Reference:

The MPEG standards consist of different Parts. Each part covers a certain aspect of the whole specification.[15] The standards also specify Profiles and Levels. Profiles are intended to define a set of tools that are available, and Levels define the range of appropriate values for the properties associated with them.[16] Some of the approved MPEG standards were revised by later amendments and/or new editions. MPEG has standardized the following compression formats and ancillary standards:

MPEG-1 (1993): Coding of moving pictures and associated audio for digital storage media. Commonly limited to about 1.5 Mbit/s although the specification is capable of much higher bit rates (ISO/IEC 11172). The first MPEG compression standard for audio and video. It was basically designed to allow moving pictures and sound to be encoded into the bitrate of a Compact Disc. It is used on Video CD, SVCD and can be used for low-quality video on DVD Video. It was used in digital satellite/cable TV services before MPEG-2 became widespread. To meet the low bit requirement, MPEG-1 downsamples the images, as well as uses picture rates of only 24–30 Hz, resulting in a moderate quality.[17] It includes the popular MPEG-1 Audio Layer III (MP3) audio compression format.

MPEG-2 (1995): Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information. (ISO/IEC 13818) Transport, video and audio standards for broadcast-quality television. MPEG-2 standard was considerably broader in scope and of wider appeal – supporting interlacing and high definition. MPEG-2 is considered important because it has been chosen as the compression scheme for over-the-air digital television ATSC, DVB and ISDB, digital satellite TV services like Dish Network, digital cable television signals, SVCD and DVD Video.[17] It is also used on Blu-ray Discs, but these normally use MPEG-4 Part 10 or SMPTE VC-1 for high-definition content.

MPEG-3: MPEG-3 dealt with standardizing scalable and multi-resolution compression[17] and was intended for HDTV compression but was found to be redundant and was merged with MPEG-2, as a result there is no MPEG-3 standard.[17][18] MPEG-3 is not to be confused with MP3, which is MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3.

MPEG-4 (1998): Coding of audio-visual objects. (ISO/IEC 14496) MPEG-4 uses further coding tools with additional complexity to achieve higher compression factors than MPEG-2.[19] In addition to more efficient coding of video, MPEG-4 moves closer to computer graphics applications. In more complex profiles, the MPEG-4 decoder effectively becomes a rendering processor and the compressed bitstream describes three-dimensional shapes and surface texture.[19] MPEG-4 supports Intellectual Property Management and Protection (IPMP), which provides the facility to use proprietary technologies to manage and protect content like digital rights management.[20] It also supports MPEG-J, a fully programmatic solution for creation of custom interactive multimedia applications (Java application environment with a Java API) and many other features.[21][22][23] Several new higher-efficiency video standards (newer than MPEG-2 Video) are included, notably: MPEG-4 Part 2 (or Simple and Advanced Simple Profile) and

MPEG-4 AVC (or MPEG-4 Part 10 or H.264). MPEG-4 AVC may be used on HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs, along with VC-1 and MPEG-2.