Danny Amor's Online Library/Danny Amor's Online Library - Volume 1.iso/html/faqs/faq/mpeg-faq/part3

Text File | 1995-07-25 | 39.5 KB | 1,015 lines

Subject: MPEG-FAQ: multimedia compression [3/6]
Newsgroups: comp.graphics,comp.graphics.animation,comp.compression,comp.multimedia,alt.binaries.multimedia,alt.binaries.pictures.utilities,alt.binaries.pictures,alt.binaries.pictures.d,alt.answers,comp.answers,news.answers
From: [e-mail] (Frank Gadegast)
Date: 22 Aug 1994 12:29:18 GMT

Archive-name: mpeg-faq/part3
Last-modified: 1994/08/22
Version: v 3.2 94/08/22
Posting-Frequency: bimonthly


BEGIN -------------------- CUT HERE --------------------- 3/6
  SPIE conference on Video Compression for Personal Computers
   (to be held Feb 1994 in San Jose)


Q. Is there a book on MPEG video?
A. Yes, there will be a book published in Spring 1994 by the same
   authors who wrote the JPEG book (Bill Pennebaker, Joan Mitchell)
   with Didier Le Gall as an additional co-author.


Q. Can motion vectors be used to measure object velocity?

A. Motion vector information cannot be relaibly used as a means of
   determining object velocity unless the encoder model specifically set out
   to do so.  First, encoder models that optimize picture quality form vectors
   that typically minimze prediction error and, consequentally, the vectors
   often do not represent true object translation.  Standards convertors that
   resample one frame rate to another (as in NTSC to PAL) use different
   methods (field coding, edge detection, et al) that are not concerned with
   optimizing SNR vs bitrate. Secondly, motion vectors are not transmitted
   for all macroblocks anyway.



Q. How do you code interlaced video with MPEG-1 syntax?
A. Two methods can be applied to interlaced video that maintain
   syntactic compatibility with MPEG-1 (which was originally designed
   for progressive frames only).  In the field concatenation method,
   the encoder model can carefully construct predictions and
   prediction errors that realize good compression but maintain field
   integrity (distinction between adjacent fields of opposite parity).
   Some pre-processing techniques can also be applied to the interlaced
   source video that would, e.g., lessen sharp vertical frequencies.
   This technique is not efficient of course.  On the other hand, if the
   orignal source was progressive (e.g. film), then it is more trivial
   to convert the interlaced source to a progressive format before
   encoding. (MPEG-2 would then only offer superior performance through
   greater DC block precision, non-linear mquant, intra VLC, etc.)
   Reconstructed frames are re-interlaced in the decoder Display process.

   The second syntactically compatible method codes fields separately.
   Picture types are keyed to motion activity to aid efficiency of
   prediction.

Q. How many cable box alliances are there?
A. Many.  To start with:

  Scientific Atlanta (SA), Kaledia, and Motorola:
  SA will build the box, Motorola the chips, and Kaleida the
  O/S and user interface (using ScriptX of course).

  Silicon Graphics (SGI), Scientific Atlanta, and Toshiba
  For the Time Warner's Orlando trial, SGI will provide the
  RISC (MIPS R4000) and software, SA will do the box again,
  and Toshiba will provide the chips.

  General Instruments (GI) and Microsoft:
  GI will make the box and Intel will supply the special low-cost
  386SL processor on which a 1MB flash EPROM executable core
  of  Microsoft windows and DOS will run.  Microsoft will develop the
  user interface.

  Hewlett Packard (HP):
  HP will manufacture and/or design low cost, open architecture set-top
  decoder boxes (not a part of the Eon wireless deal).  The CPU will
  explicitly not use a 80x68 based processor.

    [more details in installment 3]

  CLI and Philips:
  Compression Labs will provide the encoder technology and Philips
  will provide the decoder techology for an ADSL system whose
  transport structure will be put together by Broadband Technologies.

  ["These alliances subject to change at the whim of PR departments
     and market forces."]
  [Thanks to Steve Krause for assistance on box alliances].


Q. What is the rundown on public domain MPEG source software?
A. There are two public domain source codes available:

  Berkeley encoder (v1.1) by Kevin Gong, Dan Wallace, Ketan Patel,
        Brian Smith, and Larry Rowe.
        Log, telescopic, and exhastive search
        variable rate operation
        designed for parallel machine operation

        Loeffler, Lightenberg, Moschytz "Practical fast 1-D
        DCT algorithms with 11 multipications" from ICCASP-89.

        Optimized for speed.

  Stanford encoder (v1.2) by Andy C. Hung
        Telescopic search
        SM-3 coding strategy and rate control
        Chen, Smith, Fralick algorithm or floating point direct matrix
        multiply.
        Optimized for flexibility.

