3% WWIll!!!“Wl\l\lml\\|ll!l|‘4\llHlIlHHHlHIIM THE“ l 2004 LIBRARY 5 05 ‘0 W5 ’ Michigan State University This is to certify that the thesis entitled TOWARD TRUE INTEROPERABILITY IN STREAMING MEDIA: DEVELOPING AN INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE ON MPEG-4 presented by INSU PARK has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts K, 71/44; Major Professor’s Signature l9 -—- 1/ —- a} Date MSU Is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opporamlty Institution .o--—n-o-.--._.-i_._.- _A_ PLACE IN RETURN Box to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 6/01 cJCIRC/DateDue.p65-p.15 TOWARD TRUE INTEROPERABILITY IN STREAMNNG MEDIA: DEVELOPING AN INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE ON MPEG-4 BY INSU PARK A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media 2003 ABSTRACT TOWARD TRUE INTEROPERABILITY IN STREAMING MEDIA: DEVELOPING AN INTERAC'HVE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE ON MPEG-4 By INSU PARK While streaming media use has risen consistently for many years, the problem is that there isn't a standard that everyone can use. The excitement surrounding MPEG-4 is that it was designed to deal with distributing audio and video content over the lntemet. at high compression ratios over both high and low bandwidth networks without suffering a major loss in quality. The purpose of this project is to assist students in learning a new technology (MPEG-4) by interactive multimedia contents. Another critical reason for this project is to promote further adoption of MPEG-4 technology for approaching true interoperability in the Streaming Media industry. This paper is a supplement to the production thesis project in which the developer’s goals and design methods are discussed; and the results of a sample group evaluation and future development are presented. COpyright by INSU PARK 2003 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not have completed this project without the care and help of wonderful professors and friends. Much of thinking has been influenced by work and conversations with them. Special thanks to Brian Winn for his kindness, guidance, and passion for creating interactive learning website. Carrie Heeter for her insight, and thoughtful feedback. My greatest thanks to goes to Judy Andre, a dear friend, for her encouragement and wisdom. My ever-understanding spouse, Jin Bae for her dedication, support, and love. Their comments and commitments for the project made me possible to finish it. Finally, I really appreciate the many people who provided support, advice, and time. Thanks to my family members, Jonggil Park, Musoon Jo, Moonho Bae, Soonja Shin, Hoim Park, Hanjin Kim, Chulsoo Park, Soonhee Kim, Hwang Bae, Soyoon Park, June Bae, and Ryang Bae. Dedicated to my Wife & unborn Baby For her support and love TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE: Introduction .................................................................. 1 Project Ob'ectives ............................................................................ 3 Personal bjectives ......................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 'IWO: History .......................................................................... 5 History of MPEG .............................................................................. 5 Development of MPEG-4 ................................................................. 6 CHAPTER THREE: MPEG-4 tools ........................................................... 7 What’s an object-based coding? ..................................................... 7 What is DMIF? ................................................................................ 8 What are Profiles and Levels? ........................................................ 9 CHAPTER FOUR: Applications ............................................................. 15 Possible Applications ..................................................................... 15 Broadcast ............................................................................ 16 Digital Television Set-Top Box ............................................ 16 DVD .................................................................................... 17 Infotainment ........................................................................ 17 Mobile Multimedia ............................................................... 18 Streaming Video ................................................................. 19 Surveillance ........................................................................ 19 Virtual Meeting .................................................................... 20 Current Applications ...................................................................... 20 Surveillance ........................................................................ 20 Distance Learning ............................................................... 21 Corporate Communications ................................................ 21 Video on Demand (VOD) ................................................... 22 CHAPTER FIVE: Future of MPEG-4 ....................................................... 23 vi CHAPTER SIX: Production design ........................................................ 25 Overview ........................................................................................ 25 Title explanation .................................................................. 25 Scope of the project ............................................................ 25 Platform .............................................................................. 26 Treatment ........................................................................... 26 Target audience .................................................................. 26 Pre-production ............................................................................... 27 Material collection ............................................................... 27 Scriptwriting ........................................................................ 27 Interface design and elements ............................................ 28 Interface design ........................................................ 28 Color scheme ........................................................... 28 Typography .............................................................. 29 Icons ......................................................................... 29 Graphics ................................................................... 29 Video and Audio clips ............................................... 29 Production ..................................................................................... 30 Structure of the website ...................................................... 30 CHAPTER SEVEN: Evaluation ............................................................... 32 Overview ........................................................................................ 