Before the availability of advanced digital compression, it was impossible to cost-effectively provide high-quality digital video to consumers. The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) changed that with its development of standards for coded representation of digital audio and video. MPEG compression engines enable cost-effective transport of digital multimedia content to consumers. The group has specified several MPEG standards, including the MPEG-2 standard, which is used throughout production and broadcast plants delivering compressed video to consumers for their digital set-top boxes (DSTBs) and DVD players.
The MPEG-4 standard-which includes the emerging video codec standard known as H.264 and the MPEG4-Part10 (or MPEG4 AVC)-is a leading standard for the upcoming high-definition television (HDTV) boom. The MPEG4-AVC standard is two to four times more efficient when compared to MPEG-2. Therefore, the MPEG4-AVC/H.264 standard is defined to be the future platform of video compression for various consumer entertainment applications such as HDTV, mobile broadcast terrestrial digital television (DTV), gaming consoles, and 2-way video phones.
