Overview - ISO/IEC 23090-18:2024 (G‑PCC carriage)
ISO/IEC 23090-18:2024 defines a media format for carriage of geometry‑based point cloud compression (G‑PCC) data, enabling storage and delivery of both timed and non‑timed point cloud bitstreams. The standard describes how compressed geometry‑based point cloud data is encapsulated, signalled and grouped to support flexible extraction at delivery time or at decode time. Key delivery ecosystems covered include ISOBMFF (ISO Base Media File Format), DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) and MMT (MPEG Media Transport).
Keywords: ISO/IEC 23090-18, G‑PCC, point cloud compression, ISOBMFF, DASH, MMT, geometry-based point cloud.
Key technical topics and requirements
- Overall architecture and brands/sample entry types: defines referenceable code points, sample entry types, box types, brands and URNs to identify G‑PCC content in container files.
- Volumetric media support: structures for volumetric visual media headers, sample entries and grouping for immersive assets.
- Timed (streaming) G‑PCC in ISOBMFF: decoder configuration records/boxes, component information, single‑track and multi‑track encapsulation, tiled bitstream encapsulation and track referencing for tiled point cloud delivery.
- Non‑timed G‑PCC storage: image items, tile items and item properties for non‑timed (file) delivery and content interchange.
- Metadata signalling: spatial region and viewport information (static and dynamic), metadata structures for partial delivery and recommended viewports.
- Delivery signalling for streaming: DASH MPD descriptors, GPCC preselection, multi‑version support, and MMT asset descriptors/messages (asset group metadata, asset selection, view change feedback).
- Entity and sample grouping: track reference types, entity grouping, sample grouping and tile inventory definitions to support selective extraction.
Practical applications and who uses it
ISO/IEC 23090-18 is intended for implementers and integrators in immersive media and 3D workflows:
- Codec and container implementers building G‑PCC encoders/decoders and ISOBMFF/DASH/MMT toolchains.
- Streaming platform and CDN engineers enabling adaptive delivery of 3D/volumetric content.
- Application developers for AR/VR, volumetric video, telepresence, gaming and 3D mapping who need standardized storage and streaming formats.
- Device manufacturers integrating point cloud playback or spatial media support on headsets, mobile and automotive platforms.
- Content creators and production tool vendors managing tiled/region‑of‑interest delivery and viewport signalling.
Related standards
- Other parts of the ISO/IEC 23090 series on coded representation of immersive media and the G‑PCC codec specifications are complementary and often referenced for codec semantics, profiles and bitstream syntax.
This standard enables interoperable, efficient carriage and signalling of compressed point cloud geometry for modern immersive delivery scenarios.
Open preview (PDF)Information technology — Coded representation of immersive media — Part 18: Carriage of geometry-based point cloud compression data