32 Methods ......................................................................................... 32 Results ........................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER EIGHT: Conclusion .............................................................. 42 Effectiveness of project ................................................................. 42 Future development ....................................................................... 43 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................... 45 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: THE HISTORY OF MPEG STANDARD ............................................................. 5 Table 2: CURRENT 8: POSSIBLE USAGE OF PROFILES ............................................ 10 Table 3: MPEG-4 PROFILES ........................................................................................ 11 Table 4: MPEG-4 LEVELS 8: SPECIFICATION FOR THE VIDEO PROFILES ............... 12 Table 5: MPEG-4 LEVELS & SPECIFICATION FOR THE VIDEO PROFILES ............... 13 Table 6: MPEG-4 LEVELS 8: SPECIFICATION FOR THE VIDEO PROFILES ............... 14 Table 7: CONTENTS OF EACH SECTION .................................................................. 31 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: THE STRUCTURE OF THE WEBSITE ........................................................... 30 Figure 2: KNOWLEDGE AND INTERERST ................................................................... 34 Figure 3: TIME SPENT ................................................................................................. 35 Figure 4: INFORMATION USER CARED ABOUT ......................................................... 36 Figure 5: LINKS ON WEBSITE ..................................................................................... 37 Figure 6: USEFUL LINKS .................................... 38 Figure 7: APPEARANCE OF WEBSITE ........................................................................ 39 Figure 8: INTERESTING ............................................................................................... 40 Figure 9: EASE OF USE ............................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION There are a lot of standards and specifications in the audio-visual area. Most of them have been developed by the industry to serve the interests of the members of that industry. In some other cases, the standard is the result of one company’s product being successfully introduced to the market where it has become universally accepted. The result has been that, in most cases, products, services and applications of one industry are not interoperable with those of another industry. When the boundary between industries was very clear this did not constitute a major problem, but today, with audio and video content being delivered in multiple ways, this is a major problem for those producing content, those consuming it and the service providers in between especially the streaming media industry (Chian‘giione). While streaming media use has risen consistently for many years, the problem is that there isn't a standard that everyone can use. Content providers must encode for various users, players, and platforms, while the end user is forced to have multiple media players (and in some cases the most recent version) installed in order to view all the different media types. Because each proprietary format must be viewed within their corresponding proprietary media player (Windows Media doesn't support QuickTime, Real Player doesn't support Windows Media, and so on), streaming media is more of a hassle than it may be worth for both providers and end users (McCannell). In the complex world of digital media with its diverse file formats, compression schemes, platform compliance, and interactivity requirements, there is a possible solution that will finally allow content for business, entertainment, and the home to be easily created, shared, and distributed (Greenfield). The excitement surrounding MPEG-4 is that it was designed to deal with distributing audio and video content over the lntemet at high compression ratios over both high and low bandwidth networks without suffering a major loss in quality (McCannell). In addition to providing a single form of compression useable by all players, there is the ability to add graphics, text, animation and digital rights management in an object-based setting. A scene description language, conditional behaviors that can be assigned to objects, and a focus on decoder rendering of objects, all help in delivering very high quality output with minimal data transfered. The biggest advantage of MPEG-4 over proprietary formats is interoperability. It means content encoded on a product from one vendor can be played using a decoder from another vendor, something that is not possible today with the proprietary formats (Greenfield). Major streaming media companies have tried to deliver the building blocks for seamless production workflow, but instead of accord, we’ve seen rich, but disparate tools that do not plug-and-play well across party lines. It’s hard to deny that widely accepted standards would allow great strides to be made, and would protect company investments. It would also greatly benefit end-users who could be assured that products worked with one another (Greenfield). PROJECT OBJECTIVES Created as an instructional tool, this project aims to introduce MPEG-4 technology to Telecommunication students and assist them in learning this new technology through an interactive multimedia website. The use of diverse media can help convey a difficult concept or simplify instructions, as well as, allow access to and interaction with resources that might be convenient and effective to learners. The other critical motivations for the project are to promote the need of a standard in the streaming media industry and the adoption of the MPEG-4 technology as this truly interoperable standard. The usage of the MPEG-4, as an open standard, will benefit application developers, service providers, content creators and end users. The summary of main objectives of the website project are as follows: 1. To introduce MPEG-4 technology to Telecommunication students 2. To assist students in Ieaming a new technology (MPEG-4) through interactive multimedia content. 