MPEG-4, Visual Coding, Simple Scalable Profile

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MPEG-4, Visual Coding, Simple Scalable Profile

Table of Contents

Identification and description
Local use
Sustainability factors
Quality and functionality factors
File type signifiers
Notes
Format specifications
Useful references

Format Description Properties

ID: fdd000045
Short name: MPEG-4_V_SSP
Content categories: moving-image
Format Category: encoding
Other facets: unitary, binary, sampled
Last significant FDD update: 2011-03-30
Draft status: Full

Identification and description

Relationship to other formats
Full name	ISO/IEC 14496-2:2004. Information technology -- Coding of audio-visual objects -- Part 2: Visual. Simple Scalable Profile (formal name); MPEG-4, Visual Coding, Simple Scalable Profile (common name)
Description	See also MP4_FF_2 and MPEG-4_V. Intended to serve the same applications as the Simple Profile (mobile audio-visual services, low-complexity video for the Internet, and small camera devices that record to disk or memory chips) but adds scalability. The Simple Scalable Profile permits the use of the following visual object types: Simple: rectangular video, uses intra (I) and predicted (P) video object planes (VOPs, the MPEG-4 term for frames). Simple Scalable: rectangular video, adds bidirectional (B) video object planes (VOPs), and permits temporal and spatial scalability, which entail the use of layers similar to those in JPEG 2000. The Simple Scalable Profile permits the use of three compression levels which build on Levels 1 and 2 of the Simple Profile.
Production phase	Generally a final-state (end-user delivery) format.
Subtype of	MPEG-4_V, MPEG-4, Visual Coding (Part 2)
Used by	MP4_FF_2_V, MPEG-4 File Format, V.2, with Visual Coding (All Profiles)

Local use

LC experience or existing holdings
LC preference

Sustainability factors

Disclosure	Open standard. See MP4_FF_2.
Documentation	See MP4_FF_2.
Adoption	Actual adoption not known to the compilers of this document.
Licensing and patents	See MP4_FF_2.
Transparency	See MP4_FF_2.
Self-documentation	See MP4_FF_2.
External dependencies	See MP4_FF_2.
Technical protection considerations	See MP4_FF_2.

Quality and functionality factors

Moving Image
Normal rendering	Good support.
Clarity (high image resolution)	See MP4_FF_2 and MPEG-4_V. Other profiles will produce greater clarity than the Simple Scalable Profile at a given picture size, data rate, and encoding algorithm.
Functionality beyond normal rendering	See MP4_FF_2.

File type signifiers and format identifiers

Tag	Value	Note
Filename extension	mp4
Internet Media Type	See related format.	See MP4_FF_2
Magic numbers	See related format.	See MP4_FF_2
File type brand (ISO Base Media File Format)	See note.	Indicated in file wrapper and relates to "brands" defined in ISO_BMFF. Wrapping MPEG-4_V bitstreams in MP4_FF_1 would occasion the use of mp41; in MP4_FF_2, use mp42. See Part 15 of the standard, pp. 2-9, 13.
Indicator for profile, level, version, etc.	See note.	Indicators for Simple Scalable Profile, levels 0, 1, and 2 are 00010000, 00010001, 00010010, respectively. From Annex G of ISO/IEC 14496-2:2004, Table G.1
Pronom PUID	See note.	PRONOM has no corresponding entry as of July 2022.
Wikidata Title ID	See related format.	See MPEG-4, Visual Coding (Part 2) (H.263).

Notes

General
History

Format specifications

See MP4_FF_2.

Useful references

URLs

See MP4_FF_2 for references for MPEG-4.

Books, articles, etc.

Pereira, Fernando, and Touradj Ebrahimi, The MPEG-4 Book, Upper Saddle River, NJ: IMSC Press, 2002, pp. 597-8.

Last Updated: 07/22/2022