Since its release JPEG 2000 has been acknowledged as a superior compression format to MPEG and AVC for lightly compressed applications. Its ultra-low latency, frame-by-frame compression, superior tolerance to less than ideal networks, and exceptional image quality make it the perfect solution for many applications, but JPEG 2000 is most beneficial for light compression of contribution video prior to transport across IP networks.
In these applications, compression is typically less than 20 to 1 and in many cases less than 10 to 1. The result of light compression using JPEG 2000 is a visually lossless video signal capable of multiple encode/decode cycles while still maintaining exceptional fidelity.
Except for high visibility sporting events and other critical contribution applications, JPEG 2000 has not been viewed by the general market as a viable option. The concern in deploying JPEG 2000 solutions was a lack of transport standards and interoperability between vendors. Also, many of the available solutions were expensive, complicated to configure, and typically offered as part of an integrated media transport platform.
With the recent release of numerous low-cost, simple to configure and deploy solutions based on a new recommendation, TR-01 ‘Transport of JPEG 2000 Broadcast Profile Video in MPEG-2 TS over IP’ these concerns have been resolved. TR-01 defines a standardised way of encapsulating JPEG 2000 compressed video along with audio and ancillary data into a standard MPEG2-TS for transport across an IP network.
The development of TR-01 was considered significant enough by the Emmy committee that the Video Services Forum (VSF), who defined the standard, along with Artel and other hardware vendors who developed products based on TR-01 were awarded an Emmy Award for Technology and Engineering for their contributions in developing and offering products based on TR-01.
It is generally accepted that for compression when video quality, latency, and reliability are important JPEG 2000 is the best solution. Now with a transport standard available and price competitive options from vendors worldwide, JPEG 2000 has become the right solution for light compression.
