ISO/IEC 13818-1:2025

FINAL DRAFT
International
Standard
ISO/IEC
FDIS
13818-1
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29
Information technology — Generic
Secretariat: JISC
coding of moving pictures and
Voting begins on:
associated audio information —
2025-03-21
Part 1:
Voting terminates on:
2025-05-16
Systems
Technologies de l'information — Codage générique des images
animées et du son associé —
Partie 1: Systèmes
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT,
WITH THEIR COMMENTS, NOTIFICATION OF ANY
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Reference number
ISO/IEC FDIS 13818­1:2025(en) © ISO/IEC 2025

FINAL DRAFT
ISO/IEC FDIS 13818-1:2025(en)
International
Standard
ISO/IEC
FDIS
13818-1
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29
Information technology — Generic
Secretariat: JISC
coding of moving pictures and
Voting begins on:
associated audio information —
Part 1:
Voting terminates on:
Systems
Technologies de l'information — Codage générique des images
animées et du son associé —
Partie 1: Systèmes
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED TO SUBMIT,
WITH THEIR COMMENTS, NOTIFICATION OF ANY
RELEVANT PATENT RIGHTS OF WHICH THEY ARE AWARE
AND TO PROVIDE SUPPOR TING DOCUMENTATION.
© ISO/IEC 2025
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL, TECHNO­
LOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND USER PURPOSES, DRAFT
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR POTENTIAL
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
TO BECOME STAN DARDS TO WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE
MADE IN NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
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Published in Switzerland Reference number
ISO/IEC FDIS 13818­1:2025(en) © ISO/IEC 2025

© ISO/IEC 2025 – All rights reserved
ii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members
of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described
in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of
document should be noted.
ISO and IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of
(a) patent(s). ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed
patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO and IEC had received notice
of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned
that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available
at www.iso.org/patents and https://patents.iec.ch. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying
any or all such patent rights.
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constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions
related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.
This document was prepared by ITU-T (as ITU-T H.222.0) and drafted in accordance with its editorial rules,
in collaboration with Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, Subcommittee SC 29,
Coding of audio, picture, multimedia and hypermedia information.
This tenth edition cancels and replaces the ninth edition (ISO/IEC 13818-1:2023), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes are as follows:
— the usage of certain codec parameters and the definition of certain program element descriptors is
clarified;
— in Annex T.4 the interpretation of the optional 'codecs' parameter for the audio layer is clarified;
— a field name is adjusted in the syntax and semantics of the MPEG-H 3D audio descriptor;
— in 2.6.110 the syntax of the MPEG-H 3D audio scene descriptor is corrected and field names are aligned
with the names in the specification to which they refer;
— in 2.6.115 some clarification is added for the MPEG-H 3D audio multi-stream descriptor with respect to
the semantics of the fields thisStreamID and auxiliaryStreamID.
A list of all parts in the ISO/IEC 13818 series can be found on the ISO and IEC websites.
© ISO/IEC 2025 – All rights reserved
iii
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and www.iec.ch/national-
committees.
© ISO/IEC 2025 – All rights reserved
iv
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 13818-1
RECOMMENDATION ITU-T H.222.0 v10
Information technology – Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information:
Systems
Summary
This Recommendation | International Standard specifies the system layer of the coding. It was developed in 1994 to
principally support the combination and synchronization of video and audio coding methods defined in ISO/IEC 13818
Part 2 (ITU-T H.262) and Part 3. Since 1994, this standard has been extended to support additional video coding
specifications (e.g., ISO/IEC 14496-2, ITU-T H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10, ITU-T H.265 | ISO/IEC 23008-2 and
ITU-T T.800 | ISO/IEC 15444-1 Annex M JPEG 2000 video), audio coding specifications (e.g., ISO/IEC 13818-7 and
ISO/IEC 14496-3), system streams (e.g., ISO/IEC 14496-1 and ISO/IEC 15938-1), ISO/IEC 23009-1 dynamic adaptive
streaming over HTTP (DASH), ISO/IEC 13818-11 intellectual property management and protection (IPMP) as well as
generic metadata. The system layer supports six basic functions:
1) the synchronization of multiple compressed streams on decoding;
2) the interleaving of multiple compressed streams into a single stream;
3) the initialization of buffering for decoding start up;
4) continuous buffer management;
5) time identification; and
6) multiplexing and signalling of various components in a system stream.
Recommendation ITU-T H.222.0 | ISO/IEC 13818-1 multiplexed bit stream is either a transport stream or a program
stream. Both streams are constructed from packetized elementary stream (PES) packets and packets containing other
necessary information. Both stream types support multiplexing of video and audio compressed streams from one program
with a common time base. The transport stream additionally supports the multiplexing of video and audio compressed
streams from multiple programs with independent time bases. For almost error-free environments the program stream is
generally more appropriate, supporting software processing of program information. The transport stream is more suitable
for use in environments where errors are likely.
Either multiplexed bit stream is constructed in two layers: the outermost layer is the system layer, and the innermost is the
compression layer. The system layer provides the functions necessary for using one or more compressed data streams in a
system. The video and audio parts of this Specification define the compression coding layer for audio and video data.
Coding of other types of data is not defined by this Recommendation | International Standard, but is supported by the
system layer provided that the other types of data adhere to the constraints defined in this Recommendation | International
Standard.
The 9th edition includes Amd. 1 (12/2022) and Cor. 1 (12/2022) to the 8th edition, as well as Cor.2 (08/2023) that was
approved but not published separately. Corrigendum 2 corrected outdated references to ISO/IEC 14496-1 where clause
numbering and field naming has changed. It also clarifies a reference to ISO/IEC 23008-3, where the field
3dAudioSceneInfoID is named differently and removes semantic definitions for fields that do not exist in the respective
syntax table (Table 2-123). In the text that was introduced by Amendment 1, Cor.2 improves the semantic definition for
HDR_WCG_idc equal to '0'. It further corrects a mismatch in field size between syntax table and semantic definition of
SubstreamOffset[k][j][i]. Finally, it corrects a misleading semantic definition of the media_description_flag for the
Media_service_kind descriptor.
Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 v10 (xx/2025) v
© ISO/IEC 2025 – All rights reserved

