ITL Plays Key Role in Adoption of Interoperable Multimedia Specification

Sandy Ressler, of the Information Access Division, played a key role in ensuring that the Web3D Consortium and ISO Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) worked together to produce an interoperable multimedia specification. Ressler harmonized the varied opinions of many technical contributors and ensured that the specification was successfully brought to completion. On March 31, 2004, the Web3D Consortium announced that its X3D Interactive Profile was adopted by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) “to bring state-of-the-art, X3D-based, interactive 3D graphics to the MPEG-4 multimedia standard. As a result of this cooperative joint development between MPEG and the Web3D Consortium, the X3D Interactive profile is now a part of the ISO/IEC 14496 specification that will formally become an International Standard in January 2005.”

The approval of the MPEG-4 X3D profile means that vendors can enhance devices with 3D support. This 3D will be using the same profile as defined in X3D specification. MPEG-4 is an ISO multimedia standard and handles audio, video, 2D/3D vector graphics, metadata, rights management, etc. It is already supported by DivX, Xvid, Real, Microsoft, Apple, set-top boxes, and next-generation DVD players.

Content developed for X3D browsers or distributed applications using the Interactive profile will also work on MPEG-4 software and hardware players. Moreover, since MPEG-4 is also a broadcast standard, this enables X3D content to be streamed to any device.

The X3D Interactive Profile for MPEG-4 defines a subset of X3D that enables baseline interactive 3D functionality for devices having limited processing power such as low-power computers, set-top boxes, mobile phones, and personal digital assistants as well as more

capable devices such a desktop devices and gaming consoles.

More details on this new profile is available at: http://web3d.org.

Contact: Sandy Ressler, ext. 3549.