ISO/IEC 13818-1:2018

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 13818-1
Sixth edition
2018-03
Information technology — Generic
coding of moving pictures and
associated audio information —
Part 1:
Systems
Technologies de l'information — Codage générique des images
animées et du son associé —
Partie 1: Systèmes
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2018
© ISO/IEC 2018
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
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ii © ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other
international organizations, governmental and non‐governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also
take part in the work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint
technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for
the different types of document should be noted.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent
rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in
the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does
not constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms
and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence
to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the
following URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by ITU-T as Rec. ITU-T H.220.0 (03/2017) and drafted in
accordance with its editorial rules. It was adopted under the JTC1 PSDO procedure by Joint
Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, Subcommittee SC 29, Coding of
audio, picture, multimedia and hypermedia information, in collaboration with ITU‐T.
This sixth edition cancels and replaces the fifth edition (ISO/IEC 13818-1:2015), which has been
technically revised. It also incorporates ISO/IEC 13818-1:2015/Cor.1:2016, ISO/IEC 13818-1:2015/
Cor.2:2017, ISO/IEC 13818-1:2015/Amd.1:2015, ISO/IEC 13818-1:2015/Amds.2–6:2016, and ISO/
IEC 13818-1:2015/Amds.7–8 (unpublished following DAM ballot).
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 13818 series can be found on the ISO website.
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved iii

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 13818-1
RECOMMENDATION ITU-T H.222.0
Information technology – Generic coding of moving pictures and
associated audio information: Systems
Summary
This Recommendation | International Standard specifies the system layer of the coding. It was developed in 1994 to
principally support the combination and synchronization of video and audio coding methods defined in ISO/IEC 13818
Part 2 (ITU-T H.262) and Part 3. Since 1994, this standard has been extended to support additional video coding
specifications (e.g., ISO/IEC 14496-2, ITU-T H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10, ITU-T H.265 | ISO/IEC 23008-2 and
ITU-T T.800 | ISO/IEC 15444-1 Annex M JPEG 2000 video), audio coding specifications (e.g., ISO/IEC 13818-7 and
ISO/IEC 14496-3), system streams (e.g., ISO/IEC 14496-1 and ISO/IEC 15938-1), ISO/IEC 23009-1 dynamic adaptive
streaming over HTTP (DASH), ISO/IEC 13818-11 intellectual property management and protection (IPMP) as well as
generic metadata. The system layer supports six basic functions:
1) the synchronization of multiple compressed streams on decoding;
2) the interleaving of multiple compressed streams into a single stream;
3) the initialization of buffering for decoding start up;
4) continuous buffer management;
5) time identification; and
6) multiplexing and signalling of various components in a system stream.
Recommendation ITU-T H.222.0 | ISO/IEC 13818-1 multiplexed bit stream is either a transport stream or a program
stream. Both streams are constructed from packetized elementary stream (PES) packets and packets containing other
necessary information. Both stream types support multiplexing of video and audio compressed streams from one
program with a common time base. The transport stream additionally supports the multiplexing of video and audio
compressed streams from multiple programs with independent time bases. For almost error-free environments the
program stream is generally more appropriate, supporting software processing of program information. The transport
stream is more suitable for use in environments where errors are likely.
Recommendation ITU-T H.222.0 | ISO/IEC 13818-1 multiplexed bit stream, whether a transport stream or a program
stream, is constructed in two layers: the outermost layer is the system layer, and the innermost is the compression layer.
The system layer provides the functions necessary for using one or more compressed data streams in a system. The video
and audio parts of this Specification define the compression coding layer for audio and video data. Coding of other types
of data is not defined by this Recommendation | International Standard, but is supported by the system layer provided
that the other types of data adhere to the constraints defined in this Recommendation | International Standard.
History
*
Edition Recommendation Approval Study Group Unique ID
1.0 ITU-T H.222.0 1995-07-10 15 11.1002/1000/1071
1.1 ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 1 1996-11-11 16 11.1002/1000/3834
1.2 ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 2 1996-11-11 16 11.1002/1000/4096
1.3 ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Technical Cor. 1 1998-02-06 16 11.1002/1000/4532
1.4 ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 3 1998-02-06 16 11.1002/1000/4228
1.5 ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 4 1998-02-06 16 11.1002/1000/4229
1.6 ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 5 1999-05-27 16 11.1002/1000/4498
1.7 ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 6 1999-05-27 16 11.1002/1000/4671
____________________
*
To access the Recommendation, type the URL http://handle.itu.int/ in the address field of your web browser, followed by the
Recommendation's unique ID. For example, http://handle.itu.int/11.1002/1000/11830-en.
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved
Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 (03/2017) v

