ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005

Information technology - JPEG 2000 image coding system - Part 12: ISO base media file format

ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005 specifies the structure and uses of the ISO base media file format. The identical text is published as ISO/IEC 14496-12:2005. This file format is used to contain time-based media such as video and audio. The storage of particular coding schemes is defined in specifications that derive from and reference ISO/IEC 14496-12:2005 and ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005, such as the MPEG-4 file format specified in ISO/IEC 14496-14, or the Motion JPEG file format specified in ISO/IEC 15444-3. This file format is designed to contain timed media information for a presentation in a flexible, extensible format that facilitates interchange, management, editing and presentation of the media. This presentation may be "local" to the system containing the presentation, or may be via a network or other stream delivery mechanism. The file format is designed to be independent of any particular network protocol while enabling efficient support for them in general. The file structure is object-oriented; a file can be decomposed into constituent objects very simply, and the structure of the objects inferred directly from their type. This technically identical text is published as ISO/IEC 14496-12:2005 for MPEG-4, and as ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005 for JPEG 2000, and reference to this specification should be made accordingly. The recommendation is to reference one, for example ISO/IEC 14496-12:2005, and append to the reference a parenthetical comment identifying the other, for example "(technically identical to ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005)". This version adds various new tools, including those for content protection, better support of metadata, and better support for advanced coding.

Technologies de l'information — Système de codage d'images JPEG 2000 — Partie 12: Format ISO de base pour les fichiers médias

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Publication Date: 05-Apr-2005
• Withdrawal Date: 05-Apr-2005
• ICS: 35.040 - Information coding
• ICS: 35.040.30 - Coding of graphical and photographical information
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29 - Coding of audio, picture, multimedia and hypermedia information
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 1 - JPEG Coding of digital representations of images
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Start Date: 28-Oct-2008
• Completion Date: 30-Oct-2025

Relations

• Amended By: ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005/Amd 2:2008 - Information technology - JPEG 2000 image coding system - Part 12: ISO base media file format - Amendment 2: Hint track format for ALC/LCT and FLUTE transmission and multiple meta box support
• Effective Date: 06-Jun-2022
• Amended By: ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005/Amd 1:2007 - Information technology - JPEG 2000 image coding system - Part 12: ISO base media file format - Amendment 1: Support for timed metadata, non-square pixels and improved sample groups
• Effective Date: 06-Jun-2022
• Revised: ISO/IEC 15444-12:2008 - Information technology - JPEG 2000 image coding system - Part 12: ISO base media file format
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Revises: ISO/IEC 15444-12:2004 - Information technology - JPEG 2000 image coding system - Part 12: ISO base media file format
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Revises: ISO/IEC 15444-12:2004/FDAM 1 - Information technology - JPEG 2000 image coding system - Part 12: ISO base media file format - Amendment 1: File format extensions and guidelines
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Parent: ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005/Amd 1:2007 - Information technology - JPEG 2000 image coding system - Part 12: ISO base media file format - Amendment 1: Support for timed metadata, non-square pixels and improved sample groups
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008
• Parent: ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005/Amd 2:2008 - Information technology - JPEG 2000 image coding system - Part 12: ISO base media file format - Amendment 2: Hint track format for ALC/LCT and FLUTE transmission and multiple meta box support
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 15444-12
Second edition
2005-04-01
Corrected version
2005-10-01
Information technology — JPEG 2000
image coding system —
Part 12:
ISO base media file format
Technologies de l'information — Système de codage d'image
JPEG 2000 —
Partie 12: Format ISO de base pour les fichiers médias

Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2005
PDF disclaimer
This PDF file may contain embedded typefaces. In accordance with Adobe's licensing policy, this file may be printed or viewed but
shall not be edited unless the typefaces which are embedded are licensed to and installed on the computer performing the editing. In
downloading this file, parties accept therein the responsibility of not infringing Adobe's licensing policy. The ISO Central Secretariat
accepts no liability in this area.
Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Details of the software products used to create this PDF file can be found in the General Info relative to the file; the PDF-creation
parameters were optimized for printing. Every care has been taken to ensure that the file is suitable for use by ISO member bodies. In
the unlikely event that a problem relating to it is found, please inform the Central Secretariat at the address given below.

