An important merit of the MPEG-4 video standard is that it not only provided tools and algorithms for enhancing the compression efficiency of existing MPEG-2 and H.263 standards but also contributed key innovative solutions for new multimedia applications such as real-time video streaming to PCs and cell phones over Internet and wireless networks, interactive services, and multimedia access. Many of these solutions are currently used in practice or have been important stepping-stones for new standards and technologies. In this book, we do not aim at providing a complete reference for MPEG-4 video as many excellent references on the topic already exist. Instead, we focus on three topics that we believe formed key innovations of MPEG-4 video and that will continue to serve as an inspiration and basis for new, emerging standards, products, and technologies. The three topics highlighted in this book are object-based coding and scalability, Fine Granularity Scalability, and error resiliencetools. This book is aimed at engineering students as well as professionals interested in learning about these MPEG-4 technologies for multimedia streaming and interaction. Finally, it is not aimed as a substitute or manual for the MPEG-4 standard, but rather as a tutorial focused on the principles and algorithms underlying it.