2.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2000-02-17 16 11.1002/1000/5142
2.1 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Technical Cor. 1 2001-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/5419
2.2 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Technical Cor. 2 2002-03-29 16 11.1002/1000/5675
2.3 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 1 2002-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/6190
2.4 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 1/Cor. 1 2003-06-29 16 11.1002/1000/6449
2.5 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 2 2003-06-29 16 11.1002/1000/6363
2.6 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 3 2004-03-15 16 11.1002/1000/7208
2.7 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Technical Cor. 3 2005-01-08 16 11.1002/1000/7435
2.8 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 4 2005-01-08 16 11.1002/1000/7436
2.9 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 5 2005-01-08 16 11.1002/1000/7437
2.10 ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Technical Cor. 4 2005-09-13 16 11.1002/1000/8560
3.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2006-05-29 16 11.1002/1000/8802
3.1 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 1 2007-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/9024
3.2 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 2 2007-08-29 16 11.1002/1000/9214
3.3 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Cor. 1 2008-06-13 16 11.1002/1000/9471
3.4 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Cor. 2 2009-03-16 16 11.1002/1000/9692
3.5 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 3 2009-03-16 16 11.1002/1000/9691
3.6 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Cor. 3 2009-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/10621
3.7 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Cor. 4 2009-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/10622
3.8 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 4 2009-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/10623
3.9 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 5 2011-05-14 16 11.1002/1000/11287
3.10 ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 6 2011-05-14 16 11.1002/1000/11288
4.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2012-06-29 16 11.1002/1000/11655
4.1 ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 1 2014-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/12054
4.2 ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 2 2014-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/12055
4.3 ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 3 2014-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/12056
4.4 ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 4 2014-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/12057
4.5 ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 5 2014-10-14 16 11.1002/1000/12306
5.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2014-10-14 16 11.1002/1000/12359
5.1 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 1 2015-04-29 16 11.1002/1000/12452
5.2 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 1 Cor. 1 2015-11-29 16 11.1002/1000/12625
5.3 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 2 2015-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/12632
5.4 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 3 2015-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/12633
5.5 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 1 Cor. 2 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12899
5.5 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Cor. 1 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12903
5.7 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 4 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12900
5.8 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 5 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12901
5.9 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 6 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12902
5.10 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 3 Cor. 1 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13184
5.10 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Cor. 2 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13188
5.12 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 7 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13186
5.13 ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 8 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13187
6.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13269
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved
vi Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 (03/2017)

FOREWORD
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency in the field of
telecommunications, information and communication technologies (ICTs). The ITU Telecommunication
Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is a permanent organ of ITU. ITU-T is responsible for studying technical,
operating and tariff questions and issuing Recommendations on them with a view to standardizing
telecommunications on a worldwide basis.
The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA), which meets every four years,
establishes the topics for study by the ITU-T study groups which, in turn, produce Recommendations on
these topics.
The approval of ITU-T Recommendations is covered by the procedure laid down in WTSA Resolution 1.
In some areas of information technology which fall within ITU-T's purview, the necessary standards are
prepared on a collaborative basis with ISO and IEC.
NOTE
In this Recommendation, the expression "Administration" is used for conciseness to indicate both a
telecommunication administration and a recognized operating agency.
Compliance with this Recommendation is voluntary. However, the Recommendation may contain certain
mandatory provisions (to ensure, e.g., interoperability or applicability) and compliance with the
Recommendation is achieved when all of these mandatory provisions are met. The words "shall" or some
other obligatory language such as "must" and the negative equivalents are used to express requirements. The
use of such words does not suggest that compliance with the Recommendation is required of any party.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
ITU draws attention to the possibility that the practice or implementation of this Recommendation may
involve the use of a claimed Intellectual Property Right. ITU takes no position concerning the evidence,
validity or applicability of claimed Intellectual Property Rights, whether asserted by ITU members or others
outside of the Recommendation development process.
As of the date of approval of this Recommendation, ITU had received notice of intellectual property,
protected by patents, which may be required to implement this Recommendation. However, implementers
are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information and are therefore strongly urged to consult the
TSB patent database at http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/ipr/.
 ITU 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means whatsoever, without the
prior written permission of ITU.
Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 (03/2017) vii
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved

