IDL MPEG File Size Limitations

QUESTION: Waleed Al-Nuaimy (geoserv@compuserve.com) asked this question on the IDL newsgroup:

I'm unable to playback any IDLgenerated MPEGs of image size greater than 284 x 284. Is this something to do with the operating system (Win95), my MPEG player, or the way I'm writing the code?

ANSWER: I'm told by someone who should know that there are three separate MPEG "standards". IDL's MPEG object can generate general MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 streams. However, many Windows MPEG players can only play "Constrained Parameter Bitstream" formats. These formats are generally limited to images of less than 352 x 240 in size. If you generate MPEG streams that use larger images, you must obtain a more complete MPEG player. My source recommends Xanim or more recent versions of ActiveMovie.