©  ISO/IEC 2005
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or
ISO's member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail [e-mail]
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword. vi
Introduction . vii
1 Scope .1
2 Normative references .1
3 Definitions .2
4 Object-structured File Organization .3
4.1 File Structure.3
4.2 Object Structure.3
4.3 File Type Box.4
5 Design Considerations.5
5.1 Usage .5
5.1.1 Introduction.5
5.1.2 Interchange.5
5.1.3 Content Creation.6
5.1.4 Preparation for streaming.6
5.1.5 Local presentation.7
5.1.6 Streamed presentation.7
5.2 Design principles.7
6 ISO Base Media File organization .8
6.1 Presentation structure .8
6.1.1 File Structure.8
6.1.2 Object Structure.8
6.1.3 Meta Data and Media Data .8
6.1.4 Track Identifiers .8
6.2 Metadata Structure (Objects).9
6.2.1 Box .9
6.2.2 Data Types and fields.9
6.2.3 Box Order .10
7 Streaming Support.13
7.1 Handling of Streaming Protocols.13
7.2 Protocol ‘hint’ tracks .13
7.3 Hint Track Format .14
8 Box Definitions.14
8.1 Movie Box.14
8.2 Media Data Box .15
8.3 Movie Header Box.15
8.4 Track Box.16
8.5 Track Header Box .17
8.6 Track Reference Box .18
8.7 Media Box.19
8.8 Media Header Box.19
8.9 Handler Reference Box .20
8.10 Media Information Box .21
8.11 Media Information Header Boxes.21
8.11.2 Video Media Header Box.21
8.11.3 Sound Media Header Box .22
8.11.4 Hint Media Header Box.22
8.11.5 Null Media Header Box.22
© ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved iii

8.12 Data Information Box. 23
8.13 Data Reference Box . 23
8.14 Sample Table Box . 24
8.15 Time to Sample Boxes. 24
8.15.2 Decoding Time to Sample Box . 25
8.15.3 Composition Time to Sample Box. 26
8.16 Sample Description Box. 27
8.17 Sample Size Boxes . 29
8.17.2 Sample Size Box . 30
8.17.3 Compact Sample Size Box. 30
8.18 Sample To Chunk Box . 31
8.19 Chunk Offset Box. 31
8.20 Sync Sample Box . 32
8.21 Shadow Sync Sample Box . 33
8.22 Degradation Priority Box. 34
8.23 Padding Bits Box . 34
8.24 Free Space Box . 35
8.25 Edit Box. 35
8.26 Edit List Box . 35
8.27 User Data Box. 36
8.28 Copyright Box. 37
8.29 Movie Extends Box . 37
8.30 Movie Extends Header Box. 38
8.31 Track Extends Box. 38
8.32 Movie Fragment Box. 39
8.33 Movie Fragment Header Box. 39
8.34 Track Fragment Box . 40
8.35 Track Fragment Header Box . 40
8.36 Track Fragment Run Box . 41
8.37 Movie Fragment Random Access Box. 42
8.38 Track Fragment Random Access Box . 43
8.39 Movie Fragment Random Access Offset Box . 44
8.40 AVC Extensions . 44
8.40.2 Independent and Disposable Samples Box . 44
8.40.3 Sample Groups. 45
8.40.4 Random Access Recovery Points. 48
8.41 Sample Scale Box . 49
8.42 Sub-Sample Information Box. 50
8.43 Progressive Download Information Box. 51
8.44 Metadata Support. 52
8.44.1 The Metadata Box . 52
8.44.2 XML Boxes. 53
8.44.3 The Item Location Box. 53
8.44.4 Primary Item Box. 55
8.44.5 Item Protection Box . 55
8.44.6 Item Information Box . 56
8.44.7 URL Forms for meta boxes . 56
8.44.8 Static Metadata. 57
8.45 Support for Protected Streams. 58
8.45.1 Protection Scheme Information Box. 59
8.45.2 Original Format Box. 59
8.45.3 IPMPInfoBox . 60
8.45.4 IPMP Control Box. 60
8.45.5 Scheme Type Box . 61
8.45.6 Scheme Information Box. 62
9 Extensibility . 62
9.1 Objects . 62
9.2 Storage formats. 63
9.3 Derived File formats. 63
iv © ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved

