The MPEG-4 Structured Audio standard

The MPEG-4 standard defines numerous tools that represent the state-of-the-art in representation, transmission, and decoding of multimedia data. Among these is a new type of audio standard, termed "Structured Audio". The MPEG-4 standard for structured audio allows for the efficient, flexible description of synthetic music and sound effects, and the use of synthetic sound in synchronization with natural sound in interactive multimedia scenes. A discussion of the capabilities, technological underpinnings, and application of MPEG-4 Structured Audio is presented.