MPEG-4 is a group of international standards for the compression of digital audio and visual data, multimedia systems, and file storage formats. It was originally introduced in late 1998 as a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) under the formal standard ISO/IEC 14496 – Coding of audio-visual objects. Uses of MPEG-4 include compression of audiovisual data for Internet video and CD distribution, voice and broadcast television applications. The MPEG-4 standard was developed by a group led by Touradj Ebrahimi and Fernando Pereira.
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or one-dimensional (1D), can be scanned by special optical scanners, called barcode readers, of which there are several types. Later, two-dimensional (2D) variants were developed, using rectangles, dots, hexagons and other patterns, called matrix codes or 2D barcodes, although they do not use bars as such. 2D barcodes can be read using purpose-built 2D optical scanners, which exist in a few different forms. 2D barcodes can also be read by a digital camera connected to a microcomputer running software that takes a photographic image of the barcode and analyzes the image to deconstruct and decode the 2D barcode. A mobile device with a built-in camera, such as smartphone, can function as the latter type of 2D barcode reader using specialized application software.
Code 39 is a variable length, discrete barcode symbology defined in ISO/IEC 16388:2007.
PDF417 is a stacked linear barcode format used in a variety of applications such as transport, identification cards, and inventory management. "PDF" stands for Portable Data File. The "417" signifies that each pattern in the code consists of 4 bars and spaces in a pattern that is 17 units (modules) long. The PDF417 symbology was invented by Dr. Ynjiun P. Wang at Symbol Technologies in 1991. It is defined in ISO 15438.
The Aztec Code is a matrix code invented by Andrew Longacre, Jr. and Robert Hussey in 1995. The code was published by AIM, Inc. in 1997. Although the Aztec Code was patented, that patent was officially made public domain. The Aztec Code is also published as ISO/IEC 24778:2008 standard. Named after the resemblance of the central finder pattern to an Aztec pyramid, Aztec Code has the potential to use less space than other matrix barcodes because it does not require a surrounding blank "quiet zone".
Code 128 is a high-density linear barcode symbology defined in ISO/IEC 15417:2007. It is used for alphanumeric or numeric-only barcodes. It can encode all 128 characters of ASCII and, by use of an extension symbol (FNC4), the Latin-1 characters defined in ISO/IEC 8859-1.. It generally results in more compact barcodes compared to other methods like Code 39, especially when the texts contain mostly digits. Code 128 was developed by the Computer Identics Corporation in 1981.
A QR code is a type of two-dimensional matrix barcode, invented in 1994, by Japanese company Denso Wave for labelling automobile parts. A barcode is a machine-readable optical image that contains information specific to the labelled item. In practice, QR codes contain data for a locator, an identifier, and a website visitor tracking. To efficiently store data, QR codes use four standardized modes of encoding (i) numeric, (ii) alphanumeric, (iii) byte or binary, and (iv) kanji.
A Data Matrix is a two-dimensional code consisting of black and white "cells" or dots arranged in either a square or rectangular pattern, also known as a matrix. The information to be encoded can be text or numeric data. Usual data size is from a few bytes up to 1556 bytes. The length of the encoded data depends on the number of cells in the matrix. Error correction codes are often used to increase reliability: even if one or more cells are damaged so it is unreadable, the message can still be read. A Data Matrix symbol can store up to 2,335 alphanumeric characters.
GS1 is a not-for-profit, international organization developing and maintaining its own standards for barcodes and the corresponding issue company prefixes. The best known of these standards is the barcode, a symbol printed on products that can be scanned electronically.
MPEG Multichannel also known as MPEG-2 Backwards Compatible, or MPEG-2 BC, is an extension to the MPEG-1 Layer II audio compression specification, as defined in the MPEG-2 Audio standard which allows it provide up to 5.1-channels of audio. To maintain backwards compatibility with the older 2-channel (stereo) audio specification, it uses a channel matrixing scheme, where the additional channels are mixed into the two backwards compatible channels. Extra information in the data stream contains signals to process extra channels from the matrix.
Codabar is a linear barcode symbology developed in 1972 by Pitney Bowes Corp. It and its variants are also known as Codeabar, Ames Code, NW-7, Monarch, Code 2 of 7, Rationalized Codabar, ANSI/AIM BC3-1995 or USD-4. Although Codabar has not been registered for US federal trademark status, its hyphenated variant Code-a-bar is a registered trademark.
In color management, an ICC profile is a set of data that characterizes a color input or output device, or a color space, according to standards promulgated by the International Color Consortium (ICC). Profiles describe the color attributes of a particular device or viewing requirement by defining a mapping between the device source or target color space and a profile connection space (PCS). This PCS is either CIELAB (L*a*b*) or CIEXYZ. Mappings may be specified using tables, to which interpolation is applied, or through a series of parameters for transformations.
High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB) is a technology developed by Microsoft for encoding data in a 2D "barcode" using clusters of colored triangles instead of the square pixels conventionally associated with 2D barcodes or QR codes. Data density is increased by using a palette of 4 or 8 colors for the triangles, although HCCB also permits the use of black and white when necessary. It has been licensed by the ISAN International Agency for use in its International Standard Audiovisual Number standard, and serves as the basis for the Microsoft Tag mobile tagging application.
The ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF) is a container file format that defines a general structure for files that contain time-based multimedia data such as video and audio. It is standardized in ISO/IEC 14496-12, a.k.a. MPEG-4 Part 12, and was formerly also published as ISO/IEC 15444-12, a.k.a. JPEG 2000 Part 12.
The Health Industry Business Communications Council (HIBCC) is a primary standard-setting and educational organization for healthcare bar coding in the United States. It provides publications, trade shows, educational resources, conferences and training programs.
Barcode technology in healthcare is the use of optical machine-readable representation of data in a hospital or healthcare setting.
Extended Channel Interpretation (ECI) is an extension to the communication protocol that is used to transmit data from a bar code reader to a host when a bar code symbol is scanned. It enables the application software to receive additional information about the intended interpretation of the message contained within the barcode symbol and even details about the scan itself. ECI was developed as a symbology-independent extension of the Global Label Identifier (GLI) system used in the PDF417 bar code.
ISO/IEC 20248Automatic Identification and Data Capture Techniques – Data Structures – Digital Signature Meta Structure is an international standard specification under development by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31/WG 2. This development is an extension of SANS 1368, which is the current published specification. ISO/IEC 20248 and SANS 1368 are equivalent standard specifications. SANS 1368 is a South African national standard developed by the South African Bureau of Standards.
Codablock is a family of stacked 1D barcodes which was invented in Identcode Systeme GmbH in Germany in 1989 by Heinrich Oehlmann. Codablock barcodes are based on stacked Code 39 and Code 128 symbologies and have some advantages of 2D barcodes.
Matrix 2 of 5 is a variable length, discrete, two width symbology. Matrix 2 of 5 is a subset of two-out-of-five codes. Unlike Industrial 2 of 5 code, Matrix 2 of 5 can encode data not only with black bars but with white spaces.
