Video Object Extraction and Representation: Theory and Applications is an essential reference for electrical engineers working in video; computer scientists researching or building multimedia databases; video system designers; students of video processing; video technicians; and designers working in the graphic arts. In the coming years, the explosion of computer technology will enable a new form of digital media. Along with broadband Internet access and MPEG standards, this new media requires a computational infrastructure to allow users to grab and manipulate content. The book reviews relevant technologies and standards for content-based processing and their interrelations. Within this overview, the book focuses upon two problems at the heart of the algorithmic/computational infrastructure: video object extraction, or how to automatically package raw visual information by content; and video object representation, or how to automatically index and catalogue extracted content for browsing and retrieval. The book analyzes the designs of two novel, working systems for content-based extraction and representation in the support of MPEG-4 and MPEG-7 video standards, respectively. Features of the book include: + Overview of MPEG standards; + A working system for automatic video object segmentation; + A working system for video object query by shape; + Novel technology for a wide range of recognition problems; + Overview of neural network and vision technologies Video Object Extraction and Representation: Theory and Applications will be of interest to research scientists and practitioners working in fields related to the topic. It may also be used as an advanced-level graduate text.