3. To introduce the need of a standard in the streaming media industry 4. To promote further adoption of MPEG-4 technology as the standard for the Streaming Media industry. PERSONAL OQECflVES 1. To deepen more about MPEG-4 technology 2. To expand my ability to build an interactive educational project 3. To advance my skills in state of the art software technology, including Flash MX, Sorenson Squeeze, and Dreamweaver. CHAPTER TWO HISTORY HISTORY OF MPEG The MPEG standards are an evolving group of compression and decompression standards defined by the Moving Picture Experts Group for digitizing and delivering audio, video and multimedia over computer systems and networks, including the web (Table 1). MPEG-1 MPEG-1 was the first MPEG standard. Its major use today is in VidBOCD, a (Approved hugely popular format in Asia. MPEG-1 is also used in innumerable vertical November environments, like video-on-demand systems on airplanes. MPEG-1's Layer 1991) 3 audio codec, better known as MP3, is the dominant format for compressed audio distribution. MPEG-2 MPEG-2 was an extension of MPEG-1 to support tme broadcast and (Approved professional quality video. The majority of digital video watched woridwide is November MPEG-2. Best known for its use in DVD and digital satellite and cable 1994) television. MPEG-2 also appears in kiosks and many other environments. MPEG-3 Originally, MPEG—3 was being developed to handle high-definition formats, but MPEG found that MPEG-2 was easily extended to support them, and so the MPEG-3 standard was never fully developed. MPEG-4 MPEG-4 is designed to deal with distributing audio and video over the (Approved lntemet at high compression ratios over both high and low bandwidth November networks without suffering a major loss in quality while providing for digital 1998) rights management. MPEG-4 also employ object based coding technology in audio and video, including those that let the end-user interact with the media. Version 1 of the MPEG-4 standard was released in 1997. Version 2, expanding on the tools available in Version 1, released in 1999. Version 3, 4, and 5 are currently in progress. MPEG-7 MPEG-7 is a metadata technology, which will make it possible to annotate (Completed in video and make it searchable. 2002) MPEG-21 MPEG-21 is a general multimedia framework, taking the object-oriented (Part 5 8. 6 concepts beyond MPEG-4 to the next level, radically improving the depth Completed in and flexibility of the possible interactivity. 2003) TABEL 1: THE HISTORY OF MPEG STANDARD DEVELOPMENT OF MPEG-4 MPEG-4 is an ISO/IEC (lntemational Organization for Standards] lntemational Electrotechnical Commission) open standard developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group. It codes audio-visual information in a compressed format. The MPEG-4 project started in 1992. Its goal was to set a standard for very low bit rate audiovisual coding. By 1994, because of the way the multimedia arena was developing, MPEG redefined the project’s goals. The standards now apply to coding of any audio-visual object. Basically MPEG-4 lets users distribute both audio and video content through the lntemet. But this is not what makes it special. What makes MPEG-4 special is that it allows this distribution at high compression ratios, and quality is not sacrificed. Another thing that makes MPEG-4 special is that it works on both high and at low bandwidth networks. It has the added feature of helping manage digital rights. Finally, MPEG-4's object-based coding technologies make it possible for an end-user to interact with the medium. But finally what makes MPEG-4 so very important is its reach. Its standardized elements let the industry integrate across every stage of product development: the same template can be used for production, for distribution, and for content access. Furthermore this can be done in the three most important fields of digital technology: digital television, interactive graphics applications and interactive multimedia with Web content. CHAPTER THREE MPEG—4 TOOLS This section provides detail of the major tools available in MPEG- 4 technology. Truly ground breaking, even revolutionary, features in MPEG-4 include object based coding, Binary Format for Scene (BIFS), Delivery Multimedia Integration Framework (DMIF), and Profiles and Levels. WHAT'S AN OBJECT-BASED CODING? MPEG-4 is an object-based multimedia representation standard. It might be easier to understand object-based coding by comparing it to what MPEG-2 did. In the MPEG-2 world, encoded contents like text, graphics, video, were put together in a scene and treated there as a single pixel plane, when anything in the content was meant to move, every step in the motion had to be created as an individual frame. MPEG-4 is a vast improvement; in its objects, rather than frames, are coded. So what counts as an object in MPEG-4? Basically everything you see and hear. Some of these objects are still images, some are video objects (either two or three dimensional) and some are audio objects. To manage these objects, MPEG-4 has developed a language to describe when and where an object goes on the scene. This scene description language is called Binary Format For Scene, or BIFS for short. BIFS is a real-time binary scene description language that makes it ideal for streaming content. A simple command, just a tiny binary command, makes an object move. You can also attach behavior to an object that is conditional: when the user interacts with an object in a certain way, the object reacts in a certain way. WHAT IS DMIF? DMIF stands for Delivery Multimedia Integration Framework. This framework allows you to deliver multimedia content to many more destinations than MPEG1 and MPEGZ. In MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, the transport protocol (how the data is transmitted) for the content was an integral part of the specifications. MPEG-1 created a method for storing data in a file format that made it transportable and retrievable. Later MPEG-2 made it possible to retrieve TV broadcasts sent over dedicated networks. MPEG-2 Transport Stream has been very successful. However, it was designed for "raw" transport mediums in which data were combined in such a way that they could not later be separated. As a consequence it is difficult to transport MPEG-2 content over networks other than TV networks. Carrying MPEG-2 TS over IP (or ATM) networks requires either removing something or accepting its duplication: the first is hard to do, the second is inefficient. In other words, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 focused on particular delivery technologies; the solutions were very successful, but they were monolithic. Now DMIF enters the picture. Its objective is to define a separate delivery layer, so that MPEG-4 can ignore the details of various delivery technologies. (MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 could not ignore them.) In addition DMIF enables the simultaneous access, presentation, and synchronization of MPEG-4 content; and it lets the data be carried through a variety of delivery formats. MPEG-4 with DMIF can adapt many different applications, including stored files, remotely retrieved files, interactive retrieval from a real time streaming server, multicast, broadcast, interpersonal communication. It also adapts to many different delivery mechanisms. DMIF is a major step fonrvard. Because of it, MPEG-4 is likely to be adopted across several industries. WHAT ARE PROFILES AND LEVELS? To make sure that MPEG-4 products will work with one another, conformance points have been developed. Some of these points involve Profiles and Levels. Specifically, they set standards for Tools that can be used, Bitrates, Image Sizes, and Number of objects. Vtfithout these Profiles and Levels, we could never be sure that