At its 155th meeting, MPEG issued the Joint Call for Proposals on video compression with capability beyond VVC. Furthermore, MPEG finished the development of four standardization projects. This included promoting fivestandards to Final Draft of International Standard (FDIS) in Systems, Audio coding and 3D graphics & haptics coding:
- The 9th edition ISO base media file format (FDIS)
- Avatar representation format (FDIS)
- Biomedical and general waveform signal coding (FDIS)
- Enhanced Geometry-based Point Cloud Compression (FDIS)
- Conformance and Reference Software for Video-based Dynamic Mesh Compression (V-DMC) (FDIS)
Joint Call for Proposals on video compression with capability beyond VVC issued
At its 43rd meeting, JVET (SC 29 WG 5) issued the Joint Call for Proposals (CfP) requesting for technology contributions for a next generation of video compression standard with capabilities beyond that of the Versatile Video Coding (VVC, ISO/IEC 23090-3 | ITU-T H.266). The CfP requests submissions regarding video compression technology that has substantial improvements in compression performance or additional functionality beyond that of VVC, where the tradeoff in terms of encoder and decoder implementation cost is once again an important criterion. Beyond improved compression at large, test cases with runtime-constrained encoding will be evaluated from the beginning. Information about technology supporting for functionality that may not be sufficiently supported by existing video compression standards is also welcome. Both further improvements on conventional technology (based on traditional signal processing) as well as technology based on neural networks and artificial intelligence will be considered in this context.
To evaluate the proposed compression technologies, formal subjective tests will be conducted in addition to collecting performance proofs based on objective criteria, using video sequences in seven categories. These are primarily new materials not used in video coding standardization before (including cropped 8K HDR content, user-generated, and gaming content to support new application domains). Proposals will be investigated under conditions enforcing both low-delay and random-access constraints of applications.
The full text of the joint CfP is available publicly as JVET-AQ2021 and ISO/IEC JTC 1 / SC 29 / WG 5 N 416. As for the timeline, registration of intent to submit proposals is due by beginning of September, and the main package of processed materials would need to be delivered by end of October 2026, with a second supplemental package being due by mid of December. Evaluation of responses and results will be conducted during the JVET meeting in January 2027 in Brisbane, Australia. As an anticipated tentative timeline after the CfP, definition of a first test model is expected during the second half of the year 2027, and finalization of a first version for a next-generation video compression standard by end of 2029.
Considering the amount of testing and collection of related information that is planned, the conduction of this Joint CfP is probably a larger effort than ever done before to kick off a new standard in the domain of video compression.
Call for Proposals on media authenticity and provenance indication with the MPEG Systems technologies issued
At its 155th meeting in October 2025, the SC29/WG02 MPEG Technical Requirements Working Group announced a Call for Proposals (CfP) focused on media authenticity and provenance indication using MPEG Systems technologies. This call for proposals (CfP) seeks submissions for technologies that facilitate system-level media authentication throughout the entire media lifecycle, including authoring, creation, production, editing, storage, delivery, and playback.
The CfP package includes detailed descriptions of use cases and technical requirements, as well as guidelines for proposal submissions, necessary forms, submission deadlines, and the evaluation process. Additionally, it features a background exploration report and a general timeline for the standard development process. Proposals are due by January 13, 2027, and will be evaluated during the MPEG 157 meeting scheduled for January.
For further information, please contact :
- Igor Curcio, Convenor of SC 29/WG 2 MPEG Technical Requirements, email: igor.curcio@nokia.com, and/or
- Youngkwon Lim, Convenor of SC 29/WG 3 MPEG Systems, email: young.l@samsung.com.
The 9th edition of ISOBMFF specification has reached the final milestone
At the 155th MPEG meeting, MPEG Systems (WG 3) advanced the ISO/IEC 14496-12 9th edition ISO base media file format to the final stage of standard development, Final Draft International Standard (FDIS). This edition consolidates two amendments to the previous edition, ISO/IEC 14496-12 8th edition Amendment 1 Tools for enhanced CMAF and DASH integration and ISO/IEC 14496-12 8th edition Amendment 2 Support for carriage of depth and alpha to the previously published 8th edition to improve readability and convenience.
The specification introduces essential sample groups, essential descriptions hierarchy sample group, the preselection entity group and related boxes, the extended dependent random access point (EDRAP) sample group, sample-packed restricted video track and the handler property for items. Also, this specification allows the associated external stream track reference and relaxes the presence requirements of the HandlerBox within a MetaBox.
This specification is expected to be published in the beginning of 2027 and freely available to download.
Avatar representation format specification has reached the final milestone
At the 155th MPEG meeting, MPEG Systems (WG 3) finalized the development of the ISO/IEC 23090-39 Avatar representation format to the final stage of standard development, Final Draft International Standard (FDIS).
This specification enables interoperable exchange and animation of 3D avatars across various systems and platforms by defining a data model for the Avatar Representation Format (ARF), a data document that describes the components of an ARF base avatar model, several container formats for carriage, animation sample formats for transmission of animation parameters, and a binary format for the streaming of the Avatar Representation Format. This specification also defines procedures for integrating ARF into existing MPEG Scene Descriptions, data representation methodologies, including tensor data formats for handling complex avatar-related data, as well as security and authentication mechanisms to verify avatar authenticity and prevent impersonation.
This specification is expected to be published in the beginning of 2027.
MPEG Systems has organized a future looking workshop jointly with the ITU-T SG 21
On 14 July 2026, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 03 MPEG Systems has organized a workshop on “Media Streaming Service – What’s next” jointly with The ITU Study Group 21 to better understand where the industry is moving toward and to make sure the standard development of the WG is well aligned. MPEG Systems WG has worn six Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards as the recognition of its successful development of the standards providing a way to solve the industry challenges.
