Thirty years ago MPEG was an experts group in an unknown working group in a subcommittee developing standards for character coding.

Today MPEG is the group that is behind global media digitisation, media industry convergence, the installed base of media devices (tablets, smartphones, set top boxes and digital TVs) worth 2.8 T$ and a global yearly turnover in excess of 1 T$.

As this book tried to demonstrate, this did not happen by chance and I claim that will continue in the future. If mindless parties do not get in the way, I mean.