Why are the MPEG-TS specifications not freely available?

Question

I'm looking at doing some MPEG-TS program specific information parsing. I understand wikipedia has some details regarding the syntax structure, but it's just not enough for my usage case, however, it seems like the specifications/standards are not freely available.

I've tried searching online for a more descriptive source, but nothing. I've had a look at ITU and ISO but they both want money for the specifications/standards.

I'm getting very close to concluding that there is not free version, but I'm wondering why ? and also if anybody has any good alternatives ?

Answer 1

The reason why is this is how ISO funds itself. ISO is a huge organisation with tons of members, and tons of meeting and it needs money to operate.

Your next question is probably “why don’t they do X instead”. I agree, the current method is stupid, but this is how they do it, and I doubt it will ever change.

Answer 2

The March 2017 issue is freely available. It has enough information (believe me) to let you write a MPEG-TS parser. If you want the latest release which documents the latest extensions to the standard (probably concerning 8K formats and so, but I haven't checked), you will have to pay.

If you're looking for program-specific information and can't find it in the ITU document, have a look at the DVB Service Information specification, assuming that your transport stream comes from a DVB network.