10 RTP and SRTP Hint Track Format.63
10.1 Introduction.63
10.2 Sample Description Format.64
10.2.1 SRTP Process box ‘srpp‘:.65
10.3 Sample Format.66
10.3.1 Packet Entry format.66
10.3.2 Constructor format .67
10.4 SDP Information.68
10.4.1 Movie SDP information .68
10.4.2 Track SDP Information .68
10.5 Statistical Information .69
Annex A (informative) Overview and Introduction.70
A.1 Section Overview.70
A.2 Core Concepts .70
A.3 Physical structure of the media .70
A.4 Temporal structure of the media.71
A.5 Interleave .71
A.6 Composition.71
A.7 Random access.72
A.8 Fragmented movie files.72
Annex B (informative) Patent Statements.74
Annex C (informative) Guidelines on deriving from this specification.75
C.1 Introduction.75
C.2 General Principles .75
C.3 Brand Identifiers .75
C.3.1 Introduction.75
C.3.2 Usage of the Brand.75
C.3.3 Introduction of a new brand .76
C.3.4 Player Guideline.76
C.3.5 Example .76
C.4 Box layout and order.77
C.5 Storage of new media types .77
C.6 Use of Template fields.77
C.7 Construction of fragmented movies.78
Annex D (informative) Registration Authority .79
D.1 Code points to be registered .79
D.2 Procedure for the request of an MPEG-4 registered identifier value .79
D.3 Responsibilities of the Registration Authority .80
D.4 Contact information for the Registration Authority .80
D.5 Responsibilities of Parties Requesting a RID.80
D.6 Appeal Procedure for Denied Applications .81
D.7 Registration Application Form .81
D.7.1 Contact Information of organization requesting a RID.81
D.7.2 Request for a specific RID .81
D.7.3 Short description of RID that is in use and date system was implemented.82
D.7.4 Statement of an intention to apply the assigned RID .82
D.7.5 Date of intended implementation of the RID.82
D.7.6 Authorized representative .82
D.7.7 For official use of the Registration Authority .83
Bibliography .84

© ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved v

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 15444-12 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information Technology,
Subcommittee SC 29, Coding of Audio, Picture, Multimedia and Hypermedia Information.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC 15444-12:2004) which has been
technically revised.
ISO/IEC 15444 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — JPEG 2000
image coding system:
 Part 1: Core coding system
 Part 2: Extensions
 Part 3: Motion JPEG 2000
 Part 4: Conformance testing
 Part 5: Reference software
 Part 6: Compound image file format
 Part 8: Secure JPEG 2000
 Part 9: Interactivity tools, APIs and protocols
 Part 11: Wireless JEP 2000
 Part 12: ISO base media file format
The following parts are under preparation:
 Part 10: Extensions for 3-D and floating point data
This corrected version of ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005 (E) incorporates the following corrections:
 the Foreword has been altered to reflect that ISO/IEC 15444-11 is now published;
 in 8.16.2, 8.17.2.1, 8.17.3.1, 8.18.2 and 8.19.2, “•” has been replaced with “u””.
vi © ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved

