Video compression is how enormous image data files get shrunk for fast transmission without significant loss of visual quality. It's the magic behind digital TV, videoconferencing, DVDs, and Internet video.
Now is the time to learn about video compression--how to do it and how to use it. Peter Symes, a video compression specialist, paints the full video compression picture in this friendly, not-too-big, not-too-technical introduction. This is not a detailed implementation book, but it does explain what happens in compression, why compression works, and what will stop it from working. You MUST read it if ...

you want to understand the fundamental concepts of compression
you read the MPEG Standard but didn't understand it
you read books on MPEG and didn't understand them
you're a Web site or multimedia developer
you're in the audio/video business
you're a video technology professional or IT consultant
you produce or sell video products, or are thinking of doing so
you cover the entertainment, Internet, or technology beat as a reporter or financial analyst
you can't afford expensive compression courses
you're a technovideophile
you simply want to be up to speed on this fascinating new technology of key importance to the entertainment and communications industries

CD-ROM Included: Encoders and decoders for DCT, wavelet, and fractal algorithms; video samples galore.