08 ‘hip 7» Ont compression space in the megabyte range. The throughput in such a system can be as high as I40Mbivs, which must also be transmitted over networks connecting systems (per Ui directional connection). This kind of data transfer rate is not realizable with today’s technology, or inthe near future with reasonably priced hardware, However, these rates can be considerably reduced using suitable compression techniques [NH88, RI91], and research, development, and standardization in this arca have progressed rapidly in recent years [ACM89, GW93], These techniques are thus an ‘essential component of multimedia systems Several compression techniques for different media are often mentioned in the literature and in product descriptions: + JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is intended for still images, + 1.263 (H.261 px64) adresses low-resolution video sequences. This plemented with audio coding techniques developed for ISDN and mobile comm nications, which have also been standardized within CCITT, + MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) is used for video and audio compression, can be com Compression techniques used in multimedia systems are subject 10 heavy ‘demands. The quality of the compressed, and subsequently decompressed, data should be as good as possible, To make a cost-ffective implementation possible, the complex- ity of the technique used should be minimal. The processing time required for the ‘decompression algorithms, and sometimes also the compression algorithms, must not ‘exceed certain time spans. Different techniques address requirements differently ( for example, the requirements of [Org93}}. One can distinguish between requitements of “dialogue” mode applications (e.g videoconferencing or picture transmission) and “retrieval” mode applications (e.g audiovisual information systems, where a human user retrieves information from & ‘multimedia database). Compression techniques like p64, with its symmetric processing expenditure for ‘compression and decompression and is strict delay limits, are beter suited to dialogue applications, Other techniques, such as MPEG-1, are optimized for use in retrieval spplicatons at the expense of considerable effort during compression. The following requirement applies to compression techniques used for dialogue ‘mode applications: ‘The end-to-end delay fora technique used in a dialogue system should not exceed 150ms for compression and decompression alone. To support an easy, natural di logue, ideally compression or decompression by itself should introduce an ad. tional delay of no more than SOms. The overall end-to-end delay additionally comprises delay in the network, communications protocol processing in the end system, and data transfer to and from the respective input and output devices.