Table of Contents
Page
1.1  Scope . 1
1.2  Normative references . 1
2.1  Definitions . 4
2.2  Symbols and ab brev iations . 11
2.3  Method of describing bit stream syntax . 13
2.4  Transport stream bitstream requirements . 14
2.5  Program stream bitstream requirements . 60
2.6  Program and program element descriptors . 73
2.7  Restrictions on the multiplexed stream semantics . 137
2.8  Compatibility with ISO/IEC 11172 . 141
2.9  Registration of copyright identifiers . 141
2.10  Registration of private data format . 142
2.11  Carriage of ISO/IEC 14496 data . 142
2.12  Carriage of metadata . 154
2.13  Carriage of ISO 15938 data . 163
2.14  Carriage of Rec. ITU-T H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10 video . 163
2.15  Carriage of ISO/IEC 14496-17 text streams . 179
2.16  Carriage of auxiliary video streams . 181
2.17  Carriage of HEVC . 181
2.18  Carriage of green access units . 190
2.19  Carriage of ISO/IEC 23008-3 MPEG-H 3D audio data . 192
2.20  Carriage of Quality Access Units in MPEG-2 sections . 194
Annex A – CRC decoder model . 196
A.1  CRC decoder model . 196
Annex B – Digital storage medium command and control (DSM-CC) . 197
B.1  Introduction . 197
B.2  General elements . 198
B.3  Technical elements . 200
Annex C – Program-specific information . 206
C.1  Explanation of program-specific information in transport streams . 206
C.2  Introduction . 206
C.3  Functional mechanism . 206
C.4  The mapping of sections into transport stream packets . 207
C.5  Repetition rates and random access. 207
C.6  What is a program? . 208
C.7  Allocation of program_number . 208
C.8  Usage of PSI in a typical system . 208
C.9  The relationships of PSI structures . 209
C.10  Bandwidth utilization and signal acquisition time . 211
Annex D – Systems timing model and application implications of this Recommendation | International
Standard . 214
D.1  Introduction . 214
Annex E – Data transmission applications . 223
E.1  General considerations . 223
E.2  Suggestion . 223
Annex F – Graphics of syntax for this Recommendation | International Standard . 224
F.1  Introduction . 224
Annex G – General information . 228
G.1  General information . 228
Annex H – Private data . 229
H.1  Private data . 229
viii Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 (03/2017)
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved

Page
Annex I – Systems conformance and real-time interface . 230
I.1  Systems conformance and real-time interface . 230
Annex J – Interfacing jitter-inducing networks to MPEG-2 decoders . 231
J.1  Introduction . 231
J.2  Network compliance models . 231
J.3  Network specification for jitter smoothing. 232
J.4  Example decoder implementations . 233
Annex K – Splicing transport streams . 234
K.1  Introduction . 234
K.2  The different types of splicing point . 234
K.3  Decoder behaviour on splices . 235
Annex L – Registration procedure (see 2.9) . 237
L.1  Procedure for the request of a Registered Identifier (RID) . 237
L.2  Responsibilities of the Registration Authority . 237
L.3  Responsibilities of parties requesting an RID . 237
L.4  Appeal procedure for denied applications . 238
Annex M – Registration application form (see 2.9) . 239
M.1  Contact information of organization requesting a Registered Identifier (RID) . 239
M.2  Statement of an intention to apply the assigned RID . 239
M.3  Date of intended implementation of the RID . 239
M.4  Authorized representative . 239
M.5  For official use only of the Registration Authority . 239
Annex N – Registration Authority Diagram of administration structure (see 2.9) . 240
Annex O – Registration procedure (see 2.10) . 241
O.1  Procedure for the request of an RID . 241
O.2  Responsibilities of the Registration Authority . 241
O.3  Contact information for the Registration Authority . 241
O.4  Responsibilities of parties requesting an RID . 241
O.5  Appeal procedure for denied applications . 241
Annex P – Registration application form . 243
P.1  Contact information of organization requesting an RID . 243
P.2  Request for a specific RID . 243
P.3  Short description of RID that is in use and date system that was implemented . 243
P.4  Statement of an intention to apply the assigned RID . 243
P.5  Date of intended implementation of the RID . 243
P.6  Authorized representative . 243
P.7  For official use of the Registration Authority . 243
Annex Q – T-STD and P-STD buffer models for ISO/IEC 13818-7 ADTS . 244
Q.1  Introduction . 244
Q.2  Leak rate from transport buffer . 244
Q.3  Buffer size . 244
Q.4  Conclusion . 245
Annex R – Carriage of ISO/IEC 14496 scenes in Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 | ISO/IEC 13818-1 . 247
R.1  Content access procedure for ISO/IEC 14496 program components within a program stream . 247
R.2  Content access procedure for ISO/IEC 14496 program components within a transport stream . 248
Annex S – Carriage of JPEG 2000 part 1 video over MPEG-2 transport streams . 252
S.1  Introduction . 252
S.2  J2K video access unit, J2K video elementary stream, J2K video sequence and J2K still
picture . 252
S.3  Elementary stream header (elsm) and mapping to PES packets . 252
S.4  J2K transport constraints . 254
S.5  Interpretation of flags in adaptation and PES headers for J2K video elementary streams . 254
S.6  T-STD extension for J2K video elementary streams . 255
Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 (03/2017) ix
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved

Page
Annex T – MIME type for MPEG-2 transport streams . 257
T.1  Introduction . 257
T.2  MIME type and subtype . 257
T.3  Security considerations . 258
T.4  Parameters . 258
Annex U – Carriage of timeline and external media information over MPEG-2 transport streams . 260
U.1  Introduction . 260
U.2  TEMI access unit and TEMI elementary stream . 261
U.3  AF descriptors . 262
Annex V – Transport of layered HEVC (MV-HEVC, SHVC) . 271
V.1  Introduction . 271
V.2  Terminology . 271
V.3  Examples . 272
Bibliography . 273
x Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 (03/2017)
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved

Introduction
The systems part of this Recommendation | International Standard addresses the combining of one or more elementary
streams of video and audio, as well as other data, into single or multiple streams which are suitable for storage or
transmission. Systems coding follows the syntactical and semantic rules imposed by this Specification and provides
information to enable synchronized decoding of decoder buffers over a wide range of retrieval or receipt conditions.
System coding shall be specified in two forms: the transport stream and the program stream. Each is optimized for a
different set of applications. Both the transport stream and program stream defined in this Recommendation |
International Standard provide coding syntax which is necessary and sufficient to synchronize the decoding and
presentation of the video and audio information, while ensuring that data buffers in the decoders do not overflow or
underflow. Information is coded in the syntax using time stamps concerning the decoding and presentation of coded
audio and visual data and time stamps concerning the delivery of the data stream itself. Both stream definitions are
packet-oriented multiplexes.
The basic multiplexing approach for single video and audio elementary streams is illustrated in Figure Intro. 1. The
video and audio data is encoded as described in Rec. ITU-T H.262 | ISO/IEC 13818-2 and ISO/IEC 13818-3. The
resulting compressed elementary streams are packetized to produce PES packets. Information needed to use PES
packets independently of either transport streams or program streams may be added when PES packets are formed. This
information is not needed and need not be added when PES packets are further combined with system level information
to form transport streams or program streams. This systems standard covers those processes to the right of the vertical
dashed line.
Video data Video PES
Video encoder Packetizer Program
PS stream
Audio data Audio PES
Audio encoder Packetizer Mux
Transport
TS
stream
Mux
Extent of systems specification
H.222.0(12)_F01
Figure Intro. 1 – Simplified overview of the scope of this Recommendation | International Standard
The program stream is analogous and similar to the ISO/IEC 11172 systems layer. It results from combining one or
more streams of PES packets, which have a common time base, into a single stream.
For applications that require the elementary streams that comprise a single program to be in separate streams that are
not multiplexed, the elementary streams can also be encoded as separate program streams, one per elementary stream,
with a common time base. In this case the values encoded in the SCR fields of the various streams shall be consistent.
Like the single program stream, all elementary streams can be decoded with synchronization.
The program stream is designed for use in relatively error-free environments and is suitable for applications which may
involve software processing of system information such as interactive multi-media applications. Program stream
packets may be of variable and relatively great length.
The transport stream combines one or more programs with one or more independent time bases into a single stream.
PES packets made up of elementary streams that form a program share a common timebase. The transport stream is
designed for use in environments where errors are likely, such as storage or transmission in lossy or noisy media.
Transport stream packets are 188 bytes in length.
Program and transport streams are designed for different applications and their definitions do not strictly follow a
layered model. It is possible and reasonable to convert from one to the other; however, one is not a subset or superset of
the other. In particular, extracting the contents of a program from a transport stream and creating a valid program stream
is possible and is accomplished through the common interchange format of PES packets, but not all of the fields needed
in a program stream are contained within the transport stream; some must be derived. The transport stream may be used
Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 (03/2017) xi
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved

