Preface

This Critical Reviews conference is a follow-up to Standards for Electronic Imaging Systems, held in 1991. I received many positive comments about the proceedings of that event, and so agreed to facilitate this update.

Significant progress has been made in electronic imaging and associated standards in the five years since the previous conference. Perhaps the most dramatic advances have been in the area of multimedia applications, most of which contain electronic imaging as a fundamental component. The development and acceptance of standards in this area have aided in the explosive growth that we have witnessed in information technology, entertainment, and communications.

Purists would limit use of the term “standard” to those specifications approved by an accredited standards body such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For this session, I have chosen to take a broader interpretation of the term, and to acknowledge the increasing acceptance of the work of other organizations in the development of standards for electronic imaging. Consortia, user groups, government agencies, and other organizations are often developing specifications that fulfill the function of the more formal standards bodies. The formal standards bodies are now struggling with mechanisms for integration of these specifications with the formal standards process, and some progress has been made. More integration will certainly follow.

The papers presented cover a broad selection of standards for electronic imaging technologies, devices, and systems. Each was written by an expert in the specific standards area discussed, and represents the current status of these rapidly evolving standards areas. Many thanks to the authors for a job well done.

Michael Nier