to output a specific raster standard. An MPEG-2 bitstream can potentially invoke many algorithmic features at a decoder, and can reflect many possible parameter values. The MPEG-2 standard classifies bitstreams and decoders in a matrix of profiles and levels. MPEG-2 accommodates both progressive and interlaced material.