*
History
Edition Recommendation Approval Study Group Unique ID
1.0 ITU-T H.222.0 1995-07-10 15 11.1002/1000/1071
1.1   ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 1 1996-11-11 16 11.1002/1000/3834
1.2   ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 2 1996-11-11 16 11.1002/1000/4096
1.3   ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Technical Cor. 1 1998-02-06 16 11.1002/1000/4532
1.4   ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 3 1998-02-06 16 11.1002/1000/4228
1.5   ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 4 1998-02-06 16 11.1002/1000/4229
1.6   ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 5 1999-05-27 16 11.1002/1000/4498
1.7   ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 6 1999-05-27 16 11.1002/1000/4671
1.8   ITU-T H.222.0 (1995) Amd. 7 2000-02-17 16 11.1002/1000/4926
2.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2000-02-17 16 11.1002/1000/5142
2.1   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Technical Cor. 1 2001-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/5419
2.2   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Technical Cor. 2 2002-03-29 16 11.1002/1000/5675
2.3   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 1 2002-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/6190
2.4   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 1 Cor. 1 2003-06-29 16 11.1002/1000/6449
2.5   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 2 2003-06-29 16 11.1002/1000/6363
2.6   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 3 2004-03-15 16 11.1002/1000/7208
2.7   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Technical Cor. 3 2005-01-08 16 11.1002/1000/7435
2.8   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 4 2005-01-08 16 11.1002/1000/7436
2.9   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Amd. 5 2005-01-08 16 11.1002/1000/7437
2.10   ITU-T H.222.0 (2000) Technical Cor. 4 2005-09-13 16 11.1002/1000/8560
3.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2006-05-29 16 11.1002/1000/8802
3.1   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 1 2007-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/9024
3.2   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 2 2007-08-29 16 11.1002/1000/9214
3.3   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Cor. 1 2008-06-13 16 11.1002/1000/9471
3.4   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Cor. 2 2009-03-16 16 11.1002/1000/9692
3.5   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 3 2009-03-16 16 11.1002/1000/9691
3.6   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Cor. 3 2009-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/10621
3.7   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Cor. 4 2009-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/10622
3.8   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 4 2009-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/10623
3.9   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 5 2011-05-14 16 11.1002/1000/11287
3.10   ITU-T H.222.0 (2006) Amd. 6 2011-05-14 16 11.1002/1000/11288
4.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2012-06-29 16 11.1002/1000/11655
4.1   ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 1 2014-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/12054
4.2   ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 2 2014-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/12055
4.3   ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 3 2014-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/12056
4.4   ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 4 2014-01-13 16 11.1002/1000/12057
4.5   ITU-T H.222.0 (2012) Amd. 5 2014-10-14 16 11.1002/1000/12306
5.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2014-10-14 16 11.1002/1000/12359
5.1   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 1 2015-04-29 16 11.1002/1000/12452
5.2   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 1 Cor. 1 2015-11-29 16 11.1002/1000/12625
5.3   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 2 2015-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/12632
5.4   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 3 2015-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/12633
5.5   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 1 Cor. 2 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12899
5.5   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Cor. 1 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12903
5.7   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 4 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12900
5.8   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 5 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12901
5.9   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 6 2016-07-14 16 11.1002/1000/12902
____________________
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browser, followed by the Recommendation's unique ID.
vi Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 v10 (xx/2025)
© ISO/IEC 2025 – All rights reserved

5.10   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 3 Cor. 1 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13184
5.10   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Cor. 2 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13188
5.12   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 7 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13186
5.13   ITU-T H.222.0 (2014) Amd. 8 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13187
6.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2017-03-01 16 11.1002/1000/13269
6.1   ITU-T H.222.0 (2017) Amd. 1 2017-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/13431
7.0 ITU-T H.222.0 2018-08-29 16 11.1002/1000/13664
7.1   ITU-T H.222.0 (2018) Cor. 1 2019-11-29 16 11.1002/1000/14106
7.2   ITU-T H.222.0 (2018) Amd. 1 2019-11-29 16 11.1002/1000/14105
8.0 ITU-T H.222.0 v8 2021-06-13 16 11.1002/1000/14658
8.1   ITU-T H.222.0 v8 (2021) Cor. 1 2022-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/15172
8.2   ITU-T H.222.0 v8 (2021) Amd. 1 2022-12-14 16 11.1002/1000/15171
9.0 ITU-T H.222.0 v9 2023-08-29 16 11.1002/1000/15655
10.0 ITU-T H.222.0 v10 tbd
Keywords
Audiovisual content, multimedia multiplexing, MPEG-2 system, multiplexed bit stream, program stream, transport stream.
Rec. ITU-T H.222.0 v10 (xx/2025) vii
© ISO/IEC 2025 – All rights reserved
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