Technology is reshaping broadcasting
Standards have helped overcome broadcasting limitations by enhancing services and quality. Digital compression Standards have improved storage and distribution of content, for example for ultra-high definition (UHD) television. A number of IEC Technical Committees (TCs) and Subcommittees (SCs) produce International Standards in this domain.
ISO/IEC JTC1/SC 29: Coding of audio, picture, multimedia and hypermedia information, a Subcommittee of ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee (JTC) 1: Information technology, has developed International Standards for coded representation of audio, picture, multimedia and hypermedia information and sets of compression and control functions for use with such information, including:
- Audio information
- Bi-level and Limited Bits-per-pixel Still Pictures
- Digital Continuous-tone Still Pictures
- Computer Graphic Images
- Moving Pictures and Associated Audio
- Multimedia and Hypermedia Information for Real-time Final Form Interchange
- Audio Visual Interactive Script ware
ISO/IEC SC 29 has produced a number of key Standards used in broadcasting, through the work of its Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG), together with the International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Study Group 16. Here are some widely used examples:
- MPEG 1 or ISO/IEC 11172 series of Standards for coding moving pictures and associated audio for digital storage media for about 1,5 Mbit/s. One of its best known Standards is the MP3 audio format.
- MPEG 2 or ISO/IEC 13818 series of Standards which describes a combination of video audio data compression methods, used for example in over-the-air digital broadcasting.
- MPEG 4 or Part 14 of the ISO/IEC 14496 series of Standards is also widely used to store video, audio and associated data, such as subtitles, and it also allows streaming over the Internet.
- MPEG-A or Part 13 of the ISO/IEC 23000 series of Standards focuses on the data formats used to provide an augmented reality presentation and is designed to enable the use of 2D/3D multimedia content. AR formats in sports broadcasts offer viewers more data about the games and players they follow.
