The focus of this course is on MPEG-4 (Motion Picture Experts Group) that provides core technologies for efficient object-based compression of video/multimedia for transmission, storage, and manipulation. MPEG-4 addresses a mix of applications; some new that require interactivity, others traditional, typically, enabling these applications at higher bit rates or with new functionalities than ever before. In particular it addresses applications such as: Internet multimedia, wireless video, videoconferencing, video-on-demand, and video games.

The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is working on a new standard called the "Multimedia Content Description Interface," also known as MPEG-7. MPEG-7 is needed due to internet-focused multimedia applications in the areas of image, video and audio databases, interactive media services, universal multimedia access, and scientific image libraries. MPEG-7 intends to enable fast and efficient searching, browsing and filtering of audio-visual material. The course provides an overview of the goals, objectives and anticipated application areas of MPEG-7. The course discusses the three main parts of MPEG-7: descriptors, description schemes and description definition language (DDL).

This course is divided into two parts: basic operation of optical fiber communication systems, and reconfigurable optical networks. Optical system design, including signal, noise, and sensitivity, is addressed in the context of high-performance transmission. The device and systems advances in wavelength-division-multiplexing, focusing on the gains and limitations of future systems are discussed. Additional topics include: optical amplifiers, multi-channel systems, nonlinear effects, solitons, and analog subcarrier-multiplexed (CATV) transmission. Physical-layer issues associated with reconfigurable WDM networks are also discussed.