one product would work with another. MPEG-4 is a rich set of tools that are useful for a large number of applications. The projects it helps with include studio editing, interactive broadcasting, lntemet streaming, and wireless devices. Each of these has its own set of requirements. For example, studio editing needs very large image sizes and great speed in decoding; these could never be supported on a small wireless device. Because each has different requirements, each has a different Profile and Level. Within MPEG-4, every product created at a certain Profile and Level works with all other products built to the same profile and level. In other words, MPEG-4 provides a high level of interoperability. There are dozens of profiles in MPEG-4, and most of them have many levels within them. The table below shows a few relevant to streaming. They are being used now or are likely to be used soon (Table 2). Visual Profiles Simple - The basic level video profile in MPEG-4 Advanced Simple - Advanced simple adds a number of new tools to simple, enabling higher quality at lower bitrates Advanced Video Coding - Advanced Video Coding is also called H.26L, H.264, and JVT. It's all-new codec with lots of new features to dramatically improve quality at lower data rates. Advanced 20 - The Advanced 20 profile is becoming the standard level of BlFS(Binary Format for Scenes) interactivity support in those tools and players that support it. Audio Profiles High-Quality Audio - The most popular audio profile so far is High-Quality Audio. This supports two codecs, AAC-LC (Advanced Audio Coding — Low Complexity) for music and other general-purpose audio, and CELP (Code Excited Linear Predition) for low-bitrate speech. TABLE 2: CURRENT 8: POSSIBLE USAGE OF PROFILES 10 The following tables give an entire profiles of the MPEG-4 (Table 3) and a detailed look at the levels and specifications for the visual profiles (Table 4, 5, 6). Visual Natural Simple, Advanced Simple, Advanced Real-Time Simple, Simple Scalable, Core, Core Scalable, Main, Advanced Coding Efficiency, N-Bit Visual, Fine Granularity Scalability, Simple Studio, Core Studio Synthetic Basic Animated, Texture, Scalable Texture Audio Speech, Synthesis, Scalable, Main, High Quality Audio, Low Delay Audio, Natural Audio, Mobile Audio lntemetworking(MAUl) Graphics SimpleZD, CompleteZD, Complete Scene Graph Audio Simple 20, CompleteZD, Complete MPEG-J Personal, Main Object Core Descriptor TABLE 3: MPEG-4 PROFILES 11 Visual Typical visual Max . _ Max bit Profile L‘m' session size objects 0”“ type ' rate(kbitls) L0 QCIF 1 Simple 64 _ L1 QCIF 4 Simple 64 Simple L2 CIF 4 Simple 128 L3 CIF 4 Simple 384 Simple or L1 QCIF 4 Advanced Real- 64 Time Simple Simple or Advanced L2 CIF 4 Adflvggcgdmlzegl- 128 Real-Time . V Simple Simple or - , L3 CIF 4 Advanced Real- 384 Time Simple Simple or L4 CIF 16 Advanced Real- 2,000 Time Simple Simple or Simple Simple L1 CIF 4 Scalable 128 Scalable Simple or Simple L2 CIF 4 Scalable 256 L1 QCIF 4 Core or Simple 384 Core L2 CIF 16 Core or Simple 2,000 Core or Simple or L1 QCIF 4 Advanced 384 Advanced Scalable Texture Core Core or Simple or L2 CIF 16 Advanced 2,000 Scalable Texture TABLE 4: MPEG-4 LEVELS & SPECIFICATION FOR THE VIDEO PROFILES 12 U . ~ ,_ . i Maxbit g..VisuaI Typical visual Max . - z. , z . > - a . Prefile . ' L‘m' session size N objects ”my” 1 : “‘74:” Core or Simple or L1 CIF 4 Core Scalable 768 Or Simple Scalable Core Core or Simple or Scalable L2 CIF 8 Core Scalable 1,500 Or Simple Core or Simple or L3 CCIR601 16 Core Scalable 4,000 Or Simple Scalable Main or Core or y . L2 CIF 16 Simple 2,000 Main ; :_ Main or Core or . L3 CCIR601 32 Simple 15,000 Main or Core or L4 1920x1088 32 Simple 38,400 Advanced Coding L1 CIF 4 Efficiency or Core 384 . or Simple Advanced Coding Advanced L2 CIF 16 Efficgensciyn or fore 2,000 coding pl “mam” Advanced Coding L3 CCIR601 32 Efficiency or Core 15,000 or Simple Advanced Coding L4 1QZOX1088 32 Efficiency or Core 38,400 or Simple i ‘ ‘ Core or Simple or . N-Brt L2 CIF 16 N-Bit 2,000 TABLE 5: MPEG-4 LEVELS & SPECIFICATION FOR THE VISUAL PROFILES CONTINUED 13 Visual ‘ Typical visual Max bit ‘ Profile Level session size objects Objecttype ; rategbitl lTU-R60124224‘ . ' . ‘ L1 ITU-R601z444 10 Simple Studio 180 ITU- L2 Rm‘f-fflm 10 Simple Studio 600 , R6012444444 Slmple ITU Stud” L3 R709.60I:444 12 S'mp'e Stud” 900 ITU-709.60l:4224 lTU- R709.60P:444 . . L4 lTU- 12 S'mp'e Stud” 1,800 R709z444444 2KX2KX30P2444 Core Studio ITU-R60124224 . . L1 lTU—R6012444 10 or Simple Studlo 90 - . ITU- - . Core Studio ' R709.60I:422 . . CON ‘ ‘ L2 ITU- 10 or Simple Studio 300 Studio R601 :444444 Y . , ITU- Core Studio L3 R709.60I:444 10 or Simple Studio 450 lTU-709.60l:4224 ITU- Core Studio L4 R709.60I:444 10 or Simple Studio 900 lTU-709.60l:4224 L0 176x144 1 AS or Simple 128 L1 176X144 4 AS or Simple 128 Advan . ced L2 352Jt288 4 AS or Slmple 364 3"“9'9 L3 352x288 4 AS or Simple 768 L4 352x576 4 AS or Simple 3,000 L5 720x576 4 AS or Simple 8,000 AS or FGS or L0 176x144 1 Simple 128 AS or FGS or L1 17GX144 4 Simple 128 FGS > L2 352x288 4 AS or Slmple 384 ’ AS or FGS or L3 352x288 4 Simple 768 AS or FGS or L4 352x576 4 Simple 3,000 AS or FGS or L5 720x576 4 Simple 8,000 TABLE 6: MPEG-4 LEVELS 8: SPECIFICATIO PROFILES CONTINUED 14 N FOR THE VISUAL CHAPTER FOUR APPLICATIONS POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS MPEG-4 does not target a major and exclusive killer application but opens many new frontiers. Playing with audio/visual scenes and creating, reusing, accessing, and consuming audio/visual content will become easier and more powerful. New and richer applications can be developed, for example, in games, mobile multimedia, and virtual environments. MPEG-4 allows new services to emerge combining the traditionally mutually exclusive services models: broadcast, on-line interaction, and communication. MPEG-4 does not provide any guidelines regarding the relation between applimtions and profiles and levels. This is a choice left for the implementers taking into account their specific needs and constraints. The document that defines the MPEG-4 standard suggests the following possible applications, using both audio and visual information or just one of them: 0 Broadcast a Digital television set-top box 0 DVD 0 Infotainment a Mobile multimedia o Streaming video 0 Surveillance 0 Virtual meetings. 