to span a range of layers in a layered model, and is designed for efficiency and ease of implementation in high
bandwidth applications.
The scope of syntactical and semantic rules set forth in the systems specification differs: the syntactical rules apply to
systems layer coding only, and do not extend to the compression layer coding of the video and audio specifications; by
contrast, the semantic rules apply to the combined stream in its entirety.
The systems specification does not specify the architecture or implementation of encoders or decoders, nor those of
multiplexors or demultiplexors. However, bit stream properties do impose functional and performance requirements on
encoders, decoders, multiplexors and demultiplexors. For instance, encoders must meet minimum clock tolerance
requirements. Notwithstanding this and other requirements, a considerable degree of freedom exists in the design and
implementation of encoders, decoders, multiplexors, and demultiplexors.
Intro. 1 Transport stream
The transport stream is a stream definition which is tailored for communicating or storing one or more programs of
coded data according to Rec. ITU-T H.262 | ISO/IEC 13818-2 and ISO/IEC 13818-3 and other data in environments in
which significant errors may occur. Such errors may be manifested as bit value errors or loss of packets.
Transport streams may be either fixed or variable rate. In either case the constituent elementary streams may either be
fixed or variable rate. The syntax and semantic constraints on the stream are identical in each of these cases. The
transport stream rate is defined by the values and locations of program clock reference (PCR) fields, which in general
are separate PCR fields for each program.
There are some difficulties with constructing and delivering a transport stream containing multiple programs with
independent time bases such that the overall bit rate is variable. Refer to 2.4.2.3.
The transport stream may be constructed by any method that results in a valid stream. It is possible to construct
transport streams containing one or more programs from elementary coded data streams, from program streams, or from
other transport streams which may themselves contain one or more programs.
The transport stream is designed in such a way that several operations on a transport stream are possible with minimum
effort. Among these are:
1) Retrieve the coded data from one program within the transport stream, decode it and present the decoded
results as shown in Figure Intro. 2.
2) Extract the transport stream packets from one program within the transport stream and produce as output
a different transport stream with only that one program as shown in Figure Intro. 3.
3) Extract the transport stream packets of one or more programs from one or more transport streams and
produce as output a different transport stream (not illustrated).
4) Extract the contents of one program from the transport stream and produce as output a program stream
containing that one program as shown in Figure Intro. 4.
5) Take a program stream, convert it into a transport stream to carry it over a lossy environment, and then
recover a valid, and in certain cases, identical program stream.
Figure Intro. 2 and Figure Intro. 3 illustrate prototypical demultiplexing and decoding systems which take as input a
transport stream. Figure Intro. 2 illustrates the first case, where a transport stream is directly demultiplexed and
decoded. Transport streams are constructed in two layers:
– a system layer; and
– a compression layer.
The input stream to the transport stream decoder has a system layer wrapped about a compression layer. Input streams
to the video and audio decoders have only the compression layer.
Operations performed by the prototypical decoder which accepts transport streams either apply to the entire transport
stream ("multiplex-wide operations"), or to individual elementary streams ("stream-specific operations"). The transport
stream system layer is divided into two sub-layers, one for multiplex-wide operations (the transport stream packet
layer), and one for stream-specific operations (the PES packet layer).
A prototypical decoder for transport streams, including audio and video, is also depicted in Figure Intro. 2 to illustrate
the function of a decoder. The architecture is not unique – some system decoder functions, such as decoder timing
control, might equally well be distributed among elementary stream decoders and the channel-specific decoder – but
this figure is useful for discussion. Likewise, indication of errors detected by the channel-specific decoder to the
individual audio and video decoders may be performed in various ways and such communication paths are not shown in
the diagram. The prototypical decoder design does not imply any normative requirement for the design of a transport
stream decoder. Indeed non-audio/video data is also allowed, but not shown.
xii Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 (03/2017)
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved

