ISO to Adopt OpenType File Format as Font Standard For MPEG-4
Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced that the International Standards Organization (ISO) accepted, for review, Adobe and Microsoft’s proposal to use the OpenType® font file format as the basis of a new open font format for handling text and graphics, within the MPEG-4 standard. Developed jointly by Adobe and Microsoft, OpenType is a cross-platform font file format, which provides rich multilingual support and advanced typographic control. Already Adobe has converted the entire Adobe Type Library into this format and today offers thousands of OpenType fonts. Use of OpenType fonts is supported in current Microsoft® Windows® and Apple MacOS operating systems, allowing users to choose from among thousands of fonts provided by dozens of digital font foundries.
“OpenType fonts have been embraced by creative professionals worldwide, who recognize the benefits of multilingual support and the new levels of creative control they have when delivering high-impact text for print, the Web, and a wide variety of computing and display devices,” said Digby Horner, senior vice president of Engineering Technologies at Adobe. “The ability to compress and embed beautiful resolution-independent text as part of an MPEG-4 application will expand the creative options open for everyone working with a broad range of multimedia technologies.”
At its last meeting in Poznan, Poland at the end of July, MPEG approved formal standardization of OpenType. With the help of Adobe and Microsoft, the first version of OpenType specification text will be submitted to the ISO approval process by MPEG in September. MPEG will then use the specification as the starting point for the ISO standard “Open Font Format.” Other companies will be able to reference and use the OpenType specification, at no cost, to implement an Open Font Format solution. Interested parties will also be able to submit proposals for enhancements and clarifications to the Open Font Format specification through standard ISO processes.
“Adoption of an OpenType-based font format as an international standard opens new market opportunities for implementers of the standard both for OpenType fonts, and for the underlying rendering engines,” said Lori Brownell, General Manager of Microsoft’s Global Platform Technologies and Services. “Microsoft is pleased to be part of this open and collaborative process and looks forward to the increased availability of OpenType-based products that will meet the needs of many customers.”
About MPEG
ISO’s Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) defines digital media standards for entertainment quality video and audio, which are the formats of choice for DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) and DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting). The MPEG-4 system, as defined by MPEG, enables users to select, view and manipulate audio, video and other forms of digital content. By adopting the OpenType font file format as the starting point for video titling and text representation in the MPEG-4 standards, users are assured that all text, in a variety of digital media content, can represent multiple languages and that this text can be rendered across a range of computing and display devices.
About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe is the world’s leading provider of software solutions to create, manage and deliver high-impact, reliable digital content. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.