Introduction
The ISO Base Media File Format is designed to contain timed media information for a presentation in a
flexible, extensible format that facilitates interchange, management, editing, and presentation of the media.
This presentation may be ‘local’ to the system containing the presentation, or may be via a network or other
stream delivery mechanism.
The file structure is object-oriented; a file can be decomposed into constituent objects very simply, and the
structure of the objects inferred directly from their type.
The file format is designed to be independent of any particular network protocol while enabling efficient
support for them in general.
The ISO Base Media File Format is a base format for media file formats.
It is intended that the ISO Base Media File Format shall be jointly maintained by WG1 and WG11.
Consequently, a subdivision of work created 15444-12 and 14496-12 in order to document the ISO Base
Media File Format and to facilitate the joint maintenance.
This technically identical text is published as ISO/IEC 14496-12 for MPEG-4, and as ISO/IEC 15444-12 for
JPEG 2000, and reference to this specification should be made accordingly. The recommendation is to
reference one, for example ISO/IEC 14496-12, and append to the reference a parenthetical comment
identifying the other, for example “(technically identical to ISO/IEC 15444-12)”.

© ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved vii

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 15444-12:2005(E)

Information technology — JPEG 2000 image coding system —
Part 12:
ISO base media file format
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the ISO base media file format, which is a general format forming the
basis for a number of other more specific file formats. This format contains the timing, structure, and media
information for timed sequences of media data, such as audio/visual presentations.
This part of ISO/IEC 14496 is applicable to MPEG-4, but its technical content is identical to that of
ISO/IEC 15444-12, which is applicable to JPEG 2000.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 639-2:1998: Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code
ISO/IEC 11578:1996: Information technology — Open Systems Interconnection — Remote Procedure Call
(RPC)
ISO/IEC 14496-1:2004: Information technology — Coding of audio-visual objects — Part 1: Systems
ISO/IEC 14496-10, Information technology — Coding of audio-visual objects — Part 10: Advanced Video
Coding
ISO/IEC 14496-14, Information technology — Coding of audio-visual objects — Part 14: MP4 file format
ITU-T Rec.T.800 | ISO/IEC 15444-1: Information technology — JPEG 2000 image coding system: Core
coding system
ISO/IEC 15444-3, Information technology — JPEG 2000 image coding system: Motion JPEG 2000
IETF RFC 3711, "The Secure Real-time Transport Protocol", Baugher M. et al., March 2004.
SMIL 1.0 “Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) 1.0 Specification”,

© ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved 1

3 Definitions
For the purposes of this International Standard, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
Box:
An object-oriented building block defined by a unique type identifier and length (called ‘atom’ in some
specifications, including the first definition of MP4).
3.2
Chunk:
A contiguous set of samples for one track.
3.3
Container Box:
A box whose sole purpose is to contain and group a set of related boxes.
3.4
Hint Track:
A special track which does not contain media data. Instead it contains instructions for packaging one or more
tracks into a streaming channel.
3.5
Hinter:
A tool that is run on a file containing only media, to add one or more hint tracks to the file and so facilitate
streaming.
3.6
Movie Box:
A container box whose sub-boxes define the metadata for a presentation (‘moov’).
3.7
Media Data Box:
A container box which can hold the actual media data for a presentation (‘mdat’).
3.8
ISO Base Media File:
The name of the file format described in this specification.
3.9
Presentation:
One or more motion sequences (q.v.), possibly combined with audio.
3.10
Sample:
In non-hint tracks, a sample is an individual frame of video, a time-contiguous series of video frames, or a
time-contiguous compressed section of audio. In hint tracks, a sample defines the formation of one or more
streaming packets. No two samples within a track may share the same time-stamp.
3.11
Sample Description:
A structure which defines and describes the format of some number of samples in a track.
2 © ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved

