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Format

MJ2 (Motion JPEG 2000)

Summary

Name
MJ2 (Motion JPEG 2000)
Identifiers
  • Library of Congress Format Description Identifier: fdd000127
  • PUID: fmt/337
  • MIME: video/mj2
Format type
Video
Family
JPEG 2000
Description
Motion JPEG 2000 (MJ2) is a video file format known for its mathematically lossless compression, making it suitable for long-term video preservation. Standardized in 2002 as part of ISO/IEC’s JPEG 2000 (JP2) standard, MJ2 encodes timed sequences of images, with options for including audio. Unlike formats with temporal or inter-frame compression (e.g., MPEG-4), MJ2 compresses each video frame independently, enabling reversible, lossless quality. This feature makes it ideal for high-quality preservation, particularly for digitized film and analog videotape.
Note
https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000127.shtml; https://www.iso.org/standard/41570.html; https://lhncbc.nlm.nih.gov/LHC-publications/PDF/pub9302.pdf
File extensions
mj2, mjp2
Source
Digital Preservation Department / The National Archives

Internal signatures

Motion JPEG 2000

Note
BOF: ....jP ..‡.{4}ftypmjp2

Byte sequences

Min Frag Length
Absolute from BOF
Offset
0
Max offset
None
Byte Sequence
0000000C6A5020200D0A870A{4}667479706D6A7032
Endianness
None

Changelog

  • Updated in V120

    Release date
    25 February 2025

    MJ2 (Motion JPEG 2000): New description, library of congress fdd identifier and notes added as part of PRONOM Research Week 2024. Submitted by J. Paul Getty Trust.

  • Updated in V65

    Release date
    25 October 2012

    MJ2 (Motion JPEG 2000): Renamed from Motion JPEG 2000 for clarity and consistency.

  • Added in V62

    Release date
    28 August 2012

    Motion JPEG 2000: Signature developed through PRONOM Research.

  • Added in V50

    Release date
    20 May 2011

    Motion JPEG2000: Outline entry added.