15 BROADCAST Integrated Service Digital Broadcast (ISDB) is a concept for constructing a complete digital broadcasting system, which offers a great variety of services with high spectrum efficiency, flexibility and extendibility. ISDB provides not only existing basic broadmsting services such as SDTV and HDTV, but also new services, such as multimedia TV, the TV newspaper (multimedia information services) and two-way information services. An integrated-services television is a terminal for receiving ISDB services. It enables viewers to make better use of television and offers services with multiple functions as well as new multimedia information services such as the TV newspaper. DIGITAL TELEVISION SET-TQP BOX Digital Television (DTV) will change the nature of television broadcasting since digital data together with digital audio/video can be delivered to consumers. Digital data can enhance the consumers' viewing experience by providing a more interactive environment. Some of the possibilities are: 1. Linking TV programs and advertising to web pages with the data tailored to users 2. Access to lntemet entertainment and information 3. Simple Electronic Mail and Messaging on TV sets with cordless keyboards 16 4. Secure and authenticated Electronic Commerce such as banking and shopping 5. Interactive games and video-on-demand DVD's main application areas are interactive movies, knowledge/travellwhatever guidance, self-Ieaming, games, Internet karaoke, or interaction with other incoming bitstreams such as broadcasting or lntemet. Interactive movie application enables the audience to interact with the content. An example is a story selection in the middle of reproduction by the audience interaction. Another example is a parental switch that suppresses unsuitable scenes for children. Example of the DVD-RAM application is time-shifted reproduction of broadcast programs. Users can enjoy broadcast programs at any time by storing the streams in DVDs INFOTAINMENT As interaction with audio-visual objects is considered as the most important aspect of MPEG-4, infotainment applications, containing a combination of entertainment and information are well within the scope. Generally, the users of such systems have the means both to get information about specific subjects of interest and to configure and 17 amuse themselves within a multimedia environment. The interactivity aspect includes eg. the requesting of additional objects and changing of content of existing scene. A key feature of infotainment applications is the manifold of necessarily diversified features. Typical infotainment applications will make heavy use of natural and synthetic audio and video in the form of spoken text and music of all kinds with underlying visual animation. MOBILE MULTIMEDIA Mobile computing means the use of a portable computer capable of wireless communication. That is, a portable computer is not only used for local, standalone data processing, but also for wireless communication situations of a mobile user in motion. In a typical mobile computing scenario, a mobile user communicates with a remote computer system using a notebook or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) via wireless communication links. The requirement of high compression performance adaptively is a very important requirement for mobile applications, because of the following reasons: 0 Diversity of mobile devices (6.9. PDA, sub-notebooks, notebooks, or portable workstations) in regard to available resources. 0 Diversity of wireless networks (e.g. HIPERLAN, GSM, UMTS, or satellite) in regard to network topology, protocols, bandwidth, reliability etc. 18 STREAMING VIDEO Streaming Video on the lntemet is an application that enables video transmission from a server to clients using the lntemet. Different from a file transfer, video can be viewed immediately after receiving data without waiting for the entire file to download. Associated audio, text as well as video can be played back with the correct synchronization. A viewing tool at the client site can be installed as a plug-in software for a Web browser. SURVEILLANCE Many modern surveillance sensors produce output in the form of images or sequences of images (i.e.video). Audio sensors are also used. In many applications, these sensors are connected via a telecommunications system to one or more terminals that provide both monitoring and control. Unlike video conferencing, the surveillance application usually involves unidirectional communication of audio-visual data, with only control and configuration data on the reverse channel. Surveillance imposes a different concept of quality to other applications, such as entertainment. Subjective degradation in images, video or sound is important only if it inhibits its use. In a perimeter surveillance system around a factory, this might occur if the degradation prevents a human operator from detecting an intruder. It might also occur if the 19 degradation increases the fatigue suffered by the operator such that the operator‘s ability to detect intruders is decreased. VIRTUAL MEETING People in a virtual meeting are each represented in a simple virtual environment by 3D animated faces driven by video and/or audio. The virtual meeting environment could be as simple as one texture- mapped background rectangle. A future extension to this application will allow local interaction with the meeting environment and animated faces. For example, the animated faces may be re-arranged in the virtual meeting room with corresponding changes to volume. CURRENT APPLICATION W MPEG-4 provides a complete end-to—end solution for video surveillance applications over IP. Using MPEG-4 technology, security officers and guards can: 0 Encode several videos simultaneously in real time. o Benefit from latency between reality and the displayed videos for a faster reaction time. 0 View the videos on a computer or wireless pocket PC that can be used by mobile security agents. 20 0 Run several videos in the player at the same time and use zooming features. 0 Save the files during the encoding for later review. DI§TANCE LEARNING MPEG-4 products and solutions provide for both synchronous and asynchronous distance Ieaming applications for academic, as well as corporate training markets. The instnlctor can push objects to the students whether they are PowerPoint slides, vector-based animations, or video content. Within the same MPEG-4 scene, students can nearly simultaneously view the live videos of the instnlctor. In addition, instructors can poll the students, push quizzes, and keep track of records and students' answers. Low latency, high-quality video, and two-way interactivity make distance-Ieaming solutions the most efficient way to provide engaging training outside the classroom. CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS Vlfith a turnkey solution for corporate communications, enterprises can stream live meetings with synchronized video and collaborative material, such as PowerPoint slides or web pages. A web interface lets a moderator control the live encoders and start/stop the presentation at any point. The interface also makes it easy to publish the meeting for on-demand review immediately after the presentation. 21 Users can view the live meeting almost instantaneously within a single MPEG-4 scene. The entire corporate communications solution runs on a standard PC. VIDEO ON DEMAND (VOD) With MPEG-4 products, producers can: 0 Use Encoding Station to encode content in DVD resolution. 0 Use authoring tool (with digital rights management) to add interactivity, protect, and encrypt content, and enable pay-per- view services. 