MPEG finalizes immersive audio standards and advances machine-centric video coding

The shift toward 'Coding for Machines' marks a fundamental pivot in standard development, prioritizing automated analysis for surveillance and industrial IoT over human consumption. For the streaming ecosystem, the finalization of MPEG-I immersive audio provides the standardized framework necessary for interoperable metaverse and 6DoF VR applications across different hardware. Meanwhile, the extension of AVC with AI-centric metadata suggests that even legacy codecs are being retrofitted to bridge the gap between traditional video delivery and generative AI workflows. Watch for the results of the Call for Evidence in October 2025 to signal the technical trajectory of a post-VVC compression era.

The progression of ‘Video Coding for Machines’ (VCM) aligns with a broader industry push to manage the massive data loads generated by the Internet of Things (IoT). Per Omdia, July 2024 projections suggested that over 60% of global data traffic will eventually be consumed by machines rather than humans. Current standards like VVC (H.266) were primarily designed for human vision, but researchers at JVET have noted that features essential for computer vision tasks—such as object detection and edge tracing—can often be preserved at much lower bitrates if the codec ignores the aesthetic textures required by human viewers. This transition is critical for smart city infrastructure where thousands of camera feeds must be analyzed in real time with limited backhaul bandwidth.

In the audio domain, the push for MPEG-I Immersive Audio comes as competitors refine proprietary spatial formats. Per TechCrunch, May 2024, Apple and Dolby have continued to tighten their grip on the spatial audio market through Logic Pro updates and Atmos integration. MPEG’s standardized 6DoF approach is a direct attempt to provide an open-standard alternative that prevents ecosystem lock-in for VR/AR developers. On the video front, the Call for Evidence regarding technology 'beyond VVC' follows historic patterns of 10-year development cycles. With VVC adoption still in its early stages—accelerated by hardware support from companies like MediaTek and Qualcomm in 2023—industry analysts at Rethink Technology Research, January 2024, noted that the next generation (potentially 'EVC' or 'H.267') will likely focus on integrating AI-based super-resolution directly into the decoding pipeline.