- Are you or have you been an MPEG member?
I have been a member for about 20 years, joining a couple of years after MPEG started its charter. At first, I was mostly involved with the Audio group development but later expanded into other groups including the Video group. - What do you think makes MPEG special?
As an audio expert, the MPEG work was particularly important for me since it was the first standardization body to address general high-quality audio coding (based on perceptual models) at relatively low rates. - What do you think is the most important MPEG impact?
The MPEG specifications fulfilled a clear industry need, they were referred by a number of standard organizations (see for example ITU-R, DVB, etc.), and created the basis for very successful consumer electronic products. The timing was “perfect” in that the MPEG work leveraged new technology advances at the time (computer power, digital signal processing development, psychoacoustics modeling, internet availability, etc.) and enabled the leap towards a new digital media era. - Do you think MPEG is a good conduit for research?
I think the discussions within the MPEG group(s) were stimulating from the research point of view. Merging different approaches from different companies/national bodies certainly provided a wide perspective on what was currently available and what was possible. - Can you comment on your MPEG experience?
The first meeting I attended was a particularly significant meeting, not just from a personal point of view, but also from the historical point of view. During the work of the MPEG audio group we defined a major building block, the hybrid filterbank, the backbone of what became later the MP3 format. Now everyone is familiar with MP3 but, at the time, it was a stab in the dark and everyone (or almost everyone) considered this effort doomed at the start. - Are you satisfied with MPEG standards?
My work within the ISO/IEC MPEG continued through the years and, thanks to the incredible friends and colleagues I met through MPEG, I enjoyed a number of successes including leading the development of the (then-) newly conceived MPEG Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). - Do you think MPEG standards are the right choice?
In general, the checks and balances built into the MPEG standardization process are a guaranty that the resulting technology specifications are well thought through, and, depending on the application, provide a solid basis for new products. - What do you expect from MPEG in the future?
ISO/IEC MPEG has had and continues to have a major role in the development of media technology and I feel very fortunate to have contributed to the work of this community.
Skip to content