The use of digital cameras, personal computers and the Internet has made producing and distributing multimedia content easier today than ever before. The new ISO/MPEG-7 standard enables navigation through this wealth of audio-visual content and is set to revolutionise multimedia technology. Introduction to MPEG-7 takes a systematic approach to the standard and provides a unique overview of the principles and concepts behind audio-visual indexing, metadata description, information retrieval and browsing.

Featuring:
* Practical guidance to the new ISO/MPEG-7 standard written by the experts who have actively participated in its development.

* Clear explanations of the standard's underlying tools, technologies and applications.

* Coverage ranging from the Description Definition Language and systems architecture through to low-level media descriptors.

* Comparisons of related multimedia description and indexing standards.

* Accompanying DVD featuring MPEG-7 reference software along with working demonstrations of the standard and its components.
Essential reading for engineers building MPEG-7 compliant systems, the tutorial approach provides an invaluable tool for developers within the multimedia industry and the research and development community. Graduate students and those new to the field will benefit from the overview of search and retrieval technology.