ISO/IEC 23000 specifies a digital item structure, a file format, and references a set of protocols used in a media streaming environment for applications where governed audio and video information is streamed to an end-user device by means of existing protocols such as MPEG-2 Transport Stream or Real Time Protocol over Internet Protocol (RTP/IP), and provides a set informative implementations corresponding to specific applications.

ISO/IEC 23000 offers a standardized solution for the streaming of audio-visual information and related data to facilitate simple and fully interoperable exchange across different devices and platforms. The Media Streaming Application Format allows conforming devices to access audio and video information that is governed or ungoverned, and reaches end user devices using a variety of means.

The format of the media streaming content specified in ISO/IEC 23000-5:2008 relies on a number of MPEG technologies such as ISO/IEC 21000‑2, ISO/IEC 21000‑3, ISO/IEC 21000‑4, ISO/IEC 21000‑5, ISO/IEC 21000‑9, ISO/IEC 21000‑18, as well as on several MPEG-2/4 standards related to audio/video encoding, as this MAF specifies “native” resources for some application scenarios. Some of the International Standards mentioned above are referenced in their entirety by ISO/IEC 23000-5:2008, whilst others are only used partially, and in a specific way.