Sustainability of Digital Formats
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Identification and description

Full name	Information technology -- Coding of audio-visual objects (formal name)MPEG-4, Advanced Video Coding (part 10), High 10 ProfileNOTE: this Web page drafted prior to the amendment of the standard to add the four High profiles. Comments welcome.
Description	The High 10 Profile MPEG-4_AVC (from ITU-T H.264) supports 4:2:0 chroma at 10 bits per channel, adaptive macroblock-level switching between 8x8 and 4x4 transform block size, encoder-specified quantization scaling matrices, encoder-specified separate control of the quantization parameter for each chroma component, and monochrome sequences. The Overview and Introduction to the Fidelity Range Extensions does not separately discuss MPEG-4_AVC_H10P but states that "the High profile seems to be overtaking the Main profile as the primary choice for broadcast and other entertainment-quality applications."
Production phase	Generally a final-state (end-user delivery) format.
Relationship to other formats
Subtype of	MPEG-4_AVC,
Used by	MP4_FF_2_AVC_H10P, MPEG-4 File Format, V.2, with AVC, High 10 Profile

Local use

LC experience or existing holdings
LC preference

Sustainability factors

Disclosure	Open standard. See MPEG-4_AVC.
Documentation	See MPEG-4_AVC. This profile is not yet in the formal specification; information may be found in Overview and Introduction to the Fidelity Range Extensions.
Adoption	See MPEG-4_AVC_HP and MPEG-4_AVC.
Licensing and patents	See MP4_FF_2.
Transparency	See MP4_FF_2.
Self-documentation	See MP4_FF_2.
External dependencies	See MP4_FF_2.
Technical protection considerations	See MP4_FF_2.

Quality and functionality factors

Moving Image
Normal rendering	Good support.
Clarity (high image resolution)	See MPEG-4_AVC. Depends in part on the level and encoding algorithm selected. The High 10 Profile has the potential to produce greater clarity than MPEG-4_AVC_BP, MPEG-4_AVC_MP, MPEG-4_AVC_EP, and MPEG-4_AVC_HP at a given picture size and data rate. By the same token, MPEG-4_AVC_H10P clarity can be surpassed by MPEG-4_AVC_H422P and MPEG-4_AVC_H444P.
Functionality beyond normal rendering	See MP4_FF_2.

File type signifiers

Tag	Value	Note
Filename extension	See note.	Pertains to the file format; see MP4_FF_2
Internet Media Type	See note.	Pertains to the file format; see MP4_FF_2
Magic numbers	See note.	Pertains to the file format; see MP4_FF_2
File type brand (ISO Base Media File Format)	See note	Indicated in file wrapper and relates to "brands" defined in ISO_BMFF. Wrapping MPEG-4_AVC bitstreams in MP4_FF_1 (unlikely) would occasion the use of mp41; in MP4_FF_2 (more likely), use mp42.
Other		Profile indicator. Not yet assigned; profile_idc is described as a part of Annex A of Part 10 of the standard, pp. 204-05.

Notes

General
History

Format specifications

• ISO/IEC 14496-10:2003 Information technology -- Coding of audio-visual objects -- Part 10: Advanced Video Coding
• ISO/IEC 14496-15:2003 Information technology -- Coding of audio-visual objects -- Part 15: Advanced Video Coding (AVC) file format

Useful references

URLs

• Overview and Introduction to the Fidelity Range Extensions (http://www.fastvdo.com/spie04/spie04-h264OverviewPaper.pdf).
• H.264/MPEG4-AVC Fidelity Range Extensions: Tools, Profiles, Performance, and Application Areas (http://ip.hhi.de/imagecom_G1/assets/pdfs/ICIP05_H264_Fidelity.pdf).

Books, articles, etc.

• Sullivan, Gary J., Pankaj Topiwala, and Ajay Luthra. "Overview and Introduction to the Fidelity Range Extensions." Paper presented at the SPIE Conference on Applications of Digital Image Processing XXVII, Special Session on Advances in the New Emerging Standard: H.264/AVC, August, 2004.
• See MP4_FF_2.