Current and future standardization of high-quality digital audio coding in MPEG

Since 1988 ISO/IEC JTCI/SC29 WG11 (MPEG) is working on the standardization of video and audio signals. The Audio subgroup of MPEG is working on bit rate reduction systems for high quality digital audio. Since the first phase of this standardization effort has been finished, MPEG/Audio is extending its work to multichannel audio coding systems as well as to medium quality coding at lower sampling frequencies and lower bit rates. Future standardization work aims at next-generation coder suitable for high quality audio transmission and storage at bit rates of 64 kb/s per channel and well below.