Product Description

This CD-ROM with algorithms, encoders, and practice clips is your one-stop guide to the art and science of digital video compression! Without video compression, video streaming - one of the Internet's great innovations - would be nothing more than a pipe dream. That's why if digitizing video imagery is part of your work or hobby, here's an info-packed volume you need handy at all times: McGraw-Hill's "Digital Video Compression." Written by a renowned expert in digital technology, "Digital Video Compression" offers comprehensive coverage on a vast range of digital media technologies and standards. It delivers everything you need to understand the techniques, tricks, and confusing protocols of compression, as well as: fundamentals of compression; MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 compression standards; JVT / H.264 / MPEG-4 Part 10 - learn the details of the just-released compression standard; and much more!Plus, you get an invaluable CD-ROM of compression tools, encoders, and video clips for practice. With "Digital Video Compression", you're sure to stay out in front of this exploding technology! The book covers: What Is Compression? An Introduction to Images; Entropy Coding; Protective Coding; Transforms; Quantization; JPEG; Motion Compensation; MPEG-1; MPEG-2; MPEG-4; JVT / H.264 / MPEG-4 Part 10; MPEG-7 and MPEG-21; Pro-MPEG and MPEG Operating Ranges; DV Compression; Wavelets; JPEG2000; Audio Compression; and Streaming Media.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115281 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

From the Back Cover
CD-ROM WITH ALGORITHMS, ENCODERS, AND PRACTICE CLIPS

YOUR ONE-STOP GUIDE TO THE ART AND SCIENCE OF DIGITAL VIDEO COMPRESSION!

Without video compression, video streaming -- one of the Internet's great innovations -- would be nothing more than a pipe dream. That's why if digitizing video imagery is part of your work or hobby, here's an info-packed volume you need handy at all times: McGraw-Hill's Digital Video Compression.

Written by a renowned expert in digital technology, Digital Video Compression offers comprehensive coverage on a vast range of digital media technologies and standards. It delivers everything you need to understand the techniques, tricks, and confusing protocols of compression, as well as:
* Fundamentals of compression
* MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 compression standards
* JVT / H.264 / MPEG-4 Part 10 -- learn the details of the just-released compression standard
* And much more!

Plus, you get an invaluable CD-ROM of compression tools, encoders, and video clips for practice. With Digital Video Compression, you're sure to stay out in front of this exploding technology!

COVERAGE INCLUDES:
* What Is Compression?
* An Introduction to Images
* Entropy Coding
* Protective Coding
* Transforms
* Quantization
* JPEG
* Motion Compensation
* MPEG-1
* MPEG-2
* MPEG-4
* JVT / H.264 / MPEG-4 Part 10
* MPEG-7 and MPEG-21
* Pro-MPEG and MPEG Operating Ranges
* DV Compression
* Wavelets
* JPEG2000
* Audio Compression
* Streaming Media

About the Author
Peter D. Symes is Manager, Advanced Technology at Thomson Broadcast & Media Solutions. He is an SMPTE Fellow, a Senior Member of the IEEE, and the author of Video Compression and Video Compression Demystified (both published by McGraw-Hill). He is currently serving as Engineering Vice President for SMPTE.

Customer Reviews

"Buy Together" recommendation not appropriate
I am the author of "Digital Video Compression" and I have to caution you that Amazon's "Buy Together" recommendation is NOT appropriate. "Video Compression Demystified" is an earlier version of the same book, and everything in there (except for a few mistakes!) is in the 2003 "Digital Video Compression". You would waste your money buying both!
Enjoy!
Peter Symes, author

Good as a general introduction
I would reccommend this book if you want to learn how compression works, where the limitations come from, where future improvemens may come from and what the standards are all about.
You won't find implementation details and mathematical rigour in this book ; its goal is to explain the concepts.

Not an h.264 Book
Richardson book (H.264 and MPEG-4 Video Compression) is the best book on h.264 -- by virtue of being the only one.

The cover of Symes' book proclaims "Featuring: JVT/H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10". However, there's one chapter on JVT, and it is somewhat sketchy. The only level of real detail is on the transform. The rest of the AVC/h.264 standard receives brief and superficial coverage. The coverage of WMV-9, an analogous next gen codec, is even sketchier. It doesn't mention the SMPTE VC-9 standardization effort, based on WMV-9.

Next gen codecs aside, it's not a bad book as a general overview of compression. It has a breezy style that's easy to read. While some sections are quite thorough, it doesn't consistently dig past the surface.

Here's an example:

"Context-based adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC) is a development of arithmetic coding mentioned in Chapter 3."

-- page 243, Chapter 12, JVT

"Explanation of the arithmetic coding process is beyond the scope of this book."

-- page 47, Chapter 3, Entropy Coding

In a nut shell, this book is a good addition to the video processing bookshelf, but it won't stand as a definitive reference to this new protocol. Maybe next edition.