Chapter 5
Video compression and MPEG
5.1 Introduction to compression
Compression allows the same (or nearly the same) information to be represented by a smaller quantity or rate of data. There are several reasons why compression techniques are popular:
1 Compression extends the playing time of a given storage device.
2 Compression allows miniaturization. With less data to store, the same playing time is obtained with smaller hardware. This is useful in ENG (electronic news gathering) and consumer devices.
3 Tolerances can be relaxed. With fewer data to record, storage density can be reduced making equipment which is more resistant to adverse environments and which requires less maintenance.
4 In transmission systems, compression allows a ...
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