H.264 is a joint ITU-T
and MPEG video
compression standard that allows better than a 2:1 compression on
average over the widely deployed MPEG2 video compression—whithout
degrading the quality. It accomplished this by improving the intra- and
inter-frame prediction algorithms, adaptive coding, and the types of
transforms used. It also improves significantly the robustness to data
errors and frame losses, further enabling it for operation across a wide
range of networks and applications: from Digital Cinema and
High-Definition DVDs to videoconferencing equipment to third-generation
mobile phones.