MPEG video is something that many PC vendors claim their systems are ready for.
But what is MPEG? The most common question I hear is whether MPEG is similar to JPEG, a graphics format.
The answer is no. The initials stand for Motion Picture Experts Group, an international committee set up to develop standards for the compression of digital video for playback by televisions and computers. (JPEG stands for joint photography experts group).
Pronounced Empeg, the system offers compression for video so that it does not take up too much space in a broadcast stream or on a compact disc.
The first standard of MPEG is MPEG 1 and many companies, such as SGS-Thomson, C-Cube and NEC, have developed decoding chips that allow video to be decompressed by the viewer, according to the MPEG 1 standard algorithm.
This results in a standard video playback of about 30-frames per second if the hardware system is fine tuned, which is comparable to VHS quality video.
A two-hour film can be stored on one standard five-inch diameter CD using MPEG, although without compression the amount of video on a CD is counted in seconds.
