What is MPEG-21 and why does it exist?
Today, many elements exist to build an infrastructure for the delivery and consumption of multimedia content. Before MPEG-21 there was, however, no big picture to describe how these elements, either in existence or under development, relate to each other. The vision for MPEG-21 is to define a multimedia framework that will enable transparent and augmented use of multimedia resources across a wide range of networks and devices used by different communities. The intent is that the framework will cover the entire multimedia content delivery chain encompassing content creation, production, delivery and trade. The framework will describe how these existing components can be used together. Where gaps exist new standards will be developed by MPEG to satisfy the requirements. The basic architectural concept in MPEG-21 is the Digital Item.
Today, many elements exist to build an infrastructure for the delivery and consumption of multimedia content. There is, however, no ‘big picture’ to describe how these elements, either in existence or under development, relate to each other. The vision for MPEG-21 is to define a multimedia framework that will enable transparent and augmented use of multimedia resources across a wide range of networks and devices used by different communities. The intent is that the framework will cover the entire multimedia content delivery chain encompassing content creation, production, delivery and trade. The framework will describe how these existing components can be used together. Where gaps exist new standards will be developed by MPEG to satisfy the requirements. The basic architectural concept in MPEG-21 is the Digital Item.