        Stanford decoder does not include display functions.
  [more details in installment 3]

Q. Is MPEG patented?
A. Yes and no.  Many encoding methods are patented.  Blocking patents,
   that is, patents that are general enough to be unavoidable in any
   implementation have been recently identified.

   [installment 3]
        patent pool
        blocking patents
        method-specific patents (proprietary algorithms, architectures)


Q. What are the tell-tale MPEG artifacts?
A. If the encoder did its job properly, and the user specified a
   proper balance between sample rate and bitrate, there shouldn't be
   any visible artifacts.  However, in sub-optimal systems, you can
   look for:

     Gibbs phenomenon/Ringing/Aliasing (too few AC bits, not enough
     pre-filtering)

     Blockiness (not considering your neighbors before quantizing)
     Posterization (too few DC bits)
     Checkerboards (DCT eigenimages as a result of too few AC coefficients)
     Colorbleeding (not considering color in encoder cost model)

Q. Where are the weak points of MPEG video ?
A.

        Texture patterns (rapidly alternating lines)
        sharp edges (especially text)
        [installment 3]

Q. What are some myths about MPEG?
A. There are two major myths that I am aware of:

   Block displacements:  macroblock predictions are formed out of
   arbitrary 16x16 (or 16x8 in MPEG-2) areas from previously reconstructed
   pictures. Many people believe that the prediction macroblocks have
   boundaries that fall on interchange boundaries (pixel 0, 15, 31, 53...
   line 0, 15, 31, 53... etc.).  In fact, motion vectors represent relative
   translations with respect to the target reconstruction macroblock
   co-ordinates. The motion vectors can point to half pixel co-ordinates
   which requires that the prediction macroblock to be formed via
   interpolation of pixels.

   Displaced frame (macroblock) difference construction: the prediction
   error formed as the difference between the prediction macroblock and
   source macroblock is coded much like an Intra macroblock (only without
   a DC value).  The prediction may come from different locations
   (B-macroblocks) or fields (MPEG-2), but the DFD is always coded
   progressively as if it were a I-frame energy.

   ..and worst of all...
   Compression ratios:

   [installment 3]
   [real compression ratios are in the range of 16:1 to 30:1]
--------
Subjects in future installments of the FAQ:

Who are the people and companies behind MPEG?
Frame formats and their significance
4:2:2, 4:4:4, 4:2:0
[many, many more]

End of MPEG-2 FAQ Installment No. 2 (October 8, 1993)
-----
Copyright (need to re-use the information)   Chad Fogg.
[e-mail]


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: [e-mail] (Chad Fogg)
Subject: MPEG Press Release -- NY meeting
Date: 22 Jul 93 05:31:41 GMT

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR STANDARDISATION
ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE DE NORMALISATION
ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11
CODING OF MOVING PICTURES AND ASSOCIATED AUDIO

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11  N0500
July 16, 1993

Source:    ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11
~Title:    Press Release (Final) -- MPEG New York Meeting
Status:    For immediate release


Summary

This week in New York, at a meeting hosted by Columbia University, the
Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) completed definition of MPEG-2
Video, MPEG-2 Audio, and MPEG-2 Systems.  MPEG therefore confirmed
that it is on schedule to produce, by November 1993, Committee Drafts of
all three parts of the MPEG-2 Standard, for balloting by its member
countries.

To ensure that a harmonized solution to the widest range of applications
is achieved, MPEG, an ISO/IEC working group designated ISO/IEC
JTC1/SC29/WG11, is working jointly with the ITU-TS Study Group 15
"Experts Group for ATM Video Coding." MPEG also collaborates with
representatives from other parts of ITU-TS, and from EBU, ITU-RS, SMPTE,
and the North American HDTV community.


MPEG-2 Video

MPEG is developing the MPEG-2 Video Standard, which specifies the coded
bit stream for high-quality digital video.  As a compatible extension,
MPEG-2 Video builds on the completed MPEG-1 Video Standard (ISO/IEC IS
11172-2), by supporting interlaced video formats and a number of other
advanced features, including features to support HDTV.

As a generic International Standard, MPEG-2 Video is being defined in
terms of extensible profiles, each of which will support the features
needed by an important class of applications. At the March MPEG meeting
in Sydney, the MPEG-2 Main Profile was defined to support digital video
transmission in the range of about 2 to 15 Mbits/sec over cable, satellite,
and other broadcast channels, as well as for Digital Storage Media (DSM)
and other communications applications. Building on this success at this
week's New York meeting, MPEG experts from participating countries in
Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America further defined parameters of
the Main Profile and Simple Profile suitable for supporting HDTV formats.

