ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001/Amd 21:2009

Overview

ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001/Amd 21:2009 is an important amendment to the international standard governing the coding of audio-visual objects, specifically focusing on the reference software for Frame-based Animated Mesh Compression (FAMC). Published by ISO in 2009, this amendment supplements Part 5 of the standard (Reference Software) under the broader MPEG-4 multimedia framework (ISO/IEC 14496 series). The amendment introduces specialized reference software designed to improve compression efficiency of animated 3D mesh data on a frame-by-frame basis.

This standard plays a critical role in advancing the state-of-the-art technologies for encoding and compressing animated mesh sequences, which are fundamental in applications like 3D animation, virtual reality, gaming, and telepresence systems.

Key Topics

• Frame-based Animated Mesh Compression (FAMC): The core focus of this amendment is providing standardized, reliable reference software for compressing animated meshes frame by frame. This enables efficient storage and transmission of complex 3D motion data.
• Reference Software: The amendment includes source code and tools aligned with the MPEG-4 framework to facilitate the implementation and testing of the FAMC approach.
• Compatibility and Implementation: It provides guidelines and tools that ensure interoperability among multimedia systems using MPEG-4 related audio-visual coding technologies.
• Intellectual Property and Licensing: The document notes copyright protections and licensing terms related to the use and redistribution of the reference software.
• Installation and Usage Instructions: Detailed advice on properly accessing, unzipping, and deploying the software ensures ease of integration into developers’ workflows.

Applications

• 3D Animation and Visual Effects: Enables high-fidelity compression of animated mesh sequences to reduce storage requirements while maintaining visual quality.
• Virtual and Augmented Reality: Compresses dynamic 3D models for immersive environments where bandwidth and storage efficiency are critical.
• Video Games: Improves the efficiency of animated character and environment data compression for real-time rendering with minimal latency.
• Telepresence and Video Conferencing: Supports transmission of animated 3D avatars and objects by reducing data sizes for network-efficient communication.
• Research and Development: Provides a baseline tool for further innovations in 3D mesh compression and multimedia coding.

Related Standards

• ISO/IEC 14496 (MPEG-4): The broader multimedia coding standard encompassing audio, video, and other data compression techniques.
• ISO/IEC 14496-1 (Systems): Defines systems level architectures for multimedia communication.
• ISO/IEC 14496-10 (AVC/H.264): Video coding standard often used alongside MPEG-4 audio-visual object coding.
• ISO/IEC 14496-2 (Visual): Visual coding standards related to MPEG-4 video objects.
• ISO/IEC 14496-16 (Animation Framework eXtension - AFX): Related to animated 3D mesh and character animation technologies.

By adhering to ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001/Amd 21:2009, organizations and developers can leverage standardized reference implementations for frame-based animated mesh compression. This facilitates interoperability, enhances multimedia data compression efficiency, and supports the growing demand for realistic and interactive 3D audiovisual content.