3.12
Sample Table:
A packed directory for the timing and physical layout of the samples in a track.
3.13
Track:
A collection of related samples (q.v.) in an ISO base media file. For media data, a track corresponds to a
sequence of images or sampled audio. For hint tracks, a track corresponds to a streaming channel.
4 Object-structured File Organization
4.1 File Structure
Files are formed as a series of objects, called boxes in this specification. All data is contained in boxes; there
is no other data within the file. This includes any initial signature required by the specific file format.
All object-structured files conformant to this section of this specification (all Object-Structured files) shall
contain a File Type Box.
4.2 Object Structure
An object in this terminology is a box.
Boxes start with a header which gives both size and type. The header permits compact or extended size (32
or 64 bits) and compact or extended types (32 bits or full UUIDs). The standard boxes all use compact types
(32-bit) and most boxes will use the compact (32-bit) size. Typically only the Media Data Box(es) need the 64-
bit size.
The size is the entire size of the box, including the size and type header, fields, and all contained boxes. This
facilitates general parsing of the file.
The definitions of boxes are given in the syntax description language (SDL) defined in MPEG-4 (see reference
in clause 2). Comments in the code fragments in this specification indicate informative material.
The fields in the objects are stored with the most significant byte first, commonly known as network byte order
or big-endian format.
aligned(8) class Box (unsigned int(32) boxtype,
optional unsigned int(8)[16] extended_type) {
unsigned int(32) size;
unsigned int(32) type = boxtype;
if (size==1) {
unsigned int(64) largesize;
} else if (size==0) {
// box extends to end of file
}
if (boxtype==‘uuid’) {
unsigned int(8)[16] usertype = extended_type;
}
}
The semantics of these two fields are:
size is an integer that specifies the number of bytes in this box, including all its fields and contained
boxes; if size is 1 then the actual size is in the field largesize; if size is 0, then this box is the last
one in the file, and its contents extend to the end of the file (normally only used for a Media Data Box)
© ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved 3

type identifies the box type; standard boxes use a compact type, which is normally four printable
characters, to permit ease of identification, and is shown so in the boxes below. User extensions use
an extended type; in this case, the type field is set to ‘uuid’.
Boxes with an unrecognized type shall be ignored and skipped.
Many objects also contain a version number and flags field:
aligned(8) class FullBox(unsigned int(32) boxtype, unsigned int(8) v, bit(24) f)
extends Box(boxtype) {
unsigned int(8) version = v;
bit(24)  flags = f;
}
The semantics of these two fields are:
version is an integer that specifies the version of this format of the box.
flags is a map of flags
Boxes with an unrecognized version shall be ignored and skipped.
4.3 File Type Box
4.3.1 Definition
Box Type: `ftyp’
Container: File
Mandatory: Yes
Quantity: Exactly one
A media-file structured to this part of this specification may be compatible with more than one detailed
specification, and it is therefore not always possible to speak of a single ‘type’ or ‘brand’ for the file. This
means that the utility of the file name extension and mime type are somewhat reduced.
This box must be placed as early as possible in the file (e.g. after any obligatory signature, but before any
significant variable-size boxes such as a Movie Box, Media Data Box, or Free Space). It identifies which
specification is the ‘best use’ of the file, and a minor version of that specification; and also a set of other
specifications to which the file complies. Readers implementing this format should attempt to read files that
are marked as compatible with any of the specifications that the reader implements. Any incompatible change
in a specification should therefore register a new ‘brand’ identifier to identify files conformant to the new
specification.
The minor version is informative only. It does not appear for compatible-brands, and must not be used to
determine the conformance of a file to a standard. It may allow more precise identification of the major
specification, for inspection, debugging, or improved decoding.
The type ‘isom’ (ISO Base Media file) is defined in this section of this specification, as identifying files that
conform to the first version of ISO Base Media File Format.
More specific identifiers can be used to identify precise versions of specifications providing more detail. This
brand should not be used as the major brand; this base file format should be derived into another
specification to be used. There is therefore no defined normal file extension, or mime type assigned to this
brand, nor definition of the minor version when ‘isom’ is the major brand.
Files would normally be externally identified (e.g. with a file extension or mime type) that identifies the ‘best
use’ (major brand), or the brand that the author believes will provide the greatest compatibility.
The brand ‘iso2’ shall be used to indicate compatibility with this amended version of the ISO Base Media File
Format; it may be used in addition to or instead of the ‘isom’ brand and the same usage rules apply. If used
without the brand 'isom' identifying the first version of this specification, it indicates that support for some or all
4 © ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved

of the technology introduced by this amendment is required, such as the functionality in sub-clauses [8.40]
through [8.45], or the SRTP support in sub-clause [10], is required.
The brand ‘avc1’ shall be used to indicate that the file is conformant with the ‘AVC Extensions’ in sub-clause
[8.40]. If used without other brands, this implies that support for those extensions is required. The use of ‘avc1’
as a major-brand may be permitted by specifications; in that case, that specification defines the file extension
and required behavior.
If a Meta-box with an MPEG-7 handler type is used at the file level, then the brand ‘mp71’ should be a
member of the compatible-brands list in the file-type box.

