IEC TS 62592:2009

Encoding guidelines for portable multimedia CE products using MP4 file format with AVC video codec and AAC audio codec

IEC/TS 62592:2009(E) specifies encoding guidelines for portable multimedia CE products using ISO base media file format and its family (ISO/IEC 14496-12, ISO/IEC 14496-14, and ISO/IEC 14496-15) with AVC (ISO/IEC 14496-10 and ITU-T H.264) and AAC (ISO/IEC 13818-3 and ISO/IEC 14496-3). These guidelines may also be applicable to portable non-CE products. It is applicable to the creation of MP4 files with AVC and AAC which are intended for storage, reproduction and display by portable CE products; it is applicable to both content generation software and hardware.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 28-Sep-2009
• ICS: 33.160.01 - Audio, video and audiovisual systems in general
• Technical Committee: TC 100 - Audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment
• Current Stage: DELPUB - Deleted Publication
• Completion Date: 06-Jul-2012

Relations

• Revised: IEC TS 62592:2012 - Encoding guidelines for portable multimedia CE products using MP4 file format with AVC video codec and AAC audio codec
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC/TS 62592
®
Edition 1.0 2009-09
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION

Encoding guidelines for portable multimedia CE products using MP4 file format
with AVC video codec and AAC audio codec


IEC/TS 62592:2009(E)

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IEC/TS 62592
®
Edition 1.0 2009-09
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION

Encoding guidelines for portable multimedia CE products using MP4 file format
with AVC video codec and AAC audio codec


INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
PRICE CODE
XC
ICS 33.160.01 ISBN 978-2-88910-770-4
® Registered trademark of the International Electrotechnical Commission

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– 2 – TS 62592 © IEC:2009(E)
CONTENTS
FOREWORD. 5
0 Introduction . 7
0.1 MP4 file format . 7
0.2 Issues to be considered in implementation on portable CE devices. 7
0.3 Encoding rules for open system and application. 8
1 Scope . 9
2 Normative references . 9
3 Terms, definitions, abbreviations and conventions. 10
3.1 Terms and definitions. 10
3.2 Abbreviations. 11
3.3 Conventions. 12
3.3.1 Method of presenting box definition . 12
3.3.2 Unit prefixes . 12
3.3.3 Numeric representation . 12
3.3.4 Character data. 12
3.3.5 Nominal Time Length. 12
3.3.6 Reserved fields and values. 13
4 Design rules. 13
4.1 General . 13
4.2 File structure. 13
4.2.1 General . 13
4.2.2 Movie structure. 15
4.2.3 Fragmented movie structure . 15
4.3 Box order. 16
4.4 Operational rules for boxes defined in ISO file format standards . 18
4.4.1 General . 18
4.4.2 Versions and flags. 18
4.4.3 File identification . 19
4.4.4 File extension . 19
4.4.5 Handler reference types . 20
4.4.6 Movie header box. 20
4.4.7 Track header box. 20
4.4.8 Media header box. 20
4.4.9 Sample size box . 20
4.4.10 Time to sample boxes. 20
4.4.11 Sample entries . 20
4.4.12 Movie fragment boxes . 21
4.4.13 Template fields used . 21
4.5 Additional definitions. 22
4.5.1 Private extension box definitions . 22
4.5.2 Profile configuration. 27
4.5.3 Function flags. 27
4.5.4 Codec specific information. 28
4.5.5 Attribute flags . 30
4.6 Operational rules for tracks. 31
4.6.1 General . 31

