由于大规模集成电路技术和计算机技术，尤其是多媒体和网络技术的发展，视频数字编码已从纯学术研究发展到具有广泛应用并受到各国高度重视的技术。为了跟上技术飞跃发展的需要，目前制定视频数字编码标准的效率和速度都明显提高。制定标准不再是各国少数代表在小圈子里讨论的事情，它已成为全球的研究和开发协作。视频数字编码标准是否被广泛采用的一个重要因素是，应妥善权衡理论上的可能性和技术上的可行性。一些新的视频数字编码标准都具有遗传性，并强调尽可能广泛的适用性。

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.