0 Use Streaming Server to serve up the content to users, who can view the content on their TVs through MPEG-4 set-top boxes. MPEG-4 technology has made it easier and more efficient to provide quality VOD services using any network system around the globe. It allows encoding of thousands of films in MPEG-4 format with DVD resolution. 22 CHAPTER FIVE FUTURE OF MPEG-4 Streaming Media industry is still young and vulnerable and everybody is scrambling about trying to build their own business models. For that reason, we can’t look to streaming media companies as a reliable source of information. The only way that streaming media will become a strong viable industry is through the adoption of common standards by the streaming media community (McCannell). MP3 has become a digital music standard. Because it is so widely used to download music files, its popularity led the electronic industry to adopt it universally. Now one can play MP3 music files on almost any media player. MPEG-4 can do to the same to the streaming media market. MPEG-4 is a standard that builds on the successes of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, two standards that have changed the audio-visual landscape. It is a powerful standard, rich in functionality, encompassing other successful standards. It can be customized to serve the needs of specific industries while preserving a high level of interoperability across applications of different industries (Chiariglione). Adoption of MPEG-4 as the industry standard wouldn't solve every problem, but it would help eliminate many obstacles, particularly incompatible tools, formats, and processes in the streaming media area (Chiariglione). 23 Over the last two years I have seen MPEG-4 gradually adopted by vendors, service providers and customer applications. We are likely to continue to see incremental increases in awareness of the new standard, and broader adoption of it. Eventually it should pervade the market. The quality of both content and services should then continue to improve (Greenfield). 24 CHAPTER SIX PRODUCTION DESIGN OVERVIEW s 11TLE EXPLANAflON The website project is named “Toward True interoperability in Streaming Media: Developing an interactive educational resource on MPEG-4.” "Toward True Interoperability in Streaming Media” emphasizes the central accomplishment of MPEG-4. The subtitle expresses the purpose of the project, to develop a user-friendly site explaining the major tools available in MPEG-4. 0 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT The website contains five main categories. They are 1. What is MPEG-4? 2. Media Quality Comparison 3. Interoperability Test 4. Creating MPEG-4 File Tutorial 5. Resources The “What is MPEG-4?” section was originally intended to contain animated movies for each section (Definition, Characteristics and Application). Due to time limits, however, Definition and 25 Characteristics categories were completed but Application was not. 0 PLATFORM This website project was designed mainly in Macromedia Flash MX. All video contents were compressed in Sorenson Squeeze 3.5, and all audio materials were edited and compressed in Sonic Foundry Sound Forge. Finally, all Flash files were embedded in HTML web pages using Macromedia Dreamweaver. The other supplementary tools are Adobe Photoshop 7.0, Final Cut Pro 3, Avid Express, Adobe GoLive 6.0, and QuickTime Pro 6.0. The website can be viewed on both Wlndows and Mac operating systems with the Flash 6 player. In order to be viewed as MP4 files, users need QuickTime player or Real player or other MP4 players. 0 TREATMENT This educational project focuses on introducing and understanding MPEG-4 technology through interactive multimedia content. The interactive Ieaming website conveys difficult concepts simply and enjoyably. s TARGET AUDIENCE The project was designed for Telecommunication students who are interested in Ieaming more about making interactive videos and 26 websites related to MPEG-4 technology. Students enrolled in the telecommunication undergraduate and graduate programs ordinarily have a fair amount of computer skills and web knowledge. The project may also be beneficial to professionals in the streaming media industry who are interested in Ieaming more about MPEG-4. PRE-PRODUCHON Pre-production activity included collecting material, scriptwriting, designing elements and interface. - MATERIAL COLLECTION Intensive research about MPEG-4 technology was conducted in books, magazines, and websites including video and audio materials. The choice of contents was based on two references — The MPEG-4 Book by Fernando Pereira and Touradj Ebrahimi, and MPEG-4 document by MPEG group. The project aimed to introduce the functionality of the major tools in MPEG-4 rather than the entire contents of it. This approach meets the study objective, to introduce MPEG-4 technology to audiences effectively. I SCRIPTWRITING To prepare the script for the animated movies, research on each 27 topic was conducted thoroughly. To visualize the scripts, a storyboard was used. A design diary was used to keep and revise the storyboard. Creating the animated movies was a long process, so it was really helpful to use the design diary to keep track of the ideas being used. - INTERFACE DESIGN AND ELEMENTS The website was made user friendly by the choice of media elements such as font types, color scheme, graphics, and animation which was metaphorically related to content. The focuses of the interface design were straightforward and friendly, unlike other websites on the topic. Here are details of the design concept for the project. 1. INTERFACE DESIGN A semi-transparent number four background graphic image was used throughout to symbolize the fact that this was an MPEG-4 website. All main navigational buttons on each webpage were lined up following the curve of the number four, a visually comfortable alignment. 2. COLOR SCHEME Four main theme colors (blue, red, green and yellow) derived from the MPEG-4 logo were used. Color schemes were designed to help tie together content within each category, and to distinguish it from material in other categories. 28 3. TYPOGRAPHY This is an instructional and educational project, so font choices are critical to help users quickly and easily read text. Three major types of font were chosen for the project. Future MD BT is used for the MPEG-4 title and F utura MD ET is used for signs and main buttons. For words in a paragraph, Arial Narrow is used to provide comfortable readability. 4. ICONS In the main category pages and animated movies, a female guide icon was used to give a warm and friendly look and represent MPEG-4 logo. In order to maintain consistency, the buttons on the pages were slightly altered versions of the guide icon. 5. GRAPHICS For the most part, rectangular shaped frames were created for the animated movies, texts, and buttons, to give users a sense of watching a movie. 