Decoded
video
Video decoder
Transport stream
Channel Channel-specific
demultiplex and Clock control
decoder
decoder
Decoded
audio
Transport stream
Audio decoder
containing one or multiple programs
H.222.0(12)_F02
Figure Intro. 2 – Prototypical transport demultiplexing and decoding example
Figure Intro. 3 illustrates the second case, where a transport stream containing multiple programs is converted into a
transport stream containing a single program. In this case the re-multiplexing operation may necessitate the correction
of program clock reference (PCR) values to account for changes in the PCR locations in the bit stream.
Transport stream
Channel Channel-specific
demultiplex and
decoder
decoder
Transport stream
Transport stream
containing multiple programs
with single program
H.222.0(12)_F03
Figure Intro. 3 – Prototypical transport multiplexing example
Figure Intro. 4 illustrates a case in which a multi-program transport stream is first demultiplexed and then converted
into a program stream.
Figures Intro. 3 and Intro. 4 indicate that it is possible and reasonable to convert between different types and
configurations of transport streams. There are specific fields defined in the transport stream and program stream syntax
which facilitate the conversions illustrated. There is no requirement that specific implementations of demultiplexors or
decoders include all of these functions.
Transport stream
Channel Channel-specific
demultiplex and program
decoder
stream multiplexor
Transport stream
Program stream
containing multiple programs
H.222.0(12)_F04
Figure Intro. 4 – Prototypical transport stream to program stream conversion
Intro. 2 Program stream
The program stream is a stream definition which is tailored for communicating or storing one program of coded data
and other data in environments where errors are very unlikely, and where processing of system coding, e.g., by
software, is a major consideration.
Program streams may be either fixed or variable rate. In either case, the constituent elementary streams may be either
fixed or variable rate. The syntax and semantics constraints on the stream are identical in each case. The program
stream rate is defined by the values and locations of the system clock reference (SCR) and mux_rate fields.
A prototypical audio/video program stream decoder system is depicted in Figure Intro. 5. The architecture is not unique
– system decoder functions including decoder timing control might as equally well be distributed among elementary
stream decoders and the channel-specific decoder – but this figure is useful for discussion. The prototypical decoder
design does not imply any normative requirement for the design of a program stream decoder. Indeed non-audio/video
data is also allowed, but not shown.
Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 (03/2017) xiii
© ISO/IEC 2018 – All rights reserved

Decoded
video
Video decoder
Channel Channel-specific Program stream
Clock control
decoder decoder
Decoded
audio
Program Audio decoder
stream
H.222.0(12)_F05
Figure Intro. 5 – Prototypical decoder for program streams
The prototypical decoder for program streams shown in Figure Intro. 5 is composed of system, video and audio
decoders conforming to Parts 1, 2 and 3, respectively, of ISO/IEC 13818. In this decoder, the multiplexed coded
representation of one or more audio and/or video streams is assumed to be stored or communicated on some channel in
some channel-specific format. The channel-specific format is not governed by this Recommendation | International
Standard, nor is the channel-specific decoding part of the prototypical decoder.
The prototypical decoder accepts as input a program stream and relies on a program stream decoder to extract timing
information from the stream. The program stream decoder demultiplexes the stream, and the elementary streams so
produced serve as inputs to video and audio decoders, whose outputs are decoded video and audio signals. Included in
the design, but not shown in the figure, is the flow of timing information among the program
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