This week the MPEG experts also extended the features of the Main Profile
by defining a hierarchical/scalable profile.  This profile aims to support
applications such as compatible terrestrial TV/HDTV, packet-network
video systems, backward-compatibility with existing standards (MPEG-1
and H.261), and other applications for which multi-level coding is
required.  For example, such a system could give the consumer the option
of using either a small portable receiver to decode standard definition TV,
or a larger fixed receiver to decode HDTV from the same broadcast signal.

This week's accomplishments in New York mean that the technical
definition of MPEG-2 Video has been completed.  This was a critical
milestone, and shows that MPEG-2 Video is on schedule for a Committee
Draft in November.


MPEG-2 Audio

MPEG is developing the MPEG-2 Audio Standard for low bitrate coding of
multichannel audio. MPEG-2 Audio coding will supply up to five full
bandwidth channels (left, right, center, and two surround channels), plus
an additional low frequency enhancement channel, and/or up to seven
commentary/multilingual channels. The MPEG-2 Audio Standard will also
extend the stereo and mono coding of the MPEG-1 Audio Standard (ISO/IEC
IS 11172-3) to half sampling-rates (16 kHz, 22.05 kHz, and 24 kHz), for
improved quality for bitrates at or below 64 kbits/s, per channel.

This week in New York, MPEG produced an updated version of the MPEG-2
Audio Working Draft, and is on track for achieving a Committee Draft
specification by the November MPEG meeting.

The MPEG-2 Audio multichannel coding Standard will provide
backward-compatibility with the existing MPEG-1 Audio Standard
(ISO/IEC IS 11172-3). Together with ITU-RS, MPEG is organizing formal
subjective testing of the proposed MPEG-2 multichannel audio codecs and
up to three non-backward-compatible (NBC) codecs. The NBC codecs are
included in order to determine whether an NBC mode should be introduced
as an addendum to the standard. If the results show clear evidence that an
NBC mode improves the performance, a formal call for NBC proposals will
be issued by MPEG, with a view to incorporate these features in the audio
syntax.


MPEG-2 Systems

MPEG is developing the MPEG-2 Systems Standard to specify coding
formats for multiplexing audio, video, and other data into a form suitable
for transmission or storage. There are two data stream formats defined:
the Transport Stream, which can carry multiple programs simultaneously,
and which is optimized for use in applications where data loss may be
likely, and the Program stream, which is optimized for multimedia
applications, for performing systems processing in software, and for
MPEG-1 compatibility.

Both streams are designed to support a large number of known and
anticipated applications, and they retain a significant amount of
flexibility such as may be required for such applications, while providing
interoperability between different device implementations.  The
Transport Stream is well suited for transmission of digital television and
video telephony over fiber, satellite, cable, ISDN, ATM, and other
networks, and also for storage on digital video tape and other devices.  It
is expected to find widespread use for such applications in the very near
future.

The Program Stream is similar to the MPEG-1 Systems standard (ISO/IEC
11172-1).  It includes extensions to support new and future applications.
Both the Transport Stream and Program Stream are built on a common
Packetized Elementary Stream packet structure, facilitating common
video and audio decoder implementations and stream type conversions.
This is well-suited for use over a wide variety of networks with
ATM/AAL and alternative transports. This week in New York, MPEG
completed definitions of the features, syntax, and semantics of the
Transport and Program Streams, enabling product designers to proceed.
Among other items, the Transport Stream packet length was fixed at 188
bytes, including the 4-byte header.  This length is suited for use with ATM
networks, as well as a wide variety of other transmission and storage
systems.


MPEG-4

Work on a new MPEG initiative for very low bitrate coding of audiovisual
programs has been approved by unanimous ballot of all national bodies of
ISO/IEC JTC1. This work will begin officially at the next MPEG meeting in
Brussels in September 1993.  It is scheduled to result in a draft
specification in 1997.

This work will require the development of fundamentally new algorithmic
techniques.  In conjunction with the MPEG meeting this week in New York,
a one-day seminar was held on current research ideas applicable to low
bitrate coding.  Demonstrations and papers were presented on a number of
techniques, including model-based image coding, human interaction with
multimedia environments, and low-bitrate speech coding.

When completed, the MPEG-4 standard will enable a whole spectrum of
new applications, including interactive mobile multimedia
communications.


