JPEG 2000: A Potential Solution for Archiving HDTV Content

Abstract

Selecting an adequate file format for archiving has always been a complex issue. Several formats are available from a variety of vendors but in addition to the issue of storage media deterioration there is always the serious threat of technology becoming obsolete or no longer being supported by the vendor. Consequently, users experience interoperability during content exchange. Furthermore, with the introduction of HDTV in broadcasting and multiple distribution platforms (Mobile TV, T-DMB, DVB-H, IPTV) and image formats (720p/50, 1080p/50, etc.) compression scalability is now more of a requirement than before. Together with a need for higher quality preservation capability, metadata preservation is also a strong requirement for today's archive formats. JPEG 2000 is a fairly recent ISO open standard, based on wavelet technology. It provides a set of features such as spatial, temporal, and SNR scalability; lossless and lossy compression; and a large support for metadata, all of which are highly valuable for archiving HDTV content. The EBU Technical department has been investigating the JPEG 2000 compression system and, in particular, the best parameters for visually lossless preservation of HDTV content, depending on the format. The subjective quality was assessed at expert viewing sessions using a split screen for quality comparisons. This paper describes features of the JPEG 2000 standard, as well as its advantages and disadvantages in an archival environment. A performance evaluation of JPEG 2000 and recommendation on the JPEG 2000 settings suitable for HDTV archival is given.