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TS 62592 © IEC:2009(E) – 3 –
4.6.2 Main audio track . 31
4.6.3 Main video track . 32
4.7 Operational rules for media data . 33
4.7.1 MPEG-4 AAC elementary stream. 33
4.7.2 AVC video elementary stream . 36
4.8 Logical structure of media data . 57
4.8.1 General . 57
4.8.2 Interleavingof main audio and video. 57
4.8.3 Arrangement of data chunks. 57
4.8.4 Media data structure in movie fragment . 58
4.8.5 Exception for logical structure of media data. 58
4.9 Presentation arrangement for tracks . 58
4.9.1 Alternate group support . 58
4.9.2 Edit list support. 58
4.10 Metadata . 60
4.10.1 Metadata types. 60
4.11 Pixel aspect ratios . 63
5 PCE AV classes . 65
5.1 Class . 65
5.2 Class PT. 65
5.2.1 General . 65
5.2.2 Level 1 . 66
5.2.3 Level 2 . 66
5.2.4 Level 3 . 66
5.3 Class MB . 66
5.3.1 General . 66
5.3.2 Level 1 . 67
5.3.3 Level 2 . 67
5.4 Class SD . 68
5.4.1 General . 68
5.5 Class HD . 68
5.5.1 General . 68
5.5.2 Level 1 . 69
5.5.3 Level 2 . 70
5.6 Class network HD . 70
5.6.1 General . 70
5.6.2 Level 1 . 71
5.6.3 Level 2 . 71
5.6.4 Level 3 . 71
6 Definitions for other files. 71
Annex A (normative) Operation rules for compliant products . 72
Annex B (normative) Capabilities required for compliant products . 75
Annex C (informative) Recommended recording modes . 76
Bibliography. 80

Figure 1 – Example of a simple interchange file . 14
Figure 2 – Examples of movies . 15
Figure 3 – Example of a fragmented movie . 16

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– 4 – TS 62592 © IEC:2009(E)
Figure 4 – Example of AAC bitstream. 34
Figure 5 – Example of a closed GOP . 46
Figure 6 – Example of an open GOP. 47
Figure 7 – Reference structure of a reference B-picture . 51
Figure 8 – Reference structure of a non-reference B-picture . 52
Figure 9 – Example of a closed GOP . 52
Figure 10 – Example of an open GOP. 53

Table 1 – Supported track types. 14
Table 2 – Supported stream and data . 15
Table 3 – Box types, structure, and cross-reference. 17
Table 4 – brand identifier . 19
Table 5 – handler_types. 20
Table 6 – Common portion of the audio attribute flags. 24
Table 7 – Common portion of the video attribute flags. 24
Table 8 – encoding_type. 27
Table 9 – Function flags. 28
Table 10 – Data form type. 28
Table 11 – Data form type. 29
Table 12 – Codec specific portion of audio attribute flags. 30
Table 13 – Codec specific portion of video attribute flags . 30
Table 14 – The values of pic_struct and ct_type. 49
Table 15 – Allowed values of frame cropping related fields . 53
Table 16 – data_type_ID. 61
Table 17 – Presentation types. 62
Table 18 – Track attribute flags. 62
Table 19 – Usage of the metadata . 63
Table 20 – Resolution values in visual sample entry. 64
Table 21 – spacing values in pixel_aspect_ratio. 64
Table C.1 – Recommended recording modes for class PT . 76
Table C.2 – Recommended recording modes for class MB. 76
Table C.3 – Recommended recording modes for class SD . 77
Table C.4 – Recommended recording modes for class HD. 78
Table C.5 – Recommended recording modes for class network HD. 79

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TS 62592 © IEC:2009(E) – 5 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________

ENCODING GUIDELINES FOR PORTABLE MULTIMEDIA
CE PRODUCTS USING MP4 FILE FORMAT WITH
AVC VIDEO CODEC AND AAC AUDIO CODEC


FOREWORD
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IEC/TS 62592, which is a Technical Specification, has been prepared by prepared by technical
area 7: Moderate data rate storage media, equipment and systems, of IEC technical committee
100: Audio, video and multimedia systems and equipment.

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– 6 – TS 62592 © IEC:2009(E)
The text of this Technical Specification is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
100/1516/DTS 100/1563/RVC

Full information on the voting for the approval of this Technical Specification can be found in the
report on voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
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• transformed into an International standard,
• reconfirmed,
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• amended.
A bilingual version of this publication may be issued at a later date.

