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Multimedia framework

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by BrandonB9821 (talk | contribs) at 03:52, 7 August 2020 (I added some background information on what lead to the development of multimedia frameworks, mostly by developments from the MPEG group. I've also included information on the evolution of MPEG standards and how digital objects operate within multimedia frameworks.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

A multimedia framework is a software framework that handles media on a computer and through a network. A good multimedia framework offers an intuitive API and a modular architecture to easily add support for new audio, video and container formats and transmission protocols. It is meant to be used by applications such as media players and audio or video editors, but can also be used to build videoconferencing applications, media converters and other multimedia tools. Data is processed among modules automatically, it is unnecessary for app to pass buffers between connected modules one by one.

In contrast to function libraries, a multimedia framework provides a run time environment for the media processing. Ideally such an environment provides execution contexts for the media processing blocks separated from the application using the framework. The separation supports the independent processing of multimedia data in a timely manner. These separate contexts can be implemented as threads.

Motivation for development

During the turn of the 21st century, technology was allowing more people to gain access to information. This increase in accessibility and content creation lead to the need of better solutions in multimedia functionality. In answer of this need, the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) created the MPEG-21 multimedia framework to deliver digital media resources in a transparent and augmented way across multiple networks and devices.[1] By creating a broad picture of multimedia standards, MPEG-21 "aims to guarantee interoperability by focusing on how elements of a multimedia application infrastructure should relate, integrate, and interact."[2]

Evolution of standards

MPEG has developed two standards, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, that are popular of content representation (coding) in multimedia. MPEG-4 helped further development of the standard by introducing audiovisual object representation and interfacing with digital rights management (DRM) systems. MPEG-7 was later introduced to identify content exceeding the confines of traditional metadata. To address the desire of true end-to-end interoperability, the MPEG-21 standard was introduced "to define a truly interoperable framework through which a user is able to access and use the content in a transparent and secure way."[2]

Digital item adaptation

The MPEG-21 multimedia framework allows for the creation and consumption of digital items. A digital item (DI) is a structured digital object in the MPEG-21 multimedia framework, and is a fundamental unit used to identify resources (i.e. multimedia content) within the framework.[3]

See also

  • GStreamer, a cross-platform pipeline-based multimedia framework
  • Phonon, a cross-platform multimedia framework from the Qt toolkit
  • DirectShow, a multimedia framework and API produced by Microsoft for software developers to perform various operations with media files or streams.
  • Media Foundation, a COM-based multimedia framework pipeline and infrastructure platform provided by Microsoft for digital media in Windows Vista & Windows 7.
  • QuickTime, a multimedia framework provided by Apple for Mac OS and Windows
  • AVFoundation, Apple QuickTime multimedia framework replacement
  • VLC Media Player, a media player and a multimedia framework by the VideoLAN project.
  • Media Lovin' Toolkit, an open-source multimedia framework for television editing.

References

  1. ^ Bormans, J.; Gelissen, J.; Perkis, A. (2003). "MPEG-21: The 21st century multimedia framework". IEEE Signal Processing Magazine. 20 (2): 53–62. doi:10.1109/MSP.2003.1184339. ISSN 1053-5888.
  2. ^ a b Dobravec, Stefan; Tasic, Jurij F.; Pogacnik, Matevz (2005). "The MPEG-21 Multimedia Framework from the user's point of view" (PDF). Elektrotehniski Vestnik. 72 (2): 127–132.
  3. ^ Kim, Munchurl; Lim, Jeongyeon; Kang, Kyeongok; Kim, Jinwoong (2004-04-16). "Agent-Based Intelligent Multimedia Broadcasting within MPEG-21 Multimedia Framework". ETRI Journal. 26 (2): 136–148. doi:10.4218/etrij.04.0603.0012. ISSN 1225-6463.


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