6. VIDEO AND AUDIO CLIPS Most video and audio materials were produced by Marketing 8. Creative Services (MCS), the division of University Relations where I worked for more than two academic years. I used videos and audios 29 made for campus clients and targeted to Michigan State University students because it helped meet one goal of the project, “creating educational website for Telecommunication students”. PRODUCTION I STRUCTURE OF THE WEBSITE The structure of the project consists of a homepage and five major sections. Each section contains sub-sections (Figure 1). The following table gives contents of the each section (Table 7). Home What is MPEG-4? w Interoperability Test Resources i} i} Definition Why lnteroperabilit Audio FlgAudlo f; 5 comparison MPEG-4 Video L. L- .4... s. t -. . x Application FIGURE 1: THE STRUCTURE OF THE WEBSITE l Text Examples Book 30 11TLE CONTENT This section contains a title, five main Homepage buttons, the purpose of the project, and navigational buttons on top of the page. What is MPEG-4? Animated movies explain some difficult concepts (object-based coding, DMIF, and Profiles and Levels) within MPEG-4. Media Quality Comparison Video and audio samples created to the same specifications but done in different media allow the user to compare them. Interoperability Test The user experiences what true interoperability means by playing a movie. This movie can be viewed on Real, QuickTime, and other MP4 players. Creating MPEG-4 File User learns how to create MP4 file and gets Tutorial tips for shooting and compression. This section provides links to audio and Resources video materials about MPEG-4, including books and a useful website TABLE 7: CONTENTS OF EACH SECTION 31 CHAPTER SEVEN EVALUATION OVERVIEW The goal of the project evaluation is to compare the effectiveness of my website “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” with the “MPEG Homepage” for users wanting to learn MPEG-4 technology. The evaluation provides valuable information showing whether the project meets its goals. The evaluation used a questionnaire and also allowed users to comment. Collected data will be available to instructors who consider using my interactive site to teach their classes in the future. METHODS In order to examine the effectiveness of the project for Ieaming MPEG-4, participants compared two sites. E-mail asking Telecommunication professors to relay the information to interested students in their courses advertised the study. All participants were given one-week notice of the study. A testing session was conducted for two days during specified time slots at Communication Technology Lab (CTL) conference room. The study invited a sample group of 12 telecommunication students to compare the two sites. I set up two computers so two users could test the sites at the same time. Participants signed a consent form approved 32 by UCRIHS. Users were randomly and equally distributed in terms of which site they looked at first. Each participant tested the “MPEG Homepage” for approximately 15 minutes and my “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media" for approximately 15 minutes. After this, they were asked to complete 17 Ieaming and attitude questions about each site. RESULTS A total of 12 users participated in the evaluation of the project. Five graduate and seven undergraduate students majoring in Telecommunication took part in for the test. Five were female. All of the survey participants responded that they would choose "Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” to find information about MPEG-4 instead of the “MPEG Homepage”. All users said that they would like to visit “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” site again. Only two participants, however, responded that they would visit “MPEG Homepage” some day again. All of the users agreed that the dynamic contents and interactive elements of “Toward true interoperability in streaming media” significantly enhanced their enjoyment of experience. 33 For question 3, “Before you used these websites today, how knowledgeable were you about MPEG?” the average participants responded 2.16 on a scale of 1-5, “1” being “not knowledgeable at all”, “5", being “very knowledgeable” (Figure 2). For question 4, “How interested are you in technical details of MPEG—4?”The average users asked if they were interested in the technical details of MPEG-4, chose 3.58 on a scale of 1-5, “1” being “not interested at all", “5", being “very interested” (Figure 2). The Figure shows that even though participants had little knowledge about MPEG, they were interested in learning MPEG4 technology. 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 Scale El Before you used these websites today, how knowledgeable were you about MPEG? How interested are you in the technical details of MPEG—4? Figure 2: KNOWLEDGE AND INTEREST Originally, users were supposed to browse the two sites for an approximately equal amount of time, however, all of the participants spent almost twice as much time on “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” as on “MPEG Homepage" (Figure 3). Time How much time did you spend using website? ElToward true interoperability in Streaming Media lThe MPEG Home Page Figure 3: “ME SPENT 35 Users were asked several questions about Appropriateness and Amount of content. All users said that they found some information they cared about on “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media”, but only 5 users said the same about the MPEG Homepage (Figure 4). Did you find information you cared about on website? Number of User answerd "YES" IToward true interoperability in Streaming Media IThe MPEG Home Page Figure 4: INFORMATION USER CARED ABOUT 36 Eleven out of twelve participants answered that the amount of links in “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” was “just right” while ten users said the links on the MPEG Homepage were too many (Figure 5). Were there too few, too many, or just the right number of links on website? 12 ;;::;{.§f;:g:i‘<fi;:trig-135;:7::515;%53i5:i§f354:::.161‘52232:5711122;:2:s‘jiJi-‘irizi':v* " ' Number of User DIG-503m answered "Just Right" IToward true interoperability in Streaming Media IThe MPEG Home Page Figure 5: LINKS ON WEBSITE 37 For question 13 "How useful were the links on the website?" the average response was 4.25 for “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” and 2.16 for “MPEG Homepage” on a scale of 1, “very difficult”, to 5, “very easY’ (Figure 6). How useful were the links on website? Scale ElToward the interoperability in Streaming Media IThe MPEG Home Page % Figure 6: USEFUL LINKS 38 In order to examine if the interactive media elements are effectively used, two questions about appearance were asked. For question 9 “how friendly did the website feel?" the average users response was 4.66 for "Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” and 1.58 for “MPEG Homepage" on a scale of 1, “not friendly”, to 5, “very friendly” (Figure 7). For question 10 “how visually attractive was the website?" the average participants responded 4.25 for “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” and 1.25 for “MPEG Homepage” on a scale of 1, “not attractive at all”, to 5, “very attractive" (Figure 7). Scale How friendly did the How visually attractive website feel? was the website? EIToward true interoperability in Streaming Media IThe MPEG Home Page 7 ., Figure 7: APPEARANCE OF WEBSITE 39 Also, I asked a question about enjoyment. This was to find out whether the users feel directly engaged when they interacted with the project, and whether a level of interest and enjoyment was maintained. For question 11 “How interesting was the website?” the average participants responded 4.5 for “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” and 1.41 for “MPEG Homepage” on a scale of 1, “not interesting at all”, to 5, “very interesting” (Figure 8). How interesting was the website? 