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TS 62592 © IEC:2009(E) – 7 –
0 Introduction
0.1 MP4 file format
ISO base media file format, ISO/IEC 14496-12, has been developed by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG
11 and WG1 as a common base media file format of audio, video and image applications. It
provides a file format to contain timed media information for a presentation in a flexible, extensible
format. The extensions to support specific codecs and systems are specified as the series of
standard ISO/IEC 14496. The MP4 file format (MPEG-4 file format), ISO/IEC 14496-14, is an
extension to support MPEG-4 systems in ISO base media file format. The extension to support
1
Advanced Video Coding (AVC), ISO/IEC 14496-10 and ITU-T H.264 , is standardized as AVC file
format, ISO/IEC 14496-15. In this Technical Specification, the family of ISO base media file format
is referred to as MP4 file format, which is the name widely used in the industry. The MP4 file
format is designed very flexibly so that the series of the standard can be applied to various kinds
of applications and can bring the maximum performances for the applications.
MP4 file format is adopted by various Consumer Electronics (CE) devices, e.g. broadcasting
receivers, disc recorders / players, AV content distribution, portable AV recorders / players, and
so on. In the CE audio, video and multimedia applications, MP4 file format with Advanced Video
Coding (AVC), (ISO/IEC 14496-10 and ITU-T H.264) and Advanced Audio Coding (AAC),
(ISO/IEC 13818-3 and ISO/IEC 14496-3), is employed most popularly.
AVC (ISO/IEC 14496-10 and ITU-T H.264) specifies profiles and levels to ensure interoperability
of decoding procedure of a video elementary stream, which fits various levels of application. AVC,
ISO/IEC 14496-10 and ITU-T H.264, specifies the bitstream syntax and its decoding process.
0.2 Issues to be considered in implementation on portable CE devices
To implement applications using MP4 file format into CE products, the characteristics of CE
industry must be considered. The characteristics of CE industry and products are different from IT
equipment especially personal computers (PCs) which have strong computational power and
flexible software solution. That is:
• CE devices are designed with limited resources, processing power and memory size;
• most CE devices can not update software or hardware afterwards; and
• manufacturers have to assure the capability and the quality of the product for consumers, who
are not familiar with processes inside the device;
• CE devices need to support functionalities, e.g. fast forward / backward play which are widely
supported by existing CE devices. Manufacturers have to ensure such functionalities
regardless of creators of the content (bitstreams).
Given these criteria, manufacturers need to check all the performance of the products because
any defect in the products may generate serious complaints among consumers. Since the MP
4 file format is so flexible, the number of combination of setting parameters is very large and it
takes tremendous workload and cost to check the performance for each combination of
parameters. Even AVC (ISO/IEC 14496-10 and ITU-T H.264) specifies the decoding procedure
and conformance point by a profile and a level. Furthermore, the constraints on bitstreams
must be specified in order to ensure functionalities, which are widely supported by CE devices.
Therefore, in most CE systems, the combination of encoding parameters is limited and the
dedicated encoding rules are specified for the system, which enable designing and
manufacturing process practical to guarantee the quality of the product. In general, these
encoding rules are proprietary to the involved parties.
—————————
1
ITU-T H.264 is equivalent to ISO/IEC 14496-10.

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– 8 – TS 62592 © IEC:2009(E)
0.3 Encoding rules for open system and application
Currently, the content of audio, video and multimedia products are provided by commercial
content providers through specific sales channels such as optical discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray
Discs. Additional content is provided by broadcasters and commercial content providers. However,
more recently end-user generated content is increasing and placed on many Internet sites
enabled by the availability of digital video cameras and Internet related technology. In this
situation, portable CE devices are required to store and reproduce such content for consumer
satisfaction. Accordingly, portable CE devices need to guarantee the capability to decode MP4
files with AVC (ISO/IEC 14496-10 and ITU-T H.264) and AAC (ISO/IEC 13818-3 and
ISO/IEC 14496-3) which are most commonly used as the file format and codecs.
• To assure decoding of such MP4 files, CE device manufacturers have to check the
performance for the files encoded by unknown parameters. However, it is impossible to
achieve this with limited manpower and technical resources as mentioned above. This
situation may cause a problem in decoding quality and is not beneficial for both end-users and
manufacturers. CE device manufacturers also have to ensure functionalities, e.g. fast forward
/ backward play, regardless of the creators of the content (bitstreams).
To solve this issue, this Technical Specification specifies the encoding rules for the MP4 files
targeted to be stored and reproduced by portable CE devices so that the decoding of the content
encoded by these guidelines is guaranteed by the portable CE product manufacturer with
reasonable cost and resources.
The encodin
...