- Are you or have you been an MPEG member?
No – not directly, although I have been involved in MPEG related working groups for some time. - What do you think makes MPEG special?
It crosses national boundaries and brings technology companies together on a common basis. The sum of their efforts together is far more than any of them could accomplish alone with a proprietary solution. - What do you think is the most important MPEG impact?
It has ensured that large and even very small companies can collaborate and compete in a constructive way regardless of their size and resources. Now that virtually all media formats are digital, we are gradually eliminating the unnecessary international differences in formats inherited from the analogue world. - Do you think MPEG is a good conduit for research?
Reading about the internals of MPEG standardised technologies has often triggered new research topics and inspired new trains of thought. - Can you comment on your MPEG experience?
On the whole it has been extremely positive. I was disappointed that we couldn’t achieve wider adoption of BIFS (MPEG-4 part 11). However, that would be the only negative experience in over 20 years of study and involvement. - Are you satisfied with MPEG standards?
Yes very much so. They meet a great many of the needs we have for standardising media delivery. When they are combined with W3C/ECMA standards, I think they collectively cover what needs to be standardised for online and broadcast media delivery. - Do you think MPEG standards are the right choice?
I especially like that they interact very well with other standards from different organisations. Perhaps it is by design, but if not, it is a happy coincidence that they all fit neatly together without significantly overlapping. - What do you expect from MPEG in the future?
It would be helpful if the standards were very open, much in the tradition of open source software or W3C. Perhaps it strengthens the standards and makes them more attractive to potential adopters if we can eliminate the possibility of unaffordable license fees and patent pools.
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