Standard Codecs: Image Compression to Advanced Video Coding

A substantially updated edition of Video Coding: An Introduction to Standard Codecs (IEE, 1999, winner of IEE Rayleigh Award), this book discusses the growth of digital television technology and the revolution in image and video compression (such as JPEG2000, broadcast TV, video phone). It highlights the need for standardisation in processing static and moving images and their exchange between computer systems. ITU and ISO/IEC standards are now widely accepted in the picture/video coding field. The book gives an authoritative explanation of picture and video coding algorithms, working from basic principles through to the advanced video compression systems now being developed. It discusses the reasons behind the introduction of a standard codec for a specific application and its chosen parameter. This book will enable readers to appreciate the fundamentals needed to design a video codec for any given application and should prove to be a valuable resource for engineers working in this field.

Professor Mohammed Ghanbari, is Professor of Video Networking at the University of Essex, UK. He is best known for pioneering work on two-layered video coding for ATM networks (SNR scalability in the standard codecs). Prior to his academic career, Professor Ghanbari worked for ten years in broadcasting. He has published more than 270 papers, registered nine international patents on video networking and is a former co-recipient of the A.H. Reeves Prize for the best paper on digital coding. Professor Ghanbari was a co-author of Principles of Performance Engineering (IEE, 1997). He has also been associate editor for IEEE Transactions on Multimedia and the guest editor for IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology. Professor Ghanbari is a Fellow of both the IEE and IEEE, as well as a Chartered Engineer.