[Mp4-tech] h.263 standards

[Gary Sullivan]

Jacques et al,
(copying to VCEG for information)
Yes, the version of H.263 dated in March 1996 is the first version.
I believe the approval meeting for that version was in November 1995,
but the approval process at that time required the published approval
dates
to lag a few months behind the meetings where documents were approved.
The document drafting work probably finished several months before that,
but I don't know the exact date.
To clarify the relationship to MPEG-4 (since this question was asked on
an MPEG-4
reflector), the "baseline" part of the first version of H.263 is what
was included
in a compatible way into the MPEG-4 visual standard.  That part is
called
the "short header" format in MPEG-4 visual.  All decoders that
can decode the simple profile of MPEG-4 visual can also decode the
baseline
profile of H.263.  All encoders that can encode the "short header" form
of MPEG-4
visual elementary streams are producing video that can be decoded by
decoders for the
baseline profile of H.263.
The baseline part of H.263 is also the part that was adopted as the
mandatory video
codec in H.323, H.324 and 3GPP.
Although there were additional "non-baseline" features in the original
version of H.263
(in Annexes C through F), those were not included in MPEG-4 (at least
not in
exactly the same form).
The base document for H.263 that is now on the ITU web site is the
1997/1998 version, known
as "H.263+".  The approval meeting for that version spanned Jan & Feb
1998.
I believe the ITU-T SG16 approval decision was on 27 January, but the
document bears
a Feb '98 approval date on the ITU web site because the rest of the
meeting
wasn't finished until February.  The "white
document" was submitted for translation and approval in September 1997
by VCEG, and SG16 acted on the document several months later, as the
approval
process at the time required translation into at least French and
Spanish and
additional time for final consideration prior to approval.
The technical content of the existing '95/'96 version was not changed
in the '97/'98 version -- there were only some extensions added.
If you look at what you can do with the new version without using
any annexes later than Annex F and without using the PLUSPTYPE field
in the headers, you will be looking at exactly what was in the '95
version.
In addition to the base document, you will find four newer annexes as
separate
documents on the ITU-T web site.  These are Annexes U, V, W, and X.
The base document was not changed when these annnexes were added.
Annexes U, V, and W are the extensions known as H.263++.  They were
approved
in November of 2000 (again, based on a document completed and submitted
a few
months before that).
Best Regards,
Gary Sullivan
+> -----Original Message-----
+> From: mp4-tech-bounces lists.mpegif.org 
+> [mailto:mp4-tech-bounces lists.mpegif.org] On Behalf Of 
+> jacques libchaber
+> Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2023 2:20 AM
+> To: mp4 newsgroup
+> Subject: [Mp4-tech] h.263 standards
+> 
+> 
+> Hi everybody,
+> I have in my possession an ITU-T standard called H.263 whose date of
+> issue 
+> is 03/96. I assume that it is the first edition of the 'h263 
+> video codec
+> standard'.
+> I've read that there exists also two other editions of the h263
+> standard.
+> They are named h263+ and h263++.
+> I guess that the h263++ standard is the one that was issued 
+> in 08/98. It
+> is also the one that you can get on the ITU website currently.
+> Does anyone know where I can get the h263+ standard ?
+> Thanks
+>                Jacques
+> _______________________________________________
+> Mp4-tech mailing list
+> Mp4-tech lists.mpegif.org
+> http://lists.mpegif.org/mailman/listinfo/mp4-tech
+>