An acronym for Moving Picture Experts Group. They manage the standards for encoding audio and video in digitally compressed forms. With the development of so many new (yet limited) distribution channels for audio and video data the importance of standardized compression schemes is at an all time high. There are several different types of MPEG compression in use today, and within each of those there are different levels of compression. Some compress more than others do. The type and severity of MPEG compression specifically used will depend largely upon the intended distribution channel for the data (DVD, CD-ROM, Internet, etc.).