 Author Peter Symes does as the title of his book Video Compression Demystified suggests, "He takes the mystery out of video compression." The author knows his subject very well.
Video compression is, in part, about science and as with any science there is a lot of math. While not nuclear physics, the mathematical algorithms used in video compression tools are still quite daunting, at least to me. This is my shortcoming and not his book’s.
What is much clearer to me after reading this book is the “black art” that is the other part of compressing video. While most sciences are very exacting, the human psycho-visual system is not. Mr. Symes explains what makes one set of compression tools better than another; the tool maker’s understanding of how we perceive what we see.
Peter covers MJPEG, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 and DV compression in more detail than anyone could ask for. Also demystified. is MPEG-4, which is much more than just another video compression scheme.
Peter then goes on to explain how we are going to manage the world of digital assets. MPEG-7 is about describing the components of an asset and MPEG-21 will someday be about the management and use of digital assets, including commerce and rights management.
I was somewhat disappointed with the coverage of streaming video. This book was published 2 years ago and much has happened since it was written.
Conclusion
Video Compression Demystified is a book that bridges the science of compression and the peculiar way that the human brain interprets what the eye sees. All involved in any aspect of video production should read at least one book on compression and I give this one 4 cows..
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Mike Velte
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