MPEG-1 is the first generation of video codecs proposed by the Motion Picture Experts Group as a standard to provide video coding for digital storage media (DSM), such as CD, DAT, Winchester discs and optical drives. This development was in response to industry needs for an efficient way of storing visual information on storage media other than the conventional analogue video cassette recorders (VCR). At the time the CD-ROMs had the capability of 648 Mbytes, sufficient to accommodate movie programs at a rate of approximately 1.2Mbit/s, and the MPEG standard aimed to conform roughly with this target. Although in most applications the MPEG-1 video bit rate is in the range of 1-1.5 Mbit/s, the international standard does not limit the bit rate, and higher bit rates might be used for other applications.

Inspec keywords: media streaming; video coding; digital storage

Other keywords: CD-ROM; moving picture coding; MPEG-1; Winchester discs; bit rate 1 Mbit/s to 1.5 Mbit/s; optical drives; video codecs; international standard; analogue video cassette recorders; digital storage media; DAT; VCR

Subjects: Multimedia communications