===========================================================================
 II | PROFESSIONAL SOFTWARE
===========================

The named tools are:

  MPEG Encode
  XingSound
  XingCD
  PC-Hurricane
  NVR-Toolkit

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 II.1 | DOS
-----------

Ingenieurbuero Gatz & Hartmann,

Fehrbelliner Str. 32, 13585 Berlin, GERMANY

Tel: [phone] or 030-375 55 68
FAX: [phone] or 030-375 56 55

email to: [e-mail]


The MPEG Encoder is available starting from 349.-DM incl. VAT.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

BTW, the encoder still sells for 349.-DM and the MCI-driver for 199.-DM

[ The MCI-driver is nice, because it allows you to include movies in      ]
[ other documents. But it includes only the MPLAYER.EXE-icon in the       ]
[ document (not the first picture of the movie), the movie runs at        ]
[ whatever position (not where the icon is !), when you double-click it.  ]

[ Xing should have a close look at Microsoft's AVI-driver ;o) (but there  ]
[ movies are incredible slow and small, compared to MPEG  :o(             ]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 II.2 | WINDOWS
---------------

[ Well, the encoder costs, but the decoder is PD ! But, attention ]
[ they say, they support full-MPEG-audio, but sure they are not.  ]
[ They do dirty tricks again, had a look at the streams, tststs   ]
[ Buts good stuff and its helping the MPEG-comunity.              ]


XingSound Realtime MPEG Audio Layer II Encoding on the PC !
===========================================================

Here it is: the first low cost REALTIME MPEG AUDIO Encoding on the PC via
a high quality 16 Bits Stereo DSP based Audio-Soundcard and the famous
Xing Technology XingSOUND(tm) MPEG Audio Encoder software.

The XingSound MPEG audio encoder encoder supports the DSP on the Soundcard
and enables realtime 15:1 compression of high quality Audio material without
any audible loss in quality.

REALTIME means REALTIME !

Wait no longer endless time (hours) to convert your WAV-files offline, like a
few shareware encoders do. No just record your songs in realtime to MPEG Audio
MP2 files. Compression factor can be set .

Comfortable record software coming with the package and also an offline WAV to
MP2 converter.

All software runs under win3.x !

With the optinal MPEG Audio- MCI-driver you can paste your MPEG audio files
directly via Media player into your applications and save huge disk space
compared when using 16 bits Stereo WAV files !

Also , when the DSP Soundcard is installed, you get full CD-quality
STEREO playback with 16 bits resolution ! (if other soundcard is installed,
XingSound MPEG player will only play in Mono)


Available only as a bundled package consisting of:
==================================================

1. XingSound MPEG Audio Realtime software for Windows 3.x incl. free MPEG audio
win3.x player program, WAV to MP2 offline converter, Realtime DSP supported
Audio recorder program, Realtime DSP supported FULL Stereo CD-quality MPEG
Audio playback

2. 16 bits Stereo CD-quality DSP Soundcard, with win3.x drivers
(can be used as a normal Windows soundcard as well, Soundblaster and WSS
compatible, jumperless design, options set via software, Sony CD-ROM I/O onbord)

All manuals have english language !


This package is available from:
-------------------------------

Gatz & Hartmann
Ingenieurbuero fuer Multimedia-Anwendungen
Berlin, Germany

Tel: ++ 49 30 344 23 66
FAX: ++ 49 30 344 92 79

email:
[e-mail]

The bundle is 999.-DM incl. 15 % VAT in Germany. If you order from outside
Germany, you will be charged 15 % less, plus airmail shipping and c.o.d charges.

Please call for shipment details. Orders please via FAX. Thanks !

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

XingCD is here !

It is the first AVI to MPEG Encoder, which allows you to make
MPEG system streams from AVI movies.

This means, you can directly use a Motion JPEG capture board at 352x288
resolution to capture Realtime video,
edit it with Adobe Premiere for Windows and make a Video CD out of it,
using the new XingCD Encoder.

The XingCD Encoder is software only, so there is no further hardware
required. It converts the AVI Video file to MPEG Video and the sound WAV file
to MPEG Audio and interleaves (multiplexes) these 2 bitstreams into an MPEG
system layer bitstream, so it could be played back via a REEL MAGIC card
for instance or the new Inside Technology MPEG player card for the PC.

The new MPEG Encoder supports full IBP format and is compatible with the
ISO11172 MPEG system layer description.

Price is 995.-US$, but this is still cheaper than a 20K US$ realtime MPEG
capture board.....

It can also encode from single TGA or BMP pics and it supports various
output format of:
352x240, 352x288, 160x120 and custom output resolution.
Rescales source to desired ouput resolution etc...

Encode Process runs in the background.

I hope, we will get soon many "fresh" MPEG Video CDs !

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gatz and Hartmann proudly presents:  PC-Hurricane Win3.x Winhurri Version 1.5

This is our new control program for the moviegrabber board

        PC-Hurricane
        ============

This version 1.5 only runs in Hicolor modes 32K or 64K colors !
So use these Windows Hicolor drivers to use this piece of software.