At the workshop, four industry experts shared the technical challenges they are facing on multimedia streaming services, namely, Bitmovin, ETRI, Huawei and Netflix. Three standards development organizations actively utilizing MPEG Systems standards such as DVB, 5G-MAG and 3GPP SA4 have shared potential opportunities for MPEG Systems. Presentations covered various topics of the multimedia streaming service for today and the future such as Media over QUIC, low latency streaming, Generative AI, low overhead container format, etc.. The topics not only focused on the technologies but also covered standard development process including openness of the development process, the final specification, availability of open-source software, and so on.
The MPEG Systems WG has studied the questions laid by the presentation and decided to study with industry several important questions through the AHGs established at this meeting. The WG anticipates new projects and potential collaboration with ITU-T SG 21. Based on the studies and recommendations from the AHGs, the MPEG Systems WG will establish concrete development plans at the upcoming WG meeting.
New amendment of HEVC, and new editions of HEVC reference software and conformance testing
At its 43rd meeting, JVET (SC 29 WG 5) submitted the first amendment on top of the seventh edition of High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC, ISO/IEC 23008-2 | ITU-T H.265) as CDAM. This contains definition of additional multiview profiles providing support for video captured with multiple synchronous cameras in 4:4:4 colour sampling, as well as associated depth maps. Furthermore, improvements of interfaces for SEI messages defined in VSEI (ISO/IEC 23002-7 | ITU-T H.274) are specified.
At the same meeting, work towards the third editions of VVC reference software (ISO/IEC 23008-5 | ITU-T H.265.2) and conformance testing (ISO/IEC 23008-8 | ITU-T H.265.1) was started by promoting them as committee draft (CD). These will contain support for all recently included multiview profiles, at the same time launching an HM software implementation that allows flexible combination of higher bit-depth coding with layered coding structures.
Finalization of the CDAM and the two CDs is planned for April 2027.
Second edition of the technical report on film grain synthesis technology
At its 43rd meeting, JVET (SC 29 WG 5) promoted the 2nd edition of the technical report on Film grain synthesis technology for video applications (HEVC, ISO/IEC 23002-9 | ITU-T H.Sup.21) to CDTR stage. Beyond descriptions of several tools to extract film grain parameters and conduct improved synthesis of corresponding film grain as overlay to decoded output pictures, this new edition comes with example software attachments which can be run to conduct the processing. Finalization is planned for April 2027.
MPEG Finalizes Biomedical and General Waveform Signal Coding
At its July 2026 meeting, MPEG completed the technical development of ISO/IEC 23003-8, Biomedical and general waveform signal coding. The standard was developed under the lead of ITU-T Question 6/21 (VCEG), in close collaboration with MPEG, and is technically aligned with ITU-T Recommendation T.261. MPEG produced the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) text at this meeting, marking completion of the group’s technical work. This document will subsequently progress through the applicable ISO/IEC approval and publication process.
ISO/IEC 23003-8 defines efficient coding technology for biomedical and general waveform signals, supporting lossless, near-lossless, and lossy operation. It addresses signals such as ECG, EEG, EMG, and PPG, while its broader mission also covers non-biomedical waveform data, including seismographic and other scientific or engineering time-series signals. This specification supports multichannel data, storage, transmission, and random access, providing a common representation across devices and applications.
Preliminary testing has demonstrated substantial compression gains compared to reference audio-codec designs across biomedical and other waveform datasets. Initial evaluations using AI-based analysis of compressed ECG data also showed that predictive performance remained virtually unchanged across the tested compression levels, indicating that the coding approach preserves signal characteristics important for machine analysis.
By representing waveform data from different devices and systems in a common, interoperable, and efficient form, the standard can facilitate the aggregation and processing of large datasets for machine learning, automated analysis, pattern recognition, event detection, and decision-support applications. This standard therefore makes high-quality waveform data more readily available to AI-driven workflows.
This work also benefited from collaboration with DICOM experts on clinical requirements and integration into medical-data workflows. With the technical work complete, the focus can now move toward approval, implementation, conformance, application integration, and adoption. ISO/IEC 23003-8 extends international coding expertise to a new class of signals and opens opportunities for interoperable applications in healthcare, science, engineering, and AI.
Enhanced G-PCC Advances to Final Draft International Standard
At the 155th MPEG meeting, ISO/IEC DIS 23090-38, also known as MPEG-I Part 38 – Enhanced Geometry-based Point Cloud Compression (Enhanced G-PCC), was promoted to the Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) stage.
Enhanced G-PCC defines a new generation of geometry-based point cloud compression specifically designed for dynamic point cloud sequences, such as those produced by LiDAR sensors in autonomous driving, robotics, and other real-time perception systems. While the original G-PCC standard (MPEG-I Part 9) primarily compresses point clouds on a frame-by-frame basis, the Enhanced G-PCC introduces a temporal coding framework that efficiently exploits the strong correlation between consecutive frames.
The standard organizes point cloud sequences into Groups of Frames (GOFs) and incorporates inter-frame prediction throughout the coding pipeline. New tools, including global motion compensation, temporal geometry prediction, inter-frame octree coding, and temporal attribute prediction, significantly reduce the amount of information that must be transmitted between successive frames. These capabilities provide substantial compression gains for dynamic scenes while preserving the accuracy required by demanding applications such as intelligent transportation systems, robotics, digital twins, and large-scale 3D sensing.The promotion of Enhanced G-PCC to the FDIS stage marks the successful completion of its technical development and validation. This specification is now ready for publication as an International Standard, providing industry with a robust and interoperable solution for efficient compression of dynamic point cloud sequences.