Mpeg-4 Jump-start

The first complete guide to MPEG-4, tomorrows #1 Web multimedia delivery
format!

* MPEG-4: concepts, opportunities, requirements, limitations, and more.
* Hands-on, practical techniques for creating and distributing your own MPEG-
4 content.
* MPEG-4s underlying technical capabilities, explained from a developers
perspective.

MPEG-4 will transform Internet-based multimedia by delivering breakthrough
video and audio quality, flexibility, and control. Now, theres a complete guide
to MPEG-4 for everyone who wants to take advantage of it, from Internet media
programmers to senior decision-makers. In MPEG-4 Jump-Start, two leaders of the
Internet multimedia community introduce every aspect of the MPEG-4 standard:
its fundamental concepts, capabilities, applications, requirements,
limitations, and more. Walk through everything you need to know to start
working with MPEG-4 today, from installing players and finding content, to
creating and distributing your own content. Understand the underlying technical
capabilities of MPEG-4 from a programmers perspective, and learn why it
represents a breakthrough solution for any networked environment -- Web,
satellite, or even wireless.
Aaron Walsh is Chairman of Mantis Development Corporation, a development firm
specializing in advanced multimedia and network technologies. He is Chairman of
the Web3D Consortiums Universal Media technical working group, and co-chair of
the Web3D Consortiums Intellectual Property Rights task group. His Prentice
Hall PTR books include Core Web3D, Java 3D Jumpstart, and XHTML, Example by
Example. Mikael Bourge-Sevenier is Senior Software Engineer for iVAST Inc , a
development firm specializing in advanced multimedia technologies. Co-chairman
of the MPEG-4 3D animation group, he is responsible for the animation system
for the MPEG-4 Reference Software group, and wrote the relevant W3C standard.
The "get started" developers guide to MPEG-4, the future of Internet and Web
multimedia!
MPEG-4 will transform Internet- and Web-based multimedia by enabling
breakthrough audio, video, 2D, and 3D capabilities. This book is for every
developer and technical decision-maker. In MPEG-4 Jump-Start, two leaders of
the Internet multimedia community introduce the MPEG-4 standard: its key
concepts, capabilities, applications, requirements, and limitations. Aaron E.
Walsh and Mikael Bourges-Sevenier cover what you need to know to start
developing MPEG-4 players and content today, including:

* How MPEG-4 builds on the success of the MPEG standards that enabled CDs,
DVDs, and MP3
* MPEG-4s underlying technical capabilities and requirements
* 2D/3D scene composition and the MPEG-4 Binary Format for Scenes (BIFS)
* MPEG-4 techniques for facial and body animation
* New compression methods for 3D meshes
* XMT: The XML-based textual format for storing MPEG-4 contents and authoring
commands

MPEG-4 offers unprecedented opportunities for delivering media in any networked
communications environment—Internet, Web, broadcast, satellite, or even
wireless. MPEG-4 Jump-Start gives you specific, insiders techniques for
building tomorrows breakthrough media applications—starting right now.
Every Jump-Start book is:


AUTHORITATIVE
written by world-class experts personally involved with the design and
development of that technology

FOCUSED
providing exactly what you need to know to get started immediately with
minimum effort

PRACTICAL
teaching you the skills and techniques that you need to develop
professional, real-world software applications

AARON E. WALSH is Chairman of Mantis Development Corporation, a development
firm specializing in advanced multimedia and network technologies. He is
Chairman of the Web3D Consortiums Universal Media technical working group,
Chairman of the Web3D-MPEG group responsible for the convergence of Web3D and
MPEG technology, Co-Chair of the Web3D Intellectual Property Rights group, and
Web3D Liaison to MPEG and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Walsh is author
of the best-selling Core Web3D, XHTML Example by Example, and Java 3D API Jump-
Start.
MIKAEL BOURGES-SEVENIER is Senior Software Engineer for iVAST Inc., a
development firm specializing in advanced multimedia technologies. With
expertise in 2D, 3D, and multimedia technologies, he is actively involved in
several areas of MPEG-4 development. In addition to serving as Co-Chairman of
the MPEG-4 Animation Framework Extension (AFX) animation group, Bourges-
Sevenier is responsible for the animation system for the MPEG-4 Reference
Software Group.
Foreword.
Preface.
1. Introduction to MPEG-4.
The MPEG Brain and Its Artifacts. MPEG and Memes. The MPEG Brain. MPEG
Standards. MPEG-4 in a Nutshell. MPEG-4 Design Goals and Principles. Navigating
MPEG-4. MPEG-4 and Other Multimedia Standards. Architecture and Tools. End-to-
End Architecture. MPEG-4 Browser Architecture and Tools. Applications. Next
Generation of Portals. Interactive Broadcast. Multimedia Conferencing and
Communities. Conclusion. References.

2. Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) Overview.
Introduction to VRML97. How MPEG-4 BIFS Extends VRML. Major Features and
Related Jargon. VRML Browsers. VRML Plug-Ins. Objects, Scenes, and Worlds. VRML
Files. Scene Graphs. Nodes. Fields. Events. eventIn and eventOut Fields.
Shapes, Geometry, and Appearance. Primitive Objects. Complex Objects. Text
Objects. Coordinate Systems. Moving, Scaling, and Rotating. Summary.

3. D/3D Scene Composition.
Binary Format for Scenes (BIFS). Fundamental Differences with VRML97. A Note on
Coordinate Systems. New Scene Features and New Nodes. Geometry Nodes.
Interpolator Nodes. Grouping Nodes. Material Nodes. Sensor Nodes. Audio Nodes.
Face and Body Animation Nodes. Stream Synchronization and Control Nodes. Other
Nodes. Summary.

4. BIFS-Updates.
Overview of the Binary Format for Scenes (BIFS). BIFS-Update Decoding Process.
Overview of the SDL Language. Structures Used by the Decoder. Configuring the
Decoder. Decoding Commands. Examples. Writing BIFS-Update Codecs:
Considerations. Summary. References.

5. Quantization in BIFS-Updates.
Why We Need Quantization. A Crash Course on Quantization. Fourteen BIFS
Quantizers. Local and Global QuantizationParameter Nodes. Quantizers 1 to 8.
Quantizing Normals and Rotations (9, 10). Quantizing Object Size (11, 12).
Linear Scalar Quantizers (13, 14). Efficient Float Coding. Using Quantization
in BIFS. Example: Using QuantizationParameter Node. Summary. References.

6. Animating Scenes in MPEG-4.
Synthetic Animations in MPEG-4. The BIFS-Anim Protocol. Encoding BIFS-Anim.
Decoding the BIFS-Anim Mask. Decoding the BIFS-Anim Frames. Interpolators
Encoded by PredictiveMFFields. PredictiveMFFields and BIFS Scenes.
PredictiveMFFields Decoding. Summary.

7. D Mesh Animation.
2D Mesh Animation Tools in MPEG-4. Tools. Profiles. 2D Mesh Generation and
Coding. Mesh Generation. Mesh Coding. Summary. References.

8. MPEG-4 Face and Body Animation Tools and Applications.
Face Definition Parameters (FDPs). Face Animation Parameters (FAPs). FAP
Interpolation. FDP Information vs the FDP Node. FAP Estimation from Video. FBA
File Formats. Connecting the Head to an Animated Body. FAP/ BAP Quantization.
Applications. Streaming. Implications of FAP Normalization. Real Faces vs
Animated Characters. Authoring Considerations. Real Time. FBA Visual Bitstream
Syntax. FBA Object. FBA Object Plane. FBA Temporal Header. Decode Frame Rate
and Skip Frames. Decode New Minmax. Decode ifap. Decode pfap. Decode Viseme and
Expression. FBA Systems BIFS Nodes. Text To Speech (TTS) Node. Face Model
Predictability Hierarchy. Summary. References.

9. MPEG-4 Human Virtual Body Animation.
Body Modeling and Animation. Body System BIFS Nodes. Body Node. BAP Node. BDP
Node. BodySceneGraph Node. BodyDefTables Node. Body Bitstream Syntax. Summary.
References.

10. 3D Mesh Coding.
Functionalities of 3DMC. Introduction to IndexedFaceSet. 3D Mesh Coding.
Topological AnalysisTopological Surgery. Connectivity Coding. Geometry and
Properties Coding. Entropy Coding. Bitstream Syntax. 3D Mesh Object. Stitching
Mode. Error Resilience Mode. Progressive Transmission Mode. Performance
Demonstrations. Compression. Incremental Rendering. Error Resilience. Summary.
References.

11. Extensible MPEG-4 Textual Format (XMT).
Cross-Standard Interoperability. XMT Two-Tier Architecture. XMT-?Format.
Reusing SMIL in XMT-?. Extensible Media (xMedia) Objects. Animation. Timing.
Spatial Layout. XMT-?Examples. XMT-A Format. Document Structure. Timing. Scene
Description. Object Descriptor Framework. Deterministic Mapping.
Interoperability with X3D. Summary. References.

12. Whats Next?
Summary.

APPENDIX A: Arithmetic Coding.
APPENDIX B: BIFS Node Coding Tables.
APPENDIX C: MPEG-4 Profiles and Levels.
Systems Profiles. Facial and Body Animation Profiles.

Index.