Video indexing and retrieval using MPEG-7

The ongoing growth in digital video content is increasing the need for efficient and effective systems for video indexing and retrieval. Progress is gated by developments along a number of fronts including development of tools for content annotation, invention of methods for automatic labeling and computer-assisted annotation, investigation of new techniques for indexing and retrieval, and development of standards for interoperation of video indexing and retrieval systems. MPEG-7 addresses the interoperability requirements by providing a metadata system for describing multimedia content using XML. In general, MPEG-7 allows interoperable indexing, searching, and retrieval of video, images, audio, and other forms of multimedia data. More specifically for video, MPEG-7 standardizes a number of content description tools that allow effective indexing and retrieval of video content. These tools include video segment description tools, textual annotation and transcription description tools, feature description tools, and semantics and model description tools. In this paper, we investigate the application of MPEG-7 for indexing and retrieval of video content and give examples of MPEG-7 video descriptions.