With the growing availability of digital transmission links

progress in signal processing

VL S I technology and image compression research

digital video coding technology has developed from a purely academic research in to a highly commercial business. To follow the accelerated speed of technology development

the standardization process has become sign if i cantly efficient and fast. The actual work of the standardization bodies has changed considerably and has evolved from discussion circles of national delegations in to in ternational collaborative R&D activities. It has to be understood that video coding standards have to rely on comp rom ises betw een w hat is theoretically possible and what is technologically feasible. In contrast to the early standards

recent standards are in tended to be generic and have wide applications.