Functions:
----------

1. You can digitize video movies in realtime (up to 25 frames/second) into
Extendend Memmory and play them also back in realtime with this Winhurri
program.  Now you can also do Harddisk-Video-Recording in realtime up to
384x288 screen size (full field resolution ) !

2. You can save every single frame or the whole movie in one shot to the
harddrive.

3. Due to the DIB or BMP output you can load the DIB sequence directly into
the VideoEditor of Microsoft's Video for Windows(tm) program and generate
an compressed AVI movie. The BMP output is for the Xing Technology MPEG encoder,
so you can choose to make AVI or MPEG movies from the digitized raw data.

4. You can watch television with this card by connecting a tuner and clicking
the VIEW button. At 160x120 screen size it gives you realtime video display
without the need of an feature connector cable to your VGA card or the hassle
to be unable to use the highest Hicolor windows driver.
So you can watch TV while working in a windows resolution of e.g. 1024x768x64K
colors and still doing word-processing or picture editing in Hicolor.

Normal Overlay boards only support up to 256 colors windows drivers or only
640x480x32K colors, but not 1024x768x64K colors Noninterlaced! (like with the
new Genoa VideoBlitz card with the Weitek P9000 chipset)

Future versions:
----------------

We are already working on integrating WAV sound digitizing in realtime together
with the video grabbing by using any installed soundcard under windows.

This will allow synchroneous digitizing of sound and video in one shot.
You can then save the DIB sequence and a WAV file and do an AVI movie with
sound in one shot !

email to: [e-mail]

PC-Hurricane in this moment sells for 499.-DM incl. 15 % VAT in Germany.
Together with the Xing Technology MPEG Encoder and player it is 699.- DM
incl. 15 % VAT in Germany.

Foreign customers could get it by VISA card payment.
It is 299.-US$ including airmail delivery to you.
Together with the Xing MPEG Encoder and Player software for Windows it sells
for 449.- US$ incl. shipping and handling.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 II.3 | UNIX
------------

[ Its really nice software, but its expensive !  You find the infos and ]
[ software on there ftp-server (see below !), don't forget to order a   ]
[ licence key. There are several nice and long MPEG-movies to ftp !!!   ]

[ If you require a demo version, please send mail to [e-mail]    ]

From: Chris Jacobson <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: THE MPEG-FAQ - Version 2.0
Date: Thu, 13 May 93 10:31:32 -0700


                       North Valley Research
                       Digital Media Systems

North Valley Research is pleased to announce immediate availability of
a family of products for working with video and other time-based media
in a UNIX environment.  These products are the first, affordable software
products that enable the end user to take video and audio all the way
from video camera or tape to an MPEG sequence that can be played back in
real-time on most Sun SPARCstations.  Starting now until May 5th, 1993,
individual products can be purchased for $150 in quantities of 30 or
more; or under $300 for quantity 1.

These software products have well-designed Motif user interfaces and a
robust architectural design.  The first set of products is sold as a kit, and
consists of three user interfaces:

  - The Player.  This tool provides a viewing mechanism for working with
      + MPEG sequences
      + analog video (requires the Parallax XVideo board)
      + JPEG movies (requires the Parallax XVideo board with JPEG option)

  - The Recorder.  This tool enables the user to peruse analog material
    with an interface very similar to the Player, but in addition, allows
    you to create JPEG movies using the JPEG hardware on the Parallax XVideo
    board.

  - The Compressor.  This tool allows you to choose input files, specify
    the compression characteristics and finally, compress them with
    our software MPEG compression engine.

The MPEG playback mechanism is purely software, requires no special
framebuffer, and depending on the size of picture, the size of the window
and bandwidth of the bitstream, can run at 6 - 30 fps with synchronized
audio.  The color is dithered from 19 bits down to 7 bits,
gamma-corrected, with real-time adjustments for contrast and brightness.
The displayed window can be one or four times the size of the MPEG sequence
picture size.  For example, a sequence compressed at 320x240 can be played
back at 320x240 or 640x480 (depending on the performance of the host
computer).

Both the MPEG compression and playback mechanisms support:
  + variable I:P:B ratios
  + variable picture sizes from 64x48 to 320x240
  + variable and fixed bit rate
  + three motion estimation algorithms (Jain & Jain and two Exhaustive methods)

The MPEG compressor is relatively fast for compression that includes motion
estimation, and depending on the input stream and the selected compression
parameters, can compress a twenty second sequence in as little as an hour.