3.5 . Scale O) 2.5 1.5 '1 IToward true interoperability in Streaming Media IThe MPEG Home Page Figure 8: INTERESTING 4O Participants were asked about ease of use. For question “12 How easy was it to use the website?” the average participants responded 4.58 for “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” and 2.25 for “MPEG Homepage” on a scale of 1, very difficult, to 5, very easy (Figure 9). How easy was it to use the website? 4-5 [1]., ......... > 2 : V , ,. . a) ‘ ..... 2:, 1.5 1 l IToward true interoperability in Streaming Media IThe MPEG Home Page Figure 9: EASE OF USE 41 CHAPTER EIGHT CONCLUSION EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROJECT After carefully reviewing the results of the project evaluation, my “Toward true interoperability in Streaming Media” website apparently meets its first objective, “To introduce MPEG-4 technology to Telecommunication students” and the second objective, “To assist students in Ieaming new technology (MPEG-4) by interactive multimedia contents”. Overall, based on the evaluation, the following project goals were reached with the web site: 1. The project is an interesting and enjoyable instructional tool with well-organized content. 2. Its simple and friendly interface design enhanced the educational and aesthetic experience. 3. Its dynamic contents and interactive elements enhanced the educational usefulness and interactivity. 4. An interactive Ieaming product is an effective way for informing people about new technology, such as MPEG-4 Although I did not explicitly ask about the third objective of my project in the questionnaire, “To introduce that there is a need for a standard in Streaming Media," several subjects mentioned that there is 42 not at present a standard in the streaming industry and suggested that MPEG-4 could serve that role. Finally, the availability of the website may promote further adoption of MPEG-4 by providing users with an understanding of technology. In terms of the personal objectives, all were well fulfilled to a high level. The creation of the website project with cutting-edge software tools has proved that a developer, such as myself, could present complex content through an interactive design for educational purposes. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT From the evaluation, I learned of a few areas that could be improved, in order to provide an optimal Ieaming experience to future users. The majority of the users commented that the design and media elements are well presented and contain just the right amount of content. However, creating more animated movies in the application section, in place of the current set of slide shows would help comprehension of difficult technical concepts. Listening and watching are better than just reading, for my target audience, which is a generation of visual learners. And movies are better for demonstrating 'killer applications" like PDAs, mobile computing and diverse wireless networks. Slide shows are too static to show these applications well. The website contains a basic overview of the MPEG-4 technology targeted for students, so it does not go into great depth, as 43 found on the MPEG home page. In order to reach broader audiences, including additional content and possibly redesigning the website will be necessary. To avoid information overload, as found on the MPEG homepage, it may be ideal to develop two different websites, one for a beginner or intermediate users and the other for an expert user, leaving the choice to the user as they enter the site. An alternative approach would be to keep the site in its present form but add additional hypertext links throughout to information contained on the MPEG home page. This way, users could get an overview of the MPEG-4 technology on this site and then follow links for more detailed technical information if they desire it. Lastly, there are other approaches to informing people about MPEG-4 and other technologies, approaches such as books, text- oriented websites, and magazines. These approaches are not as effective as interactive media for 21 st century audiences. This century is a digital one. lntemet users are more likely to be engaged by dynamic contents. My interactive media project could be used as an example of how to give instruction in other interactive technologies. lam hoping to see more such interactive instructional sites in many different areas in the future. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chiariglione, Leonardo. MPEG-4, why use it? Telecom Italia Lab - ltalyConvenor, ISO/IEC JTC1ISCZ9/WG11 (MPEG) McCannell, Steve. The Coming Impact of MPEG-4 mgl/wwwxfil.com/documents/s=2392/nam1 01 1 14,3198flndfexhtml, March 16, 2000 Greenfield, Hward. Waiting for MPEG—4 httgrllwww.go—associates.com/MPEG4.gdf July 2002 issue WG11 (MPEG). lntemational Organisation for Standardisation organisation intemationale de normalisation coding of moving pictures and audio, ISO/IEC JTC1ISCZ9NVG11 Lais, Sami. “MPEG standards” Computerworld (US) http://www.commrjerworld.com/softwaretopicslsoftwarelmultimedia/story l0L10§01.74837 00.html Watkinson, John. “MPEG-4 secrets” May 15 2002 httQ:/Ibroadcastenginearing.com/arlbroadcasting mgg secrets] Chapman, Nigel and Jenny. Digital Multimedia : John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2000. Pereira, Fernando and Ebrahimi, Touradj. The MPEG-4 BOOK: IMSC Press Multimedia Series/Andrew Tescher, Series Editor, 2002. Watkinson, John. MPEG-2 : Focal Press, 1999. Streaming Magazine. Streaming buyers' guide January 2003 httg:l/www.streamingmagazine.net/buyersguide.asp 45 Evers, Joris. “MPEG-4 group touts interoperability” April 4, 2002 httgzllarchive.infoworld.com/articleslhn/xml/02l04/04/020404hnmgeg.xm l Dodd, Annabel. The Essential Guide to Telecommunications, Second Edition Apple. QuickTime for the Web for WINDOWS AND MACINTOSH, Second Edition Franceschini, G. The Delivery Layer in MPEG-4, Signal Processing: Image Communications, vol. 15, pp. 347—363, 2000. Website The MPEG Home Page. http://www.chiariglione.orgimgegiindex.htm Envivio. m:llwww.envivio.cg_rr_tl Apple. httg:lew.aggle.com/mgeg4l ISMA. http://www.ismatvlhome MPEG LA. http://wwwmggglacoml Realnetworks. httgzllwww.realnetworks.com/industriesflndex.html MPEG4.net. http://www.mgeg4.netl Streaming media. hgpjlwwwstreamingmedia.com/index.asp_ MPEG Industry Forum. http://www.m4if.o_rgi lllllljjjljljjjjlljjjjl