4.3.2 Syntax
aligned(8) class FileTypeBox
extends Box(‘ftyp’) {
unsigned int(32) major_brand;
unsigned int(32) minor_version;
unsigned int(32) compatible_brands[]; // to end of the box
}
4.3.3 Semantics
This box identifies the specifications to which this file complies.
Each brand is a printable four-character code, registered with ISO, that identifies a precise specification.
major_brand – is a brand identifier
minor_version – is an informative integer for the minor version of the major brand
compatible_brands – is a list, to the end of the box, of brands
5 Design Considerations
5.1 Usage
5.1.1 Introduction
The file format is intended to serve as a basis for a number of operations. In these various roles, it may be
used in different ways, and different aspects of the overall design exercised.
5.1.2 Interchange
When used as an interchange format, the files would normally be self-contained (not referencing media in
other files), contain only the media data actually used in the presentation, and not contain any information
related to streaming. This will result in a small, protocol-independent, self-contained file, which contains the
core media data and the information needed to operate on it.
The following diagram gives an example of a simple interchange file, containing two streams.
© ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved 5

ISO file
moov mdat
trak (video)
…other boxes
Interleaved, time-ordered, video
and audio frames
trak (audio)
Figure 1 — Simple interchange file
5.1.3 Content Creation
During content creation, a number of areas of the format can be exercised to useful effect, particularly:
• the ability to store each elementary stream separately (not interleaved), possibly in separate files.
• the ability to work in a single presentation that contains media data and other streams (e.g. editing
the audio track in the uncompressed format, to align with an already-prepared video track).
These characteristics mean that presentations may be prepared, edits applied, and content developed and
integrated without either iteratively re-writing the presentation on disc – which would be necessary if interleave
was required and unused data had to be deleted; and also without iteratively decoding and re-encoding the
data – which would be necessary if the data must be stored in an encoded state.
In the following diagram, a set of files being used in the process of content creation is shown.
media file
video frames, possibly
un-ordered with other
ISO file
unused data
moov
trak (video)
…other boxes
ISO File
trak (audio)
mdat
Video and Audio frames
possibly
un-ordered with other
unused data
…other boxes (inc. moov)
Figure 2 — Content Creation File
5.1.4 Preparation for streaming
When prepared for streaming, the file must contain information to direct the streaming server in the process of
sending the information. In addition, it is helpful if these instructions and the media data are interleaved so that
excessive seeking can be avoided when serving the presentation. It is also important that the original media
data be retained unscathed, so that the files may be verified, or re-edited or otherwise re-used. Finally, it is
6 © ISO/IEC 2005 – All rights reserved

helpful if a single file can be prepared for more than one protocol, so differing servers may use it over
disparate protocols.
5.1.5 Local presentation
‘Locally’ viewing a presentation (i.e. directly from the file, not over a streamed interconnect) is an important
application; it is used when a presentation is distributed (e.g. on CD or DVD ROM), during the process of
development, and when verifying the content on streaming servers. Such local viewing must be supported,
with full random access. If the presentation is on CD or DVD ROM, interleave is important as seeking may be
slow.
5.1.6 Streamed presentation
When a server operates from the file to make a stream, the resulting stream must be conformant with the
specifications for the protocol(s) used, and should contain no trace of the file-format information in the file itself.
The server needs to be able to random access the presentation. It can be useful to re-use server content (e.g.
to make excerpts) by referencing the same media data from multiple presenta
...