The JPEG record and playback is accomplished with the aid of the Parallax
XVideo board.  Recording and playback of JPEG movies is controlled by
a special software engine that always keeps the audio and video synchronized.
Recorded sequences may be "running records" from a camera or broadcast, or
assembled from a controllable video source with in and out points.
Both the Player and Recorder support Sony's ViSCA/LANC, and Pioneer 4400
disc players (and other compatible models).  VideoMedia's VLAN will be
added in the future.

                         Prices and Availability
                         -----------------------

All prices below are retail, with a special, 40%-off, introductory price
in parenthesis.  These special prices are good until May 5, 1993.

All products require:
    Operating System: Solaris 1.0.1
    Computer: SPARCstation 1+, 2, IPC, IPX

Availability: All products are available for immediate delivery
Media:        8mm tape or Quarter-inch cartridge (QIC)
Terms:        P.O. prior to shipment, net 30 days with credit

NVR Digital Media Player:
    Includes:     Support for audio and viewing analog video, JPEG movies
          and software MPEG.

    Requirements: For analog video: Parallax XVideo board
          For JPEG movies: Parallax XVideo board with JPEG option
          For MPEG playback: most any 8-bit pseudo-color frame-buffer,
              including CG3, CG4, CG6 and Parallax XVideo.
              Black-and-white monochrome support available on request.

    Prices:        1 floating license $495 ($297 intro)
                  10 floating license $2,000 ($1,200 intro)
                  30 floating license $4,500 ($2,700 intro)

NVR Digital Media Recorder
    Includes:     Support for viewing analog video and creating JPEG movies
    Requirements: Parallax XVideo board
    Price:        1 floating license $1,595 ($960 intro)

NVR Digital Media Compressor
    Includes:     Support for compressing JPEG movies (both audio
          and video) into MPEG.  Other input formats available on
          request.
    Requirements: No special display requirements
    Price:        1 floating license $2,495 ($1,495 intro)

Development Kit:
    Includes:     5 Player licenses
              1 Recorder license
              1 Compressor license.
    Requirements: As above for each product
    Price:        $3,995 ($2,395 intro)

Support and Maintenance:
    Includes:     software upgrades
          email support
          limited phone support
    Price:        15% of purchased product price (Free intro!)

                     Further Information
                     -------------------
You can reach us at:
     North Valley Research, Inc.
     15262 NW Greenbrier Parkway
     Beaverton, OR 97006
     Tel: [phone]
     Fax: [phone]
     email (sales and marketing): [e-mail]
     email (technical questions): [e-mail]

This and other text-only versions of our product sheets are available via
anonymous ftp to nvr.com (192.82.231.50).  Look in /pub/NVR.  We are happy
to mail paper versions of our product sheets on request.

If you require a demo version, please call or send mail to [e-mail].

---------------
Todd Brunhoff
Vice President, R&D
North Valley Research

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Todd Brunhoff <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: NVR-Software
Date: Tue, 18 May 93 09:23:26 -0700

The price list and text-only versions of our product sheets are available via
anonymous ftp to nvr.com (192.82.231.50).  Look in /pub/NVR-data-sheets.
If you need glitzy paper versions to convey credibility, we are
happy to mail our product sheets on request.

The demonstration software package comes in several pieces via anonymous ftp to
nvr.com (192.82.231.50).  Look in /pub/NVR-software for the license agreement
and README file.  Briefly you will need:
    /pub/NVR-software/Manual.evenpages-1.0.2.ps.Z
    /pub/NVR-software/Manual.oddpages-1.0.2.ps.Z
    /pub/NVR-software/Product-1.0.4.tar.Z
    /pub/NVR-software/README
and some selection from
    /pub/contrib/mpeg and /pub/contrib/jpeg
depending on the kind of hardware you have.

If you get our software via ftp, send us an email note and we will give you
a demo license key so you can run it.
---------------
internet: [e-mail]                                             c--Q Q
US:       Todd Brunhoff; North Valley Research;                         `
          15262 NW Greenbriar Pkwy; Beaverton, OR  97006                -
Phone:    [phone]
Fax:      [phone]


===========================================================================
 III | PUBLIC-DOMAIN-SOFTWARE OR SHAREWARE
==========================================

The named tools are:

  LAYR_099
  MPEG2PPM
  VMPEG
  CMPEG
  DMPEG
  SECMPEG (Dos)
  MPEGSTAT
  ENC11DOS
  XingIt (MPEGPLAY)
  PVRGMPEG (MPGCODEC)
  MPEGW32E
  XMPLAY
  MPEGAUDI
  MAPLAY
  MPEGTOOL
  SECMPEG (Unix)
  MPEGSTAT (Unix)
  MPEG_ENCODE
  MPEGv1.2 (PVRG)
  WDGT
  MPEG_PLAY-20-DECW
  SPARCLE
  QT2MPEG
  MP (OS/2)
  MPPLAY
  MPEGNEXT

