MPEG-2 Video is a generic method for compressed representation of video sequences using a common coding. The MPEG-2 Video Standard specifies the coded bit stream for high-quality digital video. As a compatible extension, MPEG-2 Video builds on the completed MPEG-1 Video Standard by supporting interlaced video formats and a number of other advanced features, including features to support HDTV. The MPEG-2 Main Profile was defined to support digital video transmission in the range of about 2 to 15 Mbits/sec over cable, satellite, and other broadcast channels, as well as for Digital Storage Media (DSM) and other communications applications.

MPEG-3 targeted HDTV applications with sampling dimensions up to 1920 x 1080 x 30 Hz and coded bitrates between 20 and 40 Mbit/sec. It was later discovered that with some (compatible) fine-tuning, MPEG-2 and MPEG-1 worked very well for HDTV rate video. The key is to maintain an optimal balance between sample rate and coded bit rate.

The MPEG-4 standard enables a whole spectrum of new applications, including interactive mobile multimedia communications, videophone, mobile audio-visual communication, multimedia electronic mail, remote sensing, electronic newspapers, interactive multimedia databases, multimedia videotext, games, interactive computer imagery, sign language captioning. Since the primary target for these applications is bitrate of up to 64 kbit/s at good quality, it is anticipated that new coding techniques allowing higher compression than traditional techniques may be necessary.