Reference software is normative in the sense that any conforming implementation of the software, taking the same
conformant bitstreams, using the same output file format, will output the same file. Complying ISO/IEC 14496
implementations are not expected to follow the algorithms or the programming techniques used by the reference
software. Although the decoding software is considered normative, it cannot add anything to the textual technical
description included in parts 1, 2, 3 and 6 of ISO/IEC 14496.
The software contained in this part of ISO/IEC 14496 is divided into three categories:
a) Elementary stream decoding software is catalogued in clauses 3, 4 and 5. This software accepts
elementary streams encoded according to the normative specification in parts 1, 2, 3 and 6 of ISO/IEC 14496
and decodes the streams into the media types associated with each elementary stream. While this software
appears in the normative part of this specification, attention is drawn to the fact that the implementation
techniques used in this software are not considered normative ? several different implementations could
produce the same result ? but the software is considered normative in that it correctly implements the decoding
processes described in parts 1, 2, 3 and 6 of ISO/IEC 14496.
b) Elementary stream encoding software is catalogued in Annex A (informative). This software creates
elementary streams from associated media types. The encoders are provided as a means to obtain
elementary streams with the normative syntax described in parts 1, 2 and 3 of ISO/IEC 14496. The techniques
used for encoding are not specified by this specification, and the quality and complexity of these encoders has
not been optimized.
c) Utility software is catalogued in Annex B (informative). This software was found useful by the developers of
the standard, but may not conform to the normative specifications given in parts 1, 2, 3 and 6 of
ISO/IEC 14496.
File locations given in this part of ISO/IEC 14496 are expressed relative to its location in the source tree.