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 III.1 | DOS
------------

[ First, the new AUDIO-Tool, juhuu ;o) usally called LAYR_099.EXE ]

From: "Harald Popp" <[e-mail]>
Organization:  Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, IIS
Date:          Tue, 10 May 1994 15:03:04 +0200
Subject:       Re: mpegfa31.txt-[3/7]

ISO-MPEG Audio Layer 3 software only Encoder and Decoder
Version 0.99a.

copyright Fraunhofer - IIS 1994

- evaluate highest quality perceptual audio compression technique
  available today
- software only encoder and decoder implementations
- implements ISO/MPEG Audio standard ISO/IEC IS 11172-3, Layer 3
     (restriction: no support of Layer I and II, no realtime)
- wide range of compression ratios including
      6:1   fully transparent quality
     11:1   64 kbps per channel, very high quality
     16:1   still better than your average 16 bit 44.1 kHz sound card
- music data is input in raw format (16 bit signed integer)
- 44.1kHz sampling frequency (version 1.0 supports also 32 kHz and 48 kHz)
- packed bit stream conforming to ISO/MPEG Layer III
- output of decoder is in raw format (16 bit signed integer)
- optional .WAV header for decoder output data. Resulting music files
  can be played with Windows Media Player.
- written by the very same people at Fraunhofer-IIS who did the
  Layer III codecs for the ISO and CCIR tests (best sound quality at
  low bit rates at all listening tests).
- commercial real time products for encoding and/or decoding of
  Layer III are available. Contact one of the companies listed
  in the file info.txt.

The package consists of the following files

   L3ENC.EXE      encoder program (8088)
   L3ENC_FP.EXE   encoder program (80486)
   L3DEC.EXE      decoder program (8088)
   L3DEC_FP.EXE   decoder programm (80486)
   bitstr.l3      demo layer 3 bitstream (128 kBit/s, stereo, 44.1 kHz)
   manual.txt     instructions for encoder and decoder programs
   register.txt   information on registration. PLEASE READ THIS!
   info.txt       infos on ISO MPEG Layer III and Layer III products
   readme.txt     this file

The song used for BITSTR.L3 is named "funky" and was composed and
arranged by Juergen Herre. "Funky" is copyright Juergen Herre 1994.
You may use "Funky" for all evaluation purposes of this shareware product.
You may not use "Funky" for commercial purposes (e.g. radio broadcasting).

This package is distributed as shareware. You may work with the package for
30 days for evaluation purposes. If you want to use this package after the
evaluation period, you are required to register the package (see information
in the file REGISTER.TXT). You may give copies of this package to other
people as long as no file is changed and no file is omitted.

The programms are written for IBM-PCs or Compatibles with MS-Dos. While
L3ENC.EXE and L3DEC.EXE should work on practically any PC, the other
programms require a 386 type CPU plus hardware floating point support.
Especially for the encoder, a 486DX33 or better is recommended.

On a 486DX2/66 the performance of the software-only decoder is about
33% of the performance necessary for real time audio processing. The
encoder needs about 30 minutes to encode a 1 minute audio data file.
These figures assume coding/decoding of stereo audio material
at 44.1 kHz/sec.

If you need further information on Layer 3 products or if you have
any questions concerning this shareware product, please send email to

    [e-mail].

You can also fax or mail your questions to

   Layer 3 support
   Fraunhofer - IIS
   Am Weichselgarten 3
   D-91058 Erlangen
   Germany

Fax: + 49 9131 / 776 399

We would also like to hear from you, if you are interested in a
version of this shareware for SUN workstations.


Disclaimer:

Don't forget that there are no warranties associated with this software.
While we believe that our software is reasonably bug free and well behaved,
we are in no way responsible if our software does not work the way you
would expect it to work. No matter if it locks up your computer, garbles
your floppy disks or does any other harmful things to your computer - it
is entirely your problem.

Fraunhofer - IIS is not liable for any infringments or damages of
third parties' rights in consequencs of your use of this shareware
product. Fraunhofer - IIS is in no event liable for, respectively does
not warrant the trustworthiness, quality, industrial exploitability,
serviceability of this shareware product for the supposed purpose
or any other purposes.

All brand names are registered trade marks of their respective owners.

How you may get the shareware:

a) via anonymous ftp from fhginfo.fhg.de (153.96.1.4)

You may download our Layer-3 audio software package from the
directory /pub/layer3. You will find the following files:
  layer3.txt    a short description of the files found in layer3.zip
  layer3.zip    encoder, decoder, documentation and a sample bitstream
  layer3nb.txt  a short description of the files found in layer3nb.zip
  layer3nb.zip  encoder, decoder and documentation (no bitstream)
  bitstr.l3     sample bitstream

b) via direct modem download (up to 14.400 bps)

   Modem telephone number  : [phone]           Name: FHG
   Packet switching network: (0) 262 45 9110 10290     Name: FHG
   (For the telephone number, replace "+" with your appropriate
   international dial prefix, e.g. "011" for the USA.)
   Follow the menus as desired.

c) via shipment of diskette (only including registration)

You may order a diskette directly from:

Mailbox System Nuernberg (MSN)
Hanft & Hartmann
Innerer Kleinreuther Weg 21
D-90408 Nuernberg
Germany

Please note: MSN will only ship a diskette if they get paid for the
registration fee before. The registration fee is 85 Deutsche Mark
(plus sales tax, if applicable) for one copy of the package. The
preferred method of payment is via credit card. Currently, they can
accept VISA, Master Card / Eurocard / Access credit cards.

You may reach MSN also via Internet: [e-mail]
                    or via Fax: [phone]
                    or via BBS: [phone]        Name: FHG
                    or via X25: 0262 45 9110 10290     Name: FHG
                    (e.g. in USA, please replace "+" with "011")

d) via email

You may get our shareware also by a direct request to [e-mail].
In this case, the shareware is split into about 30 small uuencoded
parts...


Harald Popp
Audio & Multimedia ("Music is the *BEST*" - F. Zappa)
Fraunhofer-IIS-A, Weichselgarten 3, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
Phone: [phone]
Fax:   [phone]
email: [e-mail]


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

MPEG2P11.ZIP (c) 1993 by PHADE Software
=======================================

This is the MPEG to PPM converter running under DOS. Its based
on the MPEG-decoder called "mpeg_play" by the Berkeley Research
Group. The basic idea was coming from the PPM-patch by Jef
Poskanzer. Many thanks to both.

SHAREWARE
---------

MPEG2PPM is inexpensive shareware. If you are continuing using
it after a 30 day trial-period, please send a letter containing
the filled and signed registration-form and the little donation
of 10 $ or 15 DM in cash to the adress below.

ATTENTION: The dots the shareware version of MPEG2PPM produces
are just delay, to force you to register.

ATTENTION: A registration is recommended for commercial use.

ATTENTION: The full-licenced version is restricted to a local
           area netword (company) or a privat single host.

MPEG2PPM will  decode  a  (video-only)  MPEG-I-stream and
extract the rebuild frames as PPM-files (Portable Pixmap).
The  extracted  frames will be numbered starting from zero
(0), the first part of the filename is  derived  from  the
original MPEG-stream, the files extension will be .PPM.

The final PPM-files will be in 24-bit-format.

MPEG2PPM  expects  MPEG-1  video  streams only. It can not
handle multiplexed MPEG streams  or  video+audio  streams.
The  converter  uses  the  paris  entropy coding table set
(which I believe to be the MPEG-1 standard).

MPEG2PPM was developed by

PHADE Software
Inh. Frank Gadegast
Leibnizstr. 30
10625 Berlin GERMANY

[e-mail]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ This is VMPEG 1.1, the best MPEG-player for DOS AT ALL ! ]

From: [e-mail] (Stefan Eckart)
Subject: vmpeg11.zip (fast DOS 386+ MPEG player) posted
Date: 23 Nov 93 17:54:51 GMT

                              VMPEG V1.1
                            DOS MPEG player
                           by Stefan Eckart

The archive also contains MPGSPLIT (no '386 req.), a utility to split
multiplexed MPEG system layer files (e.g. from a CD) into seperate video
and audio streams.


Changes from VMPEG 1.0 to VMPEG 1.1:

 - 20% speed gain (code streamlining)
 - improved image quality (higher IDCT accuracy)
 - True Color display
 - support of system layer MPEG streams
 - more drivers included


Features:

 - full MPEG-1 video standard (ISO 11172-2): I,P,B frames of arbitrary size;
   no restriction to 160x120 or I-frame-only sequences
 - also plays system layer (ISO 11172-1) files
 - "high" speed: e.g. 16 frames/s on a 386DX/33 for a 160x120 I frame
                 sequence (mjackson.mpg); about the speed of mpeg_play
                 running on a Sparcstation1+
 - supports VGA and a variety of SVGAs
 - '386 or '486 processor required (i.e. no '286); based on the
   DOS extender GO32.EXE by DJ Delorie
END ---